Hatchback Reviews

The Series II Suzuki Swift is here, with a bare bones entry-level right through to a turbo-powered 1.0-litre. The big news is that the GL Navigator Plus and turbo GLX both have a swag of new safety equipment to level up with Mazda and Kia.

The Suzuki Swift GL Navigator Plus costs $21,490 driveaway, bang-on $1500 more than the GL Navigator.The money all goes to a suite of advanced safety features and is money well-spent. You get 16-inch alloys, air-conditioning, reversing camera, cruise control, cloth interior, remote central locking, auto-down power windows and a space-saver spare.The Plus shares the 1.2-litre naturally-aspirated four cylinder engine with the Navigator, producing 66kW and 120Nm, driving the front wheels through a CVT auto.As part of the Series II upgrade, the GLX scored a big safety upgrade, with blind-spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert and you get forward AEB with both low and high speed operation, forward collision warning, lane keep assist, lane departure warning as well as six airbags and the usual ABS and stability controls.The Swift GL Navigator Plus scored five ANCAP stars in 2017.

The entry-level Swift Navigator is the only spec-level available with a manual unless you take the Swift Sport into account.For $18,990 driveaway for the five-speed and $19,990 - also driveaway - for the CVT auto, you get 16-inch alloys, air-conditioning, reversing camera, cruise control, cloth interior, remote central locking, auto-down power windows and a space-saver spare. As part of the Series II upgrade, the GL scored...two more speakers for a total of four, powered by the 7.0-inch touchscreen media and sat nav system that also has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.On the safety front, you get six airbags and the usual ABS and stability controls and a reversing camera. The GL scored four ANCAP stars in 2017 as it hasn't got things like AEB.

The GLX turbo scores Suzuki's 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo engine, with a much healthier 82kW and 160Nm driving the front wheels through a six-speed torque converter auto. It's almost a shame there isn't a manual version.The Series II improvements have also brought a solid price jump to $25,410 driveaway, a solid increase on the old model. For your money you get 16-inch alloys, air-conditioning, LED headlights, reversing camera, cruise control, cloth interior, remote central locking, auto-down power windows and a space-saver spare.The GLX has two more speakers than the Navigator and Navigator Plus pair, with a six-speaker stereo powered by the 7.0-inch touchscreen media and sat nav system that also has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.As part of the Series II upgrade, the GLX scored a big safety upgrade, with blind-spot monitoring and rear cross traffic alert and you get forward AEB with both low and high speed operation, forward collision warning, lane keep assist, lane departure warning as well as six airbags and the usual ABS and stability controls.The Swift GLX scored five ANCAP stars in 2017.

Mercedes-Benz is going to have a real go at plug-in hybrids in Australia, but is the new A 250 e, which offers maximum flexibility, a better choice for our conditions down-under?

If a useable performance vehicle comes better looking than the Audi RS5, we're yet to see it. Available as a sleek Coupe or Sportback, the fire-breathing Audi has just been updated for 2021, so we put it to the test.

The Audi RS5 Sportback is the four-door, five-seat solution in the RS5 family, with a two-door Coupe also available. Four doors means easier access to the rear seats, instantly making the Sportback the more practical of the pair.

The i30 N finally has a sibling, with Hyundai confirming the i20 N hot hatch will launch in Australia in the first half of 2021. We put an early prototype to the test on the track to see if it will be worth the wait.

It feels like we've been waiting forever for the i30 N automatic, but Hyundai is finally ready to unleash the eight-speed dual-clutch auto on the world. With the production car not expected to arrive in Australia until 2021, we put a prototype to the test to see if it will be worth the wait.

The Golf GTI TCR is a little bit harder and a little bit faster. But does that make it a little less easy to live with? We put the fastest FWD Golf to the test to find out.