Hatchbacks
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A new generation of the Volkswagen Polo, the nameplate’s sixth iteration, was revealed on Friday. The new model features an evolutionary look, though major changes have taken place under the skin. Underpinning the vehicle is the smallest version of the MQB platform. The platform is flexible enough to spawn everything from this subcompact Polo right up to the mid-size, three-row Atlas SUV. As was expected, the new Polo has grown in size: at 159 inches in length, it’s the biggest Polo yet. Compared to the outgoing model, the new one has a 3.7-inch longer wheelbase (100 inches) and...
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Lexus CT 200h updated, but discontinued in US
The Lexus CT 200h has been discontinued in the United States (2017 was the final model year), but overseas the hybrid hatch lives on. To keep it fresh, Lexus has introduced a new round of updates. Like the updates introduced for 2016, the latest changes are hard to spot for all but the...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2017 Honda Civic Type R priced at $34,775
For years, Honda has been teasing us with the promise of a Civic Type R for the United States. We’re glad to report that the wait is finally over as the car is now on sale. It also has its first television spot up and running. Honda on Thursday confirmed a starting price of $34,775, including...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2017 Honda Civic Type R first drive review: Track attacker
It’s a spectacular summer day in Montreal, and not just because it’s 80 degrees. It’s Formula One week, and the remote buzz is audible even downtown as F1 drivers crackle off practice laps at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. They turn one of the most peaceful places in one of North...
Martin Padgett -
2018 BMW 6-Series GT revealed, priced from $70,695
The BMW 5-Series Gran Turismo has finally run its course, but before you pop the champagne cork note that a successor is coming. That successor is the 6-Series Gran Turismo which was revealed by BMW on Tuesday. The luxury hatchback is due in showrooms in the fall, as a 2018 model, and has been...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2018 Ford Focus RS Limited Edition priced at $41,995
The current Ford Focus is on its way out, and sadly that means the Focus RS, which only arrived as a 2016 model, will soon be gone as well. To mark the end of the latter car’s run, Ford announced in May a new Focus RS Limited Edition. Just 1,000 of these 350-horsepower steeds will be offered...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
What’s a little heresy among friends? Porsche put out its first Cayenne SUV in 2003, and oh, the hand-wringing, the garment-rending. The haterade flowed like Dom in the VIP room or so we’ve heard. Porsche 911 loyalists–mostly, people who’d never driven one–hauled their iron maidens out of cold storage. Abomination! Against nature! They forgot some keywords, like hugely profitable. Also, a real Porsche. Because brands are elastic, just like the socks the commenterati keep close to their mousepads. Fast forward to 2010, when Porsche really stamped their passport to...
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Hyundai i30 N survives 24 Hours Nürburgring race
Motorsport provides a fun, challenging and highly-visible avenue for car development, and it’s a well-worn path Hyundai has taken for the first model from its recently-established N division. That first model is the i30 N, a high-performance version of the Golf-rivaling i30 hatchback. Sadly...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2018 Ford Focus RS Limited Edition comes with mechanical, styling upgrades
It appears Ford’s been listening to fans. The automaker has implemented some upgrades on its Focus RS for 2018 after evaluating feedback on social media. The upgrades, which include enhancements in the mechanical and styling departments, are being introduced on a limited-edition model aptly...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
VW unveils 268-horsepower Golf GTE Performance concept at 2017 Wörthersee Tour
Volkswagen waited until Thursday’s opening day for the 2017 Wörthersee Tour GTI tuning fest to release details on yet another hot hatch concept present at the Austrian event. Joining the Up! GTI and hybrid Golf GTI and Golf GTE SportWagen concepts at the event is the Golf GTE Performance...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
VW reveals GTI hybrid concept with rear-axle electric motor
This year’s Wörthersee Tour GTI tuning fest is upon us and Volkswagen has revealed some exciting concepts. Last week we were treated to the production-bound Up! GTI concept and now we have details on two new concepts present at the Austrian event. The highlight is a Golf GTI hybrid...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
First ad for the 2017 Honda Civic Type R drops
Honda has long had a penchant for motorsports, and it has translated into an iconic nameplate for the brand's road cars: Type R. Except, the United States has mostly been left out of the Type R party. That changes this year and Honda is sounding the news off loud and clear in the 2017 Civic Type...
Sean Szymkowski -
Volkswagen’s pint-sized Up! hatchback has received the GTI treatment. The car, still a concept, debuts next week at the 2017 Wörthersee Tour and will enter production in early 2018. Since we don’t get the standard Up! in the United States, don’t waste your time pining for this one. In the markets where it will be sold, the car is to counter other hot minis such as the Fiat 500 Abarth and Mini John Cooper Works Hardtop. It will come with a 1.0-liter turbocharged inline-3 delivering 113 horsepower to the front wheels via a 6-speed manual. Such an output may be lower than...
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Next 3-Series GT reportedly joining 4-Series family, coming with electric option
With BMW’s next 5-Series Gran Turismo set to receive 6-Series badging, it makes sense that the smaller 3-Series Gran Turismo will eventually join the 4-Series family. According to Autocar, this is exactly what BMW is planning for the 3-Series GT’s successor. Note, the current 3-Series...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
2017 Honda Civic Type R boasts 25 mpg combined
Fun and frugal: the best of both worlds. It's typically hard to come by, but occasionally, Goldilocks syndrome sets in. The 2017 Honda Civic Type R may classify as one example. Official fuel economy estimates released for the 2017 Civic Type R reveal an EPA-estimated 22 mpg city, 28 mpg highway...
Sean Szymkowski -
2018 Volkswagen Polo spy shots and video
Volkswagen’s Polo subcompact is now the oldest model in the German brand’s lineup, with the current, fifth-generation model having made its debut as far back as the 2009 Geneva auto show. A successor is in the works and has just been spotted completely undisguised. This is the standard...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
BMW 1-Series Hatchback gets minor updates ahead of redesigned model’s arrival
BMW is out testing prototypes for its next-generation 1-Series Hatchback, but before the new car arrives the current model on sale overseas since 2011 will be given one last update. Being so late in the life cycle, the changes implemented are relatively minor. (It’s actually the car’s...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
This 500-horsepower Peugeot 106 is awesome, horrible
The humble Peugeot 106 makes a paltry 118 horsepower in its most vicious trim. This one makes 500, all thrashing through what began life as a stock 1.6-liter inline-4. Built to take on time attack events, the car has abandoned all of its former life as a commuter. There's a massive turbo sticking...
Zach Bowman -
The first photo of Renault’s rival to the Ford Focus RS, Honda Civic Type R and Volkswagen Golf R has surfaced ahead of an expected debut at the 2017 Formula One Monaco Grand Prix later this month. (It’s also thought to be making an appearance at the 2017 Goodwood Festival of Speed in June.) The car is a new generation of the Mégane RS, with the development being handled by Renault Sport Cars. Renault's high-performance road car division teased the hot hatch in March in a video celebrating the milestone of one million Facebook fans. The new Mégane RS will maintain...
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2018 Hyundai i30 N spy shots and video
It was in 2013 that Hyundai established a new performance division to leverage its motorsport technology, honed primarily in the World Rally Championship, for hot versions of its road cars. The new performance division was named the Hyundai N division, and it had its official coming out party at...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Porsche dealers are clamoring for a five-seat Panamera hatchback
Automakers seem to be in the business of giving consumers choices once again. Among those choices: A handful of marques have decided to try and reignite the old love affair with the wagon here in the U.S. That includes Buick and its new Regal TourX wagon. On the luxury and performance end of the...
Sean Szymkowski -
2017 Honda Civic Type R sets front-wheel-drive ‘Ring record
Honda has done it. The automaker’s 2017 Civic Type R is now the fastest front-wheel-drive production car around the Nürburgring. The 306-horsepower hot hatch required just 7:43.8 to lap the 12.9 miles of the full Nürburgring Nordschleife to reclaim the record from Volkswagen and its...
Viknesh Vijayenthiran -
Next Ford Focus ST upping the power?
There are a few rumors swirling about with regards to the next-generation Ford Focus. Specifically, these pertain to the more hot-blooded ST variant and what sort of mill might make its way under the hood of this Blue Oval-brand hot hatch. In the current car, we're used to the turbocharged...
Jeff Glucker -
2018 VW Golf lineup nipped, tucked, tech'd
Volkswagen's ever-growing lineup of compact hatchbacks and wagons has a modestly revised look and some additional technology for the 2018 model year. The updated range was revealed on Wednesday at the 2017 New York auto show. Set to go on sale this fall, the 2018 Golf, Golf SportWagen, Golf...
Andrew Ganz