8/10CitroenC4 Cactus£21,455 – £23,800Citroen's Fiat Panda - character over driving thrills, but none the worse for that.
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.
7/10RenaultClio 200 Renaultsport£13,870 – £21,595Softer and a little disappointing: the new RS isn’t what it was. Still fun, but we hoped for more…
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.
7/10RenaultClio£13,870 – £21,595Cheery and characterful, the new Clio is a genuinely appealing supermini.
7/10FordMondeo Estate£25,675 – £33,825More grown up and all the better for it. Priced very keenly too - it's a smart shout.
7/10Peugeot308 SW£21,870 – £29,890This is among the best compact estates on sale (partly because it isn’t really compact at all).
7/10KiaCeed£18,625 – £27,665Kia improves things yet again. Refinement, styling and interior quality are nearly as good as anything out there. Nearly…
6/10RenaultClio£13,870 – £21,595Neither revolutionary in style nor the most exciting to drive, but a very mature car
Editor’s choice6/10DS3£17,090 – £23,260Not as fresh as it was, but ageing gracefully, and still the best DS of the bunch.
6/10VauxhallAstra£18,700 – £29,085Not as far behind the Ford Focus as you might think. Vauxhall's facelifted hatch is a very competent thing... but an all-new one lurks around the corner.
6/10CitroenC4 Cactus£21,455 – £23,800While still a comfy, useful hatchback, the C4 Cactus's move mainstream has taken away its class hero status
3/10NissanPulsar£16,340 – £18,110A perfectly able family hatchback that brings absolutely nothing new to the sector. Why, Nissan?
