Hatchbacks

Act One: Track time Four cars head out onto the east course at Thunderhill Raceway Park outside of Willows, California. The cars are Hyundais. Yes, Hyundais. This track can be terrifying, with a couple of blind crests, one of which leads to an off-camber right turn. I’m not too worried...

Ford engineers have been caught testing the new Focus ST hot hatch set for a reveal very soon. Ford unveiled a new generation of the Focus in April, and we were meant to get one variant of the popular compact in the United States, a soft-roader called the Focus Active to be sourced from China...

Porsche on Monday unveiled the new GTS version of its second-generation Panamera. Available with either the standard hatch or Sport Turismo wagon body styles, the GTS enhances the Panamera with an extra helping of sportiness but without blowing up the price. The extra sportiness comes primarily...

Toyota used this week's 2018 Paris auto show to present the new GR Sport version of its Yaris subcompact hatch. GR Sport represents the entry-level trim from Toyota's new GR performance sub-brand launched last year in Japan. GR stands for Gazoo Racing, Toyota's official motorsport department, and...

Although all eyes were on the Mercedes-AMG A35 at the 2018 Paris motor show, it's the upcoming A45 that promises real performance credentials. Now we have the latest details on the AMG A45 hot hatchback straight from AMG boss Tobias Moers. The chairman of the management board of Mercedes-AMG told...

Mercedes-AMG has revealed its first take on Mercedes-Benz's new generation of compact cars. The car is the new A35 based on the A-Class hatchback, and it was revealed on Tuesday at the 2018 Paris auto show. The A35 isn't a direct replacement for the outgoing A45. That model is due out later. That's...

We're yet to really see tuners, in-house names included, turn up the power dial in electric cars. Nissan's Nismo unit however has taken an early step in this relatively new field with its Note e-Power Nismo S electric hatch launched Wednesday in Japan. The car's electric motor delivers 134...

Hyundai's newest Elantra GT has a sporty liftback variant sold overseas, and the car has just received the N performance treatment. The standard version of the car is called i30 Fastback, and now Hyundai has added the i30 Fastback N version. The car was revealed Wednesday ahead of a formal debut at...

Sick of toting the kids to their dorms a state or two away? Would it help for your college student to have a car to get from campus to that internship? Is your new graduate looking for affordable transportation? Mini may have the answer. On Wednesday Mini announced it is currently offering the...

Volkswagen is digging back into its archives for a special-edition Golf GTI. The Rabbit Edition will join the GTI lineup for 2019. The brand hasn't released pricing or fuel economy estimates for the Golf GTI Rabbit Edition and note the vehicle pictured above is the 2018 Golf GTI. However, we do...

Opel engineers are out testing a prototype for a facelifted version of the Astra compact hatchback. The facelifted Astra is expected on sale in markets where Opel operates sometime next year. The tweaks constitute a mid-cycle update for the current Astra which made its debut at the 2015 Frankfurt...

Hyundai's newest Elantra GT has a sporty liftback variant sold overseas, and it's about to get the N performance treatment. The standard version of the car is called the i30 Fastback. The latest spy shots and video show a prototype for what's shaping up to be a new i30 Fastback N, a car that will...

The original A7 remains one of the best-looking four-door liftbacks on the market. Fortunately for its successor, the designers kept most of the proportions the same, only tweaking things here and there and adding Audi's latest design treatments. The redesigned 2019 Audi A7 is also a technical...

Honda has been out to prove the performance of its Civic Type R since the feisty hatch debuted for the 2017 model year, and its yardstick has been to set the lap record for front-wheel-drive cars at famous race tracks around the globe, including the Nürburgring. The final attempt took place...

Do you have a favorite car? Are you fortunate enough to own it? Josef Juza has a favorite car and it's the Volkswagen Golf. He doesn't own just one, however. Juza currently owns 114 Volkswagen Golfs. “When I sat in a Golf for the first time I just had the feeling that this car had been built...

Mini on Thursday gave us our first look at some of the design of its electric Hardtop due in 2019. The vehicle was previewed as a concept at the 2017 Frankfurt auto show, and judging by the latest teasers design elements from the show car will make it onto the upcoming production model...

Earlier this decade, Aston Martin rebadged a Scion iQ and sold the car complete with a wheezy 1.3-liter engine as the Cygnet. It was a cost-effective way for Aston Martin to get its average emissions down but, for obvious reasons, the car was a dud and thankfully killed off a couple of years after...

How do you angry up a compact car designed to prosper in an urban environment? If you're Audi, the answer is simple. Apply your current design language, which is filled with creases and vents, on top of a new A1 Sportback. Voila! Instant eye-catching city commuter car. The second-generation A1...

The modern Mini's third-generation family is in the process of being updated. The first members off the line were the Mini Hardtop and Convertible, which were shown in January at the 2018 Detroit auto show. It looks like the Mini Clubman will be the next member to be updated, as evidenced by the...

BMW's 4-Series Gran Coupe is one of the more handsome options in the lineup, though strangely the svelte five-door never received the same M4 treatment that its coupe and convertible siblings benefited from. That won't be the case for the next-generation 4-Series Gran Coupe due early next decade...