RIP the hot hatch: Tell Me I'm Wrong
Hot hatches were better when they were worse - so says new boy James
Lively hot hatches rule, unless you're Matt
They didn't take themselves too seriously, they were fun to drive and potent enough to have a pop at bigger, more exotic machinery. They were everyday heroes and people loved them. The fact that for the most part they looked like a beefed up version of your mum's shopping car only made them more desirable.
Whilst more and more manufacturers came out with their interpretation of this new and exciting genre sales increased and the hot hatch established itself as a cornerstone of the automotive world, especially in Britain. At no point during any of this did anyone know or care how fast any of the cars could lap the Nordschleife.
Gold wheels always worth extra cool points
More recently Renault's 172 and 182 followed the same recipe and were shining examples of the breed. Perhaps I should admit at this point that I'm a fully paid up Renaultsport fanboy, but I don't think many would disagree that they represented a high point. Indeed, in my eyes the 172 Cup I once owned was perhaps one of the last ever 'proper' hot hatches. Dan, also a former owner, would seem to agree. It had all the ingredients from the magical hot hatch recipe and nothing more. Literally - not even ABS - was allowed to get in the way of creating a raw and rewarding driving experience.
As cars have developed over the years the hot hatch formula has inevitably had to move with the times. This is especially apparent in the quantity and complexity of technological goodies packed into all modern cars and the inevitable over-seasoning of what was once such a simple dish. For the most part I can live with the gimmicks as long as they don't overly intrude with the prime directives of the hot hatch. I'll even accept the technological witchcraft used by some manufacturers to try and inject a bit of excitement into the flat-sounding but efficient crop of turbo engines seen in the latest breed of tearaways.
James couldn't choose Cup or Trophy; had both
I think the problem with modern hot hatches developed more recently. I imagine it started when the marketing bods [What, like you? - Ed.] were sat around one day trying to come up with a way to communicate just how spicy their latest contender was. It is easy to list how much power and how many gadgets a car has, but how do you go about demonstrating the intangible feeling of how much fun a car is to drive?
It's quite tricky, and the marketplace is ever more competitive so manufacturers need to be ever more creative. They needed metrics. Then someone pointed out how successful Nissan had been in using the time sheet from their Green Hell shenanigans in proving the GT-R is fast enough to outrun the apocalypse, and possibly a GT2. A light bulb illuminated above someone's head. Suddenly the focus of hot hatches changed and they were all about lap times. The recipe had a new ingredient, and it was a biggie. But they failed to consider the consequences and at no point did anyone question if getting serious about lap times would lead to a car that felt a lot more, well, serious.
Is progress all about making progress?
Messrs Trent and Bird tell me that when they took it on track as part of the recent twin test against our long-term Seat Leon Cupra it was brilliant and its extreme R derivative's 'ring lap time utterly believable. But as I drove it along familiar roads it struck me that the level of commitment required to access the car's undoubtedly excellent chassis is just too high. To me it is just too capable, which is a direct by-product of the fact the car was developed to be able to attack the unforgiving turns of the 'ring without the looming threat of finishing the lap with a heli evac. Of course, this does mean that it will get you to where you want to go very quickly - be it to the local shops for a pint of milk or around a famous toll road in the Eifel Mountains. I guess to some people that's fun. But not to me.
Country's hedges now left unmolested - boo!
What I want from a hot hatch is a car that moves around underneath me at more socially acceptable speeds, relying more on chassis balance than outright grip. I want it to cheekily cock a rear wheel as I pitch into a roundabout and I want to experience the thrill of having just enough grip to allow the rear end to be trustworthy but mobile. Simple pleasures from simple machines. It seems those days are long gone.
The innocence and purity of the formula has been lost in the pursuit of lap times. Yes, modern hot hatches are incredible machines. Yes, they're hugely capable. They're very fast and undoubtedly better in almost every way than their older relatives. But I think they're not as much fun. Tell me I'm wrong...
Sorry New Boy, knowledge is lacking and this article is brought out every few months, its just this rehash is even papper than normal
It had by today,s standards, skinny tyres, low weight, low power output, looked much the same as a 1.1 s
tbox other than a few red bits.And hell it was fun.
There are a few havens (mx-5 & Suzuki swift) but nothing main steam. May be if you are looking at 25k Segan or a 30k Seat Ibiza you are looking too far up the food chain for the simple fun.
The smaller breed of hatches is probably where the fun is at now, the Swift sport, Twingo 133 etc rather than the big powerful hatches which are more fast luxury cars.
Having said, that, for us lot that live in the bottom half of the UK, why any would would still chose to go for a drive "for fun" on the public road escapes me these days, and i suspect the modern breed of Hotties is a reflection of this. Fast in a straight line for those very occasional blasts off some lights, but mostly just a comfy, quiet place to sit while you wait the, every expanding numbers of, lights.........
Sorry New Boy, knowledge is lacking and this article is brought out every few months, its just this rehash is even papper than normal
I'll chalk that up as a vote for "James is wrong" then.
P.S. I think you mean heroes, not hero's
Problem is, there are far less genuine enthusiasts in the world than there are people buying these cars, the main reason why Audi are so successful I guess. All they're interested in is how fast it is off the lights or down the DC, show them a corner & they may as well be driving a lorry
The Mk5 Golf GTi I owned was the shortest ownership period of any car in 26yrs, great all rounder but just not a hot hatch.
I'd agree with other sentiments that it's actually the lower powered options, like the Swift Sport and Fiesta ST, that are actually the true modern hot hatches.
As already mentioned cars like the fiesta ST and suzuki swift are where its at.
Times have changed, in the 80s and 90s hatchbacks were always cheap basic practical transportation but now with the advent of the 'luxury hatchback' the standard cars are vastly different in approach, and so any performance variant is built on what is already a very capable platform.
So perhaps the issue isn't what the hot hatch has become, but rather what the base model has become.
Same with comments about weight - different times and different regulations for manufacturers to deal with.
For me an interesting comparison is the relative performance and enjoyment to cars of their own era - so a modern day and a classic 'hot hatch' against the equivalent shopping trolley siblings, something a little further up the foodchain such as an M3 and a super car
I cite the Suzuki Swift Sport Mk1 as a prime example. Same power-to-weight ratio as the Golf GTi Mk2 just goes to show how far peoples' expectations have come since those days.
(Before anyone piles in on me, I am *not* saying the Swift is a Hot Hatch. I'm saying it is bags of fun at road-legal speeds, which is what the article was bemoaning)
Edit: oops. I started writing the reply, got called away by something, and then finished it off and hit Submit on my return. Seems others have said the same as me in the meantime.
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