Consumer Guide® Automotive places each vehicle into one of 18 classes based on size, price, and market position. Premium Compact Cars are similar in size but more expensive than Compact Cars. Premium Compacts have more standard equipment and an upscale image when compared to Compact Cars.

Our Best Buys in the Premium Compact Car class are the Audi A4 and BMW 3-Series. Our Recommended picks are the Acura TSX and Audi A3.

New or significantly redesigned is the BMW 3-Series.

Sources say a redesigned A4 will debut in Europe during calendar 2009, which likely means a 2010-model U.S. intro. Sedans roll in first, with other body styles updated in due course. The next generation of Audi's top seller is said to be a bit shorter than today's A4, though probably no lighter. Word is that engines will be repositioned several inches further back for better front/rear weight balance and thus sharper handling.

The next A4 will employ Audi's new "modular" platform engineering. This allows mixing different underskin structures and associated components to create niche models that don't necessarily fall within the usual categories. The first "modular" Audi will be a new model, the A5, expected in Europe about a year before the first redesigned A4s. A5 reportedly bows as a coupe sized close to Audi's midrange A6 sedans. A cloth-roof convertible will be added around 2010. Both will list at least two V6s, according to one source, but another mole thinks engines may also include Audi's 200-hp turbocharged 4-cyl and a 350-hp V8. Quattro all-wheel drive should be standard, as will Audi's S-Tronic 6-speed automated manual. Tipsters believe A5s will be ambitiously priced somewhat upstream of comparable BMW 3-Series and Mercedes CLK models.