Filed under: Car Buying, Coupes, Economy, Sports/GTs, Hatchbacks, Chevrolet, Honda, Mazda, MINI, Subaru, Volkswagen
Edmunds' verdict on six sport compacts
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To be a contender in the sport compact category, there are a few things you must bring to the table. There at least three or four that immediately come to mind; small, sporty, inexpensive and relatively practical. They should also clearly stand out from their more pedestrian versions.
Our friends at Edmunds gathered a group of six of the hottest sport compacts available in the US today and put them through their paces to determine the best of the best. The six contenders for the title are (in no specific order) the 2006 Honda Civic Si, 2006 MINI Cooper S, 2007 Mazdaspeed3, 2006 Volkswagen GTI, 2006 Chevy Cobalt SS and the 2006 Subaru WRX TR.
Who won? Check out the finishing order after the jump and follow this link to read the entire article.
[Source: Inside Line]
Some quick facts on the field; all of the vehicles are powered by four-cylinder engines with displacements ranging from 1.6 to 2.5 liters, and all of them featured forced induction except for the Civic Si. The MINI Cooper S and the Cobalt SS readied for battle packing superchargers and the GTI, WRX TR, MAZDASPEED3 are all boosted by turbochargers. The Civic Si, MINI and MAZDASPEED3 are the only vehicles equipped with both a six-speed transmission and limited slip differential, and the WRX TR is the only all-wheel-drive of the bunch.
The barrage of tests began with some everyday driving in each that included kids, trips to the grocery store, etc to get a feel for the practicality of "living" with each vehicle. Then they each went for an all-out assault on the 1.8-mile carousel ride called The Streets of Willow Springs for track evaluation. Finally they returned back to the test facility for the statistical stuff: 0-60, braking distances, skidpad, etc.
Testing finished up with some good old fashioned subjective driving consisting of 400 miles of California's finest between LA and Monterey, followed by a return trip on the highway to give the arms and legs a rest.
Sixth Place: 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS
Fifth Place: 2006 Volkswagen GTI
Fourth Place: 2006 MINI Cooper S
Third Place: 2006 Honda Civic Si
Second Place: 2006 Subaru WRX TR
...and the winner is: 2007 MAZDASPEED3
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Jonathan 7:21PM (12/04/2006)
I'll take second place.
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cellularcoffee 7:39PM (12/04/2006)
...but Mazda's entry is the second ugliest car in this group. I guess there is no female reviewer among the panel. I would rank GTI and Mini Cooper S in the top 3 slots if you consider the exterior and built quality.
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Jaimie B 8:00PM (12/04/2006)
Why is a Chevy included on this list? I guess Edmunds HAD to pick a token domestic car for political correctness.
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Andrew 8:04PM (12/04/2006)
Seems like the WRX lost because of practicality... so get the wagon instead... I think AWD versus FWD for about the same money is a pretty easy choice.
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Globaldrifter 8:08PM (12/04/2006)
The GTI has a limited slip diff and when equipped with the DSG (which is phenomenal) has 6 gears. It also has the best interior and set of features. Looks as good, if not better, than all the rest. The GTI is my pick, which is why I just bought one even after I had my mind set on the Si.
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Typesbad 8:11PM (12/04/2006)
#2, Its all in the eye of the beholder of course. I personally can't get past the "black tongue" of the GTI. The Mini's cool but limited in versitility.
From what I've read and driven, the MAZDASPEED3 certainly makes sense to me as the winner. You can do it all in that car. Carry people and their stuff, drive stupid fast on streights and curves, listen to a decent stereo, enjoy great seats and high quality IP. The engine has a fat torque curve, yet loves to rev. The thing is well-made to boot.
Now if it only had the Civic's fuel mileage...
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Steve S 8:12PM (12/04/2006)
A WRX wagon would be a good bet but talk abot ugly. Also just a tad out of the 25k price range even if you get it stripped.
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Michael Karesh 8:14PM (12/04/2006)
The Chevy can turn in some great road course times. Car and Driver took the Cobalt SS and a bunch of other cars to VIR a few months ago. The Chevrolet not only had a much faster lap time than the Civic Si and GTI, but it even beat the Mustang GT, which has a 95-horsepower advantage. Not too shabby.
http://www.caranddriver.com/features/11755/the-lightning-lap.html
Not a bad driver in this bunch.
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MC 8:16PM (12/04/2006)
Who did they have driving the MINI? That or the all-season tires really suck. It's a nearly 70MPH slalom car, not 65...
Overall, a cool article though. Nice group of cars!
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PJ 8:26PM (12/04/2006)
#2, you should try taking a Cobalt SS Supercharged for a drive, as it's vastly underrated. Subjectively, it's my favorite car in its class to drive--power delivery, steering feel, and chassis composure are all top-notch. I hesitate to quote performance stats as a measure of driving fun, but it's notable that in C&D's recent "Lightning Lap" issue, an SS Supercharged lapped VIR faster than the MX-5 (by 9 seconds), the Civic Si (6 seconds), the GTI (5 seconds), and a 5-speed Mustang GT (0.3 sec).
I can only guess that its cheap interior is what's causing it to bring up the tail end in these comparison tests.
Speaking of comparison tests, this was a spectacularly lame one by Edmunds standards. Two weeks of testing, and a maximum of three paragraphs to describe each car? Where's the beef?
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Mike 8:27PM (12/04/2006)
Also: the mazdaspeed 3 seriously beats the wrx in a 1/4 mile?!
Hah. Good work AWD.
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Brian 8:36PM (12/04/2006)
Interestingly, if you follow the perma-link, Mazda was really #1...I initially thought: OMG! Not a Chevrolet Colbalt! I rented one recently....nasty little thing.
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Richard 8:41PM (12/04/2006)
Yeah! I'll take 2nd place. The WRX is as old a design as it is and it rates 2nd place? Do you have any idea how great the engineering must be to do that?
It is a great, great car...just needs better tires...but that is what the TR edition is all about...tires, wheels, sound system...
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bmw122487 9:01PM (12/04/2006)
If i was the one spending the money i would buy the Cobalt SS.Despite what they say i like the interior and 2 comfortable seats is all i need.
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iQuack 9:15PM (12/04/2006)
After the fun is gone, be glad you picked the Honda Civic which will have the best resale value.
Then you'll have more money to spend on your next toy;-).
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Mike 9:20PM (12/04/2006)
HAHAHAH @ #2
build quality is exactly what keeps the GTI and mini OUT of the top three. doh.
also it should be noted that the si w/ nav costs less than a wrx with zero optional equipment. the price range here is pretty wide.
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Jeremy P 9:21PM (12/04/2006)
There reasoning behind choosing the Mazda was flawed.
They chose it because it’s a 5 door, and .1 sec faster in the quarter mile.
They could have used a standard WRX Wagon (which lists for 24,495), with $100 a corner aftermarket tires, would have easily beaten the MazdaSpeed3 in every test.
The Bridgestone RE92’s Subaru puts on most of there cars are quite bad in all situations.
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Rossi 9:21PM (12/04/2006)
The Honda takes the Win in my book.
1st it cost only 21k
2nd Fuel Economy is great
3rd Reliability is top notch
4th Resale.
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Mike 9:21PM (12/04/2006)
#2, also your claim that the mazdaspeed 3 is the second ugliest says that either the cobalt or wrx is more attractive - not a chance in hell.
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FatherTime 9:24PM (12/04/2006)
The Cobalt is the best car of the group, hands down, and I personally like the interior. What the hell does Edmunds expect for the price, we are not talking about a Rolls here. Edmunds is the pile that doesn't come up to par.
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