Hatchback Reviews

Peter Anderson road tests and reviews the 2015 Mazda 3 XD Astina Diesel, with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Plenty of new car choices are available for under $20 grand on the road, but pretty much all are in the light car or smaller micro car segments. In total, some 26 models are available from about 15 manufacturers which gives consumers a wide selection to choose from. Offerings come from all quarters... India, Thailand,

Chris Riley road tests and reviews the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Quadrifoglio Verde with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

It's easy to give The Tick to the new Peugeot 308.After a series of dismal and uninspiring arrivals over recent years - some of them downright ugly - the compact hatch proves that the French brand can still do good cars.I wonder why they are not all as good as the new 308, but that question would take more than a single CarsGuide edition to answer. In any case, the 308 looks good, drives well, has a frugal three-cylinder engine and has the plush look and feel of a Volkswagen Golf.It's won a European Car of the Year award, picked up five stars in Euro NCAP safety testing and drives well for the class and price.The price is still nowhere near sharp enough for what amounts to a "challenger" brandNo, there is no reversing camera, some members of the CarsGuide crew are uninspired by the engine and the price is still nowhere near sharp enough for what amounts to a "challenger" brand in a class where the Mazda3 and Toyota Corolla are the sales benchmarks and the Golf is the car to love.I'm also not convinced about the i-Cockpit driver layout, which provides an excellent steering wheel but an instrument binnacle that is always partly obscured by the top of the rim.It's the same in a number of new Peugeots and I don't like any of them, despite Peugeot's belief that it is leading in a new direction.I first drove the 308 in France last year and believe it could have been a CarsGuide COTY contender with a better price, more refinement on arrival and that rear-view camera.Now I'm sliding into a 308 on roads I know, still with the new-age three-cylinder engine but better equipped with a six-speed automatic gearbox and an Allure package that brings a 9.7-inch touchscreen, cruise control, alloys and parking radar. On the safety front there is a six-airbag package, tyre-pressure monitoring and the usual stability control.It's a tasty package but the Peugeot people in France don't understand the reality of price pressures in Australia, where $30,490 is too much for this car and even the $21,990 starter price is too costly when you can buy many of its rivals for less than $20,000 on the road.Still, I can see and feel the quality in the car. There might be some hard plastic surfaces but the seats are truly excellent and so is the wheel, the ride is plush and it's quiet at any speed.It takes some learning to get the best from the baby triple, which makes a useful 96kW but is tweaked mostly for economy. The six-speed auto is always looking for the highest gear but you can hit the Sport button for sharper response or resort to manual changes - where the "correct" race-style change means pushing forward to downshift and pulling back for an upshift - if you really want to go.There is a lot to like and not much to complain aboutThe syncopation of a three-cylinder engine is unusual at first but I've known them since the original Daihatsu Charade in the 1980s through to the latest BMW i8 hybrid and quite like the sound and feel.Moving through the cabin, the 308 has good space, there is a big boot and the fuel economy is very good.

Craig Duff road tests and reviews the 2015 Audi A6 and A7 at its Australian launch.

France and Korea take varying tacks on the light-car route. Craig Duff navigates.

Italian carmaker Fiat is very big in Europe but had been quiet in the Australian passenger car scene for years before re-entering our market in July 2006 with the Punto, a small-medium hatchback. However, Punto was pretty expensive and didn't sell particularly well at the time, to the extent that it was pulled from

Peter Barnwell road tests and reviews the BMW 218d Active Tourer with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

We turn the spotlight on the car world's newest and brightest stars as we ask the questions to which you want the answers. But there's only one question that really needs answering, would you buy one?This 308 is the latest and greatest small hatchback from French manufacturer Peugeot. It's totally new from the tyres up - new platform, chassis, powertrains, styling inside and out, super efficient, lighter, safer.308 pricing kicks off at $21,990 for the petrol manual base model. The Allure drive car is $30,490.Heaps of them including VW Golf, Citroen C4, Ford Focus, Mazda3, Renault Megane, Subaru Impreza, Toyota Corolla and plenty more from all points of the compass.The test car had Peugeot's new three pot 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine with direct fuel injection and variable valve timing hooked up to a conventional six speed auto from Japanese manufacturer Aisin driving the front wheels. It's good for 96kW/230 Nm output.Really well. Certainly better than expected and really, this is all the engine you need in a 308. You can barely hear it running and it has plenty of grunt for all driving applications. It's a good example of Peugeot's new 'smaller is better' engine philosophyYep, 5.1L/100km not a problem - prefers premium unleaded, but right now that's fairly cheap.No rating available, but we suspect it would get five stars due to Euro6 credentials, engine stop/start, slippery aerodynamics, low rolling resistance and friction reduction in the powertrain. Weighs a lot less than before too.Five stars.Yes, seats are comfy and the ride is a good compromise between sporty and comfort. Has plenty of kit to enhance travel time, even a particle filter in the aircon.Really good. Not a sporty hatch by any stretch, but the drive feel is engaging and dynamics are competent. You won't get into any trouble. The engine's good off the mark and through the rev range and though it sometimes rushes to a high gear, the triple plugs away and gets the 308 going pronto. Love the small wheel and the tight turning circle. Responsive steering too.Yes, at $21,990 its a Euro bargain. The $30 grand plus price of the test car not so much.

Launched to an amazed world in 1959 the Mini became a huge success worldwide as well as in Australia, with it being built in Sydney for years. It faded from the 1980s onwards though some variants were still being made overseas till the year 2000. The British motor industry was in serious trouble for many years and