08 09 10 11 Honda Cbr 1000 Cbr1000 Rr Aftermarket Undertail W/ Blinkers! on 2040-parts.com

7 performance cars for less than $30,000 part two: Honda Civic Si vs. Volkswagen GTI

It's hard to fathom, but it's been more than a decade since the peak of the sport-compact craze saw modified Honda Civics cluttering the streets. Enthusiasts salivated over a Type R that wasn't (and still isn't) available on our shores, instead having to settle for the Si. Fast-forward to today and the debut of the ninth-generation Civic for the 2012 model year brings a new Si.

New VW Golf GTI: Price from £25,845

Volkswagen has revealed that the 2013 Golf GTI MK 7 will cost from £25,845 – £195 up on the old GTI – with the GTi Performance from £26,825. For the first time you’ll get a choice of power levels for the GTI, with the regular GTI getting a 2.0 litre TSI with 217bhp and the GTI Performance coming with 227bhp, gets bigger brake discs and a limited slip diff. Performance from the regular GTI is 0-62mph in 6.5 seconds and a top speed of 152mph, whilst the GTI Performance cuts that time by 0.1 seconds with both versions offering 44.1mpg official consumption with the six-speed manual ‘box.

One Lap of the Web: Rally to Goodwood, Utah raises speed limits and Jeeps in Iceland

-- Today's vehicles are more than capable of safely exceeding the speed limit. This isn't any secret to us, but apparently lawmakers are just starting to clue in; Utah has joined a slowly increasing number of states in raising some speed limits to 80 mph. Their justification?