My wife and I have been discussing a replacement for our Ford Contour SE which is now approaching its 12th year. We decided to replace it with a sports compact car (for myself). Our price limit is more or less near $20k, preferably less. I was hoping to see that Kia or Hyundai turbo concept car materialize. But, nothing definite yet. So, if we were to buy a new sports compact car right now, these are what I came up with:

Chevy Cobalt SS Supercharged 2-dr coupe
hp: 205 torque: 200lb/ft*4400rpm, 5-spd M/T, Curb wt: 2991lbs
0-60mph: 6.0 sec, 1/4 mile sec: 14.5*98.2mph

Mazda3 4-dr sedan
hp: 160 torque: 153lb-ft*6500rpm, 5-spd M/T, Curb wt: 2762lbs
0-60mph: 8.1 sec, 1/4 mile sec: 16.1*86.6mph

Hyundai Tiburon V6 2-dr coupe
hp: 172 torque: 181lb-ft*3800rpm, 5-spd M/T, Curb wt: 2969lbs
0-60mph: 7.0sec, 1/4 mile sec: 15.3*90.8mph

Scion tC 2-dr coupe
hp: 160 torque: 163lb-ft*4000rpm, 5-spd M/T, Curb wt: 2907lbs
0-60mph: 8.0 sec, 1/4 mile sec: 15.9*87.1mph

Honda Civic Si 2-dr coupe
hp: 197 torque: 139 lb-ft*6100rpm, 6-spd M/T, Curb wt: 2877lbs
0-60mph: 6.4 sec (est) 1/4 mile sec: 15.0*93mph (est)



I also tend to be a "bang for the buck" kind of guy. So, I 've always stayed away from the more upscale names like Acura.