So what happens when you take nine Titans of the automotive industry and pit them against one another? Don't ask us, this is an economy sedan comparison test with little, if anything, to do with Titans.

Actually, these vehicles do attain "Titan" status in one regard: their projected/hoped-for sales figures. Much like full-sized pickup truck sales for the Big Three automakers, economy sedans represent a large chunk of any given car company's total unit sales. As such, you can be certain that while Chevrolet loves to promote its powerful Corvette and Honda enjoys touting the engineering prowess displayed by its S2000, both companies sell far more of their lowly Cavaliers and Civics.

What we discovered after nine days of driving nine different sensible sedans is that the real trick to producing a great economy car is removing, or at least disguising, the "economy" aspects of it as much as possible. Items like a CD player, antilock brakes, and remote keyless entry (not to mention high quality interior materials and a well constructed outer shell) ought not to be reserved for buyers of costly luxury vehicles. Real consumers demand a real car at a realistic price. Thankfully, they can still get one.

The vehicles we chose for this test were all four-door economy sedans with a base sticker price between $13,000 and $17,000. This price included the destination charge for each of our specific sedans, in their specific trim levels, but did not include subsequent options. Our final contestants were: the Chevrolet Cavalier LS, the Daewoo Nubira CDX, the Dodge Neon ES, the Ford Focus SE, the Honda Civic LX, the Hyundai Elantra GLS, the Mazda Protege ES, the Nissan Sentra SE, and the Toyota Corolla LE.

Testing parameters included five different areas that ranged from sticker price to performance testing to editor picks, and also included a meticulous 25-point evaluation and a 12-point feature content list culled by the editorial staff. These five parameters were then added together and averaged to come up with an overall score and final ranking. We also carefully evaluated and ranked the sound systems and rear seat accommodations in each of the nine vehicles. While these scores were figured into the final tally, a link on each vehicle's page will take you to its specific stereo and rear seat evaluations.

When the smoke cleared and the final numbers were crunched we had a clear winner, a near three-way tie for second-place, some surprising mid-pack finishers, and three former economy car icons resting at the bottom. Not even the most grizzled of Edmunds.com editors could have predicted this outcome.