Quietest Compact Cars
CR's experts identify the cars that are best at keeping the noise outside
Compact cars often get a bad rap for being too loud on the road. Their lighter bodies sometimes fail to dampen road and wind noise enough, and their high-revving small engines add to the problem.
Sometimes it can be hard to judge how quiet a car is during a traditional test drive at a dealership. To help you purchase a quiet compact car, we’ve identified the quietest ones on the market.
We evaluate interior noise among more than 50 objective and subjective tests. To do so, we listen to the wind, road, engine, and tire noises that are generated when the vehicle is driven over various pavements, both on our track and on public roads.