A hot hatch with low driving position

[dmitry]

Is there such a thing? I've owned or driven EP3 and FN2 Civic Type-Rs, Clio 172 and Clio 197. While they were great fun I've never got used to the way you're seated in them, it felt like being too high and ultimately I couldn't really bond with these cars. I've even replaced standard seats in the 172 for Recaros on custom mounts to drop a few centimetres and it made life slightly better but the way all the controls were arranged for original seats it still was a bit awkward and not very comfortable. On the other hand cars like old E36 3-series BMWs and especially GT86 felt right the moment I got behind the steering wheel and that made driving them a much more enjoyable experience. So I'm sitting now wondering, is there a hot hatch around that has fairly low mounted seats? I think DC2 Integras were made this way but they are now becoming thin on the ground, is there anything else?

[Swordman]

Nature of the beast, I think. I've never been in a hatchback that didn't have a high driving position.

[V8RX7]

One of the reasons a hot hatch is shorter than a Coupe is because of the upright seating, a low slung hot hatch IS a Coupe.

I far prefer Coupes myself.

[gizlaroc]

The BMW 1 series have seats that drop low if you have the sport seats.

[AmosMoses]

A scirocco would maybe fit the bill? I have one as a daily and you can really get the seat nice and low.

[Matt Cup]

R53 Mini Cooper S seems to sit pretty low on the standard seats, certainly a lot lower than my Clio 172 Cup did.

[steve-5snwi]

My R55 goes pretty low, and if your normal height you could get the perfect driving position, I'm 6'4" and find it very good.

[catso]

Not sure if it fits the bill (I always though of it as a kind of hot hatch) but I had an Audi A3, 3.2 (2 door) which had a nice, low seating position, certainly lower than a Clio.

It was an old model though and I'm not sure if newer models are higher?

[Butter Face]

The EP3 recaros (found in the Premier and JDM cars) sit lower than the standard seats and bolt straight into the normal car.

[Ahbefive]

I think the Megane R26 has a quiye low seat but then my other car is an FRS with quite a high driving position.

I guess it depends what you are used to somewhat.

[HJMS123]

The seat in my latest car (Scirocco) goes fairly low, certainly lower than the R26 Megane and much lower than the MK7 Fiesta ST before it.

The best I've been in is a BMW 1 series ... by far!! You can go really low and they have really good adjustability in general.

[RobM77]

It's a long time since I've driven a Golf GTi, but I seem to remember the seats going quite low. As already mentioned, the 1 series also avoids the 'sit up and beg' position, likewise the later MINIs. I must admit though, despite me being of very modest height, I've yet to drive a road car that allows me to achieve the driving position that I like. I'm well aware that a lot of people are significantly taller than me, so I find it perplexing that car manufacturers can't crack this basic requirement. This is particularly surprising when we're talking about reasonably expensive cars that sell in large numbers, like the 5 series, 911 etc.

[pimpchez]

Dont bother with a astra vxr , focus st , mazda mps (mk2) , evo 7

at 6 4" and long legs what has worked for is :

mk5 r32
evo 8
mk6 gti
mk1 mps

All very comfy , the golfs are slightly better than the mazda.

330d f30 was ridiculous i could fully stretch out and just about reach the pedals from my usual all the way back position.

Hope that helps , my next car will be a mk6 gti

[FN2TypeR]

Stay away from any fast Focus then - it's like you're sat on the car rather than in it, I couldn't deal with that on a daily basis at all! My girlfriends old Swift Sport was the same, just a fraction too high, apart from that it was a brilliant little car though

[culpz]

AmosMoses said:

A scirocco would maybe fit the bill? I have one as a daily and you can really get the seat nice and low.

This would be a good shout. I really miss the low-slung driving position of mine. I know the Scirocco is just a Golf in a frock really, but i'd still consider it a coupe because of the seating position and the visibility, or lack of it.

[a]

Our Audi TT Mk3 with "super-sport seats" (seperate front/rear base tilt) felt nice and low. I don't know if a TT is what you're looking for in a hot hatch, as it's not really the most fun car to drive, but seat height wasn't an issue.

We now have an F55 (2014+) MINI and for the first time in any car I've ever driven, I actually considered raising the seat up slightly from the lowest position! I didn't do it... But I considered it. A Cooper S would make a nice hot hatch - even our Cooper D is great fun and full of personality.

[Squirrelofwoe]

dmitry said:

So I'm sitting now wondering, is there a hot hatch around that has fairly low mounted seats? I think DC2 Integras were made this way but they are now becoming thin on the ground, is there anything else?

If you've not yet had one of these, this really is the answer. The low seating position is better than in many dedicated 'sports cars', and is just part of a rather incredible package (screaming B18c engine, seam-welded chassis, thinner window glass, mechanical LSD etc). To me it makes the excellent EP3 feel very ordinary & watered-down in comparison.

Plenty of well looked-after examples out there and whilst their prices have crept up they are still reasonable value and you certainly aren't going to lose any money on one.

[Ultrafunkula]

My Audi S3 is very low seated compared with other hatches I've driven, so I'd imagine the VW Golf R would be low too.

[scherzkeks]

Ultrafunkula said:

My Audi S3 is very low seated compared with other hatches I've driven, so I'd imagine the VW Golf R would be low too.

Which one? I had an 8P Sportback for about a year and while the car was generally very good in most respects, the driving position was pretty horrid, being too high and too cramped if the driver was near 6 foot and wanted a reasonable reach to the wheel.

[Alex]

The seating position in the new Civic Type-R is 5cm lower than the previous model. Probably still not coupe-low though...