BEST NEW SMALL CAR (Under $21K), by Chris Chase
Officially, this was a six-car race, but unofficially, only five ever had a chance. The Mazda3 Skyactiv Sedan took first place by three points over the Kia Rio sedan, and the Nissan Sentra finished another nine points back of the Kia for third spot.
In fact, there was a 17-point spread between the first-place Mazda3 Skyactiv sedan and the fifth-place Toyota Prius C—and then there was the poor Chevrolet Spark, which finished another 36 points behind the Prius C.
It’s clear that the tiny Spark would have been a better fit in the City Car category, but entry to that group was limited to purely electric vehicles. The Spark lost points not only for being the smallest car by a fair margin, but also for an as-tested price nearly $1,000 more than that Kia Rio. General Motors would have done well to enter a Spark priced closer to its $13,495 starting point, a move that would have at least earned it points in the subjective value vote. It struck me that Chevrolet has positioned the Spark in this contest to compete with more fashionable small cars, like the Fiat 500, Smart Fortwo, and Scion iQ. The Spark is not without merit, but it is more appealing closer to the low end of its price range, rather than the $18,000(!) price tag attached to the one entered in this category.
After we’d completed our official category testing on Wednesday, other writers asked me which vehicle I thought would win in this Small Car Under $21K group. The Mazda3 was my pick all along, a decision based on the fact that this car always does well in Car of the Year voting, no matter how long it has been since its last major redesign (which, in this case, was the 2010 model year). It was eligible for this year’s contest because of its new Skyactiv powertrain.
The Kia Rio placed second partly for being a decent car, but mostly for being a decent car loaded up with a lot of standard kit at a very attractive price. Finally, third place went to the Nissan Sentra. This totally redesigned car competes with compacts on price, but comes with a mid-sized interior. The Dodge Dart, which finished a respectable fourth, was notable for its TigerShark 2.0L engine, which isn’t particularly strong, but runs very smoothly and sounds fantastic (relative to most economy cars) when pressed for maximum power.
By this point, you all know my thoughts on the Toyota Prius C, which placed fifth. Despite being the only hybrid of the bunch, this car was a good fit in this category. It also proved that choosing the base car’s 15-inch wheels allows a tighter turning circle than my long-term tester, which sported optional 16-inch alloy wheels. They look better, but the compromise in maneuverability isn’t worth it.
BEST NEW SMALL CAR (Under $21K), Second Opinion by Greg Wilson
Of the six contestants in this category, one was a microcar, two were subcompacts, and three were compact cars. The microcar, the Chevrolet Spark, came in last place because it just couldn’t compete with the others on performance, vehicle dynamics, interior size, and ride comfort. Its 0 to 100 km/h time of 14.1 seconds, for example, was 2.4 seconds slower than the next slowest car, the Toyota Prius c hybrid. Ouch!
The economical Prius c, which came in fifth, had the best fuel economy by far of any of the entrants, and testers liked its interior and cargo capacity, but weren’t that impressed with its performance and handling even though it had the shortest braking distance. The other subcompact, the Kio Rio LX+, did much better, even beating out the larger Dodge Dart and Nissan Sentra. At $16,695, the Rio LX+ was the lowest priced car of the bunch, even cheaper than the Spark, giving it high marks for value. Its attractive styling, comfortable interior, and nimble handling gave it enough points to earn second place.
Personally, I thought the third place Nissan Sentra and fourth place Dodge Dart were better cars than the smaller Rio, but I was obviously out-voted here. The new Nissan Sentra is a big improvement over the previous model. It’s roomy, quiet, comfortable and easy to drive with the second-best average fuel economy of the group of 5.8 L/100 km. Despite its continuously variable transmission, it’s almost as quick to 100 km/h as the second-place Rio. But it’s not particularly fun to drive, and that may have been why it was bested by the Rio.
The real surprise in this category was the poor showing of the Dodge Dart. Despite earning the highest marks for interior styling, features, cabin quietness, and ride comfort, it fell short of the Rio, Sentra, and Mazda3 in fuel economy and acceleration and was relegated to fourth place. This Italian-derived compact sedan deserved much better—it should be on your test drive list if you’re looking for a small car under $21K.
The winner here was the Mazda3 SkyActiv sedan, which got top marks for performance and handling, driving position and ergonomics, and quality (tied with Sentra). It’s more of a driver’s car than the other contenders, and has been a favourite with AJAC journalists since it won Car of the Year in 2004. Still, I was a little surprised that its aging exterior and interior design elicited such enthusiasm from journalists who are always on top of the latest trends. And its oft-promoted fuel-saving Skyactiv powertrain isn’t as fuel-efficient as the powertrains of the Sentra, Rio, and Prius c. Yes, the Mazda3 Skyactiv is a good car, but it wasn’t my top choice here.
