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...
We’ll admit a comparison test between the BMW M140i and Ford Focus RS doesn’t seem particularly logical on the surface, but there’s a method to the madness. Each demonstrates a different methodology for doing the same thing — turning a garden variety small hatchback into a bona fide road weapon...
We assembled 17 of fittest 'fun cars' under $60k at Sydney Motorsport Park at the recent MotorWorld event and there you, our readers, into the test seats. And we gave the mega test field a spin ourselves. Together, we decide what's hot, what's fun and what is exception value for money...
The first part of our Ford Focus RS versus Subaru WRX STI versus Volkswagen Golf R comparison, the road test, ended with the Volkswagen claiming victory over the new Ford and the Subaru. This, though, is the second instalment – the track element – and it's the best chance the compromised but vastly gifted RS has to win back some ground...
Think turbocharged, four-wheel-drive cars and it's hard not to picture rally monsters flying over jumps and sliding through forests millimetres from trees. These days, though, buyers keen for a road-going, boosted, all-paw performance car are spoilt for choice. And, if you've got around $50k to spend, three of the best you can buy are the Ford Focus RS, Subaru WRX STI, and Volkswagen Golf R...
Small hatchbacks such as the Mazda 3 and Ford Focus are not selling quite as well as they used to, with the boom in small crossovers such as the Mazda CX-3 and Honda HR-V eating heartily into their market share. But despite the changing face of the auto market, this segment of vehicle remains Australia’s most popular overall...
Ford versus Holden, the definitive Australian automotive rivalry, seen here but not as we know it. There's not a V8 engine, a sedan body or a rear-wheel-drive configuration in sight. Instead, we have a pair of hot hatches, both (re)launched inside the past few months, that go about doing broadly the same thing as each other in notably different ways...
Almost anyone can throw on a pair of gym shorts and runners and look reasonably sporting in the checkout line at Coles, and the same is true with cars – the addition of alloy wheels, a spoiler and foglights can suddenly make your small hatchback look at least a bit athletic. As ever, though, it's the muscles beneath the clothes that counts...
It’s rare that a higher-specification variant of a popular mainstream car would be the best-seller in the range, but that tells you much about the enduring status and appeal of the Volkswagen Golf GTI. With one in four Golfs driving out of VW showrooms wearing the revered three-letter badge, the GTI is almost ubiquitous on Australian streets...
Before the fireworks are blown at year's end more than a quarter of a million Australians will sign for a small hatchback or sedan, of which about 75 per cent will pick one of the eight nameplates featured in this test. This is the biggest, most relevant test of the year. The catalyst for this mega-comparison is the arrival of the new Volkswagen Golf...
