Auto News 5

It seems that everything you hear about the Supersports version of the 2011 Bentley Continental convertible concerns its 198-pound weight loss and 21 additional horsepower. Let's put that in perspective: that weight loss on a 5300-pound car is, proportionally, the same as removing a bag of kitty litter from a Lotus Elise, and adding 21 horses to a team of 600 is like a Honda Civic gaining five horsepower. Is that something you'd really notice?

I drove both the automatic and manual Mazda 2 within days of each other and while both cars impressed me, the manual 2 is, in my mind, the much better package. On the highway, the four speed-auto runs out of gears causing revs to consistently stay up over 3000 rpms. The manual's fifth gear is just enough to keep revs and noise down in the cabin. I was cruising at 80 mph on the highway and, unlike the 2 with the auto box, the manual car never sounded buzzy. In fact, the engine sounded remarkably at ease. Impressive. At this speed, even in fifth gear our Four Seasons Honda Fit's 1.5-liter 4-culinder would have been deafening.