10 South-of-the-Border Cars You Can't Buy in the USA

The Giugiaro-designed V-6-powered 159 replaced Alfa's 156 way back in 2006, and for $44,500 comes with all-wheel-drive planting its 3.2-liter's power to the road through a six-speed automatic. The sleek 260-hp Alfa is a couple inches shorter than Audi's similarly powerful four-cylinder turbo A4, yet the Italian sedan is about $9000 more expensive.

Read:  10 Foreign Cars With Muscle-Car DNA

Underneath the shapely body of the Giulietta, introduced at the Geneva motor show in 2010, is the 2013 Dodge Dart. Parent company Fiat adapted the guts of this Alfa to create the base of the revitalized Dodge. We found the Dart to be a sprightly performer with its 1.4-liter 160-hp turbocharged four-cylinder and quick-shifting twin-clutch six-speed. The shapely Alfa comes powered by a 1.7-liter turbo that churns out a much more thrilling 230 hp. But at about $36,000, it's $14,000 more than the most expensive Dart, the R/T.

Read:  2013 Dodge Dart: First Drive

The MiTo draws its name both from the cities in Italy where it was designed and is built, Milan and Turin (Torino), and the Italian word for myth (mito). This three-door hatchback is about a foot longer than a MINI Cooper but 6 inches shorter than a Volkswagen Golf, and in its quickest form is powered by a turbo 1.4-liter four-cylinder that makes 170 hp. The engine is mated to a six-speed manual, and at its introduction in Europe in 2010 it was given high marks as a sporty hatchback. Still, at $29,000 in Mexico, it's a pricey little car.

Compare: Three Tiny Cars Available in the US

The S3 is the hot-rod version of the $31,000 A3 compact wagon available in the U.S., and at more than $46,000 in Mexico, you've got to really want the extra 55 hp that the 2.0-liter turbo four-cylinder cranks out over the 200-hp A3 turbo. The S3 sits an inch lower than our A3 and has a stiffer suspension. At just more than 3200 pounds it's significantly quicker than the A3. Audi sells the S3 in Europe, where it competes with the BMW 130i, a similarly powerful and pricey wagonette that is not sold in Mexico or in the U.S.

Find: Hot Hatchbacks

Designed by GM's Daewoo subsidiary in South Korea and built in various plants in Asia, the Captiva is a 264-hp all-wheel-drive crossover that's just a few inches shorter than our Chevrolet Equinox crossover, which comes with a 182-hp 2.4-liter four cylinder. The Equinox is $23,500 while the smaller, faster Captiva Sport G runs about $29,000.

(Editor's Note: GM recently began selling the Captiva as a U.S. fleet vehicle, but still does not sell it as a production vehicle.)

View Slideshow:  The Best Cars from 8 Countries

A Mexico City-based design and engineering company produced a midengined two-seater that looks similar to a Lotus Exige, yet shares nothing with the small English sports car. The Mastretta MXT, first shown at the 2010 Paris Auto Show, uses a Ford 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbocharged to make 250 hp. It's priced at about $65,000 with a five-speed manual. The company claims a 4.9-second sprint to 60 mph, also on par with the Lotus. The MXT's tube-frame and aluminum monocoque chassis features a lightweight carbon-fiber body. The car is said to reach 149 mph. U.S. availability is planned, but no date has been announced.

Read:  10 Cars That Worry the Competition

This small convertible has a folding metal roof that takes up most of the car's trunk when it's down, but it will carry four people. In Europe the car is available with frugal gas or diesel four-cylinders, but in Mexico Peugeot offers only the 150-hp turbo 1.6-liter in the $24,500 droptop. Peugeot has been building compact economy cars with folding metal roofs longer than any other manufacturer, and the latest 207 CC has received high marks for refinement.

View Pictures:  The French Connection

Built in France, this sedan once set a Guinness record of 75 mpg in a special test aimed to squeeze miles out of a 9000-mile trip. It also comes as a hatchback, and beginning this year it's available with a turbo 1.6-liter engine that makes a lively 200 hp. Spending about $23,000 will get you a 163-hp 1.6-liter mated to an automatic twin-clutch six-speed gearbox, but you might be smart to step up to that 200-hp top engine. Doing so raises the price to only $25,500.

Bing Images: Peugeot 308

This sleek hardtop cabriolet, similar to the Volkswagen Eos, came to the European and Mexican markets in 2009 with a steel roof that stows via electric motors into the trunk in a claimed 20 seconds. At $33,500, it's also about $1000 less than the Eos sold in the U.S. However, the 308 CC is powered by the 1.6-liter four-cylinder turbo of the 308 sedan, sending 163 hp through a six-speed twin-clutch automatic gearbox. The VW packs more muscle, using a 2.0-liter 200-hp four-cylinder.

View Slideshow:  8 Convertibles You Can Buy for Less

This $38,000 four-seat front-driver that came to market in 2010 comes with either a 163-hp or a 200-hp turbocharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder (the same engine you'll find in a MINI Cooper John Cooper Works model), and the manufacturer claims 7.7 seconds to 60 mph with the more powerful engine. The milder motor comes with a dual-clutch six-speed, while the faster motor gets a six-speed conventional manual. The front-drive RCZ is based on the 308, though it rides much lower, sports fender-filling 19-inch wheels, and has an electric rear wing that deploys at highway speeds. The twin-bubble roof sets the RCZ apart from the more mundane-looking Audi TT that's available here in the U.S.

Content provided by Popular Mechanics