Small cars still account for a sizeable amount of the market with one in five new cars sold being a small car. This year there are number of key new models heading our way such as the all-new
Volkswagen Golf, all-new
Hyundai i30 and all-new
Kia Rio.
Holden Astra
The Astra nameplate is back and the five-door small car, sourced from Germany, is now on sale. The hatch replaces the moderately successful, locally-built Cruze hatch as
Holden prepares to close the doors of its manufacturing plant later this year. A facelift for the Barina city car is also expected this month.
Holden Astra sedan
The Astra sedan will arrive in May. The Astra sedan is a multicultural affair - born in Germany, manufactured in Korea with design and engineering input from Australia.
It's expected the Opel Corsa could come into the model line-up sometime this year to sit alongside the Korean-built Spark, but so far that isn't confirmed.
Honda Civic hatch
In April, the all-new five-door Civic will join the sedan, while the Civic Type-R – slated as the hottest Type R ever – is due in the last quarter.
Hyundai i30
Hyundai's new products will kick off with the replacement for its best-selling model, the i30. To be launched in the second quarter, the new model is designed, developed, tested and manufactured in Europe, the new i30 will feature some new engines, including an all-new 1.4 T-GDI diesel. There will be more connectivity and active safety features such as Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and wireless charging, autonomous emergency braking, smart cruise control, a lane keeping assistance system, driver attention alert and blind spot detection.
Kia Rio
The Korean car maker kicks off the year with the all-new Rio small car later this month. The company's global best seller will feature new technologies and connectivity, high levels of safety (the first car in class to offer autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian recognition), improved handling and ride comfort, and new engine options.
Kia Picanto
Following in May/June is Kia's baby car, the Picanto. While only just released in Oz last year, this Picanto is an all-new generation model that is expected to be a considerable step up in all areas compared with the current model.
MG5
Heading our way throughout 2017 is expected to be the MG5 small hatch. The MG5 is the same size as the Volkswagen Golf and Mazda3.
Suzuki Swift
An all-new Swift is also due this year. Details are scarce, but a leaked version of a brochure on the third-gen Swift suggests the Swift will get the 1.0-litre BoosterJet turbo petrol or 1.2-litre Dualjet engine depending on the model. The key design change is the very prominent hexagonal grille. The cabin is all new, with a screen expected to support both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The all-new Swift is also expected to be based on
Suzuki's new platform, which suggests the Swift will be lighter and stiffer.
Toyota Corolla
Australia's top-selling small car turns 50 this year and as part of the celebrations was given a safety upgrade this month. The safety additions form part of a safety pack that adds forward collision warning and autonomous emergency braking, lane departure alert and automatic high beam. The pack is standard on the flagship
Toyota ZR hatch and a $750 option on the other hatch grades. The update brings the hatch in line with the sedan which got the safety items as part of a different upgrade.
VW Golf 7.5
Early in July, comes the latest version of the popular Golf small car, the Golf 7.5, with new infotainment and digital instruments. The 7.5 versions of the GTI and R will follow in late July.
