Am I a heretic? I just don't like hot-hatches

[bennettse2025]

I don't dislike them but many of them don't do it for me. I get the appeal but I can think of many other things I'd rather spend my money on. I think I'm going off hatches altogether tbh, which is odd as the majority of the cars I've owned have been hatches

[Ron99]

irocfan said:

Am I alone in this?

You're not alone.

[Ron99]

charltjr said:

I’m not a huge fan of RWD. There, I said it.

You're not alone, either.

[Ron99]

Years ago I liked hot hatches but nowadays my fetish is for small, modestly-powered, front-wheel drive.

[Test driver]

I love hot hatches, great mix of practicality, fun and you can usually modify them to get very good performance.

Astra gte
Pug 306 gti
Focus st
Golf r32
Civic type r

All great motors.

[nickfrog]

I don't care about the shape, but care more about the driving experience, the set up and trackability. If the ideal car happens to be a hatch, so be it.

[Tannedbaldhead]

stuckmojo said:

I liked old school hot hatches, light weight and chuckable.

a 1,500 kg honda turbo fwd excites me as much as filing a tax return.

Drop a class into something Fiesta ST sized and the problem is solved.

I enjoy them.

[Pica-Pica]

Nickbrapp said:

I don’t like BMWs especially the m140i

I like, and own BMWs, but don’t like the 1 series shape, to long a nose. Other hatch backs OK, but I don’t like hatches that look over the top ‘hot’.

[V8RX7]

Ron99 said:

Years ago I liked hot hatches but nowadays my fetish is for small, modestly-powered, front-wheel drive.

So 90's hot hatches

[downsman]

A hot hatch is a boring family car modified to be sporty. It is nothing like a proper sportscar to drive, but can be very fast and fun.

In the 80s had a Fiat Abarth 130TC, and it was fun to drive, but compared to the Westfield Sei I had at the same time, it was nowhere near as much fun.

I don't dislike hot hatches, if you can only own one car, they are probably your best bet if you want fun affordable motoring. But please don't say they are better for an enthusiast driver than a proper sportscar.

In the early 2000s I had to swap my Elan Sprint for a Civic Type R. Compared to the Elan the Civic was very disappointing.

[vikingaero]

I'm not a fan of mundane supercars - Astons, Fezzas etc. Sure I like hypercars, but supercars are too common. I suppose it's s combination of having lived and worked in London for too long.

[alpha channel]

Clearly not he only one. the only hot hatches I've ever had a hankering for are the 205 and the 306 otherwise I've always have been and always will be a coupe fan.

[TameRacingDriver]

They certainly have their uses, but I’d rather have a slow sports car (MR2, MX5, GT86 etc) for fun than a fast hatchback. Any day of the week.

[Twotyred]

My last was a mark 2 Astra.modern hatches are too heavy and over tyred.if they ever move about it means the electronics is failing and if it's out of warranty that's real expensive.they used to be light and cheap.Maybe enthusiasts need to move to older, simple cars,front or rear drive.a westfield feels fast at 50, pressing on it feels like a space ship.my family car doesn't even have antilock brakes and I love driving it every time.

[AmosMoses]

Go drive one, you will then change your mind!

[M4CK 1]

TameRacingDriver said:

They certainly have their uses, but I’d rather have a slow sports car (MR2, MX5, GT86 etc) for fun than a fast hatchback. Any day of the week.

I love driving little hot hatches. It's Really down to how you drive them. If you drive them in like a rwd car, there not much fun.
I found when driving a rwd car wasn't much fun as fwd hot hatch as I was getting to much understeer in comparison. I had to change my driving style. So instead of driving on the nose of the car I had to slow down before the corner and power out.

[Exige77]

kambites said:

For me it depends on what you mean by "like". If I needed a family car to carry the family and associated paraphernalia around I'd buy a hot hatch, but I would never buy one purely for "fun" if I didn't need the practicality... which is why we have an Octavia VRS and an Elise; the family have been away for the last 5 weeks and hence the only times the Octavia has left the garage were to be taken for a new set of tyres and then for its MoT. The Elise is my commuter car, especially in this weather.

Edited by kambites on Saturday 21st July 11:00

People like you can’t give a proper ballanced response to this thread

Once you’ve had a Lotus, a hot hatch is just pants. Hot hatches might be fast but not really fun.

Nothing like a Norfolk bath tub in this fine weather.

Edited by Exige77 on Saturday 21st July 18:47

[M4CK 1]

Exige77 said:

People like you can’t give a proper ballanced response to this thread

Once you’ve had a Lotus, a hot hatch is just pants. Might be fast but not really fun.

Nothing like a Norfolk bath tub in this fine weather.

Most rwd cars and fwd cars can't be compared to a lotus, though finding the limits on the road you need to be seriously brave.
Hot hatches when driven with commitment on there toes as such, are a real buzz.

[Gary C]

irocfan said:

I find them totally uninspiring to look at.

So what, if they drive well.

Looks of a hatch is missing the point. Utility vehicles that drive well what's not to like, good for the run to the tip, and a blast back.

Yes, I like my rwd coupe or a 911 but a nice hot hatch while never being an object of desire, is a great tool to own and just thrash the nuts off, even better with some battle scars !

[kambites]

M4CK 1 said:

Most rwd cars and fwd cars can't be compared to a lotus, though finding the limits on the road you need to be seriously brave.
Hot hatches when driven with commitment on there toes as such, are a real buzz.

That depends on the type fo hot hatch. A Golf R or even some of the FWD hot hatches in that category will be capable of carrying far more speed than an Elise if driven to the limits. Obviously a Suzuki Swift Sport wont.

Frankly almost any proper hot hatch would show my Elise a clean pair of heels around a track.