They've certainly been a mixed bag so far. Some have had major success over here, while others have been abject failures. On one hand, cars like the Mini Cooper have shown that a higher-dollar small car can have a BIG fanbase and major sales success - but on the other side of the coin, the Audi A3 and Volvo C30, are NOT what one might call a major sales success.
The A3's plague is one thing: It's a Volkswagen Golf with a more boring design and a higher price. There is nothing to differentiate it - the engine isn't even powered up compared to the VW version. Fuel efficiency still isn't THAT great with the 2.0t - 22/28 MPG, so for all you "green car" fanatics, forget it. Price? Starts at around 29,000 and shoots up with options, up past 37,000 pretax in some cases - the most expensive VW Golf you will ever buy. At that price point, who cares - you can strip out options and buy a much larger A4, and in America, size matters - not to mention that the A3 doesn't have enough of the "small car" benefits (driving dynamics, etc) to justify it over the A4.
The Volvo C30's problem? It's UGLY. It's much cheaper than the A3 (as it should be, considering it's smaller), but it's fatter, more front-heavy, and no more spacious than a MINI Cooper. The rear-end design is impressive to automotive journalists (the same sort of types who circle up and drool all over themselves whenever any new station wagon is previewed, no matter the company, cost or price), but considering the lack of sales success, America agrees that it's heinous. Sad thing is, if it weren't for the taillights stretching as high as they do, it wouldn't be so bad. The price ain't too bad, but for the same price, you could get a MINI Cooper S and shred circles around this clown car.
The BMW 1-series is not a volume seller in the US, but BMW only predicted 10,000 sales a year in the US, showing that they were clearly intending it to be a niche-market vehicle, at least from the start. Right now, it's doing 11,000 to 12,000 a year here, so it's right on track. It's expensive, a tad awkward looking, but unlike the above two, the 1 offers something to justify its price - in this case, incredible performance and handling. The 135i in particular, will shred an E46 M3, and even pace an E90 M3, for half the price.
Premium small cars have not been a universal disaster in the US. Obviously, the MINI Cooper is an example of how to succeed in such a business - reasonable price that doesn't overlap with its company siblings, quirky personality and look, and (as is usually important with much smaller expensive cars) high performance- that of a little go-kart. Can the price get a little high? Sure, it can top 30,000 dollars when options factor in. But this car not only MURDERS the Volvo C30 in MPG, but the blown MINI Cooper S will literally run circles around it.
Then there's the premium compact that existed before the segment became the new "it" thing - the Acura Integra/RSX. From the late 80s to the mid-2000s, this car sold like hotcakes offering a few nice things - higher performance than a Honda Civic, better handling, more style, nicer appointments inside, Honda Accord pricing. MPG was always quite high - even in the cheap-gas 90s, you were getting 34 MPG out of the perpetually 4-cylinder car.
What about the unorthodox premium small cars? The Subaru WRX, STi and Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution can be considered as premium small cars, despite the lack of a premium badge and the complete absence of even ATTEMPTING luxury - these are hardcore sports cars, pure and simple. And oh yeah, they are anything BUT green - none of these three are particularly fuel-efficient. These two companies know what combination of elements to put together in order to get customers to pay 35,000 dollars for a small car - and if the premium badges were the wiser, they would be going after Mitsu and Subaru, full speed ahead.
The forgotten Mercedes C-class coupe was a mild success here, but Benz killed it off, and restyled the ancient model's front and rear for other markets, renaming it the CLC class (what a mouthful) instead of putting the work into a new model. If they want to return to the US market and compete again, they will need something that looks FAR better than this ugly, bizarre hatchcoupe.
What is coming in the future? The Lexus LF-Ch, for one - as well as the MINI-sized Audi A1, a revival of the BMW Isetta, a compact Buick based on the Chevrolet Cruze, a pair of Alfa-Romeo compacts, and even an Aston-Martin minicar, the Cygnet. Acura has discussed bringing the RSX back, too, while Infiniti has discussed a model slotting below the G37 and Mercedes-Benz is talking about doing up the next A-class as sort of a miniature CLS-class, and bringing it here.
The question is: will they succeed as the RSX, MINI Cooper and the 1-series have in America, or will they fail miserably? If they offer nothing unique, are overpriced, or underperform, they will die, and die fast. Complacency is a killer.
