Best Hot Hatch of the 21st Century – nominations

[DSC OFF]

Clio 172 cup
Mini r53 JCW
GOLF GTI Mk5

[Gio G]

Owned a fair few hot hatches in my past, including many that people have nominated, however my very unpopular choice would be the Audi S1. As it is for me the perfect all rounder, having lived with it over a year.

G

[Seo905lm]

Peugeot 208gti by Peugeot sport.
The best pug since the 205, it goes about things differently but flatters the driver in much the same way.

[Wallby]

Alfa Romeo 147 GTA

[TREMAiNE]

Seo905lm said:

Peugeot 208gti by Peugeot sport.

Took my ARDS test in one of these. Best Pug hatch for a long time but still far from being a great hot hatch, let alone the best hatch of the century.

eftiem64 said:

BMW M140i

The thinking man’s hot hatch.

Having desperately wanted one and trying a friends, I know that this is very much not the thinking man's hot hatch. It's the hot hatch for the man who wants a fast car but either isn't actually interested in how it drives or just wants to be able to say he has one of the fastest cars in class.
If you want to look the best on paper, sure, get an M140i.

If you want to have fun in your car, get anything else.
No personality, the steering doesn't feel great, rear-end badly set up, usual bland BMW interior (which to be fair is ergonomically better than most rivals).

I've never been so underwhelmed by a car. I'd spent years wanting one (well, an M134 and then M140 when it came out). Ended up getting a Mustang which is a worse car in most ways and yet still a better car - though not a fair comparison.

Edited by TREMAiNE on Monday 2nd December 13:30

[LimaDelta]

Since it is the only hot(!) hatch I have owned this century, I nominate the Panda 100hp.

Cheap, light, raw, and fast enough to entertain, but not so fast as to cause licence retention concerns. Feels like an 80s/90s hatch, nonthreatening and anonymous, but still fun to throw around.

[RT7500]

Seo905lm said:

Peugeot 208gti by Peugeot sport.
The best pug since the 205, it goes about things differently but flatters the driver in much the same way.

Nice car but I’d go for a 106 GTI over this. Much more fun and involving

[s m]

RT7500 said:

Seo905lm said:

Peugeot 208gti by Peugeot sport.
The best pug since the 205, it goes about things differently but flatters the driver in much the same way.

Nice car but I’d go for a 106 GTI over this. Much more fun and involving

106 ineligible - launch in last millennium

[jimfacebinface]

Hands down the most fun car I've had was a RenaultSport Clio 200. Absolute screamer down your favourite twisty road, but perfectly civilised and practical enough to take to the shops.

I've since replaced it with a 2015 F56 Mini JCW. Another fantastic car but it lacks the fizz and character that the Clio had.

I'm nominating the Clio 200 Cup.

[RT7500]

s m said:

106 ineligible - launch in last millennium

Yes I was replying to his comment that the 208 GTI by Peugeot sport was the best hot hatch since the 205 GTI. I did go O/T though

My vote is the 172 cup anyway

[GTiWILL]

EP3 Honda Civic Type R

[cerb4.5lee]

jimfacebinface said:

I've since replaced it with a 2015 F56 Mini JCW. Another fantastic car but it lacks the fizz and character that the Clio had.

I've had my 2017 F56 Cooper S from new and it still puts a big smile on my face on a nice back road. The reviews are never that glowing of it though(compared to other hatchbacks), but it is very easy to live with.

[Niffty951]

Gio G said:

Owned a fair few hot hatches in my past, including many that people have nominated, however my very unpopular choice would be the Audi S1. As it is for me the perfect all rounder, having lived with it over a year.

G

Great car. I loved Audi for having the balls to produce it. VW were talking about a Polo R version of the same and when they were thinking of taking deposits I was screaming take my money to my local dealer. I couldn't get behind the looks of the S1, I preferred the Polo as a car and the way VW tune their cars handling but it never came to be.

I do still have a lot of respect for a micro hatch with a 2.0t and 4wd. Off topic but how is it on fuel?

[thenorton]

Honda Civic EK9 Type R

[Z4MCSL]

Clio 182 Cup pack

[JerseyBeans]

Simples......R26R

[Trophy Husband]

I'm guessing that Renault, whichever guise, have this nailed. I'm biased towards the 182 Trophy (how could Jean Ragnotti have got it wrong?; check out his rally driving in Renault cars).

[Tickle]

thenorton said:

Honda Civic EK9 Type R

One of the few hatches missed the boat on. I went DC2 - DC5 - Clio Trophy - Clio 200 cup (had an S2 Elise in-between Integra's too).

In hindsight I should of got an EK9 instead of the DC5, I just didn't rate it over the other hot hatch (coupe's) I'd had.

EK9 is definitely a 20th century car though.

[roystinho]

lemmingjames said:

roystinho said:

The 172 Cup v 182 Trophy thing... is it ok to say stick some better seats and suspension in the 172 as a viable answer in this case? Surely the question is out of the box? So for me, out of the box the Trophy wins

No as then you go down the whole modified vs unmodded route and where do you draw the line?

It wasn’t an actual question, more rhetorical than anything...

To also throw in there, R26.R for pure driving out of the box, incredible machine

[anonymous-user]

Another vote for 172 Cup. I replaced mine with an S2000 but I enjoyed the Clio more.

Not only genuinely quicker than the standard car, it was £2100 (14%) cheaper than the regular 172 (£15095 > £12995).

How many other examples are there of special "track" versions being cheaper than the base car? (Not making a statement. I'm actually wondering).

Renault took parts away (air con, ABS, leather, traction control, xenon lights) and gave those savings straight to the customer. But they also added new parts like the lighter speedline wheels, the cup spoiler, thinner glass, and the unique paint colour.

I think Renault absolutely smashed it with that car.