Although most people don't bother about performance, it seems that even performance cars like latest FK2R Civic Type R went for torsion beam. Coming from Honda who aggressively promoted their double wishbone superiority last time, this is a surprise. Perhaps the technology in torsion beam had improved by a lot but theoretically, independent suspension should still be better for comfort and handling because two sides of the wheel is not linked together.
Really don't understand why manufacturers ditched independent rear suspension. Hot hatch today, almost all of them are using torsion beam. But when you look at 80s and 90s, hatches like Mitsubishi Mirage (Satria), Civic hatch (EF,EG,EK), CR-X, they are all using independent suspension. I'm not sure about Nissan Pulsar and Toyota Starlet though...
Honda with vtec? If it is the previous Honda City between i-DSi and VTEC, I'll take the VTEC instead of that i-DSi because of that twin spark plug thing.
Normally more expensive should be better if you are comparing between the same car but different trim line. But performance wise, I won't say so. Like Vios J manual VS Vios TRD. Clearly the cheapest one will outperform the most expensive one.