Aussie Toyota owners launch class action against the auto giant over alleged manufacturing issue
The Japanese vehicle juggernaut, Australia's best-selling car brand for more than two decades, will 'vigorously defend' the claims filed in the Federal Court on Wednesday.
The suit was filed on behalf of disgruntled drivers of Corollas manufactured from July 12, 2010 to September 30, 2014 and painted with factory code 040 white paint.
The claim argues the paint defect breaches Australian Consumer Law and that Toyota is liable to compensate affected customers for loss and damage.
Under Australian Consumer Law, any vehicle purchased from 2011 onwards must be of 'acceptable quality'.
But in a July 2022 statement, Toyota Australia explained the alleged defects could have arisen because of sustained sunlight and ultraviolet (UV) exposure.
'Over time, (exposure) degrades the adhesion between the factory-applied paint primer coat layer and the base metal electrodeposition layer, causing paint to peel from the metal body panel.'
Lawyers from William Roberts argued that Toyota hid some crucial information from consumers about alleged manufacturing problems.
'Throughout the periods during which the affected vehicles were manufactured, Toyota did not disclose to the public that affected vehicles contained the paint peeling defect or... had the propensity to experience the... defect,' they said.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission says consumers have a right to a free repair when a car has a minor problem.
A Facebook group boasting over 7000 members, dedicated to taking Toyota to task over what they say are flaws from the car maker, had several Corolla drivers voicing their intention to join the lawsuit.
Many posted photos of paint peeled off from large sections of their vehicles.
A Toyota spokesperson acknowledged the claims, adding customers with questions about their vehicles should contact their local dealer.
'Toyota Australia has been served with a statement of claim for a paint peeling class action in relation to certain 2010 - 2014 Corolla vehicles,' they said.
'We intend to defend the claims vigorously.'
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Auto Car
9 minutes ago
- Auto Car
I spent 3000 miles in a Ford Explorer – is it really more than a VW in cowboy boots?
Close To mark the launch of the Ford Explorer, Lexie Alford became the first person to circumnavigate the globe in an EV. The 18,600-mile, 27-country journey traversed territory as diverse as the Australian outback, the mountains of Bhutan and the Atacama desert. Impressive stuff, but of more relevance to me – and you, I would expect – is how the Explorer will tackle slightly more real-world adventures, such as the traffic-clogged streets of Twickenham, the bumpy moorland roads of Somerset and the relentless roundabouts of Milton Keynes. Now, I doubt I'll get close to Alford's epic quest in terms of accumulated mileage over the coming months, but I will be tackling those more real-world environments – and with enough time behind the wheel hopefully to gain an understanding of what remains a very curious machine. A controversial one, too. This is, as you may recall, the Ford that isn't entirely a Ford: it's built on the Volkswagen Group's MEB electric car platform, as part of a broad deal between the two firms that has helped the Blue Oval expand its EV line-up beyond the larger Mustang Mach-E. That said, Ford says that while it has taken a VW Group platform, it has developed its own vehicle, with its own character. It's also the Explorer that isn't really an Explorer: the name comes from a long-running US market SUV, although one that is both larger and very much not electrically powered. To British buyers not versed in Ford's US lineup, that's possibly more confusing than controversial: certainly Ford attracted less opprobrium for using the name than if they had, say, wheeled out an electric SUV-coupé and called it a Capri. Imagine! Perhaps most contentiously, of course, is that this Explorer is the car that killed the Ford Fiesta: Ford had to convert its Cologne plant, where the Fiesta was built, for EV production. That was a much-questioned decision when announced in 2023, never mind the recent challenges in the EV market. It's not really fair to judge the Explorer by what it is, isn't or represents, though: the role here is to leave all of that to one side and evaluate how good the Explorer is as a car. And the good news is that there's a lot of promise here. For starters, for a boxy SUV the Explorer is really quite well resolved, with some neat design touches. It has already attracted an admiring comment from one of my neighbours, a non-car person who thinks it looks 'really nice'. We're off to a good start, then. It's also deceptive: that boxy styling makes it look bigger in photos than it really is. Anyone who read about the MEB platform and expected the Explorer to be a VW ID 4 with a different badge – an ID Ford, perhaps? – may be surprised to learn it's quite a bit shorter. Inside, the Explorer is notably different from most VW Group models. A few parts will be familiar (we'll get to those in a future report), but the large, vertically mounted 14.6in touchscreen is pure Ford, and it runs Ford's own infotainment system. It can also be angled up and down depending on preference, in doing so giving access to a semi-secret storage cubby. The Explorer is offered with single- and dual-motor layouts, and with two battery sizes. Because I value range above pace, I've chosen the Extended Range Premium RWD, which features a single 282bhp motor and a 77kWh (usable capacity) battery. The official range is 354 miles, with efficiency rated at 3.4mpkWh. As with other MEB cars, it can charge at speeds of up to 135kW, which is decent enough, but plenty of rivals are now faster. If you want an Explorer that charges more quickly, you'll need the dual-motor AWD Extended Range version. Our Premium-spec car is really well equipped, as you would hope for £49,975: outside, there are stylised 20in wheels, matrix LED lights and a large panoramic roof; inside, there are niceties such as heated seats covered with Sensico trim (it's an alternative to leather), a wireless phone charger, a rear camera and a 10-speaker Bang & Olufsen sound system. We've plumped for a few extras such as Rapid Red paint, which costs £800 (white is the only no-cost option). A er that we added the £1300 Driver Assistance pack for a head-up display and a 360deg reversing camera, plus the £1050 heat pump, because frankly this is 2025 and every EV should come with one. That brings the total to a not insignificant £53,125. A cheaper Explorer with a smaller battery is on the way, just so you know. When our road testers put an Explorer Premium RWD through the mill last year (Autocar, 23 October), they determined Ford had succeeded in injecting some personality into the handling but fallen short of producing a car that matches up to some of Ford's nest. Certainly, on first impressions, the Explorer is proving very pleasant to drive, but while it's not anodyne, like some electric SUVs, there's little I'd call especially memorable. But it's early days, so there's plenty of time to find roads on which I can try to discover some dynamism. Still, I'm looking forward to doing that, and to finding out how well the Explorer fulfils the role of a daily companion. Enough to inspire me to circumnavigate the globe in one? I'm not so sure about that, but let's see. Even if my upcoming adventures aren't as ambitious or spectacular as Alford's, getting to know this Explorer promises to be an interesting quest. Second report It's the key fob that threw me, simply because it was so incongruous. The Ford Explorer has a very pleasant, stylish key fob, but it's a Volkswagen Group key fob. That makes sense on one level: it's no secret that the Explorer is built on the German giant's MEB platform, so there will be many shared parts. But I was still surprised that extended as far as the casing for the remote locking system. So I decided to see how many VW parts I could find in my Ford. The first few are pretty obvious: the stubby drive mode selector behind the steering wheel, the digital instrument cluster and the head-up display. They even run the same so ware. The indicator stalks are VW parts too, as are the light-switch panel and the window and locking controls on the driver's door. Also, while the steering wheel has a Blue Oval in the middle, the controls on it are the much-moaned-about haptic 'buttons' from early MEB cars (which the VW Group is in the process of phasing out). You get the idea. But before you think this is a rant about platform sharing, here's my point: I don't think it matters. Certainly I reckon that many car buyers won't notice or care. And here's why: the VW Group's key fob, indicator stalks, drive mode selector and digital instrument cluster are all perfectly good. Why would Ford spend money on engineering its own casings just so they look different? Instead, Ford has clearly focused its investment on areas where it feels it can add value and buyers will appreciate it: the massive touchscreen is a Ford unit and runs Ford so ware. And Ford engineers spent time working on the Explorer's suspension and ride, which does feel sharper than most other MEB-based cars'. Frankly, I would rather Ford's engineers spend their time making a car ride and handle better than ensuring it has an on-brand key fob. And that does seem to have been the case so far. I suspect relatively few people would realise the key fob is a VW Group design. And it is a perfectly good key fob, probably sleeker and shinier than recent Ford ones. Even if it will keep on confusing me when I pick it up. Third report Car designers are very clever people, and as cars have swelled in recent years, they've become increasingly adept at hiding their dimensions. The best example of recent years is probably the Hyundai Ioniq 5, which in pictures looks like a Lancia Delta-esque hatchback but is actually a pretty hefty SUV. The Renault 5 is another car that has surprised me with its footprint when I've seen it in the metal: it's still a relatively small car, but those sharp lines and retro creases have you thinking compact hot hatch. And the new Ford Explorer is yet another that can trick you into misjudging its size based on images – although, unusually, in this case it's because it's actually smaller than it looks. The Explorer's distinctively boxy SUV styling gives it real presence, making it feel like it's a bigger, chunkier car. It was only when I opened the boot and was mildly surprised at how relatively small it was (445 litres) that I realised how compact the car really is. It's not just me: when chatting about the Explorer to my colleague Steve Cropley before he borrowed it for a tour of Ford UK sites (Autocar, 30 April), he said: 'It's a slightly big beast, isn't it?' He was quite surprised (as I had been) when he learned that, at 4468mm, the Explorer is about the same length as the Ford Focus. Now clearly the Explorer is an SUV, so it's a bigger, chunkier car than the Focus, but it's significantly shorter than the Kuga, which is Ford's Focus-equivalent SUV. I really got a sense of its size on a recent trip to a garden centre, when I spied an opportunity to squeeze the Explorer into a parking spot between a Fiesta and an older Focus. This unlikely family gathering was quite telling, highlighting that if you look beyond that bluff, beefy front end, the Explorer is actually relatively compact. Which, for someone who much prefers smaller cars, is a very good thing. Among the reasons why people buy big SUVs seem to be perceptions of safety and security and a love of a commanding, high-riding seating position. Well, the Explorer feels securely stout and has a nice high-set driving seat, yet it's also well-sized for Britain's narrow roads. As Cropley found on his recent tour, there's actually a pleasing dynamism to the Explorer's ride and handling, and while it's not as well resolved as a Fiesta or Focus, there is some real engagement to it. And because it isn't an oversized SUV, you can actually enjoy that without fear of kerbing a wheel or threatening oncoming traffic. In my experience, it isn't that compromised inside, either. I mentioned that I was surprised by how small the boot was, but I should stress that this is all relative – and probably not helped that my previous car was a Skoda Superb Estate, a car with a boot so large it probably has its own microclimate. I've rarely struggled to get everything I needed into the back of the Explorer, and because it's quite a deep boot, it's easy to stack items if needed. In fact, my only gripe with the boot – and this is true of a lot of EVs – is that the compartment for storing the charging cable neatly is under the floor. Which is fine unless you're trying to plug in your car when you've got a bootful of stuff. The Explorer's rear seats don't seem that compromised either, and there's plenty of space up front. Clearly, some families will need a bigger vehicle, but the Explorer seems to offer plenty of car for most. And while it's not exactly a conventional hatchback, it does that within a comparatively compact footprint while giving the impression that it's more 'SUV' than it really is. That seems like a good combination to me. The Ford's touchscreen is a talking point, and one that's been commented on by all my friends and family who have had the privilege of being offered a ride. And that's no surprise: the 14.6in vertical screen dominates the dash. It's got a neat party trick, too: you can slide it up, both to set it at an angle of your choosing and to access a sort-of-secret storage cubby. I tend to have it down: it makes the screen easier to reach and means I can better see the B&O soundbar. My ears aren't attuned enough to know if having the soundbar blocked by a bit of the touchscreen affects the audio quality, but that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. Touchscreens in cars remain a contentious issue, but there are now too many controls and functions not to use them, so the focus is on ensuring they're implemented as well as possible. That includes placement: should a screen be portrait or landscape? (We're excluding Mini's round screens, those crazy oddballs.) Initially I was part of Team Landscape, because they look better and more natural on horizontally aligned car dashboards – and it matches the way my TV sits. But the more I experience vertically mounted screens the more I'm convinced. Last year I ran a Honda e:Ny1 that had a supersize portrait screen, and I really warmed to it (the screen, that is; the rest of the car was 'meh'). The Explorer confirms my feelings. They may sit oddly on the dash, but vertical screens just work better in a car. The top is near your eyeline, and it's much easier to glance down at a vertical screen than one that's landscape. Easier to reach, too: I have had to reach across big horizontal screens to access functions in the far corner, which isn't ideal when driving. The Explorer's Sync infotainment system divides the screen into a number of sections, including some fixed elements that remain in place. They're still not as easy to locate as physical buttons, but you do develop the muscle memory that makes it easier to reach them. The top includes key driving and car control functions, including the drive mode selector – which is useful, because I always need to access it when I get in so I can select Eco. The HVAC controls are all at the bottom of the screen and well placed to access at a glance. That leaves the middle for key functions such as the sat-nav, entertainment and other bits. It's also where Apple CarPlay appears – although somewhat to the chagrin of my phone, because the Explorer's wireless charger refuses to fill my iPhone's battery as fast as wireless CarPlay drains it. Both Google Maps and Ford's own sat-nav work well in portrait mode, giving a better view of what's ahead than a landscape screen. It's much easier to scroll through a list of podcasts or songs, too. Ford clearly thinks the landscape screen is a selling point: it's one aspect of the VW-platformed Explorer that was kept in-house. I'm minded to agree. I'm fast becoming a member of the Portrait Society. Final report The estimable Steve Cropley has already explained things better than I ever could. When I took delivery of this Ford Explorer, the question set for me to answer concerned whether an EV with Volkswagen underpinnings could really be a true Ford. I had several months to consider. Then Steve borrowed the Explorer for a Ford-themed UK road trip (30 April) and pretty much nailed my brief in two days. As he put it, Ford took a VW platform, built a sensible, honest family car and added just enough handling pep to evoke the brand's turn-of-the-century glory days and make the Explorer feel distinct from its German cousins and worthy of bearing the Blue Oval. Well, I agree with Steve on all counts. Early in my days with the Explorer, I found myself counting the VW parts – which include plenty of the switchgear and even the key fob. But beyond those bits, it looks and feels like a Ford. And you know what? VW switchgear is pretty good, generally (particularly since Ford hasn't ported over the controversial infotainment sliders). Some of the switchgear in Rachel Burgess's opulent Bentley Bentayga long-termer is recognisable from elsewhere in the VW Group, and if it's good enough for Bentley, then it's fine for Ford. And, really, why change stuff just for the sake of it? And while the Explorer doesn't quite have the pep of a Fiesta or a Focus, it certainly holds its own with any of Ford's petrol SUVs. So, basically, Steve was right. Case closed, then. Actually, hang on, because there's still a separate yet related question to answer: what's the Explorer like to live with? After all, even if it looks like a Ford, feels like a Ford and, er, quacks like a Ford, that doesn't matter if it can't deliver on the brief of an electric family crossover. Well, generally, I liked it. It's the sort of car that takes a bit of time to warm to but reveals plenty of strengths over an extended period. The styling featured plenty of SUV cues but had enough edge that it looks better in the metal than in photos. It's well sized too: despite that boxy exterior, it was pleasingly compact and proved very easy to place on the road. It had strong all-round visibility as well. Typically for a Ford, the interior was pleasant and comfortable enough but definitely majored on practicality rather than premium sheen. Nothing wrong with that, though. One bit of VW switchgear that did annoy was the window control panel on the driver's door, which featured tactile 'buttons' and made me press a toggle to operate the front or rear windows. As previously reported, the big, portrait-oriented touchscreen is a bit in your face at first but generally works quite well, and once I had learned where the key controls were, I didn't rue the relative lack of physical buttons. My Explorer was in my ideal electric SUV spec: a single motor paired with the biggest (77kWh) battery possible. I struggle to see why you would need the extra performance of the dual-motor version, because this car had more than enough accelerative juice to keep pace in traffic and cruised happily at motorway speeds. Much of my running was spent either pootling around town or on trips up and down the motorway, which is always a good test of range. Officially, it's 354 miles, but when I filled the battery, the most I ever saw on the range indicator was 302 miles – and I managed to cover only 270 miles before I needed to plug in again. Still, that's not a disgraceful range for an electric SUV, and while I generally was achieving around 3.5mpkWh, on his outing Steve returned just above 4mpkWh. He isn't just annoyingly e cient when it comes to turns of phrase, then. The caveat to the range is that it was definitely very temperature-dependent. When the Explorer arrived in far colder weather, the indicated range when the battery was full was closer to 250 miles. That's a disappointing variance, especially because the heat pump fitted to my test car was a £1050 option. Still, it was relative: last year I ran a pumpless Honda e:Ny1 and its range suffered so much from colder conditions that I was deterred from putting the heater on. The other four-figure option fitted to my Explorer was the £1300 Driver Assistance Pack, which added a head-up display, lane change assistance, parking assistance and a 360deg parking camera. Even if the Explorer is quite easy to place, due to its compact size, it's probably worth the outlay for that camera, which was generally excellent and made reversing a cinch. But adding options adds cost, and that's where my Explorer does give pause for thought. With a price of £53,125 as tested, it's quite pricey compared with rivals. In fact, it costs more than the Volkswagen ID 4, which has essentially the same running gear but is bigger. You can understand why, since VW is clearly making profit from selling its hardware and Ford then needs its own mark-up to compensate. That makes the Explorer slightly harder to recommend. It might come down to what deals you can nd. But there's enough character and Ford-infused charm here to make up for that extra outlay if you really want an EV bearing a Blue Oval. A proper Ford, then, and a good family crossover. Ford Explorer specification Prices: List price new £49,975 List price now £49,975 Price as tested £52,125 Options: Driver Assistance Pack £1300, heat pump £1050, Rapid Red paint £800 Fuel consumption and range: Claimed range 354 miles Battery size 82/77kWh (total/usable) Test average 3.4mpkWh Test best 4.2mpkWh Test worst 2.8mpkWh Real-world range 262 miles Tech highlights: 0-62mph 6.4sec Top speed 112mph Engine Permanent magent synchronous motor Max power 282bhp Max torque 254lb ft Transmission 1-spd reduction gear, RWD Boot capacity 470 litres Wheels 8.0Jx20in (f), 9.0x20in (r) Tyres 235/50 R20 H XL (f), 235/45 R20 H XL (r), Continental EcoContact 6 Kerb weight 2102kg Service and running costs: Contract hire rate £420 CO2 0g/km Service costs None Other costs None Fuel costs £277.20 Running costs inc fuel £277.20 Cost per mile 9 pence Faults None Back to the top
BBC News
12 hours ago
- BBC News
Rare earths: Australia bid to take on China dominance
Drive three hours north of Perth, and you'll arrive in Eneabba. This is Western Australia mining territory - the landscape is barren and desolate, just the odd hill in the distance. Buried in this vast terrain is a massive pit, full of what looks like mounds of worthless dirt. But appearances can be deceiving: in fact, this pit is home to a million tonne stockpile containing critical minerals, and Australia's bet on the this year, carmakers and other manufacturers around the world rushed to their war rooms, alarmed that China's tight export controls on rare earth magnets – crucial for making electric vehicles, wind turbines and defence equipment – could cripple was forced to halt production of its popular Explorer SUV for a week at one of its Chicago plants - a bold move for a major automaker already grappling with pressure from Trump's tariffs.A month later, CEO Jim Farley revealed the pause was triggered by a shortage of rare earths, admitting the company was still struggling to secure reliable supply of the critical minerals."It's day to day," Mr Farley told Bloomberg has since agreed to let rare earths minerals and magnets flow to the United States, which eased the without a trade deal between the US and China, the fear is that the rare earths bottleneck could return, creating a massive supply chain triggered a realisation amongst policymakers and manufacturers everywhere: Beijing's control of rare earths has the world in a chokehold."The West dropped the ball – that's the reality. And China was in for the long run – it saw the benefit and was willing to invest in it," says Jacques Eksteen, chair for extractive metallurgy at Curtin University. Why rare earths matter The phrase "rare earths" - referring to 17 elements on the periodic table which are lightweight, super strong and resistant to heat, making them useful in small electric motors - is something of a misnomer."Rare earths are not rare or scarce. Gold is scarce, but it's not a critical material," Professor Eksteen earths are critical, however. Take the average electric vehicle – there might be rare earths-based motors in dozens of components from side mirrors and speakers to windshield wipers and breaking problem is therefore not amount, but the fact "somewhere in the supply chain you've got one or maybe a few countries controlling that bottleneck", Professor Eksteen the 90s, Europe and France in particular had a prominent rare earths industry. Today, almost all these minerals come from China, which has spent decades mining and refining at now accounts for more than half of global rare earth mining, and almost 90% of processing. The US sources 80% of its rare earth imports from China, while the European Union relies on China for about 98% of its supply."China has since very deliberately and overtly sought to control the market for the purposes of supporting their downstream manufacturing and defence industries," says Dan McGrath, head of rare earths for Iluka Resources, in between driving us around the company's vast Eneabba site. But Mr McGrath, and Iluka, are hoping to make a dent in that control - even if it wasn't necessarily in the company's original plan. For decades, Iluka has been mining zircon in Australia - a key ingredient in ceramics, and titanium dioxide used in the pigmentation of paint, plastics and just so happens the byproducts of these mineral sands include dysprosium and terbium - some of the most sought-after rare the years, Iluka has built up the stockpile, and is now worth more than $650m (£440m).This was the easy part, however. The processing or refining is another matter altogether."They're chemically very similar so to try and separate them requires a huge number of stages," Professor Eksteen explained."Also, you've got residues and wastes that you have to deal with out of this industry, and that's problematic. They often produce radioactive materials. It comes at a cost."And that is one of the reasons why the Australian government is loaning Iluka A$1.65bn ($1bn; £798m) to build a refinery to meet demand for rare earths which Iluka sees growing by 50-170% by the end of the decade."We expect to be able to supply a significant proportion of Western demand for rare earths by 2030. Our customers recognise that having an independent, secure and sustainable supply chain outside of China is fundamental for the continuity of their business," says Mr McGrath."This refinery and Iluka's commitment to the rare earth business is an alternative to China." But the refinery will take another two years to build and come online."Without the strategic partnership we have with the Australian government, a rare earths project would not be economically viable," Mr McGrath says. A strategic necessity China's recent willingness to turn supply of rare earths on and off has spurred trading partners to diversify their suppliers. Iluka says because automakers for example plan their production years in advance, it is already fielding requests for when its refinery does come earths are critical to the green transition, electric vehicles, and defence technologies – making their control a pressing national priority."The open international market in critical minerals and rare earths is a mirage. It doesn't exist. And the reason it doesn't exist is because there is one supplier of these materials and they have the wherewithal to change where the market goes, whether that be in pricing or supply," Australia's resources minister Madeleine King sees government intervention as necessary to provide an alternative supply, and help the world rely less on China."We can either sit back and do nothing about that... or we can step up to take on the responsibility to develop a rare earths industry here that competes with that market," Ms King there is something that Australia will have to contend with as it invests and works to expand a rare earths industry – pollution. In China, environmental damage from years of processing rare earths has led to chemicals and radioactive waste seeping into waterways - cities and people bearing the scars of decades of poor rare earths, it's not so much about the mining footprint, rather the processing that is a dirty business – because it involves extraction, leaching, thermal cracking and refining which produce radioactive components."I think there is no metal industry that is completely clean... unfortunately, it's a matter of picking your poison sometimes," Professor Eksteen says."In Australia, we've got mechanisms to handle that. We've got a legal environment and a framework to work with that to at least deal with it responsibly."The EU has in the past accused China of using a "quasi monopoly" on rare earths as a bargaining chip, weaponising it to undermine competitors in key industries. The bloc - which is home to hundreds of auto manufacturers that so desperately need rare earths - said even if China has loosened restrictions on supplies, the threat of supply chain shocks if building a brand new industry will take time, Australia seems to have a lot going for it in the rare earths race, as it tries to be a more reliable and cleaner one that - crucially - is independent of reporting by Jaltson Akkanath Chummar
Top Gear
a day ago
- Top Gear
11 great-handling used car heroes that are (reasonably) cheap to run
Advertisement Of course there's an MX-5. It's cheap to buy – particularly second-hand – with unrelenting reliability and frugal fuel economy. But beyond that, it's a fun car, regardless of how you drive it. If you just like to cruise, lovely. Want to enjoy the sensations of driving? Go right ahead. Want to go all-out and breach the limits of civility and traction? Easy: the front engine, rear-drive setup is made for such tomfoolery. Don't want an MX-5? Well, the Honda S2000, Toyota GT86 and Subaru BRZ still exist. Advertisement - Page continues below Hard as it might be to admit, the Clio suffers in comparison to the MX-5, GT86, S2000 and their ilk. Chiefly because those sports cars were made purely for driving enjoyment, while the Clio 182 started its life as a regular Clio. A simple city car, made for shopping runs, pensioners and learner drivers. And of course, this means the 182 will never be as responsive and alive, as entertaining to drive, or as much of a tail-out lunatic as a rear-drive sports car, right? Wrong. The little Clio capitalises on every upgrade in a way that shames anything bigger and ostensibly better. You might like For us, hot hatch perfection exists much closer to its roots – simple, practical, and with the ability to fit in any parking space as easily as any social situation. And, crucially, designed to extract the biggest fun at the smallest speeds. The MkV GTI is more than an enduring example of this hot hatch how-to list; it's real-world proof of the ingredients and recipe. Yes, you can alter it to taste, but the basic recipe still delivers the best results. And miles per gallon, now that we think of it. Advertisement - Page continues below A thorough reevaluation of the car itself – its size, shape, layout and mechanicals – in order to get more automobile from less material than anyone thought was possible. See also: Fiat 500. By now, the Mini's story is embedded in car-person canon. While practicality and parsimony defined its proportions, they also served another purpose: as a perfect platform for pure enjoyment. The i8's numbers alone make you feel like you're getting away with something you shouldn't. It has 370bhp and does 0-60mph in the four-second range, yet also manages 45mpg without any special effort on the driver's part. It's a proper two-door supercar with a cornucopia of carbon fibre, but it can also switch to EV mode and creep through town in the dead of night without disturbing a soul. And even though it packs a petrol engine, electric motor and battery pack under its overt flanks, it still only weighs 1,535kg in coupe form and 1,600kg for the gorgeous roadster. A lightweight by modern standards. Caterham... anything, really Polar opposites. It's the basis of any good buddy comedy, and about 300 bad ones. It also rather handily describes the BMW i8 and roughly anything in Caterham's line-up. When every layer of complexity risks insulating the driver from the experience of driving, Caterham solves the problem by avoiding it entirely. Build it small, build it light and include only what's truly necessary to have a good time. The Alpine A110 does things differently. Fundamentally it's a terrific car, a genuine exponent of light weight that makes you question the claims of almost every firm that says they build light cars. It tackles difficult roads with unflappable poise and agility. It's a non-threatening sports car that proves that you can reverse the trend towards bigger wheels, bigger brakes, more power and more weight and still have something capable and exciting. And there's not much that flows across country with so little effort and so little energy expended. Advertisement - Page continues below The final generation of MR2 stands alone as the perfect nexus of cheap, mid-engined and fun. Not easy to achieve, but easy to pick up for peanuts – at least in the UK. If you're an i20N driver, you might be wondering how a car we're touting as frugal manages to empty its tank so quickly. Helpfully that's a question we're actually qualified to answer... The answer is both simple and twofold. Firstly, the tank is so comically tiny, you'll be the only person at the petrol station who doesn't need to take out a new mortgage to brim their tank. Secondly – and perhaps more importantly – it's entertaining enough to forget how much this kind of fun costs these days. But even with the spirited driving that we indulged in on our road test, the i20N still managed 40mpg. It's an impossibly frugal, and nigh-on ineffably fun machine. Advertisement - Page continues below After years of practice and experience, humanity has pretty much figured out how to get good fuel economy. Light weight, slippery bodywork and small engines are pretty much the ABC of getting from A to B without too many Fs at the petrol pump. And the Elise couldn't nail this formula any better, so of course it earns its place here. But, as you may have been able to discern already, the Elise is a sports car. So what happens when you start driving in the manner a car like this practically begs for? Well, if you've picked up a Series 1 Elise you'll likely be hitting somewhere around the 40mpg mark. And, thanks to a mostly waterproof roof, it's not entirely outside the bounds of reality to consider using one as your only car. Half the job of a hot hatchback is to be, well, a hatchback. ST-ing a Fiesta doesn't impact on how good it is as standard: big boot, full complement of five seats, plenty of room, cheap running costs. You can choose three or five doors, too. Alright, you'll live under the 30mpg mark if you like to drive briskly (and you're making all those gratuitous gearchanges). But Ford quotes mid-40s in regular use. For a car with a sub-7.0sec 0-60mph time, that's damn good. See more on Hot Hatch
