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See CHEAP: ON A BUDGET? CAR MAKERS HAVE YOUR NUMBERS: 170-PLUS HP, UNDER $22,000

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"These are cars that in every way satisfy the requirements of an economy car, but they have a little flavor, a little character without spending too much," said Kevin Smith , editorial director for edmunds .com and its Inside Line online auto magazine.

The appeal of the Cobalt SS is fairly simple, said Molly Peck , a Chevrolet marketing manager.

"A lot of people want to be unique," she said in a recent visit to San Jose . "They want to have their own look."

It joins a small but growing cadre of cars that are fairly fast, fairly cheap and aimed at young buyers. That list includes the Dodge Neon SRT-4, the Nissan Sentra SE-R Spec V, a couple of Toyota models and others.

Here's a look at a few of them. All are priced at less than $22,000 , and produce 170 horsepower or more. All are higher-performance, higher-cost versions of regular models.

2005 Chevrolet Cobalt SS : A coupe with a super-charged, 205-horsepower, 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine and a five-speed manual transmission. Price: $21,995 .

The Cobalt and the smaller, cheaper Aveo replace the Cavalier as the entry-level Chevy models. The Cavalier had to do too much, Peck said, battling Korean imports on the lower end and premium models like the…

…a small Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic. An aerodynamic hood sweeps past 15-inch wheels to a decent-sized trunk.

Inside, the car offers a design that looks economical but not cheap.

Motor Mouth's test model came with decent-looking black cloth seats that blended nicely with the model's black-and-metallic dashboard and door interiors.

Front seats offer good legroom, headroom and hiproom.

Rear seats provide tight but ultimately acceptable headroom and hiproom, although legroom is a little lacking if the front seat is pushed all the way back. (Chevy claims you can fit three passengers in the rear seats, but two is far more realistic.)

The LT's dashboard features simple, easy-to-read dials for the speedometer, tachometer, fuel level and temperature.

The model's decent-sounding AM/FM/CD/MP3 standard audio system likewise employs a simple display and controls.

So does the climate system, which relies on three big dials that look a little on the budget side, but not embarrassingly cheap. The climate system's big, circular air vents are a bit kitschy (Auto designers seem to think Gen Y-ers like the campy look.), but snap open and shut very easily.

Standard safety features include front and side airbags. Motor Mouth's test model…

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