Small car brands

Below we highlight the most popular and the most significant sedan brands, with a synopsis of traits common among their sedans.

BMW

BMW has long set the standard for European-style "driver's cars." We have long given BMW high marks for the cars' agility, handling finesse, sophisticated engineering, and impeccable fit and finish. We have criticized the lack of rear seat room in the smaller models and the over complexity of some controls, as well as persistent small gripes such as inadequate cup holders and mediocre radio reception. Reliability has not been BMW's long suit. Some models hold up well, some assuredly do not.

Chevrolet

Chevrolet is an iconic, all-American brand, though its smallest offering, the Aveo, is a mediocre car made by the successor to the Korean Daewoo company. While the larger Cobalt was no great shakes either, it's due to be replaced by the Cruze, which could turn out to be a lot better.

Ford

Ford has turned a corner in reliability, compared with the rest of Detroit, with most Ford products, especially newer designs, scoring average or better on our reliability surveys. The Focus used to be tops in its class, earlier in the decade, but now is only midpack.

Honda

For years, Honda made a name for itself, and a good one, selling just two vehicles in the U.S., the Civic and Accord. While it now competes in other segments, the Civic and Accord remain vastly popular cars for the right reasons: They are high quality, reasonably priced, and have excellent reliability.

Nissan

In recent years, Nissan has made marked improvements in interior quality and packaging, though fuel economy and dynamic performance are midpack. It offers the subcompact but roomy Versa and the small Sentra.

Scion

The youth-focused division of Toyota, Scion is focused on small, affordable cars with design personality and clever features. The xD provides very good fuel economy at an affordable price.

Toyota

Known for fuel economy and quality, Toyota offers several small cars with varied personalities and test scores. The subcompact Yaris is reliable and inexpensive but one of our lowest-rated cars. The Corolla is a well-balanced sedan with great fuel economy.

Volkswagen

A specialist in small and midsized cars, Volkswagen can be counted on for excellent fit and finish, crisp handling and good ride composure. Reliability has been spotty--good one year, poor the next. That's a shame, because otherwise the cars score high in our tests and are fun to drive.