Hatchback

At the recent Volkswagen Brand Annual Session 2018, an event held for the employees and inventors of the company, Volkswagen released a sketch of the brand-new 2020 Golf Mk8. This is a big deal for the company who, more or less, built its riches on the success of the Golf’s seven previous generations. Volkswagen, is nowadays hatching ever so appealing hatches. Recently, the company released the Skoda Scala - a hatchback - that is set to take some Golf buyers. This fact alone reveals the truth about the new Golf - it will go upmarket. New tech, plusher looks, better materials inside, and more powerful engines are all coming to the Wolfsburg pride. In total, the Volkswagen Group produces four important hatchbacks - the Skoda Scala, the Audi A3, the Seat Leon, and the Volkswagen Golf.

While the sketch released at the event is quite vague, I managed to dig out so much more information on the new Golf Mk8, it’s like I can already imagine it in my head. Let’s go.

Mercedes’ first hot hatch, the A45 AMG, is monstrously quick around a twisty road, with its 400 horsepower and all-wheel drive grip, yet it’s not the most feelsome or engaging hot hatch to throw around. The Three-Pointed Star’s second attempt, the new A35 based on the fourth-generation A-Class (bearing the internal codename W177), is much better in this respect.

The fourth-generation Mazda3 made its global debut at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. The hatchback replaces a six-year-old third-gen model that has been highly successful and established the nameplate as a strong competitor in the compact market. The new Mazda3 is heavily based on the Kai concept on the outside and features a more upscale interior plus an innovative engine.

Part of Mazda’s Sustainable Zoom-Zoom 2030 long-term strategy, the new Mazda3 debuts the company’s most recent interpretation of the Kodo design language. It also pushed the hatchback higher on the premium ladder and a five-engine lineup. On top of the usual gasoline and diesel SkyActiv units, the Mazda3 debuts the new SkyActiv-X, the first commercial gasoline engine with Spark Controlled Compression Ignition technology. The hatchback also features an all-wheel-drive system for the first time.

Back in 2015, EuroNCAP rated the 2014 Fiat Panda Cross with three-star safety rating. Four years before, the same organization - the European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP), tested the car and granted it a rather high four-star rating. Fast forward to 2018, and a recent safety evaluation tallied the Fiat Panda up as erringly bad. It received zero stars after EuroNCAP safety test performed in Brussels.

Is this now a worse car than it was before? How did it devolve? How can anyone buy it?

Well, let me tell you right away, the 2018 Fiat Panda is still the same car that it was in 2011. It did not change - at all. However, the EuroNCAP testing procedure is not the same. It is dramatically stricter, now requiring far more in terms of active safety gear. It also uses different dummies for testing (with a system that recognizes potential injuries better than before), and it tests the car for speed assistance, lane support, seat-belt reminders, and automatic emergency braking. None of this was required back in the day.

To answer the question from the title of this article I have to tell you that the latest 2018 Fiat Panda is not actually a death trap. It is just a simple city car that actually “meets or exceeds federal safety requirements in every market in which it is sold.”

The 2020 Mazda 3 was launched at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show and looked quite impressive overall. The first two generations of the Mazda 3 were offered with turbocharged versions, moniker’d as MPS, or Mazdaspeed 3, depending on the market it was sold in. However, Mazda decided to break the pattern with the third-gen by not offering the performance version, and it is doing the same with the fourth-generation 3 as well.

The new-generation Mazda3 just made its debut at the 2018 Los Angeles Motor Show. It looks hotter than ever, boasting an evolution of the company’s KODO design language seen in the RX-Vision and Kai concept. It also features new engines, including a diesel and an innovative gas unit featuring innovative spark controlled compression ignition. More importantly, Mazda moved its compact into the premium market.

After months of teasing, Mazda has finally revealed the 2019 Mazda 3. It comes loaded with new features and is packed so nicely with the much-anticipated Skyactiv-X engine with Spark-Controlled Compression Ignition. And, to make the purists happy, the compact car comes with a manual transmission as well! Yes, it gets brownie points for that.

Honda is testing camouflaged prototypes for the production version of its Urban EV concept, and even with the camo, we can pretty much make out the entire shape of the car and most of its details. Unlike the motor show design study, the production version will have five instead of three doors and several additional detail changes.

It turns out the rumors that Honda was eventually going to put its Urban EV Concept from the 2017 Frankfurt motor show into production were true. Our spies have caught what is, evidently, a camouflaged production prototype of that study and, while it does do away with some of the concept’s craziness, it’s still an interesting and unexpected model.

Back at its motor show debut, the Urban EV concept caused quite a stir with its retro-futuristic styling and all-electric powertrain, although it was probably the former that made it unique. Honda seems to have left the overall design mostly unchanged for the production version, the big difference being that it has grown from a three-door into a five-door.

The concept also had rear-hinged (so-called “suicide”) doors, but this production interpretation seems to have regular doors. Another change over the concept has to do with the shape of the rear lights that are now round as opposed to square, mirroring the shape of the front clusters.

It’s also going to be Honda’s first all-electric vehicle for the European market, but aside from that, it’s also apparently going to be a sold as a kind of premium vehicle (according to some rumors), so it probably won’t necessarily be an affordable supermini/subcompact.

You expect such insanity from Magneto, Joker, Doctor Doom, or Lex Luthor. They may be fictional characters, but here’s one crazy dude who came up with an idea to turn an environment-friendly Toyota Prius into a pee-when-you-see, one-car cavalry. Civilian cars have been made into dogs of war before, but this time, Black Rifle Coffee Company, a coffee producer, has incorporated an M61 Vulcan rotary cannon on a humble Toyota Prius, and the result is blowing our mind!

If cars were judged based on how cute their face is, then the 2018 Mazda2 (also known as the Mazda Demio in its native market, Japan and some other markets) would be among the best cars in the world. However, it’s obviously not just about looks, since cars nowadays, even small city cars, need to be fully featured, well-rounded vehicles that you can even drive on the highway without it feeling daunting.

Thankfully, the pint-sized Mazda2 proved to be thoroughly competent in all those areas and more - it even surprised me on a few occasions. But returning to looks for a second, the Mazda2 is certainly one of the most daring vehicles in its class, only really matched for visual impact by the Peugeot 208 - in the trinket-laden Peugeot’s presence, the 2 can almost be described as sculptural.

Its interior is equally daring, and even if it can’t match the best in class for fit and finish quality, it’s still pleasant to spend time in it. But what many owners and possible future buyers of the Mazda2 may not know (and never find out if they drive slowly and sedately) is the fact that the little 2 is a hoot to throw around - it has fun but predictable handling, and it really puts a smile on the spirited driver’s face much more so than most rivals.

If you live in North America, you can actually buy a sedan version of the Mazda2, however, it wears a Toyota badge and is called the Toyota Yaris sedan; previously it was known as the Scion iA.

Audi is in the final stages of testing and refining its upcoming A3 hatchback, as well as the hot S3 version of it. It’s not clear when the new S3 may debut, but it will probably be at a major motor show sometime in 2019 - we’ve heard rumors that Audi is ditching the three-door model and will only sell its hatch as either a five-door or sedan.

The model, in true Audi fashion, looks like an evolution of the current model, and the only real giveaway that the vehicle spotted by our spies is the spiced up S3 is the fact that it has those quad exhausts in the back; it also looks as if its fenders are wider than what we saw in previous spy shots of the regular A3, but we can’t say for sure due to the use of psychedelic camo.

Power for the next S3 will most likely come from a development of the same four-cylinder turbo that motivates the current model which may get a modest horsepower increase. Electrification of some kind is not out of the question either, as Audi has announced its commitment to bringing it more models - maybe even performance models.

A company best known for creating bicycles is dipping its toes in the electric car business with a new concept called the SIN. No, it’s not named after the immoral act; “SIN” is actually a hat tip to the “contemporary urban sprawl of Singapore.” On that note, the Biomega SIN is a simplified electric vehicle that takes a shape similar to a lot of mobility concepts we’ve seen in recent years. A production model is planned for the future, but for now, it’s only a concept that just made its debut at the China International Import Expo.

Like every automaker that’s worth its salt, Toyota’s bottom line is the most important thing the company has to take care of. And, with the U.S. car market experiencing a shift in demand the likes of which we haven’t seen in a long time, the Japanese automaker is in the process of reviewing its entire U.S. lineup with the possibility of dumping nameplates or models that have become sales anchors on the market. A final decision isn’t expected to happen soon, but with the U.S. auto market getting dominated by SUVs and pickup trucks, Toyota’s model lineup could experience a dramatic shake-up in the near future.

Top Gear host Chris Harris’ penchant for performing in-car experiments manifested itself recently when he decided to find out if it’s possible to perform a handbrake turn with an electric handbrake. For this particular stunt — I mean “experiment” — Harris enlisted the help of Top Gear co-host and Extra Gear main man Rory Reid and a Volkswagen Golf R. The goal was simple: Engage the electronic handbrake while the Golf R is traveling at 120 mph and see what happens after that. The result, as you can imagine, isn’t what Harris or Reid expected.

BMW’s 3-Series Gran Turismo is the other practical variant in the 3-Series lineup for those who don’t want to buy the wagon. It actually has more carrying capacity than the load lugger, and unmatched passenger room, as well as a hatchback design, so you can load big items into the back fairly easily.

It’s really the amount of interior space that impresses in the 3 GT, a car that is nowhere near as popular as it should be because, from my experience with it, there’s actually a lot to like, and it has a bit of a lovable character. Comfort levels are very high, especially if you avoid the harder suspension of the M sport pack (which apparently ruins the ride quality), and opt for the standard setup with adaptive dampers - it is the most comfortable 3-Series you can buy by quite some margin.

Design and styling may not be to everybody’s taste, certainly, but the fact that it has a bit of extra ground clearance over a regular 3-Series and the fact that it’s slightly taller overall, doesn’t negatively affect the way it looks. I think that for a halfway model whose aim is to convince you not to buy an actual crossover or SUV, it looks more than adequate and for some reason better in person than the 6-Series Gran Turismo - its larger and more expensive 5-Series-based brother.

In the 330i xDrive Luxury spec I tested, it was motivated by a turbocharged four-cylinder which is easily powerful enough for lively acceleration and not terrible on fuel. I wouldn’t call it explicitly sporty, but it is miles better to throw around a twisty road than, say, the BMW X3, which just feels tall and cumbersome by comparison.

BMW is probably not going to make a follow-up model for this 3 GT, due to its low appeal in these crossover crazed times. That means a few years down the line it will be even less of a common sight so as time progresses people may start looking for these as a rare, slightly oddball model, but one with excellent daily driver credentials.

Mazda’s new Mazda3 hatchback will be officially revealed later this month at the L.A. Auto Show, but test mules are still clocking up miles in testing. Sadly, the sleek new compact model is still sporting full camouflage in these latest spy shots.

The new Mazda3 is poised to become the best-looking alternative to the Civic or the Corolla if we take into consideration the Kai concept. Sure, not much can be seen under all that wrapping, but the aggressive nose is a sign that some of the concept’s traits have made it into production.

The Japanese manufacturer has released a number of teasers, but these are some of the best images we’ve got of the new Mazda3. What is more, photos of the interior have also emerged and, with a new steering wheel in place, it looks like an interesting proposition.

Introduced in 2008 as a replacement for the Chevrolet Cobalt (and its Pontiac G5 and Saturn Ion doppelgangers), the Cruze is two years into its second-generation as of 2018. Available in both sedan and hatchback body styles, it’s offered with two gasoline engines and a diesel engine in other markets. But, unlike its predecessor, it isn’t offered in performance-oriented guise yet. This could change soon, as Chevy unveiled a beefed-up concept car at the 2018 Sao Paolo Motor Show.

Powered by an engine that generates almost 300 horsepower, the concept goes by the name Cruze Sport6 SS. The "SS" badge, most famous for adorning the Camaro, is not new to compact GM cars, having been used on the Cobalt SS, a 260-horsepower coupe sold until 2010. On top of the beefed-up engine, the Cruze SS also features more aggressive exterior features and a sportier interior. It actually looks ready to go into production, but the fact that Chevy chose to unveil it in Brazil without much fuss on social media may be a sign that it’s not going into production anytime soon.