Hot Hatches or RWD Saloon?

Hot Hatches or RWD Saloon?

Author
Discussion

blearyeyedboy

Original Poster:

6,252 posts

178 months

Friday 24th July 2015
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I'm interested to know what people would answer to the following question:

You have a trip across the Brecon Beacons and you're not in a hurry, so you can make detours to have as much fun as you like. You can pick up the keys to a pretty recent FWD 2 litre hot hatch or a RWD 4 pot petrol saloon. Which would you take?

Let's say you could have a recent Focus ST or a BMW 328i that isn't an M Sport variant. Or substitute for some relevant rival if you like.

Consider the following:

The traditional wisdom is that RWD + front engine is better than FWD.
A 4-pot saloon isn't going to have the cachet of a 6 cylinder one, but performance figures are going to be comparable to a hot hatch in which you'll probably get a 4 pot anyway. (6-7 seconds 0-60, top speed 140ish mph etc)

Should people looking for a fun practical car be steered towards a RWD saloon by wise PHers? Or are the current hot hatch breed more fun than more sober business saloons? I'm not looking to buy either right now. I'm just interested in sparking a discussion.

rovermorris999

5,195 posts

188 months

Friday 24th July 2015
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I'd take an MX5, seriously.

blearyeyedboy

Original Poster:

6,252 posts

178 months

Friday 24th July 2015
quotequote all
^ For once, MX5 may be the right answer!

I suppose what I'm getting at here is that if you need a practical machine with rear seats and a useable boot, are hot hatches what they're cracked up to be or are more sober looking saloons actually more fun?

DoubleSix

11,691 posts

175 months

Friday 24th July 2015
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I'd take the 6cyl RWD hot hatch...

heebeegeetee

28,591 posts

247 months

Friday 24th July 2015
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Out of the choices you've given it would be a hatch for me. I think they're more fun. smile

blearyeyedboy

Original Poster:

6,252 posts

178 months

Friday 24th July 2015
quotequote all
DoubleSix said:
I'd take the 6cyl RWD hot hatch...
I can't imagine which one you mean... Who makes one of those? There aren't any posts on here about such a wondrous junior supercar at all. wink

I knew someone would bring up the M135i. I wondered whether to mention it or not because it's the obvious get-out to the scenario I mentioned. I suppose what surprises me is that there aren't many published comparisons of hot hatches with more traditional saloons for similar money.

pardonmyenglish

107 posts

110 months

Friday 24th July 2015
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DoubleSix said:
I'd take the 6cyl RWD hot hatch...
323 ti?

ZX10R NIN

27,490 posts

124 months

Friday 24th July 2015
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Megane Trophy for me not normally a fan of FWD but for a full on B Road blast it'd be the Renault or the MK2 Focus RS.

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Friday 24th July 18:58

blearyeyedboy

Original Poster:

6,252 posts

178 months

Friday 24th July 2015
quotequote all
^ Another answer I was expecting. Against all sense/experience of PH, I was hoping we'd be a few lines further on before someone came up with them. hehe

Has anyone had direct comparison of, say, a new-shape C Class* and a 2-litre FWD hatch?

*I don't want this to all be about BMW, after all.

Edited by blearyeyedboy on Friday 24th July 18:20

white_goodman

4,042 posts

190 months

Friday 24th July 2015
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heebeegeetee said:
Out of the choices you've given it would be a hatch for me. I think they're more fun. smile
Yeah, age-for-age, like-for-like, I would take the hot hatch too. Obviously, completely ignoring running costs, someone is going to chime in and say for less money than a new hot hatch you could buy an 8 year old M3 or M5 and yes, in an ideal world that would be my choice. But yeah, all things being equal, I think I would have more fun in a new Fiesta ST/Golf GTI/Renaultsport Megane than a new 4-pot 3-Series or C-Class!

DoubleSix

11,691 posts

175 months

Friday 24th July 2015
quotequote all
blearyeyedboy said:
DoubleSix said:
I'd take the 6cyl RWD hot hatch...
I can't imagine which one you mean... Who makes one of those? There aren't any posts on here about such a wondrous junior supercar at all. wink

I knew someone would bring up the M135i. I wondered whether to mention it or not because it's the obvious get-out to the scenario I mentioned. I suppose what surprises me is that there aren't many published comparisons of hot hatches with more traditional saloons for similar money.
hehe

Nah not a fan of turbos!

Proper NA straight 6 in the 130i without the need for augmented sound blx smile

blearyeyedboy

Original Poster:

6,252 posts

178 months

Friday 24th July 2015
quotequote all
DoubleSix said:
hehe

Nah not a fan of turbos!
Bloody awkward, aren't you? Who invited you to my thread? wink

You have a very good point. Let us mourn the passing of the NA RWD performance hatch.

alock

4,224 posts

210 months

Friday 24th July 2015
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I'd go for the narrowest car. Most new cars these days are far too wide to be able to move around within the lane of a typical country road.

ORD

18,086 posts

126 months

Friday 24th July 2015
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It's a complete no-brained - the hot hatch every time!

The C-Class is a thoroughly miserable steer. Detached, uncommunicative, wallowy...horrid. A BMW on standard suspension isn't much better.

In any event, a lighter, more focussed car is likely to be more fun for that kind of driving, whether FWD or RWD. I wouldn't touch an AWD hatch, though - completely misses the point!

Robert Elise

956 posts

144 months

Friday 24th July 2015
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odd question.
MX5 is the correct answer to the question you didn't ask. (or any other lightweight rwd sports car)
Of the FWD, Renault certainly inspires more than most.

Digitalize

2,850 posts

134 months

Friday 24th July 2015
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Fiesta ST with the mountune package would probably be my choice of FWD, and more fun that a similar 3 series.

MX-5 is a decent shout, new one maybe.

cerb4.5lee

30,186 posts

179 months

Friday 24th July 2015
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Digitalize said:
Fiesta ST with the mountune package would probably be my choice of FWD, and more fun that a similar 3 series.
That was exactly what I was just going to post! thumbup the trouble with a RWD saloon is that they just weigh too bloody much to have any meaningful fun in and lighter is always better as far as I am concerned if you want fun and its nice to have some shove to go with the lightness too.

blearyeyedboy

Original Poster:

6,252 posts

178 months

Friday 24th July 2015
quotequote all
Robert Elise said:
odd question.
MX5 is the correct answer to the question you didn't ask. (or any other lightweight rwd sports car)
Not at all. Your average chap or chap-ess with a family and room for one car won't have room for a RWD sportscar in their life. So which compromise is the least compromising?

Robert Elise said:
Of the FWD, Renault certainly inspires more than most.
On that, we can agree. Of course, if you could live without rear doors then a GT86 is also possible.

alock said:
I'd go for the narrowest car. Most new cars these days are far too wide to be able to move around within the lane of a typical country road.
An excellent point. I'm dismayed how wide a lot of cars are these days.

ging84

8,828 posts

145 months

Friday 24th July 2015
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is there an option where you don't have to go to Wales?

blearyeyedboy

Original Poster:

6,252 posts

178 months

Friday 24th July 2015
quotequote all
ging84 said:
is there an option where you don't have to go to Wales?
Go to whichever nice bit of B Road you fancy! hehe