9/10DaciaDuster£10,770 – £18,930A far better car than it needs to be at the price, and we love it for that.
7/10VolkswagenPolo£15,185 – £23,255It's a sizeable leap, and enough to shove the Polo up to the upper reaches of the supermini order.
Best in class8/10FordFiesta£15,770 – £24,130Cracking supermini is one of the best cars Ford makes. Britain’s top seller? It makes you proud.
3/10NissanPulsar£16,340 – £18,110A perfectly able family hatchback that brings absolutely nothing new to the sector. Why, Nissan?
7/10Abarth500£16,375 – £26,525An addictive little begger that is much better than its list of failings would have you believe.
6/10RenaultCaptur£17,370 – £24,920Jumped-up Clio is miles less tinny than the old one. Breaks no rules, but it's good-looking, refined and comfy
7/10SkodaKamiq£17,475 – £25,730Another worthy crossover. Comfy, roomy, but not especially interesting
8/10AudiS1£18,230 – £31,030Well done Audi, this one's a proper little stonker: fast, small, fun, a 4wd hot hatch done properly.
8/10VolkswagenGolf R£18,325 – £31,020One of the best all-round performance cars ever made. Fast, forgiving, and everyday-friendly
8/10VolkswagenGolf (Mk7)£18,325 – £31,020It defines this sector and should be its default buy. You simply can’t go wrong.
8/10VolkswagenGolf (Mk8)£18,325 – £31,020New eighth-gen Golf remains the lingua-franca of the hatch world. A finely polished machine
8/10VolkswagenGolf GTI (Mk7)£18,325 – £31,020Overlook the fact it’s so good that it’s almost joyless: the latest Golf GTI is very desirable indeed
8/10VolkswagenGolf Cabriolet£18,325 – £31,020After a classy cabrio but don't have Audi-like cash? Try this. GTI expensive but worth it; R perhaps not
8/10Volkswagene-Golf£18,325 – £31,020The e-Golf is an EV that works for most of us, most of the time. A truly convincing electric car.
Best in class8/10FordFiesta ST£18,995A gamble of a reinvention, but the new, grown-up yet gigglesome Fiesta ST is mostly a winner. Buy one.
9/10MazdaMX-5£19,000 – £29,310A great examplar for keeping a car's mechanicals simple. The MX-5 provides fun at entirely legal speeds
6/10Alfa RomeoGiulietta Cloverleaf/QV£19,390 – £26,130A capable machine, but more GT than hot hatch. Think mature rather than arm-wangly Italian
6/10JeepRenegade£19,480 – £30,660Buy it for the looks and lifestyle, then put up with the flaws. Likeable, but irrational
7/10KiaSportage£20,085 – £34,765Facelifted Sportage gains mild hybrid diesel tech, but it’s not enough to radically alter the class landscape