If you’re thinking about buying a new car this year, you can’t go wrong with a compact hatchback. This class of car keeps on getting better and better – here are three of the best to look out for in the showrooms,  showreels and streets in 2013.

Volkswagen Golf VII: 1.4 TSI 140HP DSG7 Highline
There are few cars out there on out roads that pride themselves on following the same basic recipe generation after generation, but Volkswagen is one of them. Familiar as it might look, the new VW Golf is said to be “the newest since 1974” (when the first generation was introduced). Bigger, smarter, more economical and breathtaking when it comes to looks, that short description of VW’s latest release in the compact class does not seem so daring. I have just spent a week getting familiar with this fine piece of German engineering and I found it not so different from the Audi A4 that is currently on the market. The body is without a shadow of a doubt yet another refinement on the Golf theme, while the interior lets you easily forget you are supposed to be sitting in a mid-range car. All the materials used are high quality. What is really striking is the influx of new technologies. The DSG7 coupled with the eco-friendly 1.4 TSI (140HP) engine make for the perfect companions on any kind of road.
Frederiksborgvej 47-51, Cph NV; 345,996 kroner

Ford Focus: 1.0 EcoBoost 100HP
Ford is a unique car manufacturer in the way it manages to tailor-make its cars to suit each continent’s needs so perfectly. It is easy to forget, at least in Europe, that it is not in fact German but American. The first Focus provided more proof of how well it knows the European market, and its third generation edition continues this tradition. Comfortable and spacious, the roar of the tiny engine made me feel like I was sitting on top of a V6. But there is a downside to being American: the cheap feel of the materials inside, a higher consumption than what you would want, and technology that is not so up-to-date.
Andersens Biler, Energivej 4, Ballerup; 219,990 kroner

Toyota Auris Hybrid H2
The Japanese carmaker has caught the biggest wave in terms of hybrid technologies, so it is only natural, I reckon, that it takes advantage of it. The new Auris certainly has the upper hand: it looks great and screams of novelty! Its hybrid technology’s biggest plus: unlike most fuel-efficient engines, its biggest fuel savings come where you need them most – in the heavy city traffic.
Toyota Danmark A/S, Dynamovej 10, Gladsaxe; 289,990 kroner