The Focus RS will be here soon and it’s got us all thinking: just who makes the best hot hatches? World War Four, here we come…
We Brits seem to be able to spawn some good ones (Focus RS, Mini Cooper S etc), and we also seem to have a definitive soft-spot for lithe little stuff. Is it because we’re a nation that values it’s blue-collar status, so that a common-or-garden hot hatch that can really have a go at a Porsche appeals both to our wallet and to our sense of humour?
Or is that we have a nation riven with narrow backroads that means something big, wide and expensive tends to be slower in the final reckoning? Come on you lot, tell us what you think in the Great Hot Hatch Debate. Here’s a few to get you thinking:
The French do fluid, slightly oversteery stuff like the Megane F1 and everyone picks their jaws up from the floor. But they invented the only competition to the Golf Mk1 GTi – the 205 GTi, so why are we surprised?
Brits like thumping turbo cars – the new RS has nearly 300 ponies from a turbocharged five-pot – but British chassis tuning is some of the best in the world – and the Focus ST is one of the fastest cars ever down an unknown road because it is simply so usable, so friendly. The RS will bite harder, but we’re hoping it won’t lose the fluency.
Japanese? Again different; they like light, they like technical, they like revvy. Their cars feel ultra-pointy and precise – if a little hard for British tastes and potholes.
Italians? Flamboyant and noisy, but strangely satisfying – like the people.
And the Germans? They invented it, and the Golf is about to be released as a GTi in Mk VI guise with a limited-slip diff and 210bhp.
So which is best? There’s only one way to find out… FIIIIIGHT!
It’s got to be the Brits
not just because I’m being patriotic, but because cars like the RS and Cooper (which technically is German, but we’ll can’t blame it for its new parents) are just so usable on the roads today. A ferrari or porsche can’t be used properly on a back road, and if they are you’re nicked or you crash.
Our cars just go, they can be driven quick anywhere, and at any speed. Flipping round a Mini in a London back street makes you feel like an extra in the italian job!!!! Again, More patriotism,
Its got to be the Brits
its gotta be ford have they ever made a bad hot hatch? not the simmering hatches like the zetec S (even tho its pretty nippy to say it was a 1.6) but the big ones has there ever been a bad one?
The Mini does look good, but I think we’re forgetting something, the Golf Gti has always been the king of the hot hatches, will it really change? Untill we find out I’m gonna say Golf (even if it is German)
There’s benefits in all.
Britain: The Original Cooper S wasn’t a hatch but it set the tone for small, light and slightly unhinged. We may not make many these days but we’re hellishly good at tuning them – just look at the engineering muscle behind many world rally teams to see that in action.
Germany: The Mk1 and Mk2 Golf GTi were, and still are, wonderful drives. Ok, so they had a bit of a bad spell around the Mk3 and the MK4 wasn’t wonderful but they’re back on track now. GTis also provide basis for the Leon Cupra and the Octavia RS, both of which are great. The S3 is a cracker too.
Japan: Quick and technically brilliant, but all too often soulless. Japanese ingenuity when it comes to tuning is a whole different ballgame though – just look at the nutjob turbo powered Starlets doing the rounds.
France: French hot hatches often are very nimble and rev happy, but you can’t push a car hard when it feels like it’s going to fall to bits midway through the next corner. They also tend to have hairtrigger tempers and no issues about killing you if you lok at them funny or misjudge a manouevre by a millimetre or so.
Italians: Only just regaining their hot hatch mojo IMO, but in danger of spreading their expertise too thin through platform engineering deals. Unquestionably the best looking and arguably the best sounding, but the flaws all too often cross the line between charming and annoying.
What I’d ideally like is a hot hatch that looks as good as the Punto Abarth, is built as solidly as the Mk5 Golf, has Civic Type-R reliability, handles with the precision and hands-on feel of a Cooper, and sounds like a 147 GTA. If you can pack in the space I have in my Octy RS too, that’d be a bonus
French – I have a Clio 197, never driven a car so pointy and grippy. Sure it’s not the quickest but show it a few corners and it will lead most things home. The Megane R26 also seems to get fantastic reviews.
Brits! Ford Focus RS and the Megane R26R (faster than a M5 round the nurburgring)
The Fords are German, not british. But Fords all the way, the ST Focuses and Mondeos are fantastic. Same goes for the old RS-models, and probably the new one too.
I reckon i am not the only one hoping for a new Fiesta ST?
I whole heartedly agree with your assessment of us the british hot hatch buyers.
I love the idea of driving a hatchback that can shame a much more flashy and expensive car in the wilds of the english B roads.
Personally I love the Megane R26, R26R is awesomly brutal though, not bad, but not my kind of everyday car. Driving a Clio 182 atm, loads of fun and has cheeky look about it. Must be the ears.
Isn’t Ford American?
French & Italian pocket rockets have a strong ‘character’, possibly aided by unreliability with age (well, not very much age sometimes), but they feel ready to party, here I’m thinking Abarth 500 and a small RenaultSport, possibly Clio. I dunno, they just look like a barrel of fun.
Although you can’t knock a Mini S or Ford RS. Golf GTI aside, they are the real hot hatch names. So in that case, I guess the Brits are generally the best, although I do still have a soft spot for an Abarth 500.
Screen Name, er get European Fords, and the RS was developed with British people, like all the old RS’s.
* we get Euro etc.
Boy Racer, the R26.R is French.
the problem today is that technically, there are no more british cars, so that means that sometimes, because these cars aren’t tested on british roads, sometimes there not that good (New Civic Type R, on a B road Is Horrifically Uncomfortable)
So the cars that are designed and built in Europe, Ford, Mini, Renault, Golf are the best
Going back to what someone was saying about the Golf, yes it’s good, but in this crowd its not the same. Some of these are different variations on the hot hatch
VW has decided to make an all round car, Renault wanted a car that could lap the nurburgring in a stupidly quick time and so on
it depends on what you want from the Hot Hatch, all roundness, then it’s the golf, race speed, civic or megane, Hooligan, then its got the be the ford, the mini is perfect town and b roads, but has no space for things other than yourself (that could be a plus point!)
ford rs or civic type-r
Its a close call between the focus and the civic.
I would lean more in favour of the civic, even saying type r is cool, it sounds dangerous and life threatening. Should be the name of a rocket, or fighter jet not a car. Also the futuristic styling will last for years.
Civic Type R all the way!!!!!!!
The last Civic Type-R I drove left you needing a visit to an orthopaedic surgeon to put all your vertebrae back the right way round. Fast, yeah, but far too harsh to live with. I love the look of the new one though, probably the only geuinely 21st century looking car on the road.
Focus RS, Not the original hot hatch but the best.
I think the only problem with properly fast hot hatches is looking like a chav on the road, the fords, renaults and vauxhalls seem best at this. Civic Type R and Seat Cupras somewhere inbetween, but I believe the VWs and Minis have the best image.
what about the scirocco? thats a gti, but arguably the best looking car at the moment? Side note, anyone who has been suckered in by its ‘coupe’ status has probably been a victim of late night shopping channels that sell ladders that double up as a formal dinner table.
its a hatch back, and the winner.
It sucks we dont really have hot hatchs here in the US, we do have the mini and the GTi but there is no real hot hatch culture like in europe. shame really. cause that Focus RS looks AMAZING and i bet it goes like crazy.
Hello
We Love Top Gear!
We vote for mini cooper! It rocks !!!!!!!!!!!
Even though it is small it looks so tiny and cute lol .
Peace Out =]
The hot hatch is the only thing the french do right. Megane R26R, Clio RS cup, hot twingo. Nothing else need be said
The hot hatch is the only thing the french do right. Megane R26R, Clio RS cup, hot twingo. Nothing else need be said.
Cobalt SS
0-60 5.4 sec
13.6 sec 1/4 mile
8:22 around the Ring,(faster than Lotus Elise)
33 mpg
12,000 pounds if sold in Britain..
Dear Kuang,
What a nice collection of clichés…
As far as french cars are concerned, you may know (or not) that the Formula Renault 2000 engine is borrowed from the Clio RS, and that you can trash one during a whole season without opening it at all.
In fact, if you happen to have one of these cars falling into bits, it probably means that your driving skills didn’t allow you to keep it on the road.
My advice? just buy a Volvo…
The problem is that we dont really get any of the good hatches in the US and ford still hasn’t brought a decent car over(its a shame we dont get the new focus or mondeo). Even when we get a good one it gets ruined by health and Saftey(mkV gti has to be raised 1.5 inches to meet standards).
If I could buy one though I would pick the focus RS hands down.
Nigel, the cobalt is not a hatch, and its ugly but I do have to give it props because its actually a good, small, American car.
VW Scirocco. Yes I know it’s billed as a sports coupe and not a hatchback, but sorry, it just is a hatchback. It has a boot that opens like – wait for it – a hatchback, it’s more practical and more spacious than my last car the peugeot 206 (and are you going to tell me that isn’t a hatchback?), it’s power output is in hot hatch territory. And it’s the best affordable car in the world.
Now if only we could pretend that the Scirocco is british…
@ flat4 and torch, yeah it sucks being in north am. =( we only get the mini and the gti, both of which i don’t particularly like… I WANT EURO CARS!!! >:C
you forgot one. Alfa are GTA-ising the MiTo. and as daft as that name still is, a MiTo GTA is gonna be quite entertaining.
though surely the RS is a yank. i mean… last i checked Ford were still American. That said, We have the VXR Astra… and… er… not the mini. it’s a bloody BMW ok? and its an insult to the badge. always will be. well untill it’s British and smaller obviously. and not an estate agents car.
sorry but i like italians all the way.
With micro the best is the 500. With something bigger the punto is nice even if is a little old, the mito looks horrible in photo but is way nicer in metal, faster than the punto and is going to exit the gta version. And for something with the size of the golf or the focus just wait for the 149. If i have to choose from the tom’s list i think the focus is the best of the lot.
is the way you live with that not the fastest lap on the nurb. c’mon how many hot hatch owner go to germany to “test it on the nurburgring”. In track days they’re all fun. maybe check how the diff works cause brake simulated diff like the mini one get worse after some lap if you trash it.
cheers
My vote goes to the germans, because every country has their own weakness.
Us brits turn out some horrific looking stuff (Works Mini S, Focus RS etc)
The Italians do too much understeer (Any GTA alfa that isn’t a sprint from 1965)
The Japanese turn out amazing cars, but compare them to the competition, and they’re not powerful enough (Crossed fingers for Civic RR if it ever appears)
And then the Germans, quick (S3, R32, Opel Turbo hatches), brilliantly built, fantastic lookers (Scirroco) and some very smooth 6 pots.
Theres another point, how can we call the Focus RS a Hot Hatch when the engine comes out of a Volvo S60?
The Golf..was, is and will be the best hot hatch ever!!
Dear Froggy
Of course they’re cliches. I fail to see how this entire question could revolve around anything other than cliches, as it’s impossible to accurately predict the performance of every hot hatch produced by a country by simple virtue of its nationality.
Besides, I tend to think of them more as stereotypes than cliches – it is possible to boil the characteristics of a nation’s cars down until a few key areas dominate without necessarily tarring all cars with the same brush. For example.
- More french hot hatches have lift off oversteer than those of any other country.
- Japanese hot hatches have a comparitively enviable record for reliability
- German hot hatches always feel like they’re the most practical for everyday life
- Italian hot hatches are almost all very vocal and historically not very reliable
Stereotypes, yes.. but they had to come from somewhere, and that somewhere is many years of observation and discussion by owners.
And as for being able to keep french cars on the road.. I can manage that perfectly well, thank you. I would just not bother in a french hot hatch because I’ve never driven one that I’ve liked.. or one that has stayed working for long enough to learn to like. The last new one I test drove suffered electrical gremlins straight off the forecourt, pulled to the left, and made ominous rumblings from the offside rear corner. I also despise that national characteristic of lift off oversteer, and really don’t care how good it looks in magazine photos. It’s bloody dangerous, and only exciting in the same way that learning to tame a lion is exciting – it may give you a buzz when you master it, but I would question if it’s worth it when you consider the risks.
The French for the win. 205 GTI, ZX Volcane, 106 GTI, Clio 182 / Cup / V6 / 2.0. The boy racers loved the Saxo VTR.
The Italians get a brief mention for the 90s Cinquecento Sporting. Not overly quick on paper, but makes you feel a teenage driver again
They’ve refound themselves recently with the 500 Abarth.
The Germans – The Golf GTI is now a fat middle aged balding shadow of it’s former self, the Scirocco is a squashed Golf GTI. Honorable mention, however, for their Czech VAG Polo based Fabia VRS and possibly the Golf based Octavia VRS (much loved by local traffic division, if a little bit minicabbish). The Spanish VAG Polo based Ibiza FR’s suspension is just too hard.
British – Focus? A British – German collabortion for an American company with a Swedish engine. Good handling, but difficult to allocate the national medals. Likewise Mini? A BMW estate agent fleet mobile (at least until recently when the property pyramid scheme fell like a house of cards, bring the world economy with it). A truly british “Mini” would have been along the lines of the Spiritual project. Discounted in terms of not being as fun as a proper Rover Mini Cooper, hairdressers, and dodgy national identity (the “Clubman estate built with a door for Left Hand Drive!).
Japanese – Very technical, embraced by the youth after the “Fast and the Furious” films. Just a bit too clinical / computer controlled in the execution.
Maybe if the Germans win this one, Mr. May will shut up about The War… But we all live in hope. My vote is for the Golf.
why cant i post any more in here
the ford isn’t american cuz you can’t buy one there =(
http://www.youtube.com/wa tch?v=K0tKxdFqRxU
Japanese – The Civic Type-R is a very very good car, not torquey enough but is still a good car. But I like the Japan-spec sedan Type-R better than the current hatch.
So GTi or RS it is!
PS. Can you consider the Current STi as as super-hot hatch? It is a hatch after all.
When it comes to hot-hatches…
…it’s France all the way!!
Lift-off oversteer makes for the most fun drive in FWD cars.
original 205 GTI any day! (maybe thats because I have one but still)
Well, I’m British and very patriotic…but i’m not a chav, so i’ll stick to my subtle S3!
147 GTA, Megane R26 and the BMW 135i those are my favourites. Since none of them are british i guess this one goes to the europeans, sorry brits!
A hothatch world war would end in nuclear ICBM “MAD” doomsday. since everone has a weakness and a strength. So best go with the one with the looks and value.
Civic Type R.
How do we decide the nationallity of a car? I’ve debated this a few times but everyone has different views. Ownership of the company? Where it’s engineered? Built? Heritage? Hell, even Lotus is owned by Proton but I’d say they were British.
Since the only “hot” hatch I’ve ever driven is my current Rover 25 GTi (slightly softer version of the ZR 160), I haven’t got much experience to make a decision!
However;
Golf GTi – seems too corporate, like most german cars. Not bonkers enough.
Renault Megane F1 – I’m not a fan of the looks but it IS bonkers and I’d love to have a go!
Actually, I’d love to have a go with most french hot hatches although owning one, I’m not sure…
The Focus RS certainly has my attention and I’d have to go the whole way and try that over the ST. I think it has the most respect out of the lot of them and wouldn’t want to be in any other hatch alongside one!
The Type R looks great in a “i’m going to kill you with a laser” kinda way. One of my favourites but I have no idea what to expect if I get the chance to drive one! Although the mad revs are always a draw.
I’d love a little 500 Abarth or even the Punto Abarth if they were confirmed to be reliable, the 500 certainly has character and looks good fun! The Punto not so much but probably more practical.
So all in all, I can’t really pick a winner but my top 3 (no order) would probably look like:
1. 500 Abarth (fun factor)
2. Civic Type R (on looks, reliability and a forever revving engine!)
3. Focus RS (ability, although unconfirmed)
As a driver car, i’d have to say focus RS…if that thing drives as well as the normal focus, with 300 stallions on anphetamines, even if it has the torque-steer of a 100m cripple runner(that was mean, i know), i would most def do it.
The golf is too common, plus i don’t like to put my head in a bucket of gel every time i go out
Civic Type R gets my vote for now, though I base that opinion on my trusty EP3 Civic; I had a brief drive of the newer Type R and vastly prefer my old (2005) one.
Oh, and to EuropeanCarFan, theres nothing “clinical” about a Type R being thrashed! Though in terms of fun its true that small French cars ALWAYS put a smile on your face. My first car was a Peugeot 106 and it never failed to entertain me (until it broke down – YET AGAIN!).
I don’t mean to bring up another cliche, but the BMW Mini just ISN’T a mini. Go drive an original mini, then drive one of the BMW examples: its not a different league, its a completely different ball game.
Be very interested to see how the new Focus RS does though, I’ve seen it at a couple of shows now and it looks stunning, but the same question still remains: 300 BHP and Fwd? Really?
Ford is American and Mini is German. There is a fact. next thing you will say Nissan is british?
Its the Golf, easy. Its only competition is the scirocco.
The RS is good but you cannot live with the loud colours! Oh please notice me!!! Yes please, my car has a loud paint job.
I would not even rate the others as the Renault will fall apart, so will any Italian offering and the Civic is not even as good as the previous model.
Try to define HOT HATCH 1st
I think it means a 5 seat car which the family can fit into on the way to the shops and also something that you can enjoy there and back, to me that rules the scirroco out and it would be somebodys only car so it will rack up the motorway miles and the b roads aswell as being a car for work etc
To me it has to be a golf gti or gti edition 30
Only because it seems to be the 1 that ticks all the boxes in my opinion
The civic is too harsh
French bland
Ford is a chav pin up car
Italians and minis too small to be everyday cars
So your left with golf s3 and 1 series
I no which I would have
Also you don’t see that many golf gtis and even more difficult to spot is the every so desirable edition 30
You do however see to many golfs in general
Even when the gti was boring (mk3 and 4) it was still a Market leader, think about it, which new hot hatch made between 1993 and 2004 was better other than the then new focus rs which came way after the mk4
Am I the only one who feels current hot hatches are getting too powerful? I live in the city so cannot fully utilise 200+bhp safely or legally. I cannot afford trackdays or the fuel for a run to isle of man everytime I want a good hard thrash. Give me a warm hatch anyday that i can use and still enjoy without collecting more points than Mau utd.
Oh and for the producer of hot hatches, has to be ford. Good hot hatches for the masses!
There is a cracking choice of hot hatches these days and having had a few varied choices over the years I have to say that the I have no idea what country comes out best, they all have their good and bad bits.
I had a proper british built MG ZR 160 which was quick, handled not too bad but was a complete and utter shed, losing parts almost every day.
Then a MK5 Golf GTI which was great to drive, ultra reliable but utterly boring to look at.
Then for a very short period of time a Clio 197 which now belongs to the wife which is a real drivers car and pretty good all round.
Now I have a Corsa VXR with the 888 tuning pack and it is a cracking wee motor, very quick as long as its dry, doesn’t torque steer like the Astra, looks great even if a bit bpy racer. My only complaint has to be its got a vauxhall badge and its called a CORSA as every idiot in a clapped out old civic or Nova wants to race you.
The Ford Focus RS is british?! Since when?! designed by the Germans for an American company, and sent to Britain so they can put the german-designed suspension onto it.
I’d go for the Civic – might not be the fastest and the rear suspension is not sophisticated, but it looks so brillianly cool, that even when you’re stuck in a traffic jam it’s fun to be in it.
For Performance I’d go for the Subaru Impreza STi – horrible to look at, but it’s 4WD. Goes fast enough for noone to notice, how ugly it is
Haha, well said on the STi Yossarian! A slight deviation in conversation but oh, how Subaru have thrashed the new Impreza with the ugly stick, even the Blob-Eye didn’t ruin the Impreza look (yes, it has a look!) that much…
Frankly, there is NO BRITISH hot hatch!
-the Ford: half German
-the Vauxhall: half German
-the Mini: half German
The trouble with the Ford is just that, its a Ford, nothing can rescue it from that. A hot ford is the equivalent of wearing a shell suit with white trainers – chav-tastic – who cares what is can do?
Be objective and just ask The Stig.
Yes I’m back! Again
Anyway,
5th, Mini- Ruined by it’s stupid spoiler.
4th, Renault Megane F1- It’s the old one…….
3rd, Mk VI Golf- Great looks and great car, You’d rather have the Ford
2nd, Ford Focus RS- Half British- Half German
1st, Honda Civic Type R- Japanese build quality, best looking,what else to you want?
Dear Obelix,
I’m the Stig, and I choose the Type R. IT’S BRILLIANT
The Fiat 500 and new Mini were designed by an American.
yes Flat4, I imagine the Cobalt is a bit butch for the European market.not metro enough…
Bit of a topic deviation but…
S3 Scot: you say that, and yes Ford have an association with 90’s boy racers, but don’t forget that Ford also produced one of the greatest GT cars ever (twice if you count the GT), the Cosworth legends (which, I admit were an icon for the boy racer generation, but they also dominated circuit and rally events) and one of the greatest rally (and later rallycross) cars ever built: the RS200.
So they’re not all bad!
fords are not all bad but can anybody here argue against the fact that most hot fords are driven by “chavs”
and who here would not buy 1 because of this, me personally done want a ford for this reason
i think focus generally is overrated, if my country made a very good car, I think I would also be biased towards it too.
it’s a verry good hot hatch, but from what you hear from media and on forums you would think it does 2 g’s in the corner, at least…
I like the focus ST too, but I like it mostly for it’s 2.5l 5 cyl. turbo engine.
too bad there isn’t an alfa hot hatch with a powerfull turbo engine, and also 5 cyl. would be nice too.
Pug 205 1.9gti – I drove a LAD prepared one the other day – nothing new comes close simply because nothing new comes within 150kg of it’s weight. Precise, engaging, supreme.
zdravc: The alfas really don’t need turbos – the 3.2 V6 often found in the GTAs is more than capable, and 6 cylinders sound better than five unless you’re driving an ur-Quattro
The little 147 GTA has too much power for its chassis and drives like a pig, but the same engine in the 156 is lovely.
Debadged golf gti, any mark thereof really (preferably very early or late though, they get a bit porky in between). A golf is a true everymans car that says nothing about you, even more so without a GTI badge on the boot, they’re as quick as they need to be, well built and they hold their value. It’s all so sensible I couldn’t resist. A hot Megane would make you look like an utter tool,the Mini is an estate agents car, the fast Fords have too much ‘bling’ and the Italian efforts drop value and parts too quickly. The golf just batters the opposition to death with unrelenting logic and reason, you’d have to justify any other hot hatch against it and there will always be a compromise in comparison, the golf just does everything well enough to avoid criticism. They even have the R32 if you feel the gti a little limp wristed.
Easy – GTi
If I had to buy one to race under FIA rules, it would be Type R
For Personal use Focus RS
For Sunday car trackdays etc Peugeot 205, ZX 16V, 306 race, Clio Williams
For wife: Cooper S.
For small family: Golf GTi 5 door
Okay… I would’ve voted for the Type-R but I liked the sedan better so I chose either the GTI or the RS.
I am changing my mind! My 1st true love, the Impreza STi! (Hatch)
Ok, so kidding aside, how could anyone have any doubts about the Golf GTI being Goddess of the Hachback Territory? It’s ‘uncomparable’ to… anything else. Forget about performance. Forget about what’s written on paper. Forget about the arguments. When you’re in a Golf, you’re ‘HAPPY’. It’s the ‘Perfect’ car, because it’s got it all, the best possible compromises and the closest deal to being ‘complete’. The Renaults are ‘ok’ but they can’t possibly compete with the Golf in strength: the Megane looks like it’s going to break apart on corners while the golf takes them on with authority, pride, almost hubris. The Alfas are simply too gimmicky, ‘not quite’, handle like a shoe on banana peals, and aren’t that ’solid’ either. The focus, with all due respect, handles soggily, doesn’t give you the same feel of the road as the Golf, and is simply not as solid either. The peugeot I would rather not talk about, because I love the cuties. I just wouldn’t trust them with my life, that’s all. And let’s save the Civic some face water and say whoever is working on it is, well, still working on it. It’s a ‘fake’, just not quite the car. Yes, yes, reliable, fun, but what the heck? The mini cooper is just not the car either. There’s something not quite right about it. The kind of stuff you just can’t translate into words. It just feels, ummm, incomplete. And all others that have been omitted, have been omited. So Golf, Golf, Golf, Golf, Golf, Golf ( mk1 through 6, respectively ):).
Well put Cruentos Solum! That is the end of the argument!
Well put a golf is an everyday MANS car, not just something for the weekend or a kids/chavs toy to hoon around in with the stereo on full blast with a guy wearing sunglasses and a cap in the dark, who here hasn’t seen then and thought what a wa**er???
The MK3 GTi was a lardy, sluggish, pointless heap, and the 2.0l engine in the Mk4 GTi only put out 113hp – not all Golfs were great. I loved my old MK2, the MK1 was wonderful and the new one is a peach, but the middle years weren’t good at all.
Ill start from second best, then explain what and why my favourite hot hatch is:
2. New Focus RS (for sheer power (300hp) that is supposedly ‘physically uncontrollable’ but they have done it using japanese style electronics)
3. Golf Mk2 GTI. Faster than a MK1, MK3, and MK4 gti models.
4. Renault Megane R25. For once you dont need to strip a renault sport car, because they have done it already
5. Mini cooper (John cooper) Works (the last model) Because those things look and go like the clappers.
6. Nissan sunny/pulsar GTI-R – maybe a chav magnet now, but i’d still have one
7. Pug 205 1.9 GTI – Insurance group 14, enough said
8. Ford Escort Cosworth – Looks alright, goes like stink, and with the sierra cossies was a car like the R35 skyline, able to kick the Sh*te out of anything with double the pricetag. And lets not forget how much Hp boost you can get on a cosworth engine with a MoTec chip
9. VW Golf MK5 W12 – Nuttiest hothatch since the pulsar and the cossie, and done in proper german fashion with a large engine and a nice exhaust note. And lets not forget the body
10. Seat Leon Cupra R (original)- looks a bit piggy at the front, but the bargain of the hothatch 20th century in my opinion.
Now of course theres other greats like the Vauxhall VXR series, the faithful honda civic type r’s and those reanultsport clios that rich kids have stripped and modded, and you’ll probably think that one of those is my number one (if you could be arsed to read this far
) But my number one……
1. Subaru Impreza 2008/2009. Now i know its not really classed as a hatch, but if you compare it to the new RS then it is quite similar. It isnt really like the EVO X which, MR clarkson! , is not as good from personal experience in both, even before that film was made slagging off the impreza…….but anyways, it has amazing technology, and has potential for tuning up, because of the four wheel drive system. Unlike the Front wheel drive hatches which will not get past 300, 400 if you are extremely rich and talented with car mechanics. Hot hatches have evolved now from being small punchy cars to turbo and supercharged nutters for the masses. Now they need a Four wheel drive system to harness more of that power, whilst keeping the engine sizes as they are. And i’ll be damned if im not going to start helping people do that after uni
And whoever said Chevrolet Cobalt SS needs to be shot to be fair, the americans have never made even average factory hot hatches.
Eagle Talon – tosh
Focus SVT – WTF???
Chevy Cobalt – Boll*cks
Moral of the story – stick to what you’re good at: So for europe, punchy small cars that would whip anyones arse in the corners. Japan for reliability and turbomania (unless a civic) and america for turning left and loads of v8 power.
Lloydy, lets not be mean and ignorant here. The newest Cobalt SS is a hell of a car. Lapped the ring in the low 8’s and has a great engine. 260hp with 260 lbft of torque. .93 g’s on the skid pan too. soooo, shut up.
And another thing, the Cobalt isnt even a hatchback so even though it is a great car, it has no place in here.
Plus, Have you even looked at the 09 STi? it is horrid. i cant believe how Scooby took a great badass looking car and turned it into a lumpy looking mazda. plus its softer and heavier than the old ones and it still looks like shit.
I like the ‘08/09 Scooby. Sure, I’d have the old one. {By a mile, to be honest} but have you seen the EVO X? IT LOOKS HORRID AND IT IS MORE EXPENSIVE THAN TH SCOOBY. Which one do you want now Clarkson?
Good continantal hatchback’s. From continants.
Europe- Ford Fiesta, Fiat 500 Abarth, Fiat Panda, Ford Ka, Fiat Punto, Vauxhall Astra, Vauxhall Corsa, VW Golf MkVI, Renault Megane, Ford Focus RS, {I’m getting bored now}
America’s- None
Antarctica- None {obviously]
Asia- None
Japan- Honda Civic Type R, Scooby WRX STI.
Africa- 1963 Opel Kadett. A.K.A Oliver
i just got of the phone with jeremy, and he said he’d still take the evo…
it looks soo much better than the scooby…
Gotta be the Mazdaspeed 3. Faster than a GTI, looks better, handles better, cheaper, and more reliable. That’ll do me, thanks.
Like I said, early or late Mk Golf GTI, maybe a Scirocco or Corrado if you want a more exotic feel, they’re still hatches.
Right then Ford you beardy oik, my study after hours and write on the board 60′000 times ‘I will not light the blue touch paper’, blithering idiot!
Brits. Come on… we had the Mk1 and Mk2 Fiesta XR2… THE ultimate retro hot hatch!
And besides there are very few “real” hot hatches any more.
Real hot hatches are tiny cars with about 100bhp, not much I know, but it was all about power-to-weight.
And then there were always the lairy models, Pug T16, XR2 Turbo technics, Metro R64, ANY of the evolution models.
Ahhh… bring back the 80’s hatches!
Ford for ever. . . !
I like all hot hatches, but my true love is the Escort Cosworth.
and what about Citroen Saxo VTS(VTR) it´s old car but this car is probably the best hothatch ever built.
Renault 5 Turbo was original hot hatch.
The top 2009 RS followed by the R32
Engine noise is the key
And you cannot ignore the Civic from the CRX to 2007 but feel free to ignore the latest type-r pmsl
I would have to give it to the RS, simply because Ford had to guts to put 300 horses through the front wheels and make it controlable. I feel the Golf good as it is just doesn’t have the same level of excitement about it, plus it’s become too commonand just as Chavy.
Why do they never compare the Audi S3 to the Ford Focus RS?? That is THE ONLY comparison you can have to this car, with regards to performance times and price difference…