There was a time when a hybrid Toyota was a sensible but uninspiring choice of family car. The old Toyota Auris is a prime example of that - dependable and cheap-to-run, yes, but lacking even the slightest hint of charisma. But the latest Toyota Corolla is genuinely a very good car. There are no...

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 Audi A3 Sportback of 2013 is a 5-door family hatchback for drivers seeking a little more status than from a Ford Focus or even a VW Golf.  Sharing engienes, drivetrains and MQB inegrated subframes with the VW Golf BII, SEAT Leon and Skoda Octavia it's good to drive, refined and extremely practical,...

With the popularity of the BMW 1 Series there were big expectations for the A3 which faced more competition than ever before. The good news is that it didn’t disappoint. The styling is familiar. Audi was not especially daring with the design but it echoes other Audi models and is a neat and unfussy...

Practical, reliable and dependable. If we were writing a dating advert for the Honda Civic, these would be the first words out of the block. It’s the M&S oversized sweater of the family hatchback segment. The Sunday afternoon in front of a black and white movie. All of which is perfectly acceptable....