9/10FordFocus£20,460 – £31,585This Focus, if you get the better rear suspension, is the sweetest drive in the mainstream hatch class
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
8/10Alfa RomeoGiulia£33,010 – £63,565Alfa's rebirth gets off to a flying start. RWD Giulia is a sign of good things to come
Editor’s choice8/10SkodaSuperb£24,140 – £39,000Bigger and better than ever, the Superb offers a whole lot of car for the cash.
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
7/10VolkswagenArteon£32,480 – £41,605Good looking, spacious and well equipped, but it’s missing on that oh-so-important ‘buy-me’ factor...
7/10SkodaOctavia£19,480 – £28,500Solid, gimmick-free all-rounder that’s slightly less good at everything than a Golf, but cheaper for it.
7/10AudiA3£22,500 – £37,925The definitive example of rock-solid, sensible, impeccable German engineering
7/10VauxhallInsignia Grand Sport£20,220 – £41,185New Insignia ticks every cost-effective box, and is much more refined than before. Still tricky to be enthusiastic about, though
7/10Mazda6£24,130 – £33,810Another good Mazda from one of the very few car companies – any company, come to that – which simply doesn’t make a bad product
6/10ToyotaCorolla£23,985 – £31,210The Corolla is back, looking better than ever, but still short on fun
6/10VauxhallInsignia£20,220 – £41,185Not the best car in this uninspiring, fleet-orientated end of the segment but a very worthy effort.
6/10LexusES£34,980 – £45,460A saloon car for people who don’t really care about/enjoy driving, but quite like big mpg and a nice stereo
6/10Mercedes-BenzA-Class£23,485 – £55,235Connectivity and interior layout takes priority over how it drives. For some, that'll be perfect
6/10LexusIS£33,005 – £44,305Every Lexus trait wrapped up in a tight 3 Series sized package. Superb design, forgettable to drive, probably quite nice to own.