SMALL MEGA TEST
14 street-smart cars go in, only one winner comes out
DESPITE what urban myth might suggest, small cars are Aussies’ bread and butter. Have been since 2005, when total small-car sales outstripped what was once the bedrock of our car culture – the large-car class – for the first time. And the fight continues against the inexorable rise of the fast-approaching medium-suv category.
It’s a vicious battle for a slice of small-car glory. And it involves some of the best-known names in the business, spanning 14 separate models in this Megatest’s $23-28K auto hatch/sedan discipline. Only two failed to make the starting grid – Mitsubishi’s decade-old Lancer GSR Sportback ($24,000) and Nissan’s depressing Pulsar ST-L sedan ($24,790), each tied to CVTS. Given the fall from grace of these former Japanese superstars, it would’ve been a battle for 14th place, with the ‘winner’ scoring 13th…
This field overflows with fresh talent: Holden’s all-new Astra R hatch (wearing a super-competitive $24,190 sticker), Subaru’s fifth-generation Impreza hatch in 2.0i-l form (again, for a razor-sharp $24,690), and Renault’s fourth-generation Megane, represented here in Zen specification ($27,490) because the $24,990 Life was still on the boat. Three new-from-theground-up heavy-hitters ready to make life difficult for the class benchmarks.
There’s been lots of other new-model action, too. Like Hyundai’s AD Elantra Active sedan ($24,250), underpinned by a next-generation platform, as well as its DNA relative, the updated Kia Cerato S Premium sedan ($24,990). At a similar price point is Honda’s comeback car, the new-gen Civic VTI-S sedan ($24,490) and Mazda’s evergreen 3 Maxx sedan ($24,890), now with G-vectoring Control and other sweeteners.
Our price-point leader, Toyota’s hugely popular Corolla Ascent Sport hatch ($23,250) was given a dose of sex appeal in 2015 with a sharper look and sweeter handling, while Ford’s third-gen Focus (here in $24,390 Trend hatch form) copped a boost at the same time, plus a bolder front end and freshened interior.
Finally, to Volkswagen’s benchmark Golf 92TSI hatch ($25,340) and its size-matters Czech cousin, the re-stocked Octavia 110TSI Ambition ($25,290), each proving Europe is back in a big way in the small-car class. Likewise Peugeot’s excellent 308 Active hatch, now in MY17 form with a reversing camera and other niceties, topping our 12-strong field at $27,990.
There isn’t a bad car here. But it takes a serious all-rounder to stand out in a crew as cut-throat as this.