Editors' Most Wanted Vehicles for 2002

Sport Sedan Under $30,000

Winner: Subaru WRX
"A rally car for the real world, and at a real-world price."

To the delight of Gran Turismo game-playing freaks nationwide, Subaru has finally decided to import the hot WRX to America for 2002, and we've become enamored enough with it to grant it our vote as the sport sedan under $30,000 that we'd most likely buy for ourselves. Sure, this is a detuned WRX compared to the one on sale in Japan, but with 227 horsepower and 217 pound-feet of torque put down to the ground through all four wheels, all wrapped up in a tidy package that weighs a hair over 3,000 pounds, the acceleration run to 60 mph blazes by in just 5.8 seconds, according to Subaru. Detune this. And while it could be said that the WRX has a face only Fuji Heavy Industries could love (FHI owns a majority stake in Subaru), one ride down your favorite canyon road, rain or shine, dirt or paved, will make you forget all about its ugly mug. There's room for four adults inside, and a good-sized trunk completes the tightly assembled package. Subaru calls the WRX "a rally car tamed for the street." Normally, we'd take this as an opportunity to poke a giant hole in some public relations jibber-jabber. But we can't agree more.