VIDEO si foarte multe detalii de la Edmunds AICI
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