Comparison Tests
Our goal was to drop monofilament line and sharpened hook into the vehicular stream, then wait to see how many bottom feeders would rise to the bait. Actually, "bottom feeders" proved an unfair descriptor. We're talkin' $15,000 entry-level economobiles here, a niche recently stirred into vibrancy by the threat of three-dollar fuel. What we learned is that this species is no longer the domain of the "penalty box," a term previously applied to the desperate duds of yore.
Remember the Yugo?
Today, there exist econoboxes aplenty with base prices in the $15,000 region, including the Chevy Cobalt, Ford Focus, and Honda Civic. Properly equipped, though, those models can easily empty wallets to the tune of 18 grand. And the truth is, we were more curious about the extra-petite newcomers - the Dodge Caliber, the Honda Fit, the Nissan Versa, and the Toyota Yaris. We asked for a new Aveo sedan, but Chevy says it won't be ready for months. Then we fleshed out our school of guppies with more familiar fish - the Suzuki Reno, the Hyundai Accent, and the Kia Rio.
With that, we had an artful group of seven, perfect for touring the birthplaces of the seven Presidents who hail from Ohio. This 1000-mile clockwise trek, during which our contestants averaged an honorable 31 mpg, led us across the top of the state and down through the steel triangle of Niles, Youngstown, and Akron. We raced past the capitol in Columbus, then along the muddy Ohio River from Portsmouth to Cincinnati. And then we beat it north, in a straight shot paralleling the Indiana border. In all, we spent four days zinging front-drive inline-fours connected to manual transmissions, stopping every few hours to explain ourselves to not-very-amused museum curators with blue hair.
