The British love affair with hatchbacks is still alive and well, according to the latest research from ContractHireAndLeasing.com.

Hatchbacks have always been popular with British drivers. It seems we can’t get enough of that expandable boot space and fold-down rear seats, which make hatchbacks so adaptable and practical.

Hatchbacks accounted for 24 per cent of all vehicle searches, of which three fifths were by personal users. Saloons came in a close second with 21 per cent of searches, with business users accounting for three quarters of their searches. Likewise it seems the business customers may have helped drive demand in the third place body type; the estate, which took 20 per cent of searches.

Perhaps surprisingly, given our inclement weather, convertibles came fourth, taking 16 per cent of the vote.

However the enduring popularity of the trusty hatchback means that it should come as no surprise that the most popular cars of the year so far are available as hatchbacks such as the Ford Fiesta, Ford Focus, Vauxhall Corsa, Volkswagen Golf and Vauxhall Astra.

Spokesperson for the website Richard Lawton says: “Our love of hatchback appears to be alive and well. We believe that it is the hatchback’s flexible nature that makes it so appealing both for businesses and for family use”.