Today's 3 Hatchbacks - More Bang For Your Buck.

By: Scott James


Nowadays the economy driver is just as discerning with regards to expectation of performance as the buyer of the bigger luxury cars.

We have decided to do a comparison test on three of the latest and fashionable of today's hatchbacks.

The cars we are going to look at are the Mini Cooper S, the Renault Clio 2L Renaultsport 197 and the new Vauxhall Corsa VXR.

It would appear from initial investigation that the new Vauxhall has design features and an overall impression that is way and above earlier models.

Developing 188bhp from a 1.6 L turbocharged diesel engine perhaps this is the first Vauxhall for some time to start actually marrying up power with good looks.

It is up again serious competition however. Perhaps this is a selling off how important the market is.

It might take a bit of revving to get the Clio up to speed but once you do with 194bhp from a 2 L engine it does start to motor.

The power of the Mini Cooper S is obvious to see right from the start with a turbocharged diesel 1.6 engine providing 173bhp.

From a drivers perspective the Mini has stunning performance and lightning reactions. With regards to the Renault, it does appear to perform better the faster you go. Finally the Vauxhall has loads of performance and handles extremely well.

As with all things the interior of the cars there is always an element of compromise with the poor plastics of Mini set against the brilliant driving position. It was difficult to get comfortable in the Renault despite the quality of the interior and lastly though the design of the Vauxhall inside was great this somehow compromised the visibility.

At the end of the day everybody's looking for something that will provide value for money. Initially the Vauxhall being the cheapest and potentially best equipped looked good but this was offset by quite steep running costs. The downside of the red was the fact that despite big discounts on purchase the fairly heavy depreciation did weigh heavily in most people's minds. He the Mini held up quite well in terms of strong second hand value giving rise to quite good ownership prospects.

All three cars represent quite good value for money with possibly the Mini Cooper S edging it overall. The overall handling speed and performance of the Mini makes it very popular despite the fact that the interior plastics look cheap and the rear seats are tiny and the boot is negligible. One of the additional factors is that most of the extras for the Mini are quite expensive.

Set against the mini you look at the Vauxhall and think that this is a good all rounder of a car. The performance is excellent and the handling superb has an excellent interior. The downside is the fact that the visibility is compromised another negative factor is that it does not appear to have as many safety features as the other two.

The Renault Clio comes in last of the bunch which is quite sad when you consider the power and performance of the car. You have to wind it up to get it going and when she do you won't be disappointed but it was the depreciation and the lack of residual value that was against it.

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Information about the Author:


Scott James writes about all sorts of Automotive issues on the Internet and Check out the following for more information about the above: Ferrari Cars ; Driver Education and Car Dealers Manchester


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