5 sensible cars for volatile times

Some Mazda dealerships discount the price to draw people to showrooms. You win. MSRP is about $18,000, bare bones, but you can sometimes steal one for $16,000.

The 2-2-2 seating, with rear sliding doors on both sides, is the best design around for loading and unloading kids and other animals. The rear windows actually open for fresh air! Rear seats fold flat to make a spacious cargo floor. We hauled one of those inflatable bouncy things for a school fair, which had to be loaded with a forklift, and it fit no problem.

Handling is sure-footed and nimble on the Mazda3 platform. The 2.3-liter Mazda MZR engine delivers 24 mpg. Despite the highest crash test ratings in Europe and Japan, there's no available stability control or traction control.

Attention minivan owners: Drive the smaller and efficient Mazda5 for a while, then tell us it's not a better idea.