Used Hatchback for sale

What types of hatchbacks are there?

Hatchbacks come in a variety of different shapes and sizes to suit the needs of virtually any driver.

The most conventional hatchback is a five-door family car – Ford hatchbacks like the Fiesta and Focus are excellent examples. In some cases, you can get hatchbacks without the rear doors for extra style. They’re known as three-door hatchbacks.

However many doors you pick, you can also get hatchbacks built for performance, known as hot hatches. For example, some VW hatchbacks like the Polo and Golf have hot hatch counterparts, branded GTI.

You can also get rugged-looking variants with plastic body cladding and raised ride heights, designed to look like mini-SUVs. The Ford Focus Active is an example.

You can also pick from a spectrum of affordable to premium options – the Dacia Sandero is the cheapest hatchback you can buy new in the UK, while a BMW hatchback like the 1 Series is considerably more upmarket.

Most come with petrol engines, but you can get hybrid, plug-in hybrid and mild hybrid variants, too.

Diesel engines have mostly been phased out of this segment of the market, as they’re better suited to bigger cars like SUVs, but you shouldn’t have a problem finding an electric hatchback if you need something efficient.

Popular hatchbacks

Although crossovers and SUVs are all the rage, check out the official used car sales figures from industry body SMMT and you’ll notice that many of the top 10 are indeed hatchbacks.

The most popular used hatchbacks for sale in the UK are the Ford Fiesta, Vauxhall Corsa, Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf, MINI Hatchback, Vauxhall Astra, Volkswagen Polo and Audi A3.

The Nissan Qashqai also appears in the top 10, and while it may indeed be an SUV, it does have that all-important hatchback-style boot opening.

In fact, cars like the Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen Polo and Audi are still extremely popular as new cars, so if you’re looking for a bargain nearly-new car, you might be able to find one of these with just a handful of miles on the clock.

Who are hatchbacks suitable for?

Put simply, a used hatchback for sale is suitable for anyone and everyone, because the category spans such a broad array of vehicles.

Even if you’re after a saloon, which typically has a narrower boot opening, you won’t have to look far to find one with a wider hatchback-style boot.

Hatchback cars for sale are generally pretty compact with an upright rear end, so it’s easy to know where the car stops – great news for parking in tight spaces.

Boot sizes vary from 185 litres in the Fiat 500 to 422 litres for the Vauxhall Astra, so while the amount of space you have varies widely, accessibility remains a strong point.

Hatchbacks carry a lot of appeal, so whether you’re a family looking for a sensible motor, a retiree after something economical, or a petrolhead searching for some serious performance, you’ll be able to find more than one hatchback to suit.

What are they like to drive?

Hatchbacks can be fun and nimble to drive, thanks to their compact size and lightweight design.

This also makes them great for manoeuvring around city streets and tight parking spaces.

Don’t be put off by this sense of sportiness, though, because many hatchbacks are set up for a refined and comfortable drive. They can be as stable on the motorway as bigger cars, making them viable for long journeys.

Are hatchbacks practical?

Yes, hatchbacks are very practical because they have large boot openings, so even if you have a small-sized boot, you can make full use of it.

Hatchback boots can be used on a wide range of cars from compact city cars up to estates and large SUVs.

Whereas something like a Volkswagen Golf might have 380 litres of boot space, a Kia EV9 with the rear and middle seats folded flat offers over 2,300 litres of space.