AutoGuide Under $30,000 Performance Car Shootout – Part Three: And the Winner Is…

Yesterday we eliminated five cars from the 2014 AutoGuide Under $30,000 Performance Car Shootout.

That leaves the final three, which are all completely different takes on affordable fun. Weren’t we surprised when the numbers were tabulated and the top cars included not just all-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive and front-wheel drive rivals, but a hatchback, a sedan and a coupe.

The Scion FR-S is a low-slung, rear-wheel drive sports coupe built without compromises. The Ford Fiesta ST is a sub-compact hatchback jacked on steroids. And finally we have the sensible, all-wheel drive Subaru sedan, that also just so happens to deliver awesome amounts of turbocharged thrust.

This is it, time to crown a victor. Who is your money on?

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AutoGuide Under $30,000 Performance Car Shootout – Part Two: Track Test Elimination Round

Yesterday we took eight fun-to-drive performance vehicles under $30,000 and put them through their paces on the street.

After much deliberation, we chose the 2014 Ford Fiesta ST as the king of the street. Despite a somewhat harsh ride, nothing else matches the raw, hilariously fun driving experience behind the wheel.

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AutoGuide Under $30,000 Performance Car Shootout

Sporty cars are not dead. Rumors of their demise are premature. Thrill-packed machinery litters the automotive landscape, available to suit nearly every budget.

When it comes to motoring fun, one of the most intriguing segments is the under $30,000 price bracket, where several enticing choices can be found in a variety of shapes and sizes.

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Scion Announces SEMA Tuner Challenge Competitors

The 2014 Scion Tuner Challenge competitors have been revealed.

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AutoGuide Now For The Week Of August 11

With eight sporty cars in the AutoGuide.com garage, we are understandably excited about this week. Did we also mention that we’re spending it at our home test track?

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Most Read Car Reviews of the Week: July 27 – August 3

Scion has updated its FR-S sports car for the 2015 model year, and our review of the car proved to be the most popular on AutoGuide.com this past week. 

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July 2014: Sales Winners and Losers

It’s that time of the month again, folks. For a collectively painful but short period of time, manufacturers are putting their usual press release repertoire to the side, instead focusing on what really matters: the almighty dollar.

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Toyota GT86 CS-R3 Rally Car Heading to WRC

Toyota’s newest rally car might not be competition ready, but we’ll be able to see it in action next month.

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Scion Mulling Compact Crossover for Lineup

Toyota is planning to rejuvenate its Scion brand with a revamped lineup that could include a crossover.

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2015 Scion FR-S TRD Project Car Review

Ever since Toyota launched the FR-S in 2013, car fans have been playing a game of “What If.”

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2015 Scion FR-S Review

“Tail happy.” It is one of the happiest phrases in the auto writer’s lexicon and one of the traits we value most in a sports car. “Tail happy” refers to a car biased towards gentle oversteer, in other words it’s a car that will allow the back end of the car to fishtail when taken to its limits of traction.

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Top 5 Least Appealing Car Brands

A big factor in selling cars is the power of the brand a model is tied to. With that in mind, these five brands must have a tough time moving units at their dealerships.

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Top 10 Cars We're Tired Of Waiting For

“Soon” is quite possibly the least satisfying answer possible, yet we hear it countless times about exciting new cars.

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AutoGuide Gearing Up To Tackle Targa Newfoundland

AutoGuide hot-shoe Dave Pratte is headed to Newfoundland, Canada in September, piloting a Scion FR-S with fellow Speed.Academy Editor Peter Tarach during the grueling Targa Newfoundland tarmac rally.

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Wild Toyota GT86 Spied Nurburgring Testing

When these spy photos hit our inbox, we were skeptical right away. 

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Scion FR-S Competing in 2014 Pikes Peak Hill Climb

The Scion FR-S will return to this year’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

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Scion FR-S Hybrid Unlikely Says Toyota

Though it could improve performance, a Scion FR-S hybrid is unlikely.

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Scion Lineup to Include Sedan, New 5-Door Hatchback

Toyota’s struggling Scion brand will soon get some much needed new product, with an insider confirming a new hatchback will be added to the lineup as well as a product the brand has never before offered, a sedan.

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2015 Scion TC Gets Standard Paddle Shifters, New Colors

Scion has announced a few small updates along with pricing for the 2015 tC, which carries the same base price of $19,965 including delivery. 

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2015 Scion FR-S Handling Enhanced

Toyota is adding some upgrades to the Scion FR-S for the 2015 model year, which will bump the base price up by $200 to $25,655.

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Toyota GT 86 Convertible Back on the Table

Rumors of the Scion FR-S (Toyota GT86) family growing are back on the table.

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Scion Canada Wants Owners to Go Racing So Badly They'll Pay Them Just to Show Up

Scion Canada has just announced a motorsports contingency program for 2014 that’s so aggressive, it will literally pay owners just for showing up.

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The Scion FR-S Needs More Power Says Nissan Product Boss

What’s wrong with the Scion FR-S? According to one Nissan exec, it’s too slow.

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Toyota GT86 Suspension Upgrades Might Reach FR-S

The Toyota GT86, Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ are all the same car, but each is not created equal depending on where in the world they will be sold. 

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Scion Unveiling Next-Gen Model at Los Angeles Auto Show

We will get our first look into Scion‘s future at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show.

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Scion FR-S Release Series 1.0 is All Show and No Go

Since Scion launched its affordable sports car in 2013, customers have been demanding a faster version, and the brand is finally delivering… sort of. 

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Scion FR-S Release Series 1.0 Coming This Fall

Scion is readying an even hotter version of its FR-S and it’ll be arriving this fall.

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Scion XB Release Series 10 Has a Hint of Lime

There’s a high-tech version of the Scion xB set to debut at the 2014 New York Auto Show.

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Toyota Debuts Gran Turismo-Based GT86 Data Logger

Toyota and Sony want you to relive your track experience in Gran Turismo 6, and has created the technology to do so.

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Scion Social Media Contest Could Send You to San Diego Comic-Con

Want to head to San Diego for this year’s Comic-Con International event? Scion might be your ticket.

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March 2014 Auto Sales: Winners and Losers

Spring is here and the U.S. automotive market saw its overall sales rise six percent in March, shaking off the slow start to 2014.

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Top 10 Worst Vehicles to Drive in a Zombie Apocalypse

Ok, so the worst just happened, like something totally NOT GOOD. Perhaps a natural disaster has devastated your country; maybe a virulent disease or food-borne illness is spreading throughout the population; conceivably even the hand of God has reached down from on high and caused an outright nuclear meltdown. Whatever the reason, things are seriously jacked.

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Top 10 Most Fuel Efficient Hatchbacks Under $25K

Would you believe that you could get a vehicle with a 50-mpg combined rating for under $25,000?

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Scion FR-S Yearly Updates Promised By Lead Engineer

Despite reports of unsatisfactory sales, Tetsuya Tada, lead engineer of the Scion FR-S, Toyota GT 86 and Subaru BRZ took to Facebook to tease new updates to the rear-wheel drive sports-car.

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Scion FR-S Variants in Doubt Due to Poor Sales

Given how popular the Scion FR-S is with the automotive media, including ourselves, it might come as a surprise that sales of the sports car aren’t exactly impressive.

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Miata Madness: Nissan 370Z Vs. Ford Mustang Vs. Subaru BRZ

Unlike past installments of Ask AutoGuide we’re taking a moment to help one of our own this week. Don’t like it? Well then, how about you send us some car-buying questions then? How’s that sound? In any event road-test editor Mike Schlee could use a new ride. He’s the proud owner of a first-generation Mazda Miata that’s sitting just shy of 200,000 miles.

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January 2014 Auto Sales: Winners and Losers

Welcome to 2014! Apparently in Chinese Astrology it’s the year of the “wood horse” but let’s hope this timber pony can canter away and carry the auto industry to continuing sales success. Which brands drove away with buckets of cash and which ones took a tumble down the stairs? Let’s take a peek at last month’s showroom winners and losers.

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Scion FR-S Convertible Still Under Study

Although there have been reports to the contrary, Scion is still investigating the feasibility of bringing a convertible version of the FR-S to market. 

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10 Awesome Toyota GT 86s From the 2014 Tokyo Auto Salon

If you thought the hype in Japan around the Toyota GT 86 and Subaru BRZ would die any time soon, think again. This year’s Tokyo Auto Salon continued to be packed with both makes, as the Japanese aftermarket continues to embrace the platform.

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Scion FR-S Monogram Series Gets Premium Features

Scion is offering a new premium trim level called the monogram series for those interested in more content inside either the FR-S or tC. 

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December 2013 Auto Sales: Winners and Losers

The numbers are in, figures tabulated and Champaign corks popped. It’s a brand-new year and 2013 is forever in the rear-view mirror. New-vehicle sales for December have finally been reported.

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Scion FR-S Sedan Might Get Turbo-Hybrid Power

Rumors of a Scion FR-S sedan model have been floating around all year long but now they’re picking up steam, with the latest claiming that the car will arrive in 2016 with a turbocharged engine mated to a hybrid drivetrain. 

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Top 10 Most Reliable Cars Under $25K

In the market for a cheap, affordable vehicle that won’t cause you headaches after a few years of ownership? AutoGuide has compiled a Top 10 list of the most reliable vehicles on today’s market under $25,000 based on data from Consumer Reports‘ 2013 Annual Auto Survey.

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Giving Thanks to the Automakers in 2013

It’s that time of year again; time for extended families to cram together around an all-too-small table, eat themselves into a food coma, argue over football and be told by countless relatives how they should be living their lives. Yup, it is time to give thanks.

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Toyota FT86 Open Concept Video, First Look
How do you make an already sporty car even more entertaining? Aside from adding a double-shot of extra horsepower under the hood you can do some other stuff, like cutting the roof off. Toyota has taken a giant can opener to the top of its iconic GT86 sportscar to create the FT86 Open Concept.

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Toyota FT86 Previews a Scion FR-S Convertible… Again

How do you make an already sporty car even more entertaining? Aside from adding a double-shot of extra horsepower under the hood you can do some other stuff, like cutting the roof off. Toyota has taken a giant can opener to the top of its iconic GT86 sportscar to create the FT86 Open Concept.

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Toyota GT86 CS-R3 Rally Car Announced

Toyota Motorsport GmbH has revealed its GT86 CS-R3 rally car as part of its customer motorsport program.

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Scion FR-S, Subaru BRZ SEMA Show Mega Gallery

It may not have been as overwhelming as it was last year, but the Subaru BRZ and the Scion FR-S were still two of the most popular customized cars on display at the SEMA Show.

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Young Tea, Simpli-tC Take Scion Tuner Challenge Crown

Young Tea has taken top honors in the 2013 Scion Tuner Challenge, awarded today at the SEMA Show with his Simpli-tC creation.

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Ford, Scion and Jeep Take Home 2013 SEMA Awards… Again
The 2013 SEMA award-winners have been selected, highlighting the vehicles that are seen in the most booths at the show. Surprisingly nothing has changed this year in terms of which vehicles won.

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Supra-Powered FR-S Headlines Scion SEMA Customs

An exciting collection of modified Scion FR-S vehicles are at the 2013 SEMA Show, headlined by a Supra-powered creation by GReddy and Scion Racing.

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Tacky TCs Prepped to Take Scion Tuner Challenge Title

All three of the 2013 Scion Tuner Challenge tCs are now on the SEMA show floor at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

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Toyota GT86 Sedan Rumors Denied

Reports of a GT86 sedan debuting at the Dubai Motor Show are “just a rumor” Toyota has confirmed.

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New Scion Vehicles Not Coming Any Time Soon
Scion’s sales have been sagging but dealers involved with the youth-oriented Toyota brand will have to solider on for a few more years before fresh product arrives.

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Toyota GT86 Sedan Rumored for Dubai Motor Show Debut

While there’s been speculation and rumors of Toyota expanding its GT86 (known as the Scion FR-S in North America) lineup to include a sedan model, there’s reason to believe just such a car will debut soon.

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Scion FR-S SEMA Show Concepts Showcase Extreme Style, Performance

The three Tuner Challenge tCs won’t be the only cars filling up Scion’s booth this year at SEMA Show; five other modified Scions will also make their presence known including some wild FR-Ses.

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Scion Tuner Challenge TCs Unveiled Ahead of SEMA

The three Scion tC Tuner Challenge vehicles competing at this year’s SEMA Show have been unveiled.

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Is Toyota Euthanizing the Itsy Bitsy Scion IQ?
Scion’s iQ is one of the smallest cars sold in North America but it may not be long for this world.

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2015 Scion XB to Be All New

Scion may launch its third generation version of its funky xB model next year as a 2015 model.

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Scion FR-S Sedan on Hold Because of Subaru: Report

If Tetsuya Tada had his way, a sedan based on the Scion FR-S would probably be here already.

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