This isn't really a 'small' car, but it's small to me so I'll mention it. I just rented a Chrysler 200 (ya, that's a 2, not a 3). It had 4 miles on it and it was a bare bones ride. I was very impressed with its acceleration. Damn thing winds up to 6500 quicker than hell and pulls pretty darn hard from about 3000 up. It had crappy tires so it was soft in the cornering, but I'm sure it would handle pretty good with real tires. Deceivingly large trunk space as well as good interior room. Anyone looking for a car this size might want to take one of these for a spin. I'd like to see what the loaded models are like.