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The 2017 Honda Civic VTi sedan is affordable and inoffensive. But is there a catch?Read the full review
| LIST PRICE | Fr $22,390 |
| CARADVICE RATING | 8.0 |
| FUEL ECONOMY | 6.4/100km |
| SEAT | 5 |
Do you hate being stuck in traffic jams? Yeah, me too. But, if you're going to be driving a small hatchback, why suffer in an entry-level model? This is where moving up in the model range changes a traffic jam from a chore to a treat. So, if you have around $35,000 burning a hole in your pocket, which premium hatchback should you go for? We lined up the 2018 Honda Civic VTi-LX and the 2018 Mazda 3 SP25 Astina to see which one deserves your hard-earned cash...
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...
Two new-generation hatches, hugely important for each brand both in simple number terms and, more importantly, making a strong argument for the attentions of increasingly savvy buyers in the small-car market. One of these cars, the new 2017 Honda Civic, boasts a pedigree nearly 50 years old, with the same name and with a very well-regarded history of solid engineering...
The last time we took a close look at the small sedan segment in the form of a comprehensive three-way comparison, the new-generation Honda Civic stole the cookies from the previous segment leader, the Hyundai Elantra and a slightly more left field combatant, the Skoda Octavia...
It was only July when the Honda Civic VTi-S outshone both the Skoda Octavia Ambition and Hyundai Elantra Active. Here though, we have just two rivals going head-to-head: the 2016 Honda Civic RS and 2017 Hyundai Elantra SR Turbo. And, based on their most recent individual reviews – the Civic RS scoring 8/10 from Mike Costello, the Elantra SR Turbo scoring the same from Matt Campbell – this has the potential to be a rather close-fought little battle...
Demand for small sedans has been a little stagnant of late, with people increasingly drawn to hatchbacks and crossover SUVs. Nevertheless, the battle for sales supremacy in this traditional part of the market is intensely fought, and there is no lack of quality options...
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...
