The Quickest Cars of 2007: $25,000 to $30,000.

Tenth Place: Subaru Forester 2.5XT
Ninth Place: Pontiac Grand Prix GXP
Eighth Place: Pontiac Solstice GXP/Saturn Sky Red Line (manual)
Seventh Place: Chevrolet Impala SS
Sixth Place: Nissan 350Z
Fifth Place: Mazdaspeed 6
Fourth Place: Subaru Legacy 2.5GT
Third Place: Pontiac Solstice GXP/Saturn Sky Red Line (automatic)
Second Place: Ford Mustang GT
First Place: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution RS

BY JARED HOLSTEIN, PHOTOGRAPHY BY AARON KILEY, MORGAN SEGAL, AND THE MANUFACTURERS

For all the coolness of a car that goes 180 mph, that has about as much relevance to the average driver in this country as a 180-foot yacht. Accelerating from a start, on the other hand, is sort of legal in every state in the U.S., barring law-enforcement officers with an inflated sense of purpose (don't ask how we know about "Unsafe Start" statutes).

Below are the 10 quickest vehicles available with a base price between $25K and $30K, ranked in order of 0-to-60-mph time. Ties were settled first by quarter-mile time, then by which was quicker to the highest speed both cars achieved (usually 120 or 130 mph), in that order. Most cars at this price point offer basic luxury or at least decent amenities and looks in addition to speed, as buck-banger boy-racer models are thousands less, maybe having something to do with the fact that burger-flipper wages haven't budged in nine years.


There's an arms race among auto manufacturers, with weapons of displacement, compression, and boost being waged segment- and industry-wide. It's no surprise that most entries in this list are not cut from traditional sports-car cloth; of the 10 vehicles here, one is an SUV and six have four or more doors.

First Place: The Quickest Cars of 2007: 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution RS

Base price: $29,774 (2006)
0-to-60-mph time: 5.1 sec
Quarter-mile time: 13.5 sec @ 103 mph

The mighty Lancer Evo IX, Mitsubishi's Cinderella, launches onto this list as the quickest and most expensive vehicle, barely making the $30K cut. And this is for the stripper RS version (sheds weight, not clothes), which foregoes amenities such as power windows and locks, a radio, sound deadening, and the gigantesque rear wing. Most every superlative has been showered on the Evo family barring "beautiful," and it remains one of the most delicious driving machines money can buy, at any price.

The Evo is quick, but it barely squeaked its way onto this list. Technically, there are no 2007 Evos (as we await the '08 Evo X, due in about a year), but Mitsubishi officials assured us that there are plenty of 2006s still available, so here it is.

We posted a 5.1-second 0-to-60 time, a slower figure than earlier cars, in which we've gotten to 60 mph in the four-second range. Optimal launches require quite a bit of clutch slip, and as soon as Mitsubishi announced its company-wide 10-year mechanical warranty, the Evo received a 5000-rpm rev limiter when stopped to promote a less warranty-involving launch.

The World Rally Championship, for which the Evo was born, features standing starts, so the AWD drivetrain is up to the abuse; there, 7000-rpm clutch drops are the norm. The Evo packs just two liters of displacement (stemming from FIA rally regulations), every cubic centimeter of which is packed with up to an astonishing 20.1 psi of compressed air and fuel via a twin-scroll turbocharger. Assisted by MIVEC variable valve timing, the engine produces 286 horsepower and 289 lb-ft of torque, distributed by a five- or six-speed transmission, a transfer case, and any of three limited-slip differentials.

All that power is mated to an unexpected four-door chassis (you may remember the econocar Mirage), fitted with a superb unequal-length control-arm, forged-aluminum suspension; sticky Yokohama Advan tires; and Brembo brakes on all four corners.

Mashing the accelerator going straight will impress you less than squeezing the throttle on corner exit, the car meeting your request with equal parts dreamy steering, endless grip, and gut-churning thrust.

VEHICLE TYPE: front-engine, 4-wheel-drive, 5-passenger, 4-door sedan

BASE PRICE: $29,774 (2006)

ENGINE TYPE: turbocharged and intercooled DOHC 16-valve inline-4, iron block and aluminum head, port fuel injection
Displacement: 122 cu in, 1997cc
Power (SAE net): 286 bhp @ 6500 rpm
Torque (SAE net): 289 lb-ft @ 3500 rpm

TRANSMISSION: 5-speed manual

DIMENSIONS:
Wheelbase: 103.3 in
Length: 178.5 in
Width: 69.7 in
Height: 57.1 in
Curb weight: 3291 lb

C/D TEST RESULTS:
Zero to 60 mph: 5.1 sec
Zero to 100 mph: 12.5 sec
Zero to 140 mph: 32.7 sec
Street start, 5-60 mph: 6.7 sec
Standing ¼-mile: 13.5 sec @ 103 mph
Top speed (redline limited): 148 mph
Braking, 70-0 mph: 155 ft
Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.94 g

FUEL ECONOMY:
EPA city/highway driving: 19/25 mpg