Hatchback Reviews and Buying Guide:

I recently did some research on the Hatchback car market to see just what exist in todays world. I remember back in the 1970's when they were rampant and Europeans have been driving them for decades as high gas prices have kept SUV's and larger trucks off their roadways. Now that fuel costs have skyrocketed in the United States, more Americans are taking a second look at hatchbacks. They really are quite convenient and very economical to drive. They are essentially a 5 door car with 4 passenger doors and a cargo door in the rear that lifts up so you can store plenty of belongings in the cargo space. You can fold back the two rear seats and get additional storage space when needed. Most modern sedans lack quality trunk space and lots of larger items have no chance of being stored in your sedans trunk. A hatchback solves all that with the ability to open up the rear door and expose a massive cargo area. Hatchbacks are also much cheaper than comparable sedans with many models starting at about $20,000 or even less.

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Consumer Reports (June 2008) just finished their take on the latest hatchbacks and they rated the Volkswagen Rabbit S as the top performer in the field. In past years they liked the Mazda3 best, but the Rabbit wins out this year with a cheaper price. CR tested the Volkswagen Rabbit, Saturn Astra, Subaru Impreza Outback Sport, Mini Cooper Clubman, Toyota Matrix, and the Scion xD. In the past they had rated the other hatchbacks like the Mazda3, Prius, Honda Fit, and Nissan Versa so those were also included in the final remarks. We also found excellent feedback and opinions on hatchback cars at Automotive.com and Motortrend.com. Our personal favorite site for car reviews and news on the latest models is Edmunds.com, but their lineup of hatchbacks was limited at the time of this article. I have been in both the new Toyota Prius, Impreza, and the Mini Cooper. The Mini Cooper does have a sporty feel to it, but the interior feels cramped and tight. The Volkswagen Rabbit definitely has the best combination of attributes with a sporty feel, plenty of interior room, and lots of cargo space (especially when the rear seats are down). No hatchback can compare to the Prius in terms of gas mileage, but the 24 mpg overall on the Rabbit is the biggest drawback. You would expect better fuel economy on this model. The Subaru gets only 23 mpg overall which is an even bigger shock. The Nissan Versa is priced to sell (starting at $16675), but the predicted reliability of Nissan does not compare to the other vehicles at the top of this class. The Maza3 has been called the "best small hatchback" on the market and it still rates pretty well by CR standards. We found very positive reviews for the Mazda3 on Edmunds.com and U.S. News Rankings and Reviews. The 2008 design isn't much different than the 2007 so reviews are fairly repetitive from last year, but we did hear that the 2009 Mazda3 hatchback could have some significant changes. The Mazda3 hatchback also gets excellent long term reliability predictions along with the Toyota Prius and Honda Fit. If driving an SUV (even a small one) isn't affordable, then consider the updated hatchbacks that are retaking the highways of America with versatility and affordability.

Best Hatchback:

My brother used to own a VW Rabbit back in the 1980's and the darn thing had a lot of problems, leaking was one of them. The Rabbits were discontinued and the VW Golf was born only to be discontinued itself and now the Volkswagen Rabbit is back with a bang. The VW Rabbit S starts at $15600 for the 2 door model with hatchback but we will focus on the 4 door Rabbit that has an MSRP of $17575. The 6-speed automatic transmission with Tiptronic controls starts at $18650. Both 4 door models offer 2.5 liter engines with 170 HP. The Rabbit is a joy to drive and although the fuel economy isn't as good as some of the others in this class, it still does ok with 22/29 (city/hwy). It does 0-60 in about 8 seconds and tops out at 130 MPH. Reviews are very positive for the new VW Rabbit and you can find even more details online HERE. Buy the Consumer Reports June 2008 magazine for a full writeup from them on the 2008 VW Rabbit and what they consider to be the best "affordable hatchback".

Top Rated Hatchback:

The Toyota Prius is definitely worth mentioning in this category, although experts tend to like to bunch it in with other hybrids. The Toyota Prius is a top rated hatchback per Edmunds.com and Consumer Reports as well as countless other car reviewers. It may not get all the attention in this class of vehicle since most clump it in with the other hybrids and not with the hatchbacks. The Prius will seat 5 total and does lag a bit when accelerating up to speed. If you want sporty in a hatchback, then go with the VW Rabbit, but if reliability and fuel economy are what interest you most, then consider the Prius. With mileage ratings of 45/48 (city/hwy) there is no other car that offers that kind of gas mileage on the road. There is ample storage space when the rear seats are folded down, so fill it up with cargo if you want. The Toyota Prius starts at $21,500 for the regular version and is closer to $24K for the Touring model. In any event, the car still remains very affordable since you will get back the upfront premium on your savings at the pump. Go to the official Toyota Prius website HERE for more details.

Mazda3 Five-Door:

The Mazda3 five-door hatchback gets all sorts of awards this year from prominent auto reviewers like Forbes, AutoWeek, and Consumer Reports. In past years Consumer Reports rated this hatchback as a "top pick", however they were more impressed with the above mentioned Volkswagen Rabbit. Mazda3 fans don't sweat this one out, even though CR doesn't rate it #1 anymore, countless other car review magazines and websites give the Mazda3 Hatchback top billing. The Mazda starts at $18675 and provides a sporty styling with decent HP (156 horsepower). When the rear seats are down you get a generous 43.8 cubic feet of cargo space. The mileage ratings are 22/29 (city/hwy) and the transmission choices are either 5-speed manual or a 5-speed electronically-controlled SportAT. The S Touring model starts at $19175 and the S Grand Touring has an MSRP of $20945. You can get more details, specs, and download online HERE.

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