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



These three columns on the Renault Clio 2L, the Mini Cooper S and the Vauxhall Corsa VXR.

The initial perception with regards to the Vauxhall is that it is a much nicer car than previous versions.

For a small car it develops a massive 189bhp from a 1.6 L turbocharged diesel engine and would genuinely appear to have the getup and go to match the good looks.

The serious nature of the competition against the Vauxhall gives an illustration as to how important this marketplace 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.

As opposed to the other two the Mini Cooper S. produces 173bhp from a 1.6 L turbocharged engine that is more than enough to get this machine moving.

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.

The compromised visibility was the only downside of the great interior design of the Vauxhall. The good quality of the interior of the Renault was marred by the fact that it was difficult to get comfortable and it was a shame but the layout of the brilliant driving position of the Mini was marred by the poor quality of the plastic facing.

One of the definitive issues that we needed to take a look at what's how much value for money was there actually in any of these cars. With a very small depreciation and a strong second hand price the Mini was a definite attraction as far as second-hand owners were concerned. The Vauxhall would have performed better being the cheapest car to purchase and potentially being better equipped but this was marred by sharply increased quite steep running costs.

Looked at objectively all three of the cars are actually quite good value for money but probably the Mini Cooper S. comes out on top the handling speed and overall performance of the Mini means that it has quite the strong support to place despite the amazing fact that the inside looks cheap but hardly any boot in the rear seats are extremely small. Certainly one of the aspects of the Mini is that the extras are surprisingly 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.

Lastly the Renault comes in third which is a shame as the handling of the grip of the co-op is amazing, the engine performance and power of the car is quite outstanding once it's going. It is solidly built but you really have to work the car and engine hard to get the best out of it.