The Si has probably the best interior in this cadigory, it may not be a great honda, nor that great looking, but it has the cargo room, the great interior, and enough power to rank it up with these other cars. But the Mazda 3 might have it trumped in the interior department surprizingly. In fact, i'd rank the Mazda 3 above the Focus in every cadigory other than power. I have been very impressed with it, it feels and looks more like a $20k plus car.
The Mini I would probably rank above the Focus as well interior wise, and handling wise definatly on part with the SVT. And even that base model engine is rather peppy with the Mini.
Another option that might be interesting, there were adds in the paper this weekend for brand new 04 RS's and TS's for $16,999... I was surprized to see that.
But personally, for that price range, i'd go with a used car.
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K-man
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