what is/was the best overlooked subcompact or hatchback?

Dodge (Mitsubishi) 2.6L Fire Arrow.....

....oh.....and I second the fwd turbo Colt. A blast.

A Geo Prism GSi was the first car I ever saw autocross.

The Mercury Tracer LTS was an Escort GT twin and pretty overlooked.

Not much love for these either:

I liked the idea, which is usually the kiss of death for a car.

I don't know anything about these, except they were the sportiest Corolla ever sold here.

mmosbey wrote: I might be stretching the definition, but I loved my test drive in this. I was driving a 1997 Miata at the time, and the new 2002 C230 felt almost as tiny and responsive.

I have watched these since new and I still like these. One of my customers had a rich kid that had a higher end Benz and he told me I would hate it since it is a cheap Mercedes. Really? I have no idea Mr. Golden Spoon.

one of my co-workers has one of those.. he cannot wait till it is paid off so he can get rid of it

pinchvalve wrote: Not much love for these either: I liked the idea, which is usually the kiss of death for a car.

Me too. I had a Geo Storm GSi and it was a rocket. Fully independant adjustable suspension 1600 pounds and 145 hp. I always thought it was underapperciated.

Oh boy, here we go with extremely optimistic weight guesses again. It's literally closer to 2600 than 1600...

not by much, though.

....wiki says curb weight of 2282.....so, you're right. Closer to 2600 than 1600.

poopshovel wrote: Wow, there is a wealth of misinformation here.

Welcome to the internet.

David S. Wallens wrote: For a while there--like 20 years ago--the Protege LX was the hot car for Showroom Stock C racing. I almost bought one, but the SE-R won out.

Also overlooked, a Saturn actually won Showroom Stock C for a few years in a row as well. Also won the economy class in One-Lap of America for 3 years straight. This was back around 2001ish.

There you go fact checking. Way to ruin a good story.

Got to second the Turbo Colts

I had one of the 1500 and it was a turbo change and an intercooler from an easy 250HP for cheap. Combine that with really comfy seats and great little car overall.

ProDarwin wrote: Also overlooked, a Saturn actually won Showroom Stock C for a few years in a row as well. Also won the economy class in One-Lap of America for 3 years straight. This was back around 2001ish.

Well, Saturns have an all aluminum drivetrain and an plastic construction so they weigh roughly 1200lb with driver. Plus they are DOHC, so they make about 100hp/l. 190hp in a 1200lb car is going to be a rocket.

(hey, if we're speading disinformation in this thread, I'm going to introduce my own.)

Vigo wrote:

1st-gen CRXs are featherweight (1400lb)

Sorry but thats a crock. More like 1850-1900 stock i think, and if you manage to take 450 lbs out of a car like THAT and still feel comfortable driving it on the street.. you're pretty much crazy. I just sold an 85 CRX HF, factory curb weight was ~1710 lbs. I really liked the car, but it had no factory AC system and my 2001 Insight does (and even beats the HF's 42mpg), so i let it go and bought something else with the money. In all i really liked the car and im sure the Si is much more fun. And i sure hope it handles 100% better because that 85 CRX was just about the worst handling car i have ever driven...

My '85 CRX si weighed 1780 lbs with a roll cage in it and full of gas. Otherwise stock as far as anything that would have effected the weight. No BS, it was weighed on a certified scale.

Knurled wrote:

ProDarwin wrote: Also overlooked, a Saturn actually won Showroom Stock C for a few years in a row as well. Also won the economy class in One-Lap of America for 3 years straight. This was back around 2001ish.

Well, Saturns have an all aluminum drivetrain and an plastic construction so they weigh roughly 1200lb with driver. Plus they are DOHC, so they make about 100hp/l. 190hp in a 1200lb car is going to be a rocket. (hey, if we're speading disinformation in this thread, I'm going to introduce my own.)

I could've sworn Mike won SSC more than once, but oh well.

2003 Showroom Stock C Win: http://www.theracesite.com/04print.cfm?form_article=5887
2001 One Lap of America Economy Class Win: http://www.onelapofamerica.com/event/Results.do?eventId=19&res=OVL_CL06
2002 One Lap of America Economy Class Win: http://www.onelapofamerica.com/event/Results.do?eventId=20&res=OVL_CL07
2003 One Lap of America Economy Class Win: http://www.onelapofamerica.com/event/Results.do?eventId=22&res=OVL_CL07

Ford Escort LX-E.

P10 G20 Nissan S12

Datsun310Guy wrote: I have watched these since new and I still like these. One of my customers had a rich kid that had a higher end Benz and he told me I would hate it since it is a cheap Mercedes. Really? I have no idea Mr. Golden Spoon.

Perhaps "cheap Mercedes" is similar to "cheap Lotus," especially ones from the biodegradable wiring era.

The last generation Celica GT-S was always a really underrated car IMO.

6 speed, 8000rpm redline, and 180hp.

03-05 Accent Hatch. Under 2300lbs, 110hp and easy to make more power, handle better.

I LOVED my AE101 Corolla - really handled pretty well, and theres a lot of room for improvement under the hood...also, 20v 4age bolts right up (not mine, but looks pretty good IMHO)

bearmtnmartin wrote: Me too. I had a Geo Storm GSi and it was a rocket. Fully independant adjustable suspension 1600 pounds and 145 hp. I always thought it was underapperciated.

Geo Storm GSi was going to be my suggestion.

...along with the twin cam Saturn coupes.

Both are now dead GM orphans with a bad image in the public eye.

E70 Corolla. AE86 chassis minus the drift tax.

The original, 2,000 lb~ish Hyundai Accent.