LITTLE WONDERS CAR OF THE YEAR: BEST OF THE HATCHBACKS
They no longer dominate the top 10 but there are still prime examples S
mall cars are a big deal. The Mazda3 unseated Holden’s homegrown Commodore as the best-selling car in Australia in 2010, putting compact hatchbacks on pole position before dual-cab utes scrambled to the top of the heap.
But buyers are moving to SUVs as their vehicle of choice and the Mazda3 has slipped from the top 10 on the sales charts, tallying less than half its peak figures. So hatchbacks need to be better than ever to woo customers. We took three of the best, measuring them against our Car of the Year criteria — value for money, performance, design, technology and safety — to determine which rules the roost. FORD FOCUS TREND The Focus arrived in December last year, just missing the 2018 deadline for our Car of the Year testing. Ford took a bold approach, moving the Focus upmarket in search of profitability.
Forget $19,990 drive-away specials from the likes of Hyundai and Kia, as every Focus has a turbo engine, eight-speed automatic transmission and important safety features such as autonomous emergency braking.
The cheapest Focus is $25,990 plus onroads. Buyers can spend $1250 on a safety pack with active cruise control, blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert, pushing it beyond $30,000 drive-away.
Its five-year warranty helps sweeten the deal, as does servicing that averages less than $300 a year for five years — the cheapest here.
Infotainment comes via an eight-inch
touchscreen display with satnav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. The driver gets a small additional digital readout in the dash.
The cabin is spacious front and rear, there is plenty of boot space but the interior’s drab plastics don’t quite match the price tag.
Ford’s contender wins points with excellent dynamics that make it one of the best cars in its class to drive. Quick steering, firm brakes and well-controlled but comfortable suspension gel sweetly with a torquey little engine.
With just three cylinders, the Ford’s 1.5-litre turbo packs plenty of go — 134kW/240Nm — for effortless progress.
The only blot on the driving experience is that the eight-speeder can be a little clumsy, shifting to high gears in pursuit of fuel economy. Ford’s rotary controller for choosing gears isn’t as intuitive as a conventional auto lever and the transmission can thump into gear when moving between drive and reverse.
The claimed thirst of 6.4L/100km is OK for a car this size but you’ll use more in the real world.
AUDI A1
Want a champagne badge for beer money? The A1 has you covered. As the only luxury marque with a sub-$35,000 entry point, Audi aims to tempt buyers away from mainstream brands.
It looks great inside and out, with crisp lines, pleasing proportions and impressive tech. The 10.25-inch digital dashboard is accompanied by an 8.8-inch central screen, making most alternatives feel low-tech by comparison.
From $32,350 plus on-roads, or about $38,000 drive-away, the A1 is not cheap and isn’t overly burdened by equipment.
Satnav, active cruise control, smart keys and spare tyre aren’t available as options for the entry-level A1 but can be had on more expensive variants.
Likewise, the base A1 has the bare minimum of safety kit needed for a five-star ANCAP rating — important gear such as blind spot monitoring is missing.
Customers keen on the cheapest Audi get a 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbo. Outputs of 85kW/200Nm might sound modest but are more than adequate for a car this size, as the A1 is closer in size to a Toyota Yaris than the larger Corolla.
Turning a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, the engine claims 5.4L/100km. Once again, we reckon you’ll consume more, especially if you turn off the annoying stop-start fuel saving tech that kills the engine before you come to rest in traffic, then fires it up as you ease off the brakes.
The A1 is grumpy and coarse at low speed — perhaps in part due to the dual-clutch auto — but is much more impressive when you toss it into a corner. Light, agile and grippy, the A1 is a lot of fun to drive but it’s also noisier than similarly priced alternatives.
MAZDA3
Road noise was a problem in the previous Mazda3, so engineers put immense effort into making the new model quieter. They succeeded — the 3 is among the most refined in its class.
The new model also has an interior capable of shaming some luxury cars. Its widescreen 8.8-inch display comes with satnav and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and the clever remote rotary controller is of the kind usually found in prestige showrooms.
The cabin is also a potential weak point. Gloss black plastics up front scratch easily, while rear head and legroom are compromised by the fastback-like roofline.
Rearward vision is ordinary for both adults and kids, and the Mazda is also let down by a smaller than usual boot.
Positives? You don’t need to fret about optional extras in the Mazda3, which is loaded up with active cruise control, front and rear emergency braking, blind-spot monitor and rear cross-traffic alert — plus such niceties as smart keys.
The cheapest Mazda3, the G20 Pure driven here, costs $25,990 plus on-roads in automatic form, equating to about $30,000 drive-away. Mazda customers can choose 2.0 or 2.5-litre engines, six-speed manual or automatic transmissions, sedan or hatch body styles and six grades of spec.
The 2.0-litre is frugal, using just 6.2L/100km, but its 114kW/200Nm outputs arrive much later than turbo alternatives. That means you need to work the engine hard to deliver its best. That said, the intuitive, smooth shifting auto, excellent body control and accurate steering lend driver appeal.
THE LOWDOWN
All three cars have strong selling points. The Audi’s style and cabin treatment stand out, the Focus has space and driving polish on its side and the Mazda combines value and safety with sharp looks.
We’ll reveal the best small car contender — and our Car of the Year — in early December.