There was a time when a hybrid Toyota was a sensible but uninspiring choice of family car. The old Toyota Auris is a prime example of that - dependable and cheap-to-run, yes, but lacking even the slightest hint of charisma. But the latest Toyota Corolla is genuinely a very good car. There are no...

The BMW 1 Series always had a unique selling point in the hatchback class: it was rear-wheel drive, like a sports car or one of BMW's executive saloons. That was supposed to give it a real feeling of balance and poise, and a level of driver appeal above and beyond the competition.  In reality,...

The Audi A3 Sportback of 2013 is a 5-door family hatchback for drivers seeking a little more status than from a Ford Focus or even a VW Golf.  Sharing engienes, drivetrains and MQB inegrated subframes with the VW Golf BII, SEAT Leon and Skoda Octavia it's good to drive, refined and extremely practical,...

With the popularity of the BMW 1 Series there were big expectations for the A3 which faced more competition than ever before. The good news is that it didn’t disappoint. The styling is familiar. Audi was not especially daring with the design but it echoes other Audi models and is a neat and unfussy...

Practical, reliable and dependable. If we were writing a dating advert for the Honda Civic, these would be the first words out of the block. It’s the M&S oversized sweater of the family hatchback segment. The Sunday afternoon in front of a black and white movie. All of which is perfectly acceptable....

The 2014 Audi A3 e-tron was Audi's first plug-in hybrid in the UK market. It sat at the top of the premium hatchback tree, owing largely to its very effective blend of perceived build quality, low running costs, useful practicality and gimmick-free styling. The Audi A3 Sportback e-tron built on...