£3k Hot Hatch

[ACB82]

All,
Going to be looking for a Hot Hatch for about £3-4k. What would you recommend trying?

[Rsohyes]

Im in the same boat, been looking at Leon Cupra R's and S3's

[chriscoates]

Renaultsport Clio 182 is the default choice at that price.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3140848.htm

[Lets Torque]

decent Honda Civic Type R's in that price yet?

Also consider,

Skoda Fabia VRS?
Mazda 3 Sport/MPS?
Vauxhall Astra GSI?
Ford Focus ST170?
Clio Cup?

Left Field:

Toyota Corolla T Sport?

Some may be 'Warm' hatches rather than 'Hot'

[diddly69]

EP3 Civic Type R

[Emeye]

Civic Type-r? Drove one a couple of times and quite liked, much better than the one they just stopped making - if I bought one it would be a Grey facelift one. Not sure if a decent one is in budget though.

[Jimmy No Hands]

Mazda 3 MPS are £3k now?

[Emeye]

Just thought - had a MK1 Leon Cupra that I loved some years ago. Or how about an Octavia vRS?

[ACB82]

I was thinking a 182?

[kpb]

If you want a 'cheap' version of the S3 you could look for an A3 1.8T quattro. I have one, handles far better than you'd imagine. Swift but probably needs a remap to give it that bit of extra grunt to overcome the extra weight of the 4wd system. Build, ride and comfort quality are on a different level to my last Cupra and a shade above the mk4 golf and bora i've owned.

[43034]

Low mileage 205 1.6

http://pistonheads.com/sales/3158631.htm

205 with a GTI6 engine (180bhp!)

http://pistonheads.com/sales/3127711.htm


205 Rallye
http://pistonheads.com/sales/3063933.htm


Or do you prefer modern?

[RobCrezz]

I would try and get a prefacelift EP3 Civic Type R. I had one and it was great. The reliability and build quality will be a nice bonus compared to many other hot hatches at this price range.

[xaero1]

A good 306 Rallye would easily be within budget.

If you're a little more crazy a supercharged GTI6 might also fall within budget...

[nickg123]

306 GTi-6 or Rallye has to be in with a shout?? Get a good one cheap and track it up a bit

Civic would take some beating though, you want it to be reliable even if it only costs £3k!

[Devil2575]

kpb said:

If you want a 'cheap' version of the S3 you could look for an A3 1.8T quattro. I have one, handles far better than you'd imagine. Swift but probably needs a remap to give it that bit of extra grunt to overcome the extra weight of the 4wd system. Build, ride and comfort quality are on a different level to my last Cupra and a shade above the mk4 golf and bora i've owned.

I'd go even cheaper and just find a good A3 1.8T Sport. Audi sets up it's 4WD for safety rather than sporty so i'd say the FWD version is a better drive. You'll also get more car for your money and given the budget you have this is key.

A £3-4k S3 is going to be at the rough end of the market or have done a lot of miles. I'd avoid personaly.

The ST170 is a fine handling car but is more warm than hot.

Leon Cupra is a good car to drive but interior trim quality lets it down. A CupraR on that budget? I doubt you'll get a good one.

[SteveS Cup]

chriscoates said:

Renaultsport Clio 182 is the default choice at that price.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3140848.htm

That is one messed up Clio! It's a 182 Cup which is the basic one, not very sought after, the 182 with Cup Packs (known as a Full Fat / FF) is the one to try and get.

The FF has Xenon's / Half Leather and AC.

That one clearly has the Seats and Xenon's retro fitted hence the headlight washer blanks. Also there is no CC / AC.

Nice though.

[SuperVM]

I'd be looking at EP3 CTRs or a pre-facelift 8L Audi S3. I had an post facelift S3 for 4.5 years and loved it, though I agree that at £3k it will be high mileage. The only trouble I had was the N75 valve and alternator, both of which I replaced myself, though the alternator wasn't particularly cheap. Water pump impellors can fail, but should get done at the time of a cambelt change.

I now have a Pulsar GTi-R, which is incredibly ugly, but quite quick and you could have one within your budget.

[George H]

Lupo GTI?

[chriscoates]

SteveS Cup said:

chriscoates said:

Renaultsport Clio 182 is the default choice at that price.

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3140848.htm

That is one messed up Clio! It's a 182 Cup which is the basic one, not very sought after, the 182 with Cup Packs (known as a Full Fat / FF) is the one to try and get.

The FF has Xenon's / Half Leather and AC.

That one clearly has the Seats and Xenon's retro fitted hence the headlight washer blanks. Also there is no CC / AC.

Nice though.

Just looked back at that advert and you're right! This one then: http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3139233.htm

[Meridius]

Mazda 323 GTR