I'm a 1911 guy / and I like the Wilson Combat CQB in a 5" and its my primary carry gun - but if that's out of your price range, I would recommend the Sig 220 if you want to stay with a .45 acp. For a smaller gun - I do keep a Sig 239 single stack in .40 in my vehicle - and I think that is a good option as well - for something smaller -with Hydra Shoks in it.
It kind of depends on how much you want to spend on a gun / or what you want out of the gun. There are other 1911's out there / lots of them actually, which I'm sure you know ...but I don't know if I'd trust any of them as a primary carry weapon or not. Ed Brown makes a nice carry gun / Kobra carry - although its a little small in my hands. I have a few of Kimber's 1911's - but I've so many issues come up with them, I'm not sure I'd trust them as a carry gun.
I hear the Para Hawg's are getting better - but I don't know if I'd trust one or not / but I don't have much experience with them either so I can't help you there. For me, in a .45 acp I just can't get away from a 1911 - its slim, its lethal, it has a great trigger, good sights ....and all of my guns from Wilson Combat have run flawlessly right out of the box / unfortunately, you have to come up with about $ 2,500 these days or look for a good used one ( but a lot of us are looking for used Wilson's all the time too .....) and even then I don't think you'll find a good used Wilson under $ 1,800 these days / and if you find one and don't buy end - send me a note .....( I need a few more, just in case).
