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Road Test: Comparison Test
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2003 Economy Sedan Comparison Test
Introduction
By
Ed Hellwig, Lead Senior Editor
Date posted: 05-20-2003
Sure, luxury sedans and sports cars get all the glory, but when all you need is a car that's simple, affordable and hassle-free nothing beats an economy sedan. Unfortunately, this no-frills formula often yields thoroughly unappealing cars that most buyers settle for rather than get excited about.
After driving eight of the latest economy four-doors for the better part of two weeks, however, we found that the days of the drab and diminutive economy sedan may be long gone. The latest crop of competitors offers surprising levels of quality, performance, features and space — all while maintaining prices that leave them well within reach of almost any new car buyer.
Our field was determined by a few simple rules. First, the winner of our 2000 Economy Sedan Comparison Test, the Nissan Sentra was invited back to defend its title. Second, only models that have been fully redesigned or received significant updates since the last test could participate this time around. Usually this narrows the field, but in this case we were still left with seven qualifying vehicles: the Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Mazda Protegé, Mitsubishi Lancer, Saturn Ion, Suzuki Aerio and the Toyota Corolla.
In order to divide the truly exceptional from the merely adequate, we scored each car in six different categories: price, performance, features, a 23-point evaluation and each editor's own personal and recommended choices. Although our winner represents what we feel to be the best economy sedan for the money, with so many competitors any of the top three or four cars are worthy of consideration. As we said before, none of these cars will get the blood flowing the way a low-slung sports car or an open-top convertible can, but when it comes to taking the worry, hassle and cost out of car ownership, these cars are hard to beat.
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