Canceling the range limitation from the EV equation doesn’t make it perfect, though. To narrow down your choices, check out this list of the 10 best small and compact cars for 2020 shoppers. It offers the most standard horsepower in its class, with its direct-injection four-cylinder, and it gets the top EPA highway rating of 35 mpg. Our car experts choose every product we feature. Our favorite? Small SUVs have exploded in popularity over the past few years, even though they are usually more expensive than comparable hatchbacks or sedans.

The V-6 model is less expensive, but it cedes more than 100 horsepower to the GT and lacks the V-8’s final measure of polish (the six goes gritty at high rpm, for example). The 3-series is rear-drive dynamics perfected, or, for those in colder climes, all-wheel drive is available. But even better than the chassis is the five-point-oh! The Shelby GT500 betters the GT’s 0.94 g of grip, 153-foot 70-to-0 braking distance, and 4.6-second 0-to-60 sprint, but those bragging rights cost an extra 19 grand—a nicely optioned five-door Fiesta, or just $4000 shy of a V-6 Stang—and it isn’t as livable besides. From the how-the-hell’d-they-do-that? Small in size but large in performance and fuel economy, small cars vary widely in reliability and price. It isn’t as frisky and playful as its predecessor, and it looks a touch homely, especially parked next to a Hyundai Sonata. The Mazda is a fun-to-drive and reliable hatchback with nimble handling but a ride that's firm. Although the V-6 model strays too close to Mustang GT money, it can be mated to a six-speed stick for a 0-to-60-mph time in the mid-fives.

The clutch needs more weight to better convey its takeup, and no matter the configuration, the 3-series is seriously expensive. The sedan with the 190-hp four-cylinder mated to a slick five-speed manual, of course.No sooner had the first-generation Honda Fit alighted on U.S. showroom floors than it shouldered its way onto our 2007 10Best list. If 167 horsepower sounds tepid, keep in mind that it only has to propel some 2450 pounds, which it manages smartly.

We left the hybrid powertrain out of the winner’s circle because we found the system a touch crude in its operation. In Compact Sedans, there are 20 cars. A basic roadster with the five-speed manual starts at $23,905; the excellent folding-hardtop version (12 seconds up or down, and it preserves the softtop’s trunk space) begins at $27,945. You will suffer painful service bills. But what also makes the … Since its debut, the Fit Sport has won a seven-car comparo [May 2006], then faced a pair of brand-new challengers—the Ford Fiesta SES and the Mazda 2 Touring—to score another triumph [October 2010]. For the first time ever, we have an electrically powered car on the list, the Chevy Volt. 2. And standard Bluetooth and XM radio. We’re equally zinged by this Honda’s upscale interior, its quick and precise steering, an engaging shifter, spot-on ergonomics, a windshield as big as a minivan’s, and a rear seat that is both adult-habitable and drops to the floor faster than a Marine pumping push-ups. taming of the live rear axle to the tactile steering to the crisp six-speed manual, the 2011 GT is, save for the GT supercar, perhaps the most gratifying Ford ever made. At the top of the Golf range is the car every enthusiast should own at least once in his or her lifetime, the GTI. The chassis balance is exquisite, with handling that encourages risky behavior but a ride that you wouldn’t feel bad subjecting your grandma to. One-hundred seventeen horsepower ain’t much—there exist Montanans with lawn mowers as powerful—but the 2500-pound Fit nails 60 mph in 8.3 seconds, 1.8 seconds quicker than the Fiesta and 0.8 second sooner than the Mazda 2. 2014 Toyota RAV4. Its 197-foot ­braking distance is substandard, the front seat’s lumbar support is too aggressive, and the air conditioning strains to keep up with the solar load caused by all that glass.