In the past, small cars had a bad reputation in the US. They were typically cheaply built, minimalistic, and lacked many features normally found on larger models. Things are quite different today as automakers have clued in that some people just prefer smaller vehicles for numerous reasons, but also want them to be quality. Toyota and Honda figured this out long ago, and now the likes of Ford and GM have improved their offerings. Remember the old Ford Festiva? Perhaps it's best that you don't.

With that in mind, Consumer Reports has just released its list of the 7 best small cars under $25,000 of 2014. For anyone on a budget wanting a solid, small, but still practically sized car, your choices have really never been better. Do you agree with the following list, or is CR just being too picky? Or biased? After all, not one of the following is from the Detroit Big Three. So here they are in descending order: 7. Kia Rio 6. Toyota Corolla 5. Mazda3 4. Kia Soul 3. Hyundai Elantra 2. Kia Forte 1. Subaru Impreza.

You can also check out the best new SUVs under $20,000.