surprising rankings in the latest Car & Driver compact-car comparison test (which is the first to feature the 2003 Corolla, 2001 Civic, and 2003 Lancer)... the Civic is down to 5th place, the Sentra is down to 8th place (out of 10), and the Elantra is up to 2nd

the cars are mostly mid-range, manual transmission models.

1st place: Mazda Protege LX (Ford Lynx here) 2.0L
2nd place: Hyundai Elantra GLS 2.0L
3rd place: Toyota Corolla LE 1.8L
4th place: Ford Focus SE 2.0L
5th place: Honda Civic LX 1.7L
6th place (tie): Mitsubishi Lancer O-Z Racing Rally Edition 2.0L
6th place (tie): Dodge Neon SXT 2.0L
8th place: Nissan Sentra GXE 2.0L
9th place: Suzuki Aerio GS
10th place: Kia Spectra LS 1.8L

according to car & driver, the corolla had the quickest acceleration of the pack, the most luxurious interior, and one of the most spacious back seats. the Protege was the most fun to drive.

the Civic was the most fuel-efficient (tied with the corolla) and was more fun to drive than the corolla... the civic was ranked 5th because of poor build quality and a relative lack of refinement.

the full story is available at www.caranddriver.com