Compact Sport Sedan Comparison

The Players
A new five-door version of last year's sport-compact champ SVT Focus ($21,350) gets new turbocharged competition via the well-balanced MazdaSpeed Protege ($20,500) and explosive Dodge SRT-4 ($19,995).

The Game
Factory-built, warranted sport compacts raise the performance bar.

The streets of America, as it turns out, are an equal-opportunity playground. Show up with the right look and hardware that says you mean business and very cool things are possible.

Nearly a half-century ago, it's doubtful General Motors could've anticipated the long-running popularity of its '55-'57 Chevy or Ford Motor Company its '65-'70 Mustang. But the public embraced these mass-produced fountains of youth, and an aftermarket-parts industry grew up around them. The same thing happened with Honda Civics and Accords in the '80s and '90s: Simple, fun-to-drive, volume-manufactured econoboxes that with a few bolt-on enhancements started the sport-compact-car movement.

Now other car companies are keeping an eye on the youth market and attempting to tap into that magic, as well. We're talking about factory tuner cars, offering an integrated package of engine, chassis, and body bits with a warranty--all at a friendly, welcome-to-the-brand price. They're built in relatively small numbers, a couple thousand here and there. Ford's Special Vehicle Team builds the SVT Mustang, SVT Lightning, and SVT Focus. Chrysler's Performance Vehicle Operations brings us the Dodge Viper SRT-10 (Street/ Road/Track/10 cylinders), the Neon-based SRT-4, and soon the Dodge Ram SRT-10 pickup. MazdaSpeed is the new clearing house for such fast and furious Mazdas as the MazdaSpeed Protege and upcoming MazdaSpeed6--and even a turbocharged Miata.

Don't for one minute confuse these new offerings with the paint, tape-stripe, and body-cladding specials some automakers have foisted upon an unsuspecting public, often with few or no enhancements to engine or suspension. These sport compacts are the real deal.