Current king of the hot hatch?

[Lov31l]

As a younger PHer i have been drawn more towards the hot hatches as they are the best all rounder, i use mine to commute, it has luggage space and is still fun on track. I currently have a clio 197 and love it, i find it has to be driven keep the car above 4000rpm and it becomes alive. This was a car from the era when Renault were very big in the hot hatch market and understandably so, the clio had the wide body, aggressive styling and performance to boot. But as the clio gets older who has replaced its place on the market. i have looked recently and currently believe that one of the best cars for driving in the hot hatch market is the Fiat 595 Competizione, it has the aggressive body styling that makes it different from the standard car, it has a manual gearbox, the monza exhaust is loud and lairy, the power delivery instant and drive very smooth. I have been in a number of other current hot hatches and think value for money the Fiesta is phenomenal but not a major step up, its too similar to its base models in my opinion, The new clio although having a lot of power lacks driver engagement although sounding very nice with the dsg box and again lacks styling only having minimal changes. the audi s1 looks nice but i have never had an opportunity to experience one. what are peoples views as to the best current Hot hatch to buy? who has got the crown of best hot hatch manufacturer currently and why? look forward to hearing peoples opinions on this

[Xcore]

New focus rs if you believe the press

[ambuletz]

I'm sure we could all debate on what a hot hatch is. Some might feel that many of the current crop are too expensive & turbed to be one. And that a hot hatch should be revvy and affordable. In this instance I'm going for the suzuki swift sport.

[nottyash]

Its the focus RS, Golf R, Seat Cupra, Civic Type R, megane etc
They are all good, depends what you want to do with it.

[Toonshorty]

Love the engine in my M135i, beats any of the 4-pot hot hatches for character imo.

Does lack a bit of feel and engagement though, mostly down to the EPAS I imagine.

[ecsrobin]

For me hot hatches should be small and not out of reach of the normal working person but each to their own. So using Evo's list of 2016 hot hatches let's have a look what they think:

Focus RS - £31k
208 GTi - £19k+
Golf R - £31,685
Audi RS3 - £40,795
Fiesta ST - £17,745 - £22,745
Seat Leon Cupra 290 - £28,380
Mini JCW Challenge- £32,000
Renaultsport Megane 265 cup - £24,825
Renaultsport Clio 220 Trophy - £21,870
Honda Civic TypeR - £30k


And I'll add my car: Abarth 595 Competizione- £20,290 (I have the performance pack which is extra)

To me there was only a few choices from that list that are small and closer to £20k than £30k they were 208 GTi, Fiesta ST and the Clio.

To me the 208 just wasn't for me nothing that I liked about the styling and the interior seems cheap.
The fiesta ST seems to be a very popular choice and I like to be different.
The clio was a very close decision, and one I actually still consider after a month of ownership of the 595 but I still think I've made the right choice. (Renaultsports seem to depriciate very quickly)

And another car that I considered (although never test drove) was the Kia Pro Cee'd GT - £23,310 I just really liked the sytyling and interior (although it lacks performance)


Now back to the OP saying about the Competizione power delivery it is very much nothing nothing 3,000RPM GOOOOOOOO. But it gets a lot of attention, sounds great and handles well. And considering it's just a tarted up 500 I still like to take a glance as I walk away. And compared to the competition it holds its own and comes in and a very competitive price for what you get.

Is it the King? Who knows but I think it's a front runner.

[ecsrobin]

ambuletz said:

I'm sure we could all debate on what a hot hatch is. Some might feel that many of the current crop are too expensive & turbed to be one. And that a hot hatch should be revvy and affordable. In this instance I'm going for the suzuki swift sport.

Great price and they don't look bad but a 0-60 of 8.7 doesn't really make it "hot"

[stupidbutkeen]

ecsrobin said:

Great price and they don't look bad but a 0-60 of 8.7 doesn't really make it "hot"

that leads to the question on what makes a hot hatch tbh.

swift is like a old school 'hot hatch' in that its all about the feel of the drive.

Can be fast on the right road but on that right road you will giggle like a schoolgirl thats just found out about vibrators, around town they are great, easy to drive and still fun at slower speeds.

Oh and when you are driving a swift sport you still know your in a car thats top of the swift range, Old skool cool in a modern age.

[ecsrobin]

stupidbutkeen said:

that leads to the question on what makes a hot hatch tbh.

swift is like a old school 'hot hatch' in that its all about the feel of the drive.

Can be fast on the right road but on that right road you will giggle like a schoolgirl thats just found out about vibrators, around town they are great, easy to drive and still fun at slower speeds.

Oh and when you are driving a swift sport you still know your in a car thats top of the swift range, Old skool cool in a modern age.

According to Wikipedia (which as we know is the end of all arguments) a swift sport (and cars between 100hp and 150hp) are warm hatches

Also my old civic typeS was certainly not a hot hatch or warm hatch but had the performance to match the swift.

[stupidbutkeen]

ecsrobin said:

According to Wikipedia (which as we know is the end of all arguments) a swift sport (and cars between 100hp and 150hp) are warm hatches

Also my old civic typeS was certainly not a hot hatch or warm hatch but had the performance to match the swift.

drive your old civic then a swift sport one after the other and the only one you will walk away from with a grin is the swift. Maybe I am just getting on a bit but I have had a swift sport mk1 for over 2.5 years and thats longer than I have owned any car. I have had all sorts of cars but if you remember the likes of xr2's and 205gti's and the feel of what were not fast cars ( nippy for the day granted) but a car you got out of with a grin and the want to go drive again then the swift blows away the civic.

Will admit the swift in these days is not 'hot' and if you like turbos and are into 0-60 times and the fastest around some track you will never be on dont get one.
swift is a old school hatch for modern times. Old school feel modern relibilty and build quality. Sometimes less can be more.

[ecsrobin]

stupidbutkeen said:

ecsrobin said:

According to Wikipedia (which as we know is the end of all arguments) a swift sport (and cars between 100hp and 150hp) are warm hatches

Also my old civic typeS was certainly not a hot hatch or warm hatch but had the performance to match the swift.

drive your old civic then a swift sport one after the other and the only one you will walk away from with a grin is the swift. Maybe I am just getting on a bit but I have had a swift sport mk1 for over 2.5 years and thats longer than I have owned any car. I have had all sorts of cars but if you remember the likes of xr2's and 205gti's and the feel of what were not fast cars ( nippy for the day granted) but a car you got out of with a grin and the want to go drive again then the swift blows away the civic.

Will admit the swift in these days is not 'hot' and if you like turbos and are into 0-60 times and the fastest around some track you will never be on dont get one.
swift is a old school hatch for modern times. Old school feel modern relibilty and build quality. Sometimes less can be more.

One of the reasons I disliked the civic was it had no feeling, it was great down a country lane but you never walked away thinking it's fun.

[stupidbutkeen]

ecsrobin said:

One of the reasons I disliked the civic was it had no feeling, it was great down a country lane but you never walked away thinking it's fun.

Your always to young not to drive a fun car. Swift for me is a everyday car, shopping, going to work, visiting inlaws etc. I bought a mt09 for the mad days last feb and now I Only ever use the mt09 now for 2-3 day motorbike trips the swift is just enjoyable to be in.

ps clio is the better car but its french so personaly its not for me.

Edited by stupidbutkeen on Sunday 23 October 03:01

[caelite]

It's entirely up to personal preference, obviously there are 'guides', the Focus RS, Audi RS3, CTR etc are all very well set up cars, but they are all different in their own way, they are all set up to drive differently, they all have their own unique styling. As someone else said if you want numbers on a page go look up nurburgring lap times because I'm sure one of them will be at the top of that, and imo that best mimics a European B-road (which is like an UK B-road albeit with less holes in)

[Garvin]

ecsrobin said:

Great price and they don't look bad but a 0-60 of 8.7 doesn't really make it "hot"

It would've in the 1980s

Mrs Garvin has a Fiesta ST - a seriously good car. For a front wheel drive car the front end turn in and grip are streets ahead of most others. A complete hoot to drive and a bargain at the price.

[FN2TypeR]

Garvin said:

ecsrobin said:

Great price and they don't look bad but a 0-60 of 8.7 doesn't really make it "hot"

It would've in the 1980s

Mrs Garvin has a Fiesta ST - a seriously good car. For a front wheel drive car the front end turn in and grip are streets ahead of most others. A complete hoot to drive and a bargain at the price.

The current ST is a damned good car aye, I'd say it's the biggest problem the Suzuki faces TBH, just a few grand more gets you into an ST.

[Pixelpeep7r]

The RS3 and A45 i think are hyper hatches rather than hot hatches. I know the ford isn't a million miles off in regards to performance but Audi/Merc are premium so puts them slightly above.

i suppose what i am trying to say is - are we to exclude them as they are not what has previously defined as a HH..?

Should we only class something that is FWD as a hot hatch and anything else a hyper hatch?

If we include all i would say the RS3 - if not maybe the civic?

[daemon]

Pixelpeep7r said:

The RS3 and A45 i think are hyper hatches rather than hot hatches. I know the ford isn't a million miles off in regards to performance but Audi/Merc are premium so puts them slightly above.

i suppose what i am trying to say is - are we to exclude them as they are not what has previously defined as a HH..?

Should we only class something that is FWD as a hot hatch and anything else a hyper hatch?

If we include all i would say the RS3 - if not maybe the civic?

I think they've stopped making the rs3 hatch - the new one is going to be based on the four door.

The most powerful would be the a45, and also the fastest is also the a45. It also is the most expensive.

The "best" is a subjective view so it's going to vary among people.

[thebraketester]

Afaik the rs3 (8p and 8v) gave only ever been 4 door

[daemon]

thebraketester said:

Afaik the rs3 (8p and 8v) gave only ever been 4 door

The current rs3 is a five door hatch.

The new one is going to be based on the 4 door (saloon)

[thebraketester]

Sorry yes I meant 5 door (4side doors)

Bizarre how they have dropped that and then are making only the saloon. :-/