The 2020 Ford Focus ST carries a burden that wasn’t anticipated for its place in the hot-hatch world. Ford’s decision earlier this year to axe development of a next-generation RS model means the ST must now serve as the fastest Focus to challenge a gamut of rivals. It’s not bringing a knife to a gunfight, though. Ford has installed the last RS’s 2...
High-riding hatches, pretend SUVs... whatever you want to call them, the look is taking off around the world. Which of these three is most deserving of your attention?
While buyers continue to gravitate toward SUVs, small cars haven’t entirely lost their appeal. They account for about one-in-seven new vehicles sold this year, with this cluster of models forming the vast majority of the segment’s sales. We’re testing flagship variants here, with sticker prices between $30,000 and $40,000...
Not everyone wants a full-on ‘hot’ hatch. Some people just want something with a bit of poke, contemporary tech and a reasonable price tag packaged into the right body style. It’s actually quite a cluttered segment, full of viable options. We’ve assembled three of the newest here, with a goal of finding the car that balances the key attributes of performance, handling, comfort, tech and value best...
When it comes to small cars, Australians have consistently shown their affinity for Japanese models – especially the Toyota Corolla and Mazda 3. And in the last decade or so, the love has spread to Korean cars – notably the Hyundai i30. That’s left European contenders such as the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf – models that perform so outstandingly in their own market (and the UK) – to conduct their own private, best-of-the-rest sales war...
Does the perfect hot hatch exist? Is your perfect hot hatch someone else's nightmare ride? The latter scenario is probably more likely, but to put the theory to the test, we’ve pitted the all-new Renault Megane RS280 against the reigning champs from our recent hot hatch mega test...
Welcome to Part Two of the video feature for our recent 2018 Hot Hatch Mega Test. To recap, we've assembled three all-wheel-drivers and three front-drivers from non-premium marques, with pricing ranging from $43k (i30 N) through to $57,690 (STI Spec R). It's a rich and diverse field with each competitor representing its maker's fastest and most fun-filled efforts...
We pit five of the best turbo hot hatches - and one wildcard sedan - against one another to find out which is the fastest and most fun small rocketship for under $60k. In this video we test outright performance and lap times...
Is there a more vibrant and diverse segment on the market right now than that labelled 'hot hatch'? In fact, is it technically a segment at all, but rather a broad net cast wide enough to include a $25K compact-sized Suzuki Swift Sport at one extreme and larger, circa-$80K Audi RS3s and Merc-AMG A45s at the other? And that’s just hatchbacks...
Front-wheel drive has been part of the classic hot-hatch formula since the genre was ignited in the 1970s. The layout would dominate any all-time-greats list for the category, featuring the likes of the Peugeot 205 GTI, Renault Megane RS, and of course Volkswagen Golf GTI (Marks III and IV excepted!). Yet, there have long been exceptions, of course...
For all the hoo-ha about booming sales of SUVs, the so-called 'small car' segment remains the market's most popular, still accounting for almost 20 per cent of all new vehicles sold in Australia. Of this, the majority are hatchbacks instead of three-box sedans, which draw people in based on their improved practicality and generally less conservative design approaches...
