Now, you may be wondering exactly what the point of such a car is? The core of the Ford Focus Active’s appeal is greater ride height, which offers a notably smoother ride on Britain’s ruined roads. The seats are also positioned further off the ground than they are in a regular Focus, but lower than...

The Mercedes A-Class has come a long way since the early days. First introduced in 1997 as a scaled-down MPV -type that’d fall over at the merest sight of an elk, it would gradually morph over the years into a more conventional prestige hatchback that would delight image-conscious buyers on a budget....

The Citroen DS3 was one of the most must-have cars of the past decade. A small hatch good enough to take on the all-conquering MINI, with avant-garde styling, a premium cabin, fun-to-drive dynamics and a range of efficient and punchy engines. The car became the DS 3 Cabrio when DS Automobiles split...

Is there a better looking hatchback (or affordable saloon) out there than the latest Mazda 3? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but we're utterly convinced it's easily as desirable as premium brand rivals such as the BMW 1 Series , Audi A3 and Mercedes-Benz A-Class .  The 3's...

Occasionally, Fords get accused of being boring. Ordinary. Common. Humdrum, even. But have you ever stopped to think why that might be? Could it be because they’re absolutely everywhere? After all, they do say familiarity breeds contempt. However, the reason that Fords are such a common sight...

The fact is, there’s also plenty to like for those who aren’t quite so long-of-tooth. The styling might be fussy in places, but we like the fact that it looks like nothing else in the class, especially when that class is packed full of such conservative-looking machines. One of the biggest boots...