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Cool? What's cool? You know it when you see it, right?

Feist is cool. Avril Lavigne, not so much so — certainly not since she announced she's going J Lo on us with the clothing line and all that.

Obama? Cool beyond belief. The soaring rhetoric somehow manages to be inspiring, rather than insipid.

When Hillary watches him in those debates, she has a look that says, "If I weren't running myself, I'd vote for you."

So what's a cool car or truck? As with everything else, you know it when you see it. One thing we know is that cool does not need to be pricey. More often than not, it is the opposite.

For our purposes here, we'll go one step further and set a price ceiling — $20,000. You might be surprised to see how much good there is in the car market for under $20,000.

We've sorted through the hundreds of models and come up with a list of 10. That's 10 incredibly affordable cars and trucks selling for just two-thirds of the $30,000 average transaction price for a new vehicle in Canada.

Among the vehicles on our list, you'll find a pickup for less than $15,000, a European hatchback, a sporty coupe, a roomy, fuel-sipping runabout, a quirky two-seater, Canada's second best-selling car and even a Jeep that looks like one for less than $17,000.

Those and the others on our list have an "it" factor that makes them cool. As a general rule, all the designs here are engaging, the engineering is solid and often very clever if not inspired, and performance is decent or better.

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Saturn Astra XE four-door hatchback ($17,900)

General Motors has done the unthinkable: bring a European car to North America without "dumbing" it down. Lead development engineer Don Straitiff goes so far as to say the Astra is "fun to drive and easily outhandles the (Honda) Civic and the Mazda3."

So we'd argue the Astra is a pretty cool four-door hatchback. The European design, the tight handling and, above all, the pricing really mean something here.

GM types say the Astra XE has a $2,120 advantage over the Honda Civic DX, factoring standard equipment on both models. They also say Astra XE's "advantage" is $920 versus the Mazda3 GS and $2,510 for the Astra XE compared with the Volkswagen Rabbit.

What is perhaps most cool of all about the Astra is that with it GM is bucking Detroit's status quo.

The Astra speaks to GM's desire to change and be appealing for buyers who have never, ever, set foot in a GM dealership of any kind whatsoever.

You see, the Astra here is more or less identical to the European Opel Astra in every significant way. That means it was designed in Ruesselsheim, Germany, tuned for the autobahn and is built in Antwerp, Belgium.

It has outstanding safety features, such as six standard airbags, active head restraints and a pedal release system. The peppy, 138-horsepower four-banger is fuel efficient and the manual five-speed changes gears smoothly.

This Astra is a very sharp design with a sporty look riding on a long wheelbase and wide stance. The sheet metal looks taut and modern and there is a strong look from the rear.

In a nutshell, the Astra is cool because it looks cool and driving it will entertain you.

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Mazda B2300 ($14,995)

The B-Series, and its Ford Ranger cousin, are true compact pickups and have been since the beginning.

The B has been part of a Ford/Mazda collaboration since '94 and this current B is a Ford Ranger wearing different clothes. The Mazda look is slightly different and it's an improvement over the Ford, so it gets the nod here.

What makes the B perfect for city dwellers are the compact dimensions. This is a manoeuvrable little truck — one that fits into mall parking spots easily — with a fair amount of pickup functionality.

Another perk is the frugal fuel economy of the four-cylinder model (143 horsepower) we've picked, the one with the basic five-speed manual transmission.

Sure, the B has stood frozen in time as its rivals have grown in size, added frills and extra performance. There hasn't been any sort of redesign since 2001 and unless Ford changes its plans, the B and the Ranger are likely to be phased out next year.

Nonetheless, this rear-drive Mazda pickup is a rugged, no-frills workhorse that is easier to handle, easier to park and easier on gas than its bigger rivals. It is so basic, so affordable and so useful, it's retro cool.

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Honda Fit DX ($14,980)

Put aside the government handout for a second, the $1,000 ecoAuto rebate from Transport Canada. Yes, of course 20-somethings want it and they'll get it if they buy this Honda Fit.

But I'd argue the Fit is cool despite the rebate, not because of it. This subcompact runabout, a four-door hatchback, is a really well-designed car. Sure, the wheels look a bit small, but you can put so much gear into it. Drives okay, too.

Honda nailed it with the Fit. It's roomy, comfortable, stylish and fun. At a starting price of $14,980, the Fit is also incredibly affordable for a small car with big room inside and loads of useful features.

No dawdling, either. Power from the 1.5-litre, 109-horsepower four-cylinder engine is enough to move the lightweight Fit (1,091 kg) quickly through traffic.

The standard five-speed manual is an easy shifter, though it could be more precise. The light-touch clutch will be a favourite with smaller drivers and many women.

What really sells the Fit is the cabin. It's huge for a tiny car and hugely useful. The back seats fold forward to expand the cargo area and the back-seat cushions also lift and stow against the upright rear seat backs, opening cargo space in the centre of the car for a tall plant.

Meanwhile, the front passenger seat folds back level with the folded second row. Yes, you can stow a ladder inside the Fit — or a surfboard, snowboard or even a mountain bike.

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Hyundai Tiburon GS ($18,995)

Tiburon means "shark" in Spanish and the ocean feeder was clearly the inspiration for the design of this compact sport coupe with a great warranty, lots of features and low price.

The styling, though, is what sets the Tiburon apart. The sharp lines are bold and the profile is eye-catching. Take in the rising beltline and sweeping roof line.

Designers like to say it does not cost any more money to style a great-looking car than it does to do an ugly one. But that is not entirely true. Designs are, indeed, cheap, but manufacturing detailed ones like this is expensive.

That is true inside, too. The Tiburon has a simple, but handsome, cockpit with a look and feel that is high quality. There is no gimmickry here, just good design.

Now I am sure someone out there is saying a cool car should not have a soft suspension, that a sporty car needs something more than lacklustre handling. Sure, sport coupes like the Honda Civic (especially the Si), Mitsubishi Eclipse, Mini Cooper and Saturn Astra all have better road manners.

It is also true that the 138-horsepower four-cylinder engine is not particularly sporty, especially in such a heavy (1,314-kg) two-door. But driven calmly, the Tiburon delivers a smooth, pleasing ride.

The Tiburon is here among the cool cars because it just looks so different from the others.

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Suzuki SX4 hatchback ($17,195)

Last year Suzuki ran a commercial that suggested the SX4 is as much fun as a Suzuki motorcycle. That's a stretch, though not as much as you might think.

The 143-hp, base model, front-wheel drive SX4 is a stylish and sporty small wagon, not a dull econobox. I've listed the front-drive version here, but I should mention that for a bit more money ($20,695) Suzuki offers an all-wheel-drive version, and in Canada, what with the winters we've been having, the extra money might be well spent here.

All-wheel-drive is a boon in bad weather and it can add quite a bit of sporting character to a fairly mundane front-wheel-drive car. So we're talking a cool AWD hatchback for just a hair over $20,000.

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VW City Golf 2.0L ($15,300)

Volkswagen's recent struggles with reliability are not cool, but the fun factor and great price for the City Golf hatchback are.

The City lineup — Golfs and Jettas — are previous-generation models with slightly older technology that might actually deliver better quality than newer designs, given what is here has had time to be refined by VW.

This version of the Golf is actually built and sold in Brazil, which by the way is a pretty cool country, though some parts can be dangerous.

Under the hood is a 115-hp, 2.0-litre, four-cylinder engine and here, at this price, it is mated to a standard five-speed manual gearbox with easy shifting. The power train, in a nutshell, is refined.

The technology may be a bit old here, but it is not out of date. On the contrary, the City Golf is a very cool little grocery-getter.

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Jeep Patriot Sport/North ($16,995)

The Patriot's angular, rugged look is just exactly what an affordable Jeep should be. Purists will scream that this Jeep is not an off-roader by any means and they'll be right. This most affordable of all Jeeps is, in fact, a front-driver.

On the other hand, the Patriot is a very cool-looking small station wagon. The interior packaging is spacious and functional, too.

For instance, a split/fold-down rear and fold-down front passenger seat allows one to load plenty of goods, including skis, bikes and lumber. With the seats up, there's a surprising amount of room for passengers front and rear alike.

Novel features include a flashlight stored in the rear cargo bay and optional speakers that fold out of the rear hatch for tailgate parties. There's a rubberized mat to protect the cargo bed from wet or muddy cargo.

Up front, there's a good bit of storage space, even a right-sized cellphone slot in the centre console. The seats are good, too.

The Patriot is a sister vehicle to the Jeep Compass and edgy Dodge Caliber. The Compass is homely, but not enough to be cool, while the Caliber tries too hard, with all its hard lines and sharp edges.

I'll take the Patriot, especially at the price and with that $1,000 ecoAuto rebate, too.

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Mazda3 GS sedan ($16,895)

The Mazda3 is one of the most important cars of the last decade. It is in its fifth year now, with only minor changes, yet the sharp styling still looks fresh.

Toyota won't admit it, but the new Corolla was delayed for a year to dress up the styling, to make it competitive with this Mazda. Nissan delayed the new Sentra for a year for the very same reasons. And Honda went over the top in redesigning the Civic not just for fun, but to match Mazda.

Add in athletic handling, a refined and zippy 148-hp engine and top-notch build and materials quality and what you have is a very cool car. Heck, even the distinctive and upscale interior design looks far richer than its price would suggest.

I've put the sedan on this list because it looks richer than the more functional four-door hatchback. More than anything else, this car shows that you do not need to pay a lot for a handsome sport sedan. The 3 is cool because you get a lot for your hard-earned cash.

Here is a last cool factor to consider. The Mazda3 may be Canada's second-best-selling car, but it still is not as ubiquitous as the Civic and Corolla. And almost no one thinks of it as an economy car. Rather, it is the least expensive sport sedan you can get.

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Mitsubishi Lancer DE sedan ($16,598)

This car is a real looker, a sharp, sophisticated sedan with strong performance for an inexpensive compact. Nothing uncool about all that.

The Lancer, in fact, exceeds expectations in many ways. Remember, this Lancer and the really racy Lancer Evolution share some of the same architecture, so in this case the Lancer's beauty is more than skin deep.

And that's saying something. The Lancer has a very fast appearance. The narrowed headlights, small grille, sculpted grille and wedge body with the raised beltline make a bold design statement.

In driving, the 152-hp four-banger is strong and responsive and the tight chassis feels great. The Lancer cuts through corners and handles very well. All the excellent responses come from that well-engineered platform. And fuel economy is good.

The price is right, too. All cool.

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Smart fortwo Pure ($14,990)

Take $2,000 off that price you see; the fortwo qualifies for a $2,000 ecoAuto government rebate.

What really sells the Smart, though, is something else: it is a fuel-efficient, practical, trendy and especially stylish two-seater and there is nothing else quite like it on the road today.

And did I mention that the fortwo barely uses any fuel at all? The 70-hp three-cylinder gas engine gets 5.9 litres per 100 km/4.8 city. Outstanding.

There's more, too. If you tire of the car's colour, it's easy to change in a couple of hours. The plastic body panels can be switched by a dealer or a skillful backyard mechanic.

As for safety, the Smart types say their car is a monster in crash tests, amazingly safe for such a tiny car. The fortwo has four airbags, antilock brakes, stability control and a collapsing steering column.

Then there is the automated manual gearbox. It takes some getting used to but is also a conversation piece. As is the whole car.