Behind the Scenes at the AutoGuide.com Under $30K Comparison: Hot Laps

Last month most of the AutoGuide.com crew uprooted to our test track for the better part of a week to assemble our largest performance test ever.

We brought eight fun-to-drive, practically priced cars. You might have already seen the three-part series documenting the journey that led to an overall winner, but we decided to release the videos you will find below because there was so much footage we didn’t have time to show in the final cut. In the first episode, we evaluated the cars for street performance.

SEE ALSO: AutoGuide Under $30,000 Performance Car Shootout,

Then we took them out onto our test track and started eliminating cars based on a 50-50 weighted combination of their street scores and how well they could turn a lap.

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

Finally, we took the top three out for a little more love on the race course to render the verdict.

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

Below, you will find footage from inside each of the eight cars while Dave Pratte, our performance driver, took them out to record lap times. Enjoy!

2015 Subaru WRX

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2014 Mazda MX-5

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2014 Nissan Juke Nismo RS

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2015 Volkswagen GTI

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2014 Scion FR-S

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2014 Ford Focus ST

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2014 Ford Fiesta ST

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2014 Honda Civic Si

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