7/10Hyundaii30£17,130 – £25,290A very rational car in standard form, which will make your life easy, but not exciting. The i30 N hot hatch manages to make it easy AND exciting. It's ace
7/10SkodaOctavia£19,480 – £28,500Solid, gimmick-free all-rounder that’s slightly less good at everything than a Golf, but cheaper for it.
8/10Mercedes-BenzB-Class£27,385 – £37,585The B-Class is now a genuine contender – if an expensive one – in the family hatch sector.
8/10VolkswagenGolf (Mk 7)£18,325 – £33,925It defines this sector and should be its default buy. You simply can’t go wrong.
8/10VolkswagenGolf (Mk8)£18,325 – £33,925New eighth-gen Golf remains the lingua-franca of the hatch world. A finely polished machine
