2005: The Underdogs

January 13, 2006 - By John LeBlanc

Looks like 2006 is ramping up to be one of the busiest years ever for new car model introductions, making it too easy for some solid performers to get parked in the back lot of car buyers' consciences. Today's latest and greatest can quickly become yesterday's old news. But amidst all of this orange-is-the-new-black hype, here are a half-dozen Cinderellas that shouldn't be overlooked at the new car ball:

COMPACT: VOLKSWAGEN GOLF, $18,530 Honda's Civic may be this month's car of the year, but don't forget VW's compact warhorse. Around since 1999, the fourth-generation, four-door Golf doesn't offer the flash of the Star Wars Civic, and its 2.0-litre gas or 100-horsepower turbodiesel engines mean you can also add deliberate to the Golf's list of adjectives. Plus, it ain't exactly cheap. Nonetheless, the Golf offers an Audi-esque interior that set the benchmark for other carmakers to strive for; ironically, a quality even the new Golf coming in the spring can't match. Throw in the fact that the old madchen drives like a real German car and this is the cheapest autobahn-ready machine on the market. Flavour of the month: Honda Civic

FAMILY SEDAN: SUBARU LEGACY, $28,495 Want an Audi A4 for $10,000 less? Lest you forget Subaru's Legacy, it was revamped just last year with a BMW 3 Series-mimicking cockpit, a hugely improved chassis with a lower engine placement, slightly longer wheelbase and wider track and standard all-wheel drive (something a Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, Mazda6, Ford Fusion et al are all sorely lacking). Even the base Legacy, with its 168-hp, 2.5L flat-four (flat, as in Porsche-flat), does a fantastic job playing the role of European sports sedan or rare-for-this-class sports wagon. A five-star rating in frontal and side-impact crash tests only adds to the underdog Legacy's appeal. Flavours of the month: Ford Fusion, Hyundai Sonata

FAMILY WAGON: FORD FREESTYLE, $33,499 With the impatience of nervous broadcast television executives, Ford seems to have given up on its new crossover, the Freestyle, even before the end of its first season. Too bad, because one could argue that the Freestyle is essentially a half-price version of Volvo's highly regarded XC90. It's based on the same Volvo platform, utilizes the same optional Haldex all-wheel-drive system and has more third-row room than Honda's Pilot, Toyota's Highlander and Ford's own Explorer. Slammed for its somnambulant styling and no V8 option, ironically, the Freestyle's mandatory V6 coupled to a continuously variable transmission (CVT) is one second quicker to 100 kilometres an hour than an XC90 2.5T. Flavours of the month: Ford Edge/Mazda CX-7/ Lincoln MKX

SPORTS CAR: HONDA S2000, $49,800 If you can live without a satellite-based navigation, rear-parking sensor, power folding hardtop, button-adjustable air suspension, traction or stability control or a paddle-shifting Tiptronic, Steptronic, DSG, SMG slushbox, for the price, there's nothing that can provide such a visceral sports car experience. This side of a Formula Ford, you won't find a more driver-focused cockpit. Rock solid at elevated speeds, the S2000's ride is way more compliant than a BMW Z4's. And it's a Honda, so you can drive it without the usual high-maintenance, sports car woes. If owning a Mazda Miata earns you a Bachelor of Arts in Sports Cars, buy an S2000 and graduate to a PhD. Flavour of the month: Mercedes-Benz SLK

LUXURY SPORTS SEDAN: SAAB 9-5, $43,500 The flock has always chased BMW's leading 5 Series. But if your mama didn't raise no ewe, try the energetically enigmatic 9-5. Despite freshened 2006 sedans and wagons arriving with updates to the chassis, interior and exterior, the 9-5 is still old-school Saab with a blown four-banger producing 260 hp (up 10 on last year's) torque-steering the front tires like Chubby Checker. For members of the Anti-Teutonic League, the 9-5's smooth road manners match the equally Scandinavian-suave interiors. Note: BMW is the only other carmaker in this segment that offers an available manual transmission. Where others start in the mid-$70,000 range, check off every option on a 9-5 and you still can't bust through the $55,000 mark. Flavour of the month: Infiniti M

LUXURY SEDAN: JAGUAR VANDEN PLAS, $97,000 Compromising day-to-day luxury for the potential capability to play mountain goat (or at least hop the curb at a Starbucks drive-through), many buyers have ostensibly made the traditional luxury sedan dead. Long live the luxury sport-ute! Not. For those not possessing misty fantasies of scaling Mount Kilimanjaro in climate-controlled comfort, try Jaguar's quintessential luxury sedan. It's remarkably refined and, despite 40-year-old styling cues, surprisingly modern. The big cat represents true luxury in the form of space, grace and --with its lightest-in-class, all- aluminum chassis and a lively 294-hp, 303-pound-feet of torque V8 -- plenty of pace. Flavour of the month: Range Rover Sport Supercharged.

- John LeBlanc, Publisher, www.straight-six.com

© National Post 2005. This article originally appeared in The National Post's Driving.