Honda has spent the last couple of decades shaking off its 'reliable yet dull' image, particularly where the long-lived Civic is concerned. You only have to look back at the radical 2006 model , which still looks mad even today, to see that reinvention. But the following two generations of Honda...

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 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...

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...