hatchback

One of the most common questions I get asked as a motoring journalist is ‘what’s the worst car you’ve driven?’  To be honest, it’s not a hard question to answer because I was one of the unfortunate few to have driven the original Chery J1 hatchback.

Volkswagen Group seems to be in the midst of developing and launching a series of small electric cars to satisfy its European markets, according to reports.

GWM will build cars in its ex-Holden factory for the Australian market once again after five-year wait.

BYD is gearing up for a massive new-model rollout that should cement its place in Australia's top 10 car brands.

The tech in the Polo is great. I have the Sound & Vision add-on package, which provides a digital dash as well as Beats audio speakers. The sound and bass is awesome and very customisable. The digital dash is also relatively customisable to look how you want. The interior has everything you need within arms reach, however it coud feel more premium. It has very small cup holders and a small centre console. The backk is well spaced for a small car and with the seats down, the back cargo becomes more spacious than most hatches (can fit as much in this as I can in a i30 with its seats down). For extra context, I can also fit a set of golf clubs in the boot without neding to put the seats down. The drive is very smooth. It has four driving modes and the turbo engine makes it very responsive and enjoyable to drive. Fuel (98) = ~$65-75 a tank (range is between 430-500km per tank). Servicing is on average ~$400. Insurance is going up, recently was $1100 for the year. Very reliable. I have only had one issue where my alternator stopped sending power to the battery and needed to be replaced. Otherwise, i haven't had any reliability issues with my car.

Peugeot's legendary hot hatch returns.

GWM has revealed a significant facelift for its diminutive Ora hatchback in China, as it looks to better compete with its more successful key rivals.

Chery has just launched a new electric micro hatchback in China that goes up against the BYD Seagull and Leapmotor T03.

Nio has confirmed expansion plans for its new Firefly hatchback, with a right-hand drive version expected to launch before the end of 2025.

The Golf R swings with the heavy-hitters of the hot hatch world and Volkswagen has given it an '8.5' series boost in terms of performance, tech and spec. Are these upgrades enough to take it to the top of the compact hot rod class? CarsGuide attended its local launch to find out.