What do you think the hottest hatch is out of the bunch
Discussion
Why do these threads consistently overlook the BMW 130/135???
I'm baffled tbh, is it the price?, bangle design? lack of overt hot hatch styling?????
If this is a car lovers site surely a RWD car with a 6 pot up front is, well, superior to all the fwd scrabblers that usually get trotted out.
Having had a fair few hot hatches I know that the 130i I currently have outperforms an S3 on all counts. Genuinely confused.
I'm baffled tbh, is it the price?, bangle design? lack of overt hot hatch styling?????
If this is a car lovers site surely a RWD car with a 6 pot up front is, well, superior to all the fwd scrabblers that usually get trotted out.
Having had a fair few hot hatches I know that the 130i I currently have outperforms an S3 on all counts. Genuinely confused.
NISR227 said:
Civic Type R EP3 - owned one for a couple of years. I would recommend you get a fastroad geometry setup though, for £80-£150 (got mine done at APB) it will be the best money you spend on the car. Makes it turn in better, easy predictable lift-off over steer and really does improve the handling and feel of the car. Obviously LSD and Hondata K-pro/100 remap improves things further but will cost some.
Very reliable, they just beg to be driven hard and take it all in its stride. Yes you have to really thrash it to get the best out of the car but it rewards when you do this, the gear change is still one of the best manual changes on any car and it all can be addictive on a good b twisty road. The lack of torque down low isn't as bad as you think, you can't rely on it for overtakes, more like change down a couple of gears to do that, but there's still enough to get around with when your takeing it easy.
I came from a highly modified turbo hatch, and I've got another turbo hatch after the Civic, completely different ways to drive, but all good in their own way.
Re the S3, tried one once, very boring to drive, no feel with the wheel. Leon Cupra R is the better option if you want the same turbo route at that price, 1.8T used well like the S3, but with a better chassis. R32 is special, still rare, torque, and awesome sounds, not really a handler though and very very thirsty.
Thanks for the info ive heard alot of people saying in reviews for the ep3 that it dose not have enough torque etc and how it feels not as refined as its rivals but for me it's just a raw drivers car and puts the others to shame a lot of the time on normal roads. And surely the drive is the most important. Thanks for your info tho it's very much appreciated Very reliable, they just beg to be driven hard and take it all in its stride. Yes you have to really thrash it to get the best out of the car but it rewards when you do this, the gear change is still one of the best manual changes on any car and it all can be addictive on a good b twisty road. The lack of torque down low isn't as bad as you think, you can't rely on it for overtakes, more like change down a couple of gears to do that, but there's still enough to get around with when your takeing it easy.
I came from a highly modified turbo hatch, and I've got another turbo hatch after the Civic, completely different ways to drive, but all good in their own way.
Re the S3, tried one once, very boring to drive, no feel with the wheel. Leon Cupra R is the better option if you want the same turbo route at that price, 1.8T used well like the S3, but with a better chassis. R32 is special, still rare, torque, and awesome sounds, not really a handler though and very very thirsty.
DoubleSix said:
Why do these threads consistently overlook the BMW 130/135???
I'm baffled tbh, is it the price?, bangle design? lack of overt hot hatch styling?????
If this is a car lovers site surely a RWD car with a 6 pot up front is, well, superior to all the fwd scrabblers that usually get trotted out.
Having had a fair few hot hatches I know that the 130i I currently have outperforms an S3 on all counts. Genuinely confused.
looks bad, zero rear leg roomI'm baffled tbh, is it the price?, bangle design? lack of overt hot hatch styling?????
If this is a car lovers site surely a RWD car with a 6 pot up front is, well, superior to all the fwd scrabblers that usually get trotted out.
Having had a fair few hot hatches I know that the 130i I currently have outperforms an S3 on all counts. Genuinely confused.
stonking engine thou
GA55SED said:
I currently own a Renault 5 gt turbo and it's like my little baby it never sees day light these days but I must say when I take it out it's just something else and puts most of the usual hot hatches in the rear view mirror from the lights.
AAnd it's weird because the amount if people that comment on the car when I'm out in it is unreal
My brother use to get the same with his standard looking Mars Red MK1 Golf Gti. Very rare sight these days and brings people back to the good ol days. He currently drives a modified Ibiza Cupra R and even though its still an old car now, doesn't really get an eyelid.AAnd it's weird because the amount if people that comment on the car when I'm out in it is unreal
You say you've driven a Megane Turbo, go and drive an R26 with the LSD and a demanding road, feels a completely different car with the LSD, and I have no problem with the build quality either (even compared to a new A3), it's not that bad.
As you have a Focus RS, the meg is similar so if you want a 2nd car just to go and blat at weekends with no worries, get the EP3.
Dave Hedgehog said:
DoubleSix said:
Why do these threads consistently overlook the BMW 130/135???
I'm baffled tbh, is it the price?, bangle design? lack of overt hot hatch styling?????
If this is a car lovers site surely a RWD car with a 6 pot up front is, well, superior to all the fwd scrabblers that usually get trotted out.
Having had a fair few hot hatches I know that the 130i I currently have outperforms an S3 on all counts. Genuinely confused.
looks bad, zero rear leg roomI'm baffled tbh, is it the price?, bangle design? lack of overt hot hatch styling?????
If this is a car lovers site surely a RWD car with a 6 pot up front is, well, superior to all the fwd scrabblers that usually get trotted out.
Having had a fair few hot hatches I know that the 130i I currently have outperforms an S3 on all counts. Genuinely confused.
stonking engine thou
DoubleSix said:
Why do these threads consistently overlook the BMW 130/135???
I'm baffled tbh, is it the price?, bangle design? lack of overt hot hatch styling?????
If this is a car lovers site surely a RWD car with a 6 pot up front is, well, superior to all the fwd scrabblers that usually get trotted out.
Having had a fair few hot hatches I know that the 130i I currently have outperforms an S3 on all counts. Genuinely confused.
I had a 130i m sport 2 years back and the mrs fell in love with it so much she ended up having it off me. When I had the 130i I can't say it's not a great car because it well and truley is and its great for a drive of smiles especially with the rear wheel drive fun round the corners. But for me as mad as this may sound it just lacked something I could never put my finger on and I was never a fan how it blended in to much which can be a good thing to some.I'm baffled tbh, is it the price?, bangle design? lack of overt hot hatch styling?????
If this is a car lovers site surely a RWD car with a 6 pot up front is, well, superior to all the fwd scrabblers that usually get trotted out.
Having had a fair few hot hatches I know that the 130i I currently have outperforms an S3 on all counts. Genuinely confused.
But for me I think a hot hatch for me is about standing out not blending in.
But to the little beemers defence it's a cracking little car and you don't see a great deal of them around these days
firman said:
Op, surely if you have a MkII Focus RS that itself is one of the hottest hatches around? It has all the makings of one anyway and as I imagine hot hatches they should be fwd anyway.
My rs is something I will never let go and I was never a fan of modern fords before it and personally I think it's deffo in the top 10 of greatest hot hatches in this day and age but I just want something for abit of fun and that's why I'm looking at the bunch I've listed And at the mo the type r ep3 is stealing my heart I must say. And as crazy as this sounds but I think the type r is a more joyful car to wring round the neck. My rs can be to civilised at timesGA55SED said:
I currently own a Renault 5 gt turbo and it's like my little baby it never sees day light these days but I must say when I take it out it's just something else and puts most of the usual hot hatches in the rear view mirror from the lights.
And it's weird because the amount if people that comment on the car when I'm out in it is unreal and then I take my everyday drive out which is a mk2 focus rs and nobody batters a eye lid compared to my little r5 turbo.
I must say tho I'm not a fan of new Renault hatches I drove a megane turbo not sure of the exact model but it just felt so cheap sorry to the lovers of newer Renault hit hatches but there just not for me
So why another hot hatch, are two not enough? And it's weird because the amount if people that comment on the car when I'm out in it is unreal and then I take my everyday drive out which is a mk2 focus rs and nobody batters a eye lid compared to my little r5 turbo.
I must say tho I'm not a fan of new Renault hatches I drove a megane turbo not sure of the exact model but it just felt so cheap sorry to the lovers of newer Renault hit hatches but there just not for me
I had a 270bhp Cupra R 225 with upgraded suspension, it was stonkingly quick in a straight line, cornered as flat as a pancake and resisted torque steer and wheel spin amazingly weel for the power. It was savage on boost, but it was still too comfortable and refined for what I wanted at the time. The Civic Type R I replaced it with is considerably slower, but much, much rawer. Whereas many turbo cars to me, feel like they give their best effort lower in the rev range - for example, the Cupra R had a 7000rpm redline iirc, but you might as well have shifted up at 5800rpm because it had done it's best work and needed another gear by then, the Civic is the opposite.
The Civic feels like an ordinary, albeit short-geared 2.0L hatchback, but as you let the revs climb, the induction note starts to harden at around 4000rpm, and a few seconds later as you pass 5800rpm, all hell breaks lose and the car bolts down the road like a greyhound. Ok, coming from a big power turbo car, you will notice that for all the drama, you simply aren't travelling as quickly as you would be in a VAG offering, but to me the noise, drama and general hooligan vibe of the Civic Type R makes it a winner.
When I change mine, I doubt I'll get another hot hatch. I driven many quicker hot hatches, and my Cupra R was a faster (and still good) car, but unless I went for something left-field like a Pulsar GTI-R, I doubt I'd be having much more fun than I get in my EP3. They say the EK9 Civic Type R is like an EP3 but rawer and even better handling, though more fragile also, and I'd love to own one but don't think I ever will.
The Civic feels like an ordinary, albeit short-geared 2.0L hatchback, but as you let the revs climb, the induction note starts to harden at around 4000rpm, and a few seconds later as you pass 5800rpm, all hell breaks lose and the car bolts down the road like a greyhound. Ok, coming from a big power turbo car, you will notice that for all the drama, you simply aren't travelling as quickly as you would be in a VAG offering, but to me the noise, drama and general hooligan vibe of the Civic Type R makes it a winner.
When I change mine, I doubt I'll get another hot hatch. I driven many quicker hot hatches, and my Cupra R was a faster (and still good) car, but unless I went for something left-field like a Pulsar GTI-R, I doubt I'd be having much more fun than I get in my EP3. They say the EK9 Civic Type R is like an EP3 but rawer and even better handling, though more fragile also, and I'd love to own one but don't think I ever will.
Mastodon2 said:
I had a 270bhp Cupra R 225 with upgraded suspension, it was stonkingly quick in a straight line, cornered as flat as a pancake and resisted torque steer and wheel spin amazingly weel for the power. It was savage on boost, but it was still too comfortable and refined for what I wanted at the time. The Civic Type R I replaced it with is considerably slower, but much, much rawer. Whereas many turbo cars to me, feel like they give their best effort lower in the rev range - for example, the Cupra R had a 7000rpm redline iirc, but you might as well have shifted up at 5800rpm because it had done it's best work and needed another gear by then, the Civic is the opposite.
The Civic feels like an ordinary, albeit short-geared 2.0L hatchback, but as you let the revs climb, the induction note starts to harden at around 4000rpm, and a few seconds later as you pass 5800rpm, all hell breaks lose and the car bolts down the road like a greyhound. Ok, coming from a big power turbo car, you will notice that for all the drama, you simply aren't travelling as quickly as you would be in a VAG offering, but to me the noise, drama and general hooligan vibe of the Civic Type R makes it a winner.
When I change mine, I doubt I'll get another hot hatch. I driven many quicker hot hatches, and my Cupra R was a faster (and still good) car, but unless I went for something left-field like a Pulsar GTI-R, I doubt I'd be having much more fun than I get in my EP3. They say the EK9 Civic Type R is like an EP3 but rawer and even better handling, though more fragile also, and I'd love to own one but don't think I ever will.
Thanks for that been waiting for someone who's had both lol that's what gets me with the ep3 type r how raw it is and personally that's why it stands out more than the others on my list which is usually my different approach as I'm such a turbo lover if I'm to be honest.The Civic feels like an ordinary, albeit short-geared 2.0L hatchback, but as you let the revs climb, the induction note starts to harden at around 4000rpm, and a few seconds later as you pass 5800rpm, all hell breaks lose and the car bolts down the road like a greyhound. Ok, coming from a big power turbo car, you will notice that for all the drama, you simply aren't travelling as quickly as you would be in a VAG offering, but to me the noise, drama and general hooligan vibe of the Civic Type R makes it a winner.
When I change mine, I doubt I'll get another hot hatch. I driven many quicker hot hatches, and my Cupra R was a faster (and still good) car, but unless I went for something left-field like a Pulsar GTI-R, I doubt I'd be having much more fun than I get in my EP3. They say the EK9 Civic Type R is like an EP3 but rawer and even better handling, though more fragile also, and I'd love to own one but don't think I ever will.
I test drove a fn2 type r civic a few years back and I never forget the feeling when the vetec comes into play it's astonishing and even know its heavier than the ep3 and feels abit boatish the vetch just makes you want more. And forget the size and weightiness of it.
I drove a ep3 type r shortly after on a test drive but the sales man was not allowing me thrash it so i couldn't get in the vetech But even on a everyday drive scale it felt a dam site better than the fn2 so I can only imagine the ep3 is tonnes better and even more after clarksons review on it.
Have you ever had a cupra r at the lights since having your ep3 ?
SWoll said:
R32 is definately the most special of the bunch IMO.
Saw a mint example in blue the other day parked at the local supermarket and still looked very cool to my eyes.
Might not be the most dynamic of hot hatches but it's what I would go for.
I love them in blue there rare to see now days well a mk1 is nice when they do come aroundSaw a mint example in blue the other day parked at the local supermarket and still looked very cool to my eyes.
Might not be the most dynamic of hot hatches but it's what I would go for.
GA55SED said:
Have you ever had a cupra r at the lights since having your ep3 ?
It wouldn't be a fair test unless I was racing my old Cupra, or an identically modded one. My Cupra R had a Jetex induction kit and cold air feed, Milltek catback, Forge dump valve, Forge turbo intake pipe and a REVO stage 2 map, so it was making about 270bhp - a significant chunk more than a standard 225. No doubt about it, that Cupra would have murdered my EP3 in a straight line, and it was probably quicker over a twisty road too, but the Civic is way, way more fun. Furthermore, I don't race anyone, on the open road or off the lights!Turbo hatches lend themselves well to power upgrades and outright speed, the joy of the Type R is the rev-hungry nature and the lightfooted, sharp response of the car.
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