German Car Zone

Citroën call it a hatchback:
... but then again, they also call it beautiful.

As for the Octavia: To be quite honest, I'm quite surprised by your reaction. I'd never had thought anyone would not think of them as hatchbacks.

I do agree about the TT part, though.

Bloody hell!

So that means I was wrong all these years?!

In fact triple !!! I'm embarrassed now.

Thank you for explaining that to me. I had no idea that even Skoda called the Octavia a Hatchback. I always considered it to be a Saloon, because of the Saloon shape.

How wrong I was. Once again, many thanks for correcting me.

Not me.

I lament the fact that Honda seems to have no plans to bring this car to North America.

Interesting that the Renault Clio III 197 pips the Cooper S - somewhat surprising to me as the new 1.6 litre turbo has the edge on the 2.0 NA engine in terms of "got-the-gas-to spit-out-of-a-corner" midrange punch. I think the Cooper S is a hotter hot hatch.

GTI is still up there - and the rumours of a power hike are all too rife...

To me there is one glaring omission: the Audi A3 2.0T Sportback (please don't tell me it's not a hatchback) which combines unmatched prestige with a wonderfully refined yet sporty chassis. Truly a paragon of understatement but a masterclass in its segment. In my opinion Audi make the most desirable, prestige hatchbacks around.

Me too.

That's because the GTI is around for a lower price - the A3 gets the prestige thing, but that's about it IMO.

That's not necessarily logical Mirage - to omit the 2.0T Sportback by virtue of the fact that the GTI is there. If that were the criteria for omission then by definition cars like the Renault Megane Cup and Golf GTI ED30 shouldn't get a mention either...

The 2.0T SB is every bit the hot hatch in its own right without resorting to the flashiness of the GTI. It may not shout street cred among the traffic light racers but it's a far more worthy entry than anything else below position 10. And it goes beautifully too with a ride / handling compromise that's hard to match. Classy, yes, but let's not preclude it from the fact that performance is straight out of the hot hatch top drawer.

I didn't mean that. I meant that the GTI offers what the 2.0T SB already offers, without the prestige. How do you think they compare?

I understand what you mean, but I can hardly call the GTI flashy... It's just as much as a Q-car as the 2.0T SB is, I think.

Also, as I've said above, I'm not doubting the merits of the 2.0T SB... But I'm not particularly convinced it's worth the premium over the GTI either.

Interesting that you think the GTI is Q-Car understated. I find it quite a bit more extrovert than an A3 SB. Certainly it appeals far more to the younger generation that I've been exposed to.

I personally feel that the A3 stands apart from the Golf in the driving experience and quality stakes. They might be similar in terms of on-paper specification but the A3 feels decidedly more upmarket both in the static and dynamic experience. The ride is excellent and whilst it's not as tippy toe as the GTI it does have more grace and composure over rougher surfaces. It's an altogether more luxurious and comfortable experience without being flabby and "un-hot-hatchlike". It deserves its place because, for the more, let's say, "mature" buyer it warrants the premium over its VW sibling.

Thanks for your opinion.

I still stand by my previous statement... To each his own.

Greek car magazines (including Greek Autocar) which drove the Civic weren't impressed with it at all so it's safe to say cause it got the first place because Honda has a factory in England.