What's the Most Affordable Compact Sedan?

Car shoppers want a long list of features in a new car, even if that car is a compact sedan that starts around $16,000. That starting price usually doesn't include what many consider "must-have" features — chief among them an automatic transmission.

We took 11 compact sedans and looked at their prices when equipped with the following features:

• Automatic transmission
• Cruise control
• USB input
• Remote entry
• Tilt/telescoping steering wheel
• Steering-wheel audio controls

It may seem like a simple search, but if you're looking at a new Nissan Sentra, Dodge Dart or Volkswagen Jetta, you'll need to know the specific trim level, options and option packages to ensure you won't regret not having that one missing feature.

We took those as-equipped prices and then added five years of fuel costs to come up with the most affordable compact sedan on the market.

Having recently purchased our long-term Honda Civic that has all of these features in a base model, we thought it had a good shot of scoring well here. But the results were somewhat surprising, especially in terms of what car was No. 1.

Ford Escort Concept: First Look

• Looks like: A more formal Ford Focus sedan
• Defining characteristics: Multi-element headlights, extended wheelbase
• Ridiculous features: None really, it looks ready to build
• Chance of being mass-produced: A slightly longer Focus aimed at the biggest part of the Chinese market? Chances are good

The compact car segment is the largest global segment, with more compacts sold around the world than any other kind of car — and China is rapidly becoming the biggest market for such cars. In China, however, the compact car segment is further divided into three types: low, mid and high.

Ford has the high-compact segment covered with the fairly expensive Focus, and now it's looking to see how it can get into the even bigger midcompact segment with a new concept car just unveiled at the Shanghai motor show. Behold the Ford Escort Concept, a thoroughly new car with a classic Ford name.

Toyota, Ford Duke It Out in Sales Number War

Ford said Tuesday that the Focus was the world's No. 1 best-selling car in 2012, with 1.02 million sales — a healthy lead over the second-place Toyota Corolla's 872,774. The automaker cited registration data from well-known consulting firm R.L. Polk.

Now Toyota begs to differ, and it's making the rounds today to tell its side of the story.

"Toyota sold 1.16 million Corolla vehicles globally in 2012, compared to 1.02 million Focus nameplate registrations recently attributed to R.L. Polk by Ford Motor Co.," spokesman Mike Michels said in an emailed statement. "Corolla sedan alone sold 1.08 million. Corolla registrations attributed to Polk come up short by nearly 300,000 units. This discrepancy is glaring, and we have requested clarification."

America's 11th Best-Seller Was World's No. 1

The Ford Focus may not have made America's top 10 best-selling cars of 2012 list — it ranked 11th — but Ford says its compact car was No. 1 globally last year. Citing registration data from industry forecaster R.L. Polk, the automaker said it sold 1.02 million Focuses worldwide. One in four were sold in China, the world's largest passenger-car market since 2010. The Focus became China's best-selling passenger car for the first time in 2012, Ford says.

Another quarter of sales came from the U.S., where Focus sales rocketed 40%. Ford adds that among global sellers, the F-Series pickup — America's perennial best-seller — ranks third. The Fiesta subcompact, meanwhile, ranks sixth.

But the Focus stole the show. And, we should note, it's the same car worldwide. That wasn't the case with the prior Focus, which Ford reworked twice to keep in U.S. showrooms through the 2000s while Europe got a bona fide second-gen car. What are the other 2012 global best-sellers? USA Today reports the list:

Recall Alert: 2013 Ford C-Max, Focus and Escape

Ford is recalling 5,675 model-year 2013 versions of the C-Max, Focus and Escape due to faulty child safety door locks, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It's the first recall for Ford's new C-Max hatchback.

The affected vehicles were manufactured from Nov. 16-21, 2012 (check your vehicle's build date on a sticker on the driver-side doorjamb). In these vehicles, the child lock mechanism on the door may not engage, increasing the risk of accident and injury if a child is able to get the door open. Ford reports that there have been no injuries associated with the defect.

The automaker will notify owners later this month, and dealers will inspect and replace the affected parts for free. Owners can call Ford at 866-436-7332 or NHTSA's vehicle safety hotline at 888-327-4236 for more info. 

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10 Cars for $10K: The Best Used Cars for $10,000

At Cars.com, we focus on new cars, but when it comes to overall car sales, used cars own the field. CNW Marketing Research reports shoppers bought more than 40 million of them in 2012, the highest total since 2007. For every new car sold, nearly three used cars changed hands.

Shoppers are still taking the used route despite near-record used-car prices, which soared so high that we suspended our $10,000 used-car recommendations — once a regular Cars.com feature — for two years. Blame the recession, which slashed new-car sales and the resulting supply of late-model used cars that are typically traded in for them.

Used-car prices are coming back to earth, according to Manheim's Used Vehicle Value Index, but that's not to say used-car prices are low again. They have ebbed enough to give $10K cars another go.

2013 Ford Focus ST at Roebling Road Raceway Video

The high-performance version of Ford's compact car is a blast to drive says Cars.com reviewer Joe Wiesenfelder. Exceptional handling and an exciting powertrain are two big wins for the Focus ST hatchback. Inside, height-adjustable Recaro sport seats held Wiesenfelder in during his sprint around the track at the Roebling Road Raceway just outside of Savannah, Ga.

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2013 Ford Focus ST at Roebling Road Raceway: Photo Gallery

Ford's pocket-rocket is powered by a 252-horsepower, turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that produces 270 pounds-feet of torque. A manual transmission is standard. With its peppy powertrain, sport-tuned suspension, uprated shocks and springs, and styling that's full of attitude, the 2013 Ford Focus ST was a blast to drive around the track at Roebling Road Raceway in Georgia.

Check out the Cars.com photographer Evan Sears' pictures below.

Why the Dodge Dart Has a Long Way to Go

Dodge sold just 7,154 Dart sedans in January — better than December 2012, but a shabby performance when you consider that Honda moved 21,881 Civics, Ford sold 16,161 Focuses and Toyota moved 23,822 Corollas and Matrixes. Dodge dealers opened January with a glut of Darts — 141 days' worth, to be exact. That's more than double the days' supply for the Chevrolet Cruze and more than triple the supply of the Civic and Focus.

January marks the seventh full month of Dart sales, and it's been a slow start for the compact sedan. The Wall Street Journal reports Dodge parent Chrysler cut a factory shift at its facility in Dundee, Mich., which makes one of the Dart's engines, due to slow sales. At January's North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Chrysler-Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne admitted that the Dart's dual-clutch automatic transmission and high mix of stick-shift cars at launch reflected "powertrain solutions that, in today's world and in hindsight, were not and are not the ideal solution."

The drivetrains don't help, but there may be another factor in play: Dodge's compact sedan is only that — a sedan. Compact cars offer the most diverse body styles. The Corolla has a Matrix offshoot, the Civic comes as a sedan or coupe, the Focus and Mazda3 include a hatchback and sedan, and the Hyundai Elantra scores a trifecta: sedan, coupe and hatch.

Ford Offers Big Deals on Focus Electric

Hoping to spark consumer interest in the Ford Focus Electric — one of the weakest-selling electric vehicles on the market — the automaker announced deep discounts, including $10,750 off a three-year lease, according to The Detroit News.

With the so-called Red Carpet leases, customers can get a 36-month lease with 10,500 miles a year for $285 a month (a nearly 20% discount from last year's price) and $930 due at signing, the newspaper reported. In addition, Ford has lowered the EV's base price by $2,000 for cash sales, and for cars purchased through Ford Motor Credit, there's a $2,000 discount and zero-percent financing for 36, 48 or 60 months or 1.9% financing for 72 months. Ford now lists the Focus Electric with a cash-only base price of $37,995, a $2,000 discount from last year, according to the newspaper.

In 2012, Ford sold only about 42% of the more than 1,600 Focus Electrics built, the newspaper reported. The automaker's price reduction follows news of Nissan's 18% discount on the 2013 Leaf after disappointing sales.

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