Opt for the estate version and that expands to a cavernous 640 litres. aviator pin-up With a starting price of around £28,000, nothing in the segment matches the Octavia’s sheer space. Over the years, it has moved upmarket in build quality, technology and price, but its core strengths remain. ​​It’s hard to define the true best car on sale, yet few offer so much for so little as the Skoda Octavia.

FAQs: Best hatchbacks to buy in the UK

Striking take on the humble hatchback The best and most practical hatchback Each vehicle undergoes extensive testing with the Parkers team, first at international car launches, then closer to home on UK roads, followed by long term tests. If you’re unhappy with Auto Express or Carwow’s service, you may be able to contact the Financial Ombudsman (please see -ombudsman.org.uk for more information). Shane is responsible for looking after the day-to-day running of the Auto Express website and social media channels.

Finishing off our list of best hatchbacks is Japan’s Mazda3. The BMW 1 Series is a premium hatchback choice which is lighter, sleeker, and safer than others. If you can stretch your budget a bit more, you can also add a ‘sleep package’ to the car, which will give you more comfortable rear seat head rests, stowed blankets, and sun blinds. Since its very first appearance in 1996, this has been a car that’s always super-sized its value proposition, offering more space than the norm. It offers great value for money, it’s comfortable, refined, and practical, and comes with plenty of standard kit, while the agile handling means you can enjoy all car journeys.

MG4 review – a great-value electric hatchback

All cars come with 12 months free breakdown cover (or a discounted upgrade if you’re an AA member) and £75 off your next service & MOT. Finding the perfect family car is no small feat. Its high-quality interior, crystal-clear 8.8-inch dashboard display, and large rear seats help this car to really stand out.

Its electric powertrain means it’s very quiet and composed, and the regenerative braking system isn’t intrusive when you let off the throttle. The Renault Megane has been around for three decades, and while it has adopted some SUV traits in its transition to electric power, it hasn’t strayed far from its hatchback roots. Erring on the side of comfort rather than sportiness – so long as you don’t choose the top-of-the-range vRS model – the Octavia feels refined on the move, with supple suspension, low wind noise and a range of quiet, perky engines. Despite being a long car at 4.7 meters, it’s easy to pilot around town with great all-round visibility.

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• The Jazz is a big seller here in the UK, so used market shoppers are fairly spoiled for choice.
• You can even pick up the top-spec 429bhp MG4 XPower on the used market for less than the cost of a new entry-level model.
• Tight inner cities and small towns might be better suited to hatchbacks with a tiny footprint, which are easier to park and manoeuvre at the expense of passenger and boot space.
• Unlike their saloon alternatives, hatchbacks can take big loads with ease thanks to their wide load bays too.

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The GWM Ora 03 may look like a slinky, swoopy, alternate-universe version of the Mini Cooper, but unfortunately it’s nowhere near as fun to drive. If you want a little more pep in your hatchback’s step, check out this list of the best hot hatches on sale. They’re generally cheaper to buy than SUVs are too, so you can often get a better equipped hatchback for the same price as an equivalent SUV. During his career he has been the editor of Classic Car Weekly, Modern Classics and Honest John Classics, as well as writing for CAR magazine, Practical Classics, Octane, Autocar and The Independent among others.

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Once the go-to choice for families, the hatchback segment that has given us famous names like the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf has seen its popularity dwindle slightly. Explore our diverse range of high-quality photos and unleash your creativity without any restrictions.

The best hatchbacks to buy in 2025: new and used cars we’d suggest and why

If you opt for the plug-in hybrid, you will have to shave 100 litres off the A3’s 380-litre boot capacity. The low roofline doesn’t eat into passenger headroom but the boot space is a little on the smaller side at 289 litres. Base SE models begin at just over £27,000 and have a 218-mile range. The boot is generous at 440 litres and there’s a useful charging cable storage space under the floor. “The Civic’s sloping roofline won’t quite match the versatility of some of the boxier, more upright hatchbacks out there, but it’s practical enough for most needs.” – Ellis Hyde, news reporter.

Some might even come with sliding rear seats, so you can increase boot space without having to use the kids‘ seating space in the rear. The best thing about hatchbacks is that they offer space for four, some luggage room, all the latest features while remaining easy to drive and own. Despite not having as much boot capacity as the BMW 1 Series or the Skoda Octavia, the Mazda3 still boasts over 350 litres, making it more than spacious enough for a family run-around. 380 litre boot capacity, 1,200 litre boot capacity when rear seats are folded down, and an infotainment system controlled by your voice.

Most used hatchback cars listed for sale on AA Cars – particularly the most recent models – come with an impressive range of features. Unless you’re hunting out the lowest possible insurance premiums, the turbocharged 1.0-litre TSI petrol is the pick of the range – offering sprightly performance and over 50mpg. The Peugeot 208 makes for a great used small car buy for several reasons, but key to its appeal is its strong range of petrol, diesel, hybrid and electric powertrains.

Keith lives in rural Lancashire and enjoys buying and selling cars and reading and writing about them. Five decades as one of the best hatchbacks Using our detailed review structure, we’ve evaluated the best hatchbacks and ranked them based on which ones we’d recommend. Our dealer network has 1,000s of great value new cars in stock and available now right across the UK.

• Despite not having as much boot capacity as the BMW 1 Series or the Skoda Octavia, the Mazda3 still boasts over 350 litres, making it more than spacious enough for a family run-around.
• Our expert road testers also put each car through its paces in the real world, focusing on what we know actually matters to buyers.
• Buyers who are considering making the switch to electric driving are catered for by the Corsa Electric.
• Once you accept YPP terms and link an active AdSense for YouTube account, your channel will automatically be put in a review queue.
• There are many hatchbacks that achieve Euro NCAP’s maximum five-star rating, but the Ora Funky Cat was the organisation’s Best Small Family Car of 2022, the last time the award was handed out.

There’s notable wind noise on the motorway, the ride is somewhat jiggly and even the long range model can only travel a claimed 261 miles to a charge. Our expert reviews team has extensively tested all of the hatchbacks on sale in the UK and narrowed them down to this list of the ten best ones you should buy. Unlike their saloon alternatives, hatchbacks can take big loads with ease thanks to their wide load bays too. Though you may not have a high-set driving position, hatchbacks are often more fun to drive thanks to their lower ride height and lower weight. Oddly, the Hyundai Ioniq 5, which is pretty much big enough to be an SUV, counts as a hatchback, partially because it’s designed to look like a cool 1970s hatch.

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All Leon models get a spacious interior and a choice of petrol and diesel engines; there is also a plug-in hybrid. A facelift in late 2023 brought new styling and a longer range for the electric E-208, but you’re likely to find a better deal for an earlier model. Of course, second-hand buyers have the pick of several petrol models, too, although the sluggish 64bhp SCe model is best avoided unless you’re a young driver looking for low insurance costs. The latest Octavia still offers the previously popular diesel variant, however, new buyers are more likely to have picked a petrol, or plug-in hybrid model and so expect to see more of these on the used market.