Hatchbacks

  • 2014 BMW i3 REx vs Chevrolet Volt comparison  [photos: David Noland, Tom Moloughney]

    Until recently, the Chevy Volt was the only range-extended electric car available in the U.S. I've driven a Volt for almost three years now, and it's been a splendid car--quiet, smooth, peppy, and amazingly economical. New REx on the block But now the Volt has a formidable new competitor: the new 2014 BMW i3, available as both a pure battery-electric vehicle or with an optional range-extending gasoline engine, known as the REx model. Such a range-extended electric car, or series hybrid, has an electric motor that drives the wheels, plus a back-up gasoline-powered generator to provide...

  • 2015 Chevrolet Volt
    2015 Chevrolet Volt: Bigger Battery, But 38-Mile Electric Range Remains

    With widespread expectations that we'll see a redesigned second-generation model unveiled early next year, the 2015 Chevy Volt was expected to be a carryover model with few changes. And so it is, with one important exception: Without any fanfare, its battery capacity rose to 17.1 kilowatt-hours for...

  • 2012 Chevrolet Volt
    GM Offers Free Fix For 2012-13 Chevrolet Volt Battery Coolant Issue

    General Motors will perform free servicing to fix potentially low battery coolant in certain Chevy Volts.

  • 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid at 2013 New York Auto Show
    2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid: Video Review

    It's no secret that Subaru has surged from strength to strength over the last several years. Its sturdy, all-wheel-drive lineup of sedans, hatchbacks, and crossover utilities can be seen on the roads anywhere there's bad weather, mountainous terrain, or active-sports participants. We tested the...

  • 2013 Toyota Auris Hybrid (European market)
    Struggling Scion To Get Mazda2-Based Sedan, Auris-Based Hatchback, In Future?

    Scion, the supposedly hip, youth-oriented brand established 10 years ago by Toyota, hasn't had a new volume model in seven years. Its overall sales fell last year even as the new-car market surged. Now, apparently, it's slated to get two new models--a subcompact hatchback based on the...

  • 2014 Ford Fiesta EcoBoost SFE, Catskill Mountains, NY, Jun 2014
    2014 Ford Fiesta EcoBoost: Gas Mileage Test Returns 40 MPG

    As a general rule, we like small cars, and small cars with small engines. Eighteen months ago, when we first drove prototype versions of the 2014 Ford Fiesta EcoBoost, we knew we'd be eager to get our hands on the little subcompact with the turbocharged three-cylinder engine for a longer drive...

  • 2014 MINI Cooper automatic, Bear Mountain, NY, May 2014

    The all-new, third-generation 2014 MINI Cooper three-door hatchback--now called "Hardtop" by MINI--sports a longer nose, a new 1.5-liter three-cylinder engine, and an interior that at last cleans up some of the disastrous ergonomics of the previous cars. Specifically, the round display in the center of the dashboard is now solely a display screen, with proper instruments at last in a conventional cluster behind the steering wheel. DON'T MISS: 2014 MINI Cooper First Drive That round display in the center of the dash harkened back to the single central speedometer on the original Morris...

  • 2015 Volkswagen Golf
    2015 Volkswagen Golf Launch Edition Priced At Under $19,000

    A special Launch Edition model brings the 2015 Volkswagen Golf hatchback's base price below $19,000.

  • 2014 Nissan Leaf electric car on the roads of Thimphu, Bhutan
    New 2017 Nissan Leaf: More Details On New Styling, Range--And Infiniti Electric Too

    The Nissan Leaf is by far the highest-volume electric car ever built, with 110,000-plus on the roads now. And three and a half years after its launch, Nissan is pushing hard to boost its sales all over the world. But what about the next Nissan Leaf, one designed with several years of battery...

  • 2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive  -  First Drive, May 2014
    2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive: First Drive

    Can electric cars be sexy? Look at the exclusive Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Electric Drive gullwing sports car, and that question has been answered. But put your sensible cap on for the moment, have a look at the 2014 Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive, and you'll find little of such flirtation. That's...

  • 2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class
    2014 Mercedes B-Class Electric Car On Sale In Summer From $41,450

    The Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive will go on sale in the U.S. this summer.

  • 2015 Honda Fit, test drive around Ann Arbor, Michigan, Apr 2014
    2015 Honda Fit: Quick Gas Mileage Drive Of All-New Hatchback

    If you're looking for a small hatchback that delivers high gas mileage and almost unparalleled flexibility, the all-new 2015 Honda Fit should probably be at the top of your list. The new Fit has become a more important car for Honda now that it's built in Mexico, and that's reflected in many of the...

  • 2014 Mazda 3, Catskill Mountains, NY, Apr 2013

    Auto writers tend to like Mazdas; they generally perform and handle well, and are far more fun to drive than the anodyne Fords, Hondas, and Toyotas that outsell them in the compact and mid-size categories. The newest crop of Mazda cars and crossovers, built around the company's highly fuel-efficient SkyActiv engines and transmissions, have also delivered very good real-world fuel economy without turbochargers or hybrid-electric powertrains. So we were looking forward to our weekend test drive of the all-new Mazda 3 five-door, the latest iteration of the company's compact hatchback. We'd...

  • 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid, Catskill Mountains, NY, March 2014
    2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid: Gas Mileage Review

    If ever any car brand should have offered a hybrid before now, it would be Subaru. Now we've driven the 2014 Subaru XV Crosstrek Hybrid, its very first hybrid offering. It's a much better car than the Crosstrek on which it's based, but little of that improvement has anything to do with the hybrid...

  • Volkswagen e-Golf (European model) test drive, Berlin, March 2014
    2015 Volkswagen e-Golf: Drive Report, First U.S. Sale Details

    The 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf is the German maker's first production electric car to be offered for sale in the U.S. On sale late this year, it adds a plug-in electric powertrain option to the all-new seventh generation of the classic Golf five-door hatchback, now celebrating its 40th birthday. While...

  • 2013 Honda Fit EV drive event, Pasadena, CA, June 2012
    2014 Honda Fit EV: Model Year Ends Early As Last Cars Are Built

    Honda has announced through its EV sales division that the Fit EV model year production will end early, with production of the last of the 2014 Fit EVs this fall. [UPDATE: Honda North America subsequently clarified that Fit EV production will end on schedule this fall, not "early." Honda added that...

  • 2015 Honda Fit at 2014 Detroit Auto Show
    2015 Honda Fit: Video Summary From Detroit Auto Show

    Undoubtedly the most important green car at a rather scattered Detroit Auto Show, the 2015 Honda Fit promises to be a strong entry in the subcompact segment when it arrives this spring. MORE: 2015 Honda Fit: Full Details From 2014 Detroit Auto Show The latest generation of the most flexible and...

  • 2015 Honda Fit launch at 2014 Detroit Auto Show
    2015 Honda Fit: Full Details From 2014 Detroit Auto Show

    The all-new 2015 Honda Fit was unveiled this afternoon at the Detroit Auto Show--one of very few cars that could conceivably be deemed "green" at an event dominated by the huge new 2015 Ford F-150 full-size pickup truck. The new Fit is a complete redesign of the five-door subcompact that won raves...

  • 2014 Nissan Leaf

    With the 2014 Nissan Leaf going on sale this week and next, Nissan is poised to expand production and dramatically boost sales of its U.S.-built battery-electric hatchback. And if its CEO has his way, sales will double in 2014, from the 22,610 Leafs delivered in 2013 to 40,000 or more, perhaps as many as 50,000. Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn told CNBC yesterday--as reported by Bloomberg--that last year's surge from 9,800 to 22,600 sales was just the start. MORE: FINAL UPDATE: Plug-In Electric Car Sales For 2013 Near Double Previous Year's It takes roughly six months of lead time to boost production...

  • 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf
    2015 Volkswagen e-Golf Electric Car: Los Angeles Auto Show Video

    Walking through the Volkswagen stand at the Los Angeles Auto Show, you would have seen quite a few 2015 Volkswagen Golf models. But a blue one over in the corner was more special than it may have looked: It was the 2015 Volkswagen e-Golf, the battery-electric version of the all-new seventh...

  • 2014 Lexus CT 200h
    2014 Lexus CT 200h Update Appears At Los Angeles Auto Show

    November is fairly late for the next model year of a car to arrive, but now we've finally seen the updated 2014 Lexus CT 200h compact hybrid hatchback. The lightly restyled model was unveiled at the Guangzhou Motor Show, but made an appearance just hours later at the Los Angeles Auto Show as well...

  • New Honda Fit Hybrid (Japan-only model)
    2015 Honda Fit To Have 36-MPG Combined Gas Mileage Rating

    The new 2015 Honda Fit will have a combined EPA gas mileage rating of 36 mpg, according to Honda officials. That's the second-highest rating for any five-door subcompact hatchback, and notably improves on the current 2013 Fit's highest rating of 31 mpg. MORE: 2015 Honda Fit - preview In a company...

  • 2014 Mazda Mazda3
    Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy Nominee: 2014 Mazda 3

    Even conventional gasoline cars--no plugs, no hybrids, no turbos--can be green. And we've long been looking forward to the debut of the 2014 Mazda 3, an all-new generation of the compact hatchback and sedan that have always been among the more rewarding cars to drive in the segment. With Mazda's...

  • 2014 Mazda 3, test drive, Atlanta region, Oct 2013
    2014 Mazda 3: First Drive

    The 2014 Mazda 3 is the one of the more eagerly-awaited compact cars hereabouts, and now we've had a chance to spend 90 minutes behind the wheel. During a recent test drive that brought together Best Car To Buy 2014 finalists, every High Gear Media editor got a chance to drive a variety of vehicles...

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