Hatchbacks

  • 2020 Volkswagen Golf spy shots - Image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien

    Prototypes for a redesigned Volkswagen Golf, the eighth generation of the popular nameplate, has been spotted. The car enters production in June and should be in local showrooms early next year, meaning we'll likely see it as a 2020 model—unless VW decides to delay it for the U.S. like it did with the current Golf. VW's main plant in Wolfsburg, Germany is expected to become the sole site for Golf production from the new generation on. Only VW die-hards will be able to tell the new design from the current one. New dual-element headlights with a hexagonal pattern feature up front. There...

  • 2020 Honda E prototype
    Honda's cutesy Urban EV concept transforms into e Prototype for Geneva auto show

    Honda unveiled an adorable electric city car a couple of years back in the form of the Urban EV concept and upon the debut also confirmed that a production version was in the pipeline. Now Honda has provided a first look at the production version, albeit as a prototype. Called the Honda e...

  • Honda Civic hatchback production in Swindon, UK
    Honda Civic Type R production moving to North America as UK plant closes

    Honda will move production of the Civic's hatchback body style from a plant in the United Kingdom to North America, the automaker's CEO has confirmed. The news, which was widely expected, comes just a week after the automaker announced it will close its plant at Swindon in South West England in...

  • 2019 Ford Focus ST
    New Ford Focus ST debuts with 276 horsepower, forbidden fruit status

    Hot hatch fans in the United States are likely still mourning Ford's decision last year to skip the new generation of the Focus locally, and now they'll have to suffer fresh salt in the wounds as the Blue Oval has just unveiled the car's sporty ST variant. The covers came off the redesigned Focus...

  • 2019 Lynk & Co. 04 spy shots - Image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
    2019 Lynk & Co. 04 spy shots

    The fourth model from Volvo sister company Lynk & Co. has been spotted. It's a compact hatchback set to reach the market sometime in 2019. Lynk & Co. is already selling its 01 and 02 compact crossover SUVs and 03 compact sedan in China. The models will soon be followed by this 04 hatch and...

  • 2020 Audi A1 Allroad spy shots - Image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
    2020 Audi A1 Allroad spy shots

    Audi last June unveiled the second generation of its A1 subcompact sold overseas. Now we have spy shots of what looks to be a new Allroad version. Audi applies its Allroad label to standard models featuring a raised ride height and underbody protection. Referred to as soft-roaders, the Allroad...

  • Volvo 40.2 concept

    Volvo's handsome V40 compact hatchback sold overseas won't get a repeat. That's according to the Swedish brand's European boss, Lex Kerssemakers, who has revealed that Volvo will replace the V40 with a high-riding model of some sort. “We need to do something more creative, which is why we decided not to replace the V40 directly,” Kerssemakers told Autocar in an interview published Thursday. Volvo already sells the XC40 crossover SUV in the compact class. This means a new high-riding model will likely feature a different body style. A likely bet is a crossover with coupe-like...

  • 2019 Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR
    Crank up the volume: VW reveals 286-horsepower Golf GTI TCR

    Volkswagen on Wednesday unveiled a tuned version of its Golf GTI inspired by the TCR race version of the car. It's called the Golf GTI TCR, and it was previewed by a concept at the 2018 Wörthersee Tour tuning fest held last May in Austria. The production version matches the concept car's...

  • 2019 Hyundai Elantra GT N Line, 2019 Detroit auto show
    2019 Hyundai Elantra GT N Line hatchback is here because brandalism isn't exclusive to Germany

    The assimilation of the N performance sub-brand into the Hyundai borg didn't take long. On Monday, the automaker introduced the 2019 Hyundai Elantra GT N Line at the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. The Elantra GT N Line is a rebadged Elantra GT Sport from last year that...

  • 2019 Nissan Leaf
    2019 Nissan Leaf Plus comes with more power, range

    Nissan on Tuesday finally unveiled a long-range option for its Leaf electric car. The 2019 Nissan Leaf Plus made its debut at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and will be in showrooms in the spring. Nissan didn't say how much the Leaf Plus would cost when it goes on sale. The Plus in...

  • 2019 Toyota Corolla Hatchback
    Toyota could add Corolla TRD to challenge Golf GTI, Veloster N

    Toyota has a new Corolla on its hands, one that doesn't look like something your grandma would drive—and the car could be destined to receive some performance upgrades to back its racy looks. Australia's Car Sales reported Thursday that a Corolla GR hot hatch is being developed to challenge...

  • 2019 Mercedes-AMG A45 hatchback teaser
    Mercedes-AMG has a new A45 coming, and this is what its drift mode can do

    Mercedes-AMG has just revealed the new 302-horsepower A35 hot hatch, but the Affalterbach tuner still has the even hotter redesigned A45 in the hopper, and the car has just been previewed in a dramatic teaser video. The new A45 hatch is due for a reveal in early 2019, and while we won't see it in...

  • 2019 Mini John Cooper Works Hardtop

    Mini launched an updated version of its Hardtop earlier in the year and on Wednesday the covers came off the car's John Cooper Works performance variant. Both the updated JCW Hardtop and Convertible have been revealed. The updates represent a mid-cycle update for the current third generation of the modern Mini, and in the case of the JCW models the changes are minor. The key update is a gasoline particulate filter, which is integrated into the sports exhaust system and has no negative affect on performance. Specifications for the United States are yet to be announced but in other markets the...

  • Bitter Shooting Brake
    Germany's Bitter plans Corvette-based shooting brake

    Bitter is a German tuner of Opel cars that made its mark on the world in the 1970s when it produced a shooting brake called the CD. The car was based on an Opel sedan and came with a Chevrolet V-8, and it had the full blessing of General Motors, which owned Opel at the time. In fact, legendary GM...

  • Nissan Leaf Nismo RC concept
    Nissan reveals Leaf Nismo RC race car that won't actually race

    Nissan in 2011 graced us with a race car concept based on the first-generation Leaf electric hatchback. Nissan built the concept to draw attention to the seemingly untapped performance potential of electric cars, though the concept wasn't particularly fast, its electric motor generating just 107...

  • 2019 Mazda 3
    Mazda CEO: No plan for Mazdaspeed 3, rotary sports car

    Mazda on Wednesday unveiled a stylish new generation of its popular 3 hatchback and sedan but fans pining for a high-performance Mazdaspeed version are set for disappointment. Speaking to Drive at the reveal of the new 3 at the 2018 Los Angeles auto show, Mazda CEO Akira Marumoto said the company...

  • 2019 Mazda 3, 2018 LA Auto Show
    2019 Mazda 3 brings premium look, tech to compact segment

    These days, buying an affordable car doesn't mean you have to drive something whose reflection you'd rather not see when passing a wall of glass. This is thanks primarily to brands like Mazda which in recent years has been really pushing the design envelope for non-premium cars. The Japanese firm...

  • 2019 Audi A1 Sportback
    Audi S1 reportedly not up for renewal

    Audi in June unveiled the second generation of its A1 subcompact for overseas markets. Unfortunately, a sporty version to succeed its predecessor's S1 model is “not foreseen” on the current platform. That's according to Audi spokesman Peter Oberndorfer, who in an interview with Car...

  • 2019 Mazda 3 hatchback spy shots - Image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien

    Mazda will unveil its next-generation Mazda 3 at the end of this month at the 2018 Los Angeles auto show, but a prototype has just been spotted and reveals many of the details. The prototype is for a Mazda 3 hatch but a sedan is also coming. Both body styles were previewed last week in a teaser video. Mazda has been dropping plenty of hints about its new 3 over the course of the past 12 months. The Kai concept car (shown below) unveiled at the 2017 Tokyo auto show previewed the design and looks to closely resemble the production version. The concept was also built on the new SkyActiv-Vehicle...

  • 2019 Hyundai Veloster N
    Hyundai Veloster N TCR race car being prepped for 2019 Michelin Pilot Challenge

    Hyundai currently offers an i30 N-based race car for customer teams competing around the globe in TCR competition. But in markets where the i30 N isn't available, such as the United States, local teams have been seeking a race car based on the related Veloster N. Hyundai last week finally confirmed...

  • 2019 Hyundai Veloster N
    2019 Hyundai Veloster N priced at $27,785

    Hyundai's first real step into the hot hatch segment, at least in the United States, will come with a competitive base price. The Korean brand on Tuesday revealed the 2019 Veloster N will start at $27,785, including destination. The base price will net buyers a 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-4 that...

  • Teaser for next-gen Mazda 3 debuting at 2018 Los Angeles auto show
    Next-gen Mazda 3 to debut at 2018 Los Angeles auto show

    Mazda on Thursday provided a glimpse at the next-generation Mazda 3 sedan and hatch and confirmed the reveal for this month's 2018 Los Angeles auto show. Apart from a teaser photo and video, there aren't any additional new details to go on. However, Mazda has been dropping plenty of hints about its...

  • 2019 Honda Civic Type R
    2019 Honda Civic Type R receives round of updates, $36,595 starting price

    The Honda Civic Type R soldiers on into the 2019 model year with limited changes, but buyers will have to shell out $1,000 more over 2018's model. Honda revealed pricing and details for the Civic Type R on Thursday, which included the price bump. For 2019, the hot hatchback will cost $36,595, an...

  • 2020 Mercedes-AMG A45 hatchback spy shots - Image via S. Baldauf/SB-Medien
    2020 Mercedes-AMG A45 hatchback spy shots and video

    Mercedes-Benz has a redesigned A-Class on its hands, and this time around there is both a hatchback and a sedan, the latter of which we'll see here in the United States. They're the first of eight body styles planned for Mercedes' new generation of compacts. Another is a redesigned B-Class minivan...

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