Great & small?

WITH ELIGIBLE, AFFORDABLE SMALL CARS DWINDLING, IT WAS UP TO THESE UPMARKET CONTENDERS TO TAKE A TILT AT THE COTY CROWN

- KATHRYN FISK

SMALL CARS USED to win COTY all the time. Between 2009 and 2016 nothing bigger than a VW Golf occupied the top step of the podium, but since then the humble hatch seems to have fallen on tough times. Ford has abandoned the sector, winding up sales of its Fiesta and Focus, and Hyundai doesn't import the standard i20 and is about to pull the shutters down on i30 imports. But while the mass market has suffered, there's still breathing room for more premium players, of which we've assembled three of 2023's best right here in the chiselled shapes of the Audi A3, the Peugeot 308 and the Skoda Fabia Monte Carlo.

Except it wasn't just an A3 we invited along. So impressed were we with the RS3 Sportback that managed to trump the Mercedes-AMG A45 S in a Wheels comparison that we thought we'd sweeten the pot to the tune of 294kW. In doing so, however, it threw into sharp focus the value proposition of the other cars present, which could hawk up an average of just 103kW between them.

The Peugeot 308 arrived with big boots to fill, having previously been a runner-up at COTY. It's undeniably a good-looking thing with a sporty vibe that's exciting, but there's always that nagging question of how much you're paying for style and how much for substance. At $43,990 for the hatch and $50,490 for the wagon, it's an expensive offering. The wagon has a few more frills for that extra five grand plus there's the promise of some added versatility thanks to a longer wheelbase.