伟大的气质

    它们不会登上汽车杂志的封面，也不会出现在“超级碗”大赛（Super Bowl）的广告里。即便是在经销商的门店里，它们也只是停在不起眼的地方，把展厅让给更新、更潮的车型。它们不会引起车迷的阵阵尖叫，也不至于让其他车主羡慕嫉妒恨，总之它们并不是汽车世界的宠儿，而是容易受到冷落的失意者。

    然而就价值而言，这些车型无与伦比。如果把价格、使用费用（包括折旧和保险）和转售价值计算在内，再乘以驾驶乐趣这个系数，你会发现它们都堪称王牌车型。

    首先做一下归纳：1、亚洲车打败了美国车。在《消费者报告》（Consumer Report）杂志评选出的各级别最佳价值车型中，有37款是亚洲车，只有5款是美国车，而且其中还有2款是全尺寸皮卡。2、并不是越大越好。中小型的轿车和SUV的价值很可能优于大型的豪华轿车及SUV，因为前者的采购价格更低，续航里程也更长。3、二线品牌的得分可能超过某些一线知名品牌。比如起亚（Kia）、斯巴鲁（Subaru）、马自达（Mazda）和大众（Volkswagen）四家在我们榜单上的车型合计要比通用（General Motors）、福特（Ford）、克莱斯勒（Chrysler）合计超出一倍还多。

    本榜单排名不分先后，上榜车型主要根据《消费者报告》、专业汽车网站Edmunds.com等媒体的分析，另外还结合了我本人的亲身体验。在此，谨为大家列出其中15款低调的高品质汽车。

They've got great personalities

    They don't get featured on the covers of car magazines or feted in Super Bowl commercials. At dealer lots, they get parked in the back while newer, glitzier models are showcased in the showroom. They won't get you many oohs and ahs from the car pool kids, or a thumbs-up from other drivers. Face it -- these are the wallflowers of the auto world.

    But when it comes to value, you can't beat these cars. After you consider purchase price, operating costs (including depreciation and insurance), and resale value -- and then multiply by the fun-to-drive factor -- they're all aces.

    A few generalizations: 1.) Asian makes beat domestic. Consumer Reports ranked 37 Asian cars among the best values in their class vs. just five American models -- two of them full-size pickups. 2.) Bigger is not better. Small and midsize cars and SUVs are much more likely to represent a good value than large and luxury sedans and SUVs because of lower purchase price and better mileage. 3.) Second-tier brands can outscore better-known ones. Kia, Subaru, Mazda, and Volkswagen combined placed more than twice as many cars on our list as General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler together.

    This list, in no particular order, is based on analysis by Consumer Reports, and others including Edmunds.com, and leavened by my own personal experience. Herewith, some low-profile vehicles that score high in value:

本田飞度

    无论怎么计算，本田飞度（Honda Fit）的价值都是顶尖中的顶尖。它尺寸不大，空间却不小。同时，它入门价格低，续航里程远，而且可靠性出色。这款小车在泰国、巴西、印度、英国、中国、菲律宾和日本都有生产，但不包括北美，这也解释了本田飞度为何在美国如此稀少。如果本田在美国也开始生产飞度，并像在其他市场上一样将其重命名为Jazz（爵士），那么它很可能会吸引大量的买家。

Honda Fit

    In any value calculation, the Fit ranks at the top of the top. A big car with a small package, it carries a low entry price, gets great gas mileage, and delivers excellent reliability. Honda builds them in Thailand, Brazil, India, England, China, the Philippines, and Japan -- but not in North America, which helps explain their scarcity here. If Honda built the Fit in the U.S. and renamed it the Jazz, as it has in other markets, it might start a stampede of buyers.

大众高尔夫TDI与捷达Sportwagen TDI

    大众汽车在小型柴油车领域的地位无人可及。虽然这两款车的价格相对较高（高尔夫（Golf）TDI售价24,764美元，比本田飞度贵了8,000美元），但它的使用费用极低，而且保值性高，因此依然值得入手。大众汽车目前在美国市场上所占的份额仍然较小，所以可能不会经常见到这两款车，但这种情况估计不久就会改观。

VW Golf TDI and Jetta Sportwagen TDI

    Nobody can touch VW when it comes to small diesels, and the relatively steep admission price ($24,764 for the Golf, $8,000 more than Honda's Fit), pays off in rock-bottom operating costs and high resale value. For the time being, VW is still a minor player in the U.S., so you won't see yourself coming and going in either of these cars, don't expect that to last.

斯巴鲁森林人、力狮、傲虎

    在地型复杂的新英格兰地区和太平洋西北地区，斯巴鲁就像Carhartt和L.L. Bean这两个运动品牌一样无所不在，斯巴鲁的全时四驱系统在这里成了无价之宝。但除了这两个地区之外，很难在美国其他地方看到斯巴鲁的身影。这三款车型的销量加起来还赶不上雪佛兰科鲁兹（Chevrolet Cruze）这一款车。森林人（Forester）和力狮（Legacy）虽然没有傲虎（Outback）那么高端，但它们的价值要稍稍超过傲虎。

Subaru Forester, Legacy, and Outback

    As ubiquitous as Carhartt and L.L. Bean in New England and the Pacific Northwest, where their fulltime all-wheel-drive makes them invaluable, Subarus are all but invisible elsewhere. Sales of all three of these models combined don't equal those of the Chevrolet Cruze by itself. A bit less upscale than the Outback, the Forester and Legacy represent a bit better value.

马自达5和MX-5 Miata

    马自达像一个机智的橄榄球接球手一样，很喜欢发现各个细分市场之间的空白地带，而不是跑到场地中间去拼杀。马自达5是一款独特的旅行车/MPV，可以容纳6人乘坐。而MX-5 Miata作为一款跑车在35,000美元以下的价格区间仍然无人可以超越，而且它也是马自达生产的最可靠的车型之一。在上市20多年后，Miata已经小有名气。马自达5去年创造了接近20,000辆的销量，说明它已悄然形成了竞争力。

Mazda Mazda5 and MX-5 Miata

    Like a shifty NFL receiver, Mazda prefers to find the seam between the zones rather than go for the open field. The wagon/van Mazda5 is a uniquely mini-minivan, a compact people mover that seats six, while the MX-5 remains an unbeatable sports car selling for under $35,000, as well as one of the most reliable cars Mazda makes. After more than two decades on the market, the Miata is hardly an unknown quantity, but fewer than 20,000 Mazda5s found buyers last year, making it a stealth contender.

三菱欧兰德

    丰田（Toyota）RAV4和斯巴鲁森林人是小型SUV领域的王者，但是三菱欧兰德（Mitsubishi Outlander）的得分也不输于这二者。不过由于三菱公司麻烦不断，大家很难看到欧兰德的身影。去年12月，美国只售出了不到1,000辆欧兰德，相比之下RAV4却创造了14,000辆的骄人成绩。对欧兰德感兴趣的买主应该尽快出手了，现在市面上的欧兰德面世于2005年，它很快就要给新款让路了。

Mitsubishi Outlander

    Toyota's RAV4 and Subaru's Forester are kings of the small SUV segment, but the Outlander scores nearly as high and -- due to Mitsubishi's ongoing struggles -- is nearly invisible. Less than 1,000 were sold in December vs. more than 14,000 RAV4s. Interested shoppers should move quickly: The current model, which dates back to 2005, will be making way for a new one very soon.

起亚远舰、Forte Koup、索兰托

    起亚默默无闻的日子很快就要到头了，2011年，它的销量已经上升了超过三分之一。各款车型的街头曝光率也在上升。起亚的设计风格比较开放，未来起亚还会从那些树大根深的竞争对手手里攫取到更多的份额，但目前它们还能保住现有的基业。起亚远舰（Optima）需要与由凯美瑞（Camry）和雅阁（Accord）领衔的中型车大军进行硬碰硬的竞争，Forte Koup要死掐本田思域（Honda Civic），而索兰托（Sorento）则要与丰田汉兰达（Highlander）和雪佛兰Equinox等中型SUV进行竞争。

Kia Optima, Forte Koup, and Sorento

    Kia won't remain unknown for much longer -- sales jumped by more than one-third in 2011. Visibility of individual vehicles is also growing. Kias tend to be extroverted in their designs. Further gains will come against entrenched opposition, but for now they are holding their own. The Optima competes in the hard-fought mid-size sedan segment where Camry and Accord reign supreme, and the Forte Koup goes head to head with the Honda Civic, while the Sorento takes on the Toyota Highlander and Chevy Equinox mid-size SUVs.

讴歌TL

    讴歌（Acura）TL在《消费者报告》杂志评选的高端轿车排行榜上屈居第二，以微小差距不敌雷克萨斯（Lexus）ES 350，但它的销量实际上比后者差了一大截。去年雷克萨斯350的销量达到50,000辆，而讴歌TL只卖出了30,000辆。Edmunds.com的高级编辑迈克尔•乔丹称：“它满足了人们对日本豪华轿车的所有要求，可惜的是，有人忘了把它的造型好好设计一番。”

Acura TL

    The TL finishes a close second to the Lexus ES 350 in Consumer Reports' ranking of upscale sedans, but it is far less visible. Lexus sells 50,000 ES 350s in a good year while Acura moves only about 30,000 TLs. "It's everything that you look for in a Japanese luxury sedan," says Michael Jordan, executive editor of Edmunds.com. "Sadly, someone forgot to style it."

宝马X3

    奥迪（Audi）和奔驰（Mercedes）旗下的车型无一入选《消费者杂志》评选的最佳价值排行榜，但宝马（BMW）却有一款上榜。宝马X3在 2011车型年度进行了重新设计，销量有了显著提升，但仍远远比不上宝马3系，后者的销量是它的3倍还多。不过《消费者报告》还是把它排在了豪华SUV领域的第一位，排名超过两款讴歌SUV、英菲尼迪（Infinity）EX、雷克萨斯RX450h等豪华SUV。

BMW X3

    Not a single Audi or Mercedes made Consumer Reports' Best Value list, and here is the sole representative from BMW. Nicely redesigned for the 2011 model year, the X3 experienced a noticeable bump in sales but remains rare compared with BMW's 3-series, which outsells it more than three to one. Consumer Reports ranks X3 ahead of two Acuras, the Infinity EX, and Lexus' RX450h among luxury SUVs.

Mini Cooper

    高价值、低功率的轿车并不是天方夜谭。虽然Mini这个品牌一直在衍生出新的车型，比如Cabrio敞篷版、Clubman、Countryman和Coupe等，但它们的原型车Mini Cooper仍然屹立不倒。虽说它的可靠性比较一般，但燃油经济性出众，保值性强，而且具有极佳的驾驶乐趣。花上21,700美元，你也能玩出英伦范儿。

    译者：朴成奎

Mini Cooper

    High-value, low-wattage cars don't have to be all "eat your spinach." While Mini keeps spinning off new variants -- Cabrio, Clubman, Countryman, Coupe -- the original Mini Cooper remains a stalwart. Its average reliability is outweighed by impressive fuel-economy, low depreciation, and giggles behind the wheel. Drive one away for $21,700 and you've joined a very exclusive club of Anglophiles who appreciate a good deal.