Hatchback News

Leapmotor has revealed a new electric hatchback at this year’s IAA Mobility show in Munich, Germany.

Cupra's new car to be its most affordable

The Volkswagen Polo name will live on, rather than be sidelined by the incoming production version of the brand’s ID.2all concept car.

Hyundai Australia has raised the price of its highest-profile hot hatch and sedan models as a direct result of the federal government's New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) regime and “European factory sourcing”.

Chinese carmaker Leapmotor has teased us with a hint of its sleek, small electric hatch the B05 ahead of its upcoming Munich motor show debut.

If you need any proof that Australians are well and truly in favour of Chinese cars, just take a look around your local supermarket car park.

Audi has revealed the new-generation version of its Q3 Sportback ‘coupe’ SUV ahead of its Australian arrival in early 2026.

After more than two years in market here GWM’s compact, pure-electric Ora hatch has been upgraded with improvements to battery power, additional tech, revised pricing and a ground-breaking switch in production from China to Thailand.

Honda Australia has dropped a new allocation of its supply-limited Civic Type R hot hatch.The Japanese carmaker has claimed there’s “strong customer demand” for this hot hatch and customers that have signed up will be prioritised.Now with a starting price of $79,000, drive-away, the Honda Civic Type R is $4900 more expensive than it was when it was last on sale. It’s now also over $23,000 more expensive than the top-specification regular Civic variant, the e:HEV LX.A highlight change with this 2025 production run is a new 'Racing Blue' exterior paint colour option. It replaces 'Rally Red' in the colour options. 'Championship White', 'Crystal Black' and 'Sonic Grey' continue to be offered and are all no-cost options.There’s also a new optional carbon-fibre spoiler available for an additional $5300.Power still comes from a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine which produces 235kW of power and 420Nm of torque.This is mated exclusively to a six-speed manual gearbox with drive sent to the front wheels only.It’s still covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty with five years' 'premium roadside assistance'.Logbook servicing is required every 12 months or 10,000km, whichever comes first, and the first five services are capped at $199 each.“Civic Type R has captured the imagination of Australians for generations and continues to represent the pinnacle of performance in small cars,” said Honda Australia Director of Automotive Robert Thorp.“We’re pleased to welcome the new Racing Blue colour providing a genuine performance model halo presence.”Looking beyond the Civic Type R, Honda is soon set to announce model year updates for the CR-V and ZR-V SUVs which will include more hybrid trims and Google Built-In software for the multimedia system.Additionally, the new-generation Prelude is set to launch in mid-2026 and later in 2026 Honda will launch its first electric vehicle (EV) in Australia.

Sorry, Swifties. While we appreciate the cultural phenomenon that is singer/songwriter, artist and philanthropist Taylor Swift, this is not a paean to a great pop star, but, rather, a reference to the year that marked Japan’s stellar ascension as the biggest threat to the established carmakers of that time. Their fear was existential as well as actual.