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Compact Cars: Nubira, Neon, Escort/Tracer, Focus, Civic, Sephia, Protege, Sentra, Impreza, Esteem, Corolla, Golf GTI/Jetta/Beetle
By Bob Storck
In other
parts of the world these are family cars, but here they are generally
the smallest model most folks will consider. It's a shame, since preoccupation
with engine size and number of cylinders causes a buyers to overlook
some well packaged cars.
Our
opinions were shaped by the economy-oriented foreign cars of the sixties
and seventies, but quality and comfort features abound in these smaller
cars. The current engines are about half the size and deliver twice
the fuel economy of the 60s domestic equivalents, and only emit about
1/20th of the pollution.
Quite
a few of the nameplates have long histories, especially the Toyota Corolla
and the Honda Civic. They are both getting challenges from within their
own companies, and future cars are likely to look very different. Look
for new designs to be taller for more interior room in the same overall
size package.
There
are some models with performance versions such as the Focus ZX3, VWs
GTI/GL or the Neon R/T. There are even some station wagons, but those
are getting fewer.
Many
compacts are returning to the hatchback configuration, and in cars like
the highly flexible Ford Focus they fit a large variety of our lifestyles.
The Koreans show they can compete honorably with the high quality and
comfortable Kia Sephia and Daewoo Nubira, the latter with a new station
wagon version. Suzuki's Esteem also comes as a wagon and gets a bigger
engine. Nissan's redesigned Sentra touts exceptional low emission capability,
and VW's Golf/Jetta/Beetle trio has a wide variety of new powerplants.
Compact Cars
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