Small-Car Buyers' Big Regrets

Fran MacDonald got better fuel economy and maneuverability in traffic when she downsized from her Buick sedan to a tiny Chevrolet Aveo. But the small car was noisier and didn't ride as smoothly. And then there were the hand-crank windows. "I was driving with my mother, and she asked me to put the window down," Ms. McDonald says. "When I told her she'd have to do it herself, she said, 'Well, I don't see a button.' "