Tops for 2010: Sport compact fury at a not-so-furious price - Off Duty, Automotive - Air Force Times

Tops for 2010: Sport compact fury at a not-so-furious price

• 2010 MazdaSpeed3

Base MSRP: $23,945

If we were talking handguns, the MazdaSpeed3 would fit the profile of the new Taurus Judge (a revolver that chambers .410 shotgun shells). Like the Judge, the 3 is small, but it packs a devastating punch: 263 turbocharged, direct-injected and intercooled horsepower driving the front wheels through a six-speed manual transmission. Read that last part again and note the part about “front wheels.” The MazdaSpeed3 lays rubber through two wheels, not four — which makes it the most powerful car of its type on the road. Even sweeter, it’s cheaper. The sticker price of this hatchback hot rod is almost 10 grand less than an all-wheel-drive Mitsubishi EVO ($32,990) and nearly 12 grand less than a Subaru WRX STi ($34,995).

• 2010 Kia Forte SX Koupe

Base MSRP: $19,900 (estimated

Directly targeting cars like the Honda Civic Si and Scion Tc, the Forte Koupe is expected to share the standard and optional engines used in the 2010 Forte sedan, including the sedan’s optional 173 hp 2.4 liter engine, with six-speed manual transmission. The Koupe makes its debut this fall and should be hitting dealers in early Spring 2010.