Ford
Focus
Fun-to-drive family car that's also comfortable and high-tech
| RRP from | £18,300 |
|---|---|
| carwow price from | £16,197 |
Hatchbacks
Hatchbacks are ideal for families. First off, the best hatchback cars have a decent-sized boot that’s easily accessible thanks to that boothatch which gives the car type its name. The best hatchback cars also are roomy, come with efficient engines, cool tech and are smart and stylish too. Here, our experts have got what you need to know on every hatchback.
Best hatchbacks on sale
Volkswagen
Polo
An upmarket, comfortable small family car
| RRP from | £14,235 |
|---|---|
| carwow price from | £12,417 |
Audi
A3 Sportback
Premium hatchback that combines practicality with high-tech features
| RRP from | £22,190 |
|---|---|
| carwow price from | £20,202 |
Volkswagen
Golf R
A very fast practical family hatchback
| RRP from | £31,515 |
|---|---|
| carwow price from | £29,350 |
Volkswagen
Golf
Iconic family car that deserves its popularity
| RRP from | £18,765 |
|---|---|
| carwow price from | £16,132 |
Hyundai
i30 N
Fast, fun, but also very sensible
| RRP from | £25,995 |
|---|---|
| carwow price from | £23,296 |
SEAT
Ibiza
A sporty looking small family car with a big boot
| RRP from | £15,495 |
|---|---|
| carwow price from | £12,855 |
Mercedes
A-Class
A classy small car that’s packed with tech
| RRP from | £23,075 |
|---|---|
| carwow price from | £20,216 |
BMW
M140i
A small hatchback with a big engine
| RRP from | £36,000 |
|---|---|
| carwow price from | £32,543 |
Skoda
Octavia
A roomy and affordable family car
| RRP from | £18,310 |
|---|---|
| carwow price from | £15,820 |
Ford
Fiesta
A good value small car that’s brilliant to drive
| RRP from | £15,465 |
|---|---|
| carwow price from | £13,498 |
Skoda
Fabia
A roomy small car that’s easy to drive
| RRP from | £12,255 |
|---|---|
| carwow price from | £11,133 |
Hatchbacks are loved the world over for their practical boots. The best are also roomy, come with efficient engines, cool tech and are smart and stylish too. We’ve gathered a list of the top five for you.
1
Ford
The Ford Focus is the best hatchback. It’s crammed with the latest technology, looks great and is brilliant to drive. It comes with a range of efficient engines and is competitively priced – no wonder it won our Family Award at the 2018 carwow Car of the Year Awards. The interior is the poshest yet for a Focus, it's relatively spacious, and has a decent sized hatchback boot.
2
Mercedes
The Mercedes A-Class is a sensible family hatchback that’s also an aspirational purchase. Buy it and you get a car with smart styling and a lovely interior that’s packed full of unbelievable technology. It’s for this reason that the A-Class won the Game-changer Award at carwow’s 2018 Car of the Year Awards. It’s not all style and no substance, though, the A-Class is a tidy car to drive that’s available with a decent range of engines.
3
Volkswagen
No list of the best hatchbacks is complete without the Volkswagen Golf. For decades it has always been a well-built and spacious family hatchback that’s easy to drive and pleasant to live with. And although the VW Golf isn’t a huge car, its boot is big enough to cope with taking the family’s luggage when you head off on holiday.
4
Skoda
When it comes to outright space, few hatchback cars provide quite so much for the money as the Skoda Octavia. It has a simply huge boot, but also more generous rear leg room than all of its closest alternatives. Add to that a great touchscreen infotainment system and lots of standard equipment and you’ve got a brilliantly rounded family hatchback.
5
Audi
There’s not much to separate the Audi A3 from the VW Golf, but if you value a high-quality interior and don’t mind paying slightly more for it, then it makes a superb choice. Like the Golf, it drives extremely well, has space for four adults onboard and, importantly, has a practical hatchback boot.
If you don’t quite need the space offered by a family car, but still want a practical hatchback boot, then there’s still plenty of choice. These five of the best small hatchbacks are still great to drive, but are easier to park and cost less to buy and run than their bigger brothers.
1
Volkswagen
The Volkswagen Polo isn’t just a great small hatchback – it’s a great car, full stop. There’s a real sense of quality running through the Polo’s interior and it has space for four adults and a big hatchback boot for a small car. The Polo’s an easy car to drive and comes with a brilliant engine range. All these skills won it the Little Legend award at carwow’s 2018 Car of the Year Awards.
2
Ford
The Ford Fiesta is a small hatchback that has room for the family and a couple of suitcases in its boot. What sets the Fiesta apart though, is that you can actually enjoy driving it when you get the car to yourself. It’s available with a variety of nippy turbocharged engines that are cheap to run.
3
Skoda
The Skoda Fabia is an impressively practical little car. There’s more than enough space in the front for tall drivers to stretch out and there’s still enough room left over in the back for two six-foot-tall passengers to get comfy. Behind them, the Fabia’s hatchback boot will take a couple of large suitcases.
4
Audi
The Audi A1 isn’t particularly cheap, but it does provide some of the best wow factor inside of any small hatchback. Indeed, its cabin is high quality and has a striking design. There’s also a choice of small but punchy (yet frugal) engines.
5
SEAT
With is sharper looks, the Spanish Seat Ibiza is the VW Polo’s sportier cousin. It’s slightly behind on interior quality, but is cheaper to buy too, while retaining all that’s great about the Polo’s space and practicality, comfy drive and efficient engines.
Hot-hatches are cut-price performance-car superstars guaranteed to put a smile on your face. And the best hot hatches are the ones that are both grin-inducing and that you can live with as your daily car all year round. Here are our experts’ top five hot hatchbacks.
1
Honda
The Honda Civic Type R’s boy racer looks have made it the source of some controversy, but that loud styling matches the hatchback’s performance. It’s incredibly fun to drive, boasting both the speed and cornering power of a full-blooded race car. Yet, the Civic Type R is also comfy and practical. It has a big boot, cosy seats and feels smooth on the motorway.
2
Volkswagen
A 2.0-litre, turbocharged engine makes the VW Golf R a nippy little car to drive. It goes from 0-60mph in just 5.1 seconds, while making sure that you feel comfy the entire time. The sports seats hold you in place well during some crazier turns (of which there will be many) and the infotainment is equipped with all the bells and whistles you’d want from a £30,000 hatchback.
3
Hyundai
The Hyundai i30 N is the manufacturer’s first attempt at making a hot hatch – and they hit a home run with it! It may not look as boisterous as a Honda Civic Type R, but its roaring exhausts definitely sound the part as you shoot from 0-62mph in 6.4 seconds. It’s faster and cooler than the regular i30 hatchback, yet still retains that car’s practicality.
4
BMW
As a rear-wheel-drive hot hatch, the BMW M140i is as amusing as the day is long in corners, although it isn’t quite as quick in the straights as other, four-wheel-drive alternatives. The interior materials are all extremely high-quality and well-built. Practicality-wise, it has a big boot but isn’t quite as roomy for rear passengers.
5
Ford
The Ford Fiesta ST’s 1.5-litre, 200hp engine blasts you from 0-62mph in 6.7 seconds (it can accelerate even faster if you pay £850 for the Ford Performance Pack!), before topping out at 144mph. Sure, while the interior isn’t quite as exciting-looking some others’ on this list, it’s still rather comfortable in there.