Hatchbacks

Alfa Romeo will launch its high-performance MiTo GTA later this year but a second sporty variant of the stylish hatchback has just been unveiled. Making its debut at the 2009 AutoRAI in Amsterdam this week, the new hot hatch pick up Alfa Romeo’s longstanding ‘Veloce’ badging and...

Following the success of the Golf R32, a replacement for the car based on the Mark VI platform was always going to have big shoes to fill. However, with news that the torquey 3.2L V6 engine from the Mark V model was being phased out, the outlook for the car’s successor was looking grim. That...

The lamentations of American hatch fans - as few as they may be - over the unfairness of Europe's bounty are legendary. But soon it's European hatch fans that may be sobbing, mourning the stillbirth of Ford's tiniest hot hatch, the Fiesta RS. The initial report, sourced by an interview of Jost...

Volkswagen’s Mark VI Golf hatchback will lose the Rabbit nameplate when it goes on sale in the U.S. later this year. VW of America decided to bring back the Rabbit nameplate three years ago after it was dropped following the demise of the first-generation Golf back in the early 1980s. The...

In Europe, the Ford Focus is an affordable, well-engineered and stylish small car available in hatch, sedan, wagon and convertible bodystyles. The car is also available with a number of options, including dual-clutch transmissions, flex-fuel engines, a folding hard top roof (convertible models...

Most major automakers are working on a new generation of compact vehicles to help meet tough emissions and fuel-economy standards set to roll in over the next couple of years. One of the most active in the industry is Audi, which is reportedly working on a handful of new models all positioned below...

The short-sightedness of the car-buying public is breathtaking. It was just months ago that fears over $4 gas prices had people scurrying about, dumping loaded SUVs for a fraction of their purchase price and replacing them with smaller, more efficient vehicles. But today, with fuel well under $2...

At last year’s Paris Motor Show Volkswagen unveiled a thinly disguised 'concept' of the Mark VI Golf GTI, the latest iteration of one of the most acclaimed hot hatches on the market. New shots released today show the concept car was in fact a doppelganger for the production model, right down...

The small-car surge in the U.S. was cut short last year when once-high fuel prices dropped as suddenly as they'd risen, but the future of the market seems clear: prices will rise again, and small cars will be the best solution. To that end, Volkswagen is planning to bring its 2010 Polo compact car...

Undoubtedly one of the most extreme concept cars to ever come out of Volkswagen’s design studios, 2007’s Golf GTI W12 650 dropped plenty of jaws - not only because of its twin-turbocharged W12 engine but also because of its overt styling. Unfortunately, VW never had any plans to build...

Love them or hate them, tuners are here to stay, and sometimes they even manage to improve the cars they tackle. Take the new JMS VW Scirocco for example. Though they recognize the difficulty in improving on a dramatically styled new car like the Scirocco, they've managed to make some basic changes...

The third-generation Fiat Grande Punto has been on sale since 2005 but thanks to its Giugiaro-styled lines the car still looks fresh to this day in the crowded compact hatchback market. Despite this, Fiat is still planning to update the car with a facelift later this year although the nature of the...

Michelin's Active Wheel technology has been 12 years in the making, and now there is finally a commercial application of the astonishing technology in a small city car named the 'Will'. The new car will be able to seat five passengers, and its electric drivetrain will offer a range of around 150km...

Volkswagen-owned Skoda doesn't get much press in the U.S. but over in Central and Eastern Europe it is one of the most popular automotive brands. Having launched new versions of its mainstream Octavia and Superb sedans in the past year, the company has now also revealed its all-new Yeti compact SUV...

Volkswagen is set to expand its BlueMotion range of fuel misers with the launch of a new version based on the recently revealed fifth-generation Polo hatchback. While the Polo BlueMotion isn’t due to hit the streets until next year, a concept version of the car has made an appearance at...

At last month’s Detroit Auto Show, General Motors confirmed that its all-new Chevrolet Spark minicar would go on sale in the United States by 2011 but apart from the release of a single teaser image no other details were revealed. GM has today released a set of new images of the upcoming...

As carmakers strive to improve the fuel efficiency of their powertrains, more and more innovative and technical solutions are coming to light. Take Rinspeed’s latest E2 concept car based on the sporty Fiat 500 Abarth. Instead of opting for a complicated and expensive hybrid or electric...

Europe's love affair with - and America's envy of - hot hatches knows almost no bounds, with makers from all quadrants throwing out spiced-up versions of just about everything imaginable, from Skodas to Peugeots to Fiats. One of the latest to join the club is an updated version of the Fiat Grande...

Subaru’s WRX STI has always been about extreme performance. The car itself was developed by the Subaru Tecnica International (STI) division, the same group responsible for development of Subaru’s World Rally Championship cars, and thus next-to-little compromises to performance were...

This year’s Geneva Motor Show will see the launch of two new Lancia Delta variants: a new range-topping version and a sports model with a powerful turbocharged engine. For those unfamiliar with Lancia, the brand is a division of Fiat Group that offers a range of distinctive hatches and...