The idea of a sporty, compact car is not new. Turn back the clock, and you’ll find them in every decade since Henry Ford stuffed a V8 engine into the 1932 Model 18 sport coupe almost 75 years ago. Historically, these types of cars were two-door coupes or sedans, a smaller model equipped with a larger engine. This formula eventually produced the 1964 Pontiac GTO, and the muscle car was born, leaving vehicles like the original Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang, and Pontiac Firebird to serve consumers looking for an affordable blend of fun and function. Ever since then, automakers from around the globe have served this need, sparingly at times, but consistently.

Today, the phrase “sport compact” conjures images of ten-year-old Hondas with aftermarket coffee-can exhaust outlets, oversized body kits, slammed suspensions, and useless decklid wings that vibrate from trunk-mounted subwoofers while their drivers hasten the deterioration of their hearing. In reality, a range of factory-tuned sport compacts with mature design and detailing are available for the taking, running the gamut from convertibles like the Pontiac Solstice and sedans like the Nissan Sentra SE-R to wagons like the Toyota Matrix XRS and hatchbacks like the Mini Cooper S. Even SUVs are getting smaller and sportier: check out the new Acura RDX and Mazda CX-7, for example.

For this comparison test, we chose to stick with tradition, limiting eligible players to models with one door for the driver and one door for the front passenger. From that list, we made sure America, Europe and Japan were fairly represented by selecting long-standing entrants that have been completely redesigned for 2005 or 2006, and then tossed in a newcomer that has successfully captured the attention and expendable income of Generation Y, the Echo Boomers, Millennials, the Net Gen, or whatever else you want to call the large group of people that started arriving on the planet about the same time disco was dying. Each combatant was fitted with front-wheel drive, a manual transmission, a four-cylinder engine that makes around 200 horsepower, and mechanical tweaks for greater performance. Here’s a closer look at the Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged, Honda Civic Si, Scion tC Supercharged, and Volkswagen GTI:

2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged:
Whitney Houston was saving all her love for you, not chasing the dragon, when the 1986 Chevrolet Cavalier Z24 debuted with a “high-output” 120-horsepower V6, 14-inch wheels wearing Eagle GT performance tires, and a tasteful ground-effects body kit. Over the next 15 years, the Z24 badge was slapped onto coupes, convertibles, sedans, and hatchbacks, each concocted of equal parts performance tweaks and paint-and-sticker trim. By the time the Cavalier’s overextended run ended in 2005, the Z24 had been replaced by the virtually ignored LS Sport model.

Twenty years after it arrived on the market, the Cavalier Z24’s descendant is the 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS, a sleek coupe equipped with a 205-horsepower supercharged four-banger, 18-inch forged aluminum wheels wearing Pirelli PZero Rosso performance tires, and a tasteless wing towering over the trunk lid. Look past the boy-racer spoiler, and you find a serious performance car hiding under the Chevy’s econo-coupe clothing. The suspension was tuned on Germany’s famous Nürburgring race track, equipped with MacPherson struts up front and a torsion beam axle in back. Yeah, you read that right: a torsion beam rear suspension. When you drive this car, though, you can’t even tell. Four-wheel-disc brakes, vented in front and equipped with ABS, are also part of the deal, and the steering is calibrated specifically for the SS Supercharged model. A five-speed manual transmission with a 4.05:1 axle ratio puts power to the pavement through the front wheels. The Cobalt SS also gets special trim inside and out.

For 2006, Chevrolet added regular-strength versions of the Cobalt SS to the lineup in coupe and sedan format. These models are not supercharged, and can be equipped with an automatic transmission if you can’t shift a manual gearbox. Our test car was a standard 2006 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged coupe equipped with XM satellite radio for $325. The sticker price was $20,815 including the $590 destination charge, ranking the Cobalt as the most affordable car in the test.

2006 Honda Civic Si:
Honda first affixed a red “Si” badge to the Civic CRX in 1985, creating a sensational little two-seater with a fuel-injected 1.5-liter engine making 91 horsepower, which wasn’t bad for a car weighing just under 2,000 pounds. The following year, the Civic Si hatchback debuted, with the same powertrain and extra weight but with a larger cargo area and four-passenger capacity. The on-again, off-again Civic Si gained size and power through the years, switched from hatchback to coupe and back, and enjoyed varying levels of popularity, but it never wavered from its mission of delivering efficient performance in a lightweight package.

Two decades on, the 2006 Honda Civic Si is a two-door coupe making 197 horsepower and weighing as much as that original model did with a few dudes the size of Larry The Cable Guy on board. That makes its 2.0-liter four-cylinder’s engine’s paltry 139 lb.-ft. of torque an acute liability. Another upgrade unique to the Si includes a short-throw six-speed manual transmission with a helical-type limited slip differential and a 4.76:1 gear ratio, which transfers power forward to 17-inch alloy wheels shod with 215/45 Michelin Pilot all-season performance tires. A sport-tuned, speed-sensitive electric power steering system with quicker response than other Civics guides the Si, while four-wheel-disc brakes with ABS and electronic brake-force distribution bring it to a stop. Suspension is four-wheel independent, MacPherson struts in front with a reactive-link double-wishbone arrangement in the back.

Sport-bolstered front seats, aluminum trim bits, and a rev-limit indicator are included on the inside, while a unique decklid spoiler and special sport grille differentiate the Si from other Civics on the outside. Standard equipment includes a 350-watt sound system with a six-disc CD changer and an iPod input jack, side-impact and side-curtain airbags, and a power moonroof. Factory options include a voice-controlled navigation system with touch screen, XM satellite radio, and a digital audio card reader, in addition to Michelin Pilot Exalto summer performance rubber that can be swapped in for $200. Honda dealers can install a variety of add-ons – including 18-inch wheels and tires.

Our sample 2006 Honda Civic Si included the factory navigation system, which added $1,750 to the base price of $20,840 for a total sticker of $22,590 including the $550 destination charge. Those requiring more interior space or the added convenience of two additional doors will want to wait for the Honda Civic Si Sedan, which debuts sometime next year.

2006 Scion tC Supercharged:
Scion is a new brand created by Toyota to reach Generation Y, and the tC is the sportiest, most expensive model in the youth-oriented lineup. Though not a direct replacement, the Scion tC arrived just as the Toyota Celica was sent to the executioner. First appearing in America for 1971, the four-seat Celica gained in popularity until designers apparently began spending too much time in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Salvador Dali gallery during the late 1980s and 1990s. By the time the Celica’s styling returned to normal in the form of a beautifully-sculpted wedge for 2001, loyal buyers had moved on, despite the availability of a high-revving 180-horsepower engine and six-speed manual gearbox in the GT model.

Enter the Scion tC, designed to appeal to youthful buyers looking for an upscale look without paying an upscale price. The standard engine is a torquey 2.4-liter inline four-cylinder making 160 horsepower. Your choice between a five-speed manual or four-speed automatic puts the power to the ground through the front wheels, sharp-looking 17-inch alloys wearing 215/45 Bridgestone Potenza tires. With a double-wishbone suspension front and rear, four-wheel-disc antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution, and rack-and-pinion steering, the Scion comes ready to play right out of the box.

Our test car, however, came equipped with the dealer-installed Toyota Racing Development supercharger, which boosts power and torque for an additional $3,200 plus installation costs ($480 in dealer labor for a tC with a manual transmission at Longo Scion in California). The end result is an estimated 200 horsepower at 6,200 rpm and 184 lb.-ft. of torque at 4,200 rpm. Our test sample also came with a TRD Performance Exhaust system ($525), as well as other overpriced add-ons such as a ground effects kit ($995), a rear spoiler ($385), and an OBX shift knob ($59). Side-impact and side-curtain airbags ($650), floor mats and a cargo mat ($145), an iPod-compatible Pioneer audio deck ($260), and a Scion Security System ($469) brought the as-tested total to $23,403 – not including dealer installation fees for the added parts. Yikes.

If you’ve got even more money to spend, you can have the dealer upgrade the tC’s suspension, install a quicker shifter and a performance clutch, and add 19-inch Racing Hart wheels shod with Pirelli PZero tires. Plus, there are numerous ways to “optomize” your Scion tC through aftermarket parts vendors, from a navigation system to illuminated cupholders. You could literally double the Scion tC’s base price with aftermarket parts, if you choose. Hey, personalization has its price.

2007 Volkswagen GTI:
In 1983, Volkswagen decided that Europeans shouldn’t be having all the fun, and brought the GTI to American shores, creating an instant classic and a horde of imitators that never got the recipe quite right. Though our GTI wasn’t as potent as the European model, it made 90 horsepower from a four-cylinder engine larger than what came in the standard Rabbit, along with a close-ratio five-speed manual transmission, bigger wheels and tires, sport-tuned steering, and better bolstered seats. Sharp-looking alloy wheels and blacked-out trim were also part of the package, making the Rabbit GTI a handsome “sleeper” in its day. Of the four cars assembled for this test, the GTI is the only continuously running nameplate of the bunch.

Today’s GTI still gets nice wheels and similar trim, along with the same kinds of performance tweaks that made the original an icon. A turbocharged, direct-injected four-cylinder whips up 200 horsepower and a thick wallop of torque, transferred to the pavement through a six-speed manual gearbox or an optional Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) sequential manual that has been touted by critics as the best of its kind at any price. Standard 17-inch wheels with 225/45 Continental Sport Contact2 tires keep the GTI glued to the ground, or you can choose optional 18-inch rims equipped with 225/40 summer rubber. This year marks the first time the GTI gets a four-wheel independent suspension, with MacPherson struts up front and a four-link setup in back. Four-wheel-disc antilock brakes with electronic brake-force distribution are standard, along with electro-mechanical power rack-and-pinion steering. The GTI also includes a stability control system, the only car in the group available with this technology.

Our test car was painted Candy White, a 2007 model fresh in the media fleet and not equipped with an accurate window sticker, so all prices are from 2006. It came with Package #1 ($1,370), which adds a power sunroof and XM satellite radio, and with the $630 destination charge tossed in, it ran $23,990, making it the most expensive car in the test. If you’re interested in a sedan, check out the Jetta GLI, which is the exact same car with two extra doors and a ginormous trunk for a few hundred bucks more.