I know this is preaching to the converted, but after the Scion thread, I felt like sharing....
Replacing my trusty '91 Civic Si was going to be a challenge; I was not interested in moving on (it only had 265,000 miles on it) but the issue forced itself - somebody stole it.
So I had to find a small, practical car with good performance and terrific handling, one that I could expect to drive about a quarter-million miles and still enjoy. After careful consideration of the current Civic Si, the Focus SVT, the Subaru WRX, and the Cooper S, I had to apply a very complex and involved methodology to weed out the winner. To wit:
I TEST DROVE THEM.
After that, it was a no-brainer. The WRX was faster, the Civic was more practical, the SVT offered similar performance for a much lower price, and the xA has a great price and the Toyota name behind it, but after half an hour at the wheel of the MCS, there was no discussion needed.
Took delivery ten days ago, and I'm now at risk for TMJ syndrome from the non-stop grinning.
bw