Honda Civic continues to be the car to beat with a wide range of bodystyles, engines, and equipment. Civic is a solid car that has good performance, a nice ride, and a high degree of civility. Also a Best Buy, Ford Focus doesn't offer the refinement of the Civic, but doesn't cost as much either.

Topping the crowded Recommended list are Volkswagen Golf and Jetta. They easily could be Best Buys. However, they are among the most expensive cars in this segment. Other Recommended choices include the redesigned but still reliable Toyota Corolla, the sporty Nissan Sentra, and the roomy Mazda Protege. Each of these is a valid alternative to a Best Buy if price is your major concern.

Insight scored a 24.8-percent year-to-year sales gain in 2001, helped by a sharp midyear spike in gas prices. But the difference was fewer than 1000 units, and demand plunged 56.4 percent in the first half of 2002 to barely a fifth of the originally projected 5000 units a year.

But Insight has never been about sales or profits. Its main mission was to show consumers that hybrid-power technology is practical, as well to further Honda's "green" image and earn government fuel-economy credits. Having done all that, Insight will reportedly be phased out while Honda shifts emphasis to more conventional gas/electric models like the recently launched Civic Hybrid sedan. Indeed, a hybrid-power option is slated for the 2005 CR-V compact SUV, and similar systems may show up fairly soon in midsize Accords and Odyssey minivans. With that and the limited sales appeal of a 2-passenger coupe, Insight is simply no longer much needed. No word on when it might be dropped, but we think it'll be allowed to quietly fade away in the next year or two.