My old Honda Civic was crazy good at Auto-X. A Civic Si BARELY, and I mean barely beat me at a higher speed auto-x. The Si had suspension, tires, short shifter, CAI, exhaust, etc. I had plus zero street tires and a short throw shifter. He beat me by less than 0.4 seconds. I drove the junk out of that car. The '02 Civic EX was lame as far as power went, but it definitely would handle if you pushed it.
I guess that is why I'm looking forward to going back to a 4-banger soon. The agility is great.
Still aiming for a Fiesta or Focus. Want the Fiesta, but my wife thinks the smallest I should go is a focus. We shall see...