Petrol Hatchback Manual Reviews

Makes no promises it cannot keep, and absolutely nails the brief Renault/Dacia set for it: simple, spacious motoring for pennies on the pound. Now with added refinement

As useful as cars get below about £20k. But as joyful? Um...

City cars aren’t quite dead yet - new i10 is grown-up, comfy and loaded with kit

Another string to Kia’s ever more impressive bow, the Picanto is a fun and interesting city car.

A cruelly underrated, often-overlooked car. Now dating inside and on the tech front, but still one of the most rounded small cars on sale. (Not just to look at).

Expensive, slow, horrid to drive. A mass of metal without sense or relish or ability or anything, really.

A far better car than it needs to be at the price, and we love it for that.

At last, a small Vauxhall that’s not tedious to drive! Now, just sort out that dated interior

Vauxhall has turned the Corsa VXR into a convincing fast pocket rocket.

Great option for someone who doesn’t really care about cars or driving.

An appliance carefully targeted at people who are uninterested in cars.

Efficient, interesting looking and updated inside, but the Yaris remains forgettable to drive

Neither revolutionary in style nor the most exciting to drive, but a very mature car

Softer and a little disappointing: the new RS isn’t what it was. Still fun, but we hoped for more…

Cheery and characterful, the new Clio is a genuinely appealing supermini.

It's engine range isn't class leading, but overlook that and the Micra is a massively improved contender

Smart, likeable supermini that bodes reasonably well for the i20N

Handsome, good to drive and easy to use, like all Mazdas. But the engines are lacklustre and the cabin too dour

The best 21st Century MG yet. Other faint praise is available

Probably Fiat’s least interesting car, but that doesn’t mean it’s worth ignoring if you love a bargain.

The looks might be polarising but it's not actually ugly and certainly not – bigger crime – bland

It's a sizeable leap, and enough to shove the Polo up to the upper reaches of the supermini order.