Top Gear's top five hatchbacks

£19,775, 105bhp, 184lb ft, 0-62mph 10.7secs, vmax 119mph, 74.3mpg, CO2 99g/km

The runaway class leader. It just does what it does better than any other car, be it the school run or the motorway haul. To buy it is to love it.

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£18,045, 125bhp, 125lb ft, 0-62mph 11.3secs, vmax 120mph, 56.5mpg, CO2 114g/km

Lost a little of its sparkle compared to its predecessor, but it’s still a great all-rounder.

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£16,295, 126bhp, 192lb ft, 0-62mph 11.5secs, vmax 122mph, 76.3mpg, CO2 97g/km

Look, it has a tiger’s nose! Wait, does a tiger’s nose really look like that, sort of a like a trapezoidal infiniti symbol? It also has a daft name. Good car, mind.

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£18,760, 130bhp, 207lb ft, 0-62mph 11.4secs, vmax 117mph, 76.3mpg, CO2 99g/km

Vauxhall, those long-time purveyors of dreary mass-market motoring finally woke up with the Astra. It rivals the Focus on the road and looks sharper, too.

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£19,400, 120bhp, 221lb ft, 0-62mph 10.5secs, vmax 129mph, 78.5mpg, 94g/km

Yes, it is very cleverly packaged, and yes, you do need a degree in advanced electronic engineering to make head or tail of the dash. Belting new 1.6 diesel.

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