Triple test: Veloster vs Astra GTC vs Scirocco

The best cheap coupes manage to transcend their prices and give off the aroma of the exotic. They're stylish, impractical and selfish, just like proper sports cars. But underneath, they share most things with family hatches - which means we can realistically think of owning one, and do it in the earlier rather than later stages of its descent from showroom fresh to classified-ad tatty.

But, sadly, it's a kind of car that comes and goes. Ford gave us the Capri and then the Puma, with a big gap in between and absence since. Fiat and Alfa have serially drifted in and out of the market, and they're out at the moment. Honda, too. We all like the idea of a little coupe, but, time and again over history, too few of us have been prepared to stick our hands in our pockets for one, so it generally isn't worth any manufacturer sticking around for long. But they keep nibbling away at the idea, trying to find a formula that works.

Words: Paul Horrell
Pics: Ripley & Ripley

This feature first appeared in the March 2012 issue of Top Gear magazine