Slamnasty

He's commenting on the fact that at the time, the SVT Contour got high marks from just about everybody for its driving dynamics, if not its passenger headroom and plasticky interior. The car is known for its engine and performance. He's not crossing market segment barriers randomly to choose what he considers first rate. He's keeping his comments focused to the particular market segment of the car being discussed. And in that case there was pretty much nobody at that time that offered a better-performing car for the money. Only the Jetta GLX VR6 was similar, but it likely couldn't handle as well, and had less horsepower.

I see SVT Contours occasionally, and they are usually decked out pretty nicely, with a good set of pipes. I'd love to give one a whirl sometime. Might even be a fun second car since they're so cheap to pick up these days.