2012 Fiat 500 Sport vs. 2011 Mini Cooper – Comparison Tests

May 20, 2011 at 2:53pm by K.C. Colwell

Playmobiles: Fiat battles Mini for sandbox supremacy. It’s on like Donkey Kong.

The wide boulevards, endless expressways, ?and three-car garages of the United States are not what you might call prime territory for tiny city cars. Sure, they’re big business in Europe, the hatchery?that birthed these automotive Peeps, with all major carmakers (including Mercedes-Benz and Audi) looking for a piece of the action. But without the need for space efficiency that guided the development of these runabouts, few Americans seem willing to put up with the resulting trade-offs. Previous efforts largely failed to break Americans out of the small-is-cheap mind-set. ?And cars like the quirky-but-joyless Smart Fortwo, and soon the Scion iQ, test the outer limits of American good humor.

Keep Reading: 2012 Fiat 500 Sport vs. 2011 Mini Cooper – Comparison Tests

Tags: British, Fiat, Fiat 500, Fiat 500 Sport, hatchback, Italian, Mini, Mini Cooper, performance testing |

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2011 Chevrolet Cruze LT vs. 2012 Ford Focus SEL, 2011 Hyundai Elantra Limited, 2011 Mazda 3 s Sport, 2011 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 SEL – Comparison Tests

April 29, 2011 at 11:16am by Jared Gall

Startup Sedans: Five perfectly respectable rides for up-and-comers establish a new standard for compact sedans.

Even if two weeks’ worth of Maruchan ramen drains your savings account, there’s something about a rusting mid-’90s Accord on sagging springs that fails to inspire confidence among financial backers or real-estate agents. And when you and the missus are just starting out, you feel that need to be taken seriously more acutely than most. There are certainly cheaper new cars than the group gathered here, but—wrong as it may be—“cheap” is the only reputation many B-segment cars have.

Keep Reading: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze LT vs. 2012 Ford Focus SEL, 2011 Hyundai Elantra Limited, 2011 Mazda 3 s Sport, 2011 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 SEL – Comparison Tests

Tags: American, Chevrolet, Chevrolet Cruze, economy, Ford, Ford Focus, Hyundai, Hyundai Elantra, Japanese, Korean, Mazda, Mazda 3, performance testing, sedan, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Jetta |

View the original article here

2011 Chevrolet Cruze LT vs. 2012 Ford Focus SEL, 2011 Hyundai Elantra Limited, 2011 Mazda 3 s Sport, 2011 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 SEL – Comparison Tests

April 29, 2011 at 11:16am by Jared Gall

Startup Sedans: Five perfectly respectable rides for up-and-comers establish a new standard for compact sedans.

Even if two weeks’ worth of Maruchan ramen drains your savings account, there’s something about a rusting mid-’90s Accord on sagging springs that fails to inspire confidence among financial backers or real-estate agents. And when you and the missus are just starting out, you feel that need to be taken seriously more acutely than most. There are certainly cheaper new cars than the group gathered here, but—wrong as it may be—“cheap” is the only reputation many B-segment cars have.

Keep Reading: 2011 Chevrolet Cruze LT vs. 2012 Ford Focus SEL, 2011 Hyundai Elantra Limited, 2011 Mazda 3 s Sport, 2011 Volkswagen Jetta 2.5 SEL – Comparison Tests

Tags: American, Chevrolet, Chevrolet Cruze, economy, Ford, Ford Focus, Hyundai, Hyundai Elantra, Japanese, Korean, Mazda, Mazda 3, performance testing, sedan, Volkswagen, Volkswagen Jetta |

View the original article here