Consumer Guide® Automotive places each vehicle into one of 18 classes based on size, price, and market position. The Sporty/Performance Car class consists of two-seat roadsters, 4-cyl hatchbacks, and V8 muscle cars. Regardless of configuration, all have an emphasis on affordable performance.

Our Best Buys include the Mazda MX-5 and Scion tC. Our Recommended picks are the Ford Mustang, Mini Cooper, and Nissan 350Z.

New or significantly redesigned models include the Mini Cooper, Nissan 350Z, and Saturn Sky.

MX-5 gets a power-retracting hard top for 2007, a $1500 option exclusive to the Sport-trim model. It's a surprising and somewhat curious move considering the MX-5's manual soft top is one of the slickest extant. Mazda says the rigid hideaway roof steals no trunk space--a good thing, as this sports car has none to spare.

Look for a new MazdaSpeed performance version to surface soon with more power, uprated suspension and "fast car" styling add-ons. Its targets are the new 260-hp Pontiac Solstice GXP/Saturn Sky Red Line roadsters. We'd expect the Mazda to have around 250 hp, which should be sufficient against those heavier rivals. Introduction could be as early as the first quarter of 2007.

Meantime, Mazda is studying a showroom version of the recent Kabura concept, a tight four-passenger two-door coupe based heavily on the MX-5. Assuming it gets the green light, this little brother to Mazda's RX-8 sports car would bow no earlier than model-year 2009, though it may or may not come to the U.S.