Consumer Guide® Automotive places each vehicle into one of 17 classes based on size, price, and market position. Compact Cars comprise the smallest passengers cars. These vehicles range from tiny economy models to slightly larger popularly priced sedans, hatchbacks, and wagons.

Our Best Buys include the Chrysler PT Cruiser, Honda Civic, Mazda 3, and Pontiac Vibe/Toyota Matrix twins. Our Recommended picks include the Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra, Kia Spectra, and Toyota Corolla.

Ion's 2005 update was surprisingly early for a two-year-old design. Whether the revisions will be enough to perk up lagging sales remains to be seen. Look for another makeover, perhaps just as heavy, for 2008 or '09. That's because Ion's Delta platform, shared with the new-for-'05 Chevy Cobalt, probably won't be replaced before 2010 at the earliest.

Coming much sooner are two Saturns that also aim to boost the brand's overall sales. The first is Sky, a Mazda Miata-like two-seat roadster due in late '05 or early '06. It's basically a restyled, somewhat upscale version of Pontiac's 2006 Solstice. Both use GM's new Kappa rear-wheel-drive platform and share many underskin components, including a 170-hp 2.4-liter 4-cyl engine mated to 5-speed manual and optional 5-speed automatic transmissions. An all-independent suspension will be tuned to give Sky a slightly cushier ride than Soltice. GM execs hint that starting price will be only slightly upstream of the Pontiac's planned $20,000 base.

Saturn's second hoped-for sales-booster is a replacement for the hapless L-Series midsize sedan that ended production in mid-2004. Due to start sale by summer 2006, it will be very much like the recent Aura concept, based on GM's European-market Opel Vectra. That means the showroom version, which may keep the Aura name, uses the same front-drive GM Epsilon platform as the Chevy Malibu and Saab 9-3. Saturn's version should have its own Opel-influenced styling, plus specific powertrains and suspension tuning. The concept carried a 250-hp 3.6-liter V6 and a 6-speed automatic transmission with sequential manual shift. We'd guess this combo will be optional to a base 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine offered with manual and 5-speed automatic transmissions.

Saturn says it's aiming Aura at the likes of Honda Accord and VW Passat, so we'd look for 4-cyl versions to start in the low to mid-$20,000s, V6s in the high-20s. Keep checking back with us for further news on both Aura and Sky.