Best Hot Hatch of the 21st Century – vote here

[BenLowden]

GPH said:

@ BenLowden , this needs to go on the front page latest news, otherwise most people will not see it if they don't look again at the old nominations thread

Should be up there today or within the next few days

[GPH]

Plate spinner said:

Well I voted for it because it’s the daftest and I like the story about it.

VW: we’re going to develop a 3ltr Lupo
Renault: right, hold my beer
.....
Renault: oh, that was code for a super-efficient 3ltr/100km eco diesel model... ah, I see.
By the way nice matching lab coats...
Well fk it, we’ve built ours now with a mid-engined V6.
And it’s a bit mental... <lights Gauloises>

The V6 is the ultimate bonkers hatch and yes the VW Lupo story is true but only the other way around!
It was VW who got wind of Renault building a "3-litre" Clio and in their logical German minds assumed it was a high economy car forgetting Renault's reputation for building mad motorsport inspired cars.

Peter Dron was the journalist who went to the VW Press Conference to unveil the record breaking Lupo "3 litres per 100km" at a Motorshow and was proudly told VW could match Renault's new economy car only for Peter to explain to the engineer the reality of the Clio to be unveiled later that day...…… He wrote about it in EVO magazine at the time.
I wonder if zee Germans saw zee funny side

Edited by GPH on Friday 6th December 12:00

[Zetec-S]

Baldchap said:

Zetec-S said:

It was a close run decision as I almost went with the Mk5 Golf GTI. It might not be "the best"...

The 7 is twice the car the 5 was. The only reason the 5 was noteworthy is because the car before it was dogst.

Shame there's no 'none of the above' option.

Read the rest of my post. My point about the Mk5 Golf GTI was that it (and the Mk2 Focus ST) breathed new life into a stale market segment and helped bring the hot hatch back into the mainstream, rather than limited more towards enthusiasts. They then paved the way for others to follow, including future iterations of their own model. Of course the Mk7 is better than the Mk5, it has a decade of progress behind it.

[frayz]

Torn between the R26-R, the Trophy and the 172 Cup.

R26-R for me though, the ultimate expression of a hot hatch.

But the one thing about it should be that its a cheap fun car available to all. For that reason the 172 Cup got my vote. Its everything a hot hatch should be. available for pennies and frankly you cant have more fun for less money.

[Leins]

Four Clios, but no MINIs?

Of that list, it’s the R26R for me though

[Plate spinner]

GPH said:

Plate spinner said:

Well I voted for it because it’s the daftest and I like the story about it.

VW: we’re going to develop a 3ltr Lupo
Renault: right, hold my beer
.....
Renault: oh, that was code for a super-efficient 3ltr/100km eco diesel model... ah, I see.
By the way nice matching lab coats...
Well fk it, we’ve built ours now with a mid-engined V6.
And it’s a bit mental... <lights Gauloises>

The V6 is the ultimate bonkers hatch and yes the VW Lupo story is true but only the other way around!
It was VW who got wind of Renault building a "3-litre" Clio and in their logical German minds assumed it was a high economy car forgetting Renault's reputation for building mad motorsport inspired cars.

Peter Dron was the journalist who went to the VW Press Conference to unveil the record breaking Lupo "3 litres per 100km" at a Motorshow and was proudly told VW could match Renault's new economy car only for Peter to explain to the engineer the reality of the Clio to be unveiled later that day...…… He wrote about it in EVO magazine at the time.
I wonder if zee Germans saw zee funny side

Edited by GPH on Friday 6th December 12:00

Ah fair enough, my version sounds like a fourth-hand account told and heard whilst pissed after a 5 hour lunch!

Still, there’s nothing quite like a dig in the ribs for the utterly serious corporate machine that is the German Car Industry

[tony dumble]

Megane r26r
Having owned loads of hot hatches in my time and being a current owner of the awesome megane r26r it’s a shame really as a lot of people have never owned driven of even seen an r26r in the flesh truly is a capable and amazing car

Edited by tony dumble on Friday 6th December 13:25

[Chris V6 255]

Heart says V6 or R26.R but head voted with Trophy.

I would have probably voted R26.R as they are possibly my all time fav RS model however the 'Best Hot Hatch' in my opinion still has to have the ability to do the practical stuff too ie transport 4 people & shopping.

Similar scenario with the V6, it’s more mid engined GT car than a Hot Hatch.


I have been lucky enough to own a few off the list

EP3 Type R, Mk5 GTI, various Clio 172's & 2 x Clio V6's

There is definitely a trophy shaped hole in my Hot Hatch collection, maybe I need to get onto it now before the prices start to go really silly.

[PaulJC84]

I voted r26r and have an r26 and really enjoy it so would love to try the step up.

[Fermit and Sexy Sarah]

frayz said:

But the one thing about it should be that its a cheap fun car available to all. For that reason the 172 Cup got my vote. Its everything a hot hatch should be. available for pennies and frankly you cant have more fun for less money.

That's the thing, new it was an absolute steal, £12,995, less than two grand less than the regular one. IIRC, it was at the time the fastest accelerating car on sale under £20k.

[RT7500]

Fermit and Sexy Sarah said:

That's the thing, new it was an absolute steal, £12,995, less than two grand less than the regular one. IIRC, it was at the time the fastest accelerating car on sale under £20k.

Yes I I think it even out accelerated the Clio V6 iirc.

Even by modern standards the 172 cup still goes well. I recorded this 0-60 time in mine recently and it’s covered over 100k miles:

[Hol]

frayz said:

Torn between the R26-R, the Trophy and the 172 Cup.

R26-R for me though, the ultimate expression of a hot hatch.

But the one thing about it should be that its a cheap fun car available to all. For that reason the 172 Cup got my vote. Its everything a hot hatch should be. available for pennies and frankly you cant have more fun for less money.

That's because there are no Scoobies allowed.

[Hol]

182 Trophy for me.

I currently own a warmed over R26 (full weight) and we also owned a 182 FF Cup pack when they were new, so I was torn, but I only bought my Megane, because I couldn't find a 182 Trophy in budget.

The realisation, that I originally looked for a Trophy first swayed it for me.

[thelostboy]

Fermit and Sexy Sarah said:

That's the thing, new it was an absolute steal, £12,995, less than two grand less than the regular one. IIRC, it was at the time the fastest accelerating car on sale under £20k.

Indeed.

Also, the Cup feels pared back, but not to the point where it's totally compromised. It is still a proper hot hatch in all ways, with 5 seats and a boot.

I have been in an R26R and it's bonkers, but I personally hated the turbo noise. It can also lap faster than a Cup, but isn't more fun.

[anonymous-user]

Fermit and Sexy Sarah said:

frayz said:

But the one thing about it should be that its a cheap fun car available to all. For that reason the 172 Cup got my vote. Its everything a hot hatch should be. available for pennies and frankly you cant have more fun for less money.

That's the thing, new it was an absolute steal, £12,995, less than two grand less than the regular one. IIRC, it was at the time the fastest accelerating car on sale under £20k.

Completely agree. I posted the following in the nomination thread. I think the price to performance is unmatched.

mstrbkr said:

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

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 scanned a page from the original brochure where all the changes are listed. Sorry for the size but the text would be difficult to read if the image were smaller. There are some other good pages in there if anyone wants to see more.

[Fermit and Sexy Sarah]

RT7500 said:

Yes I I think it even out accelerated the Clio V6 iirc.

Even by modern standards the 172 cup still goes well. I recorded this 0-60 time in mine recently and it’s covered over 100k miles:

When in mine I once had a play with a V6 in front of me, stuck with him all the way.

[Fermit and Sexy Sarah]

thelostboy said:

Indeed.

Also, the Cup feels pared back, but not to the point where it's totally compromised. It is still a proper hot hatch in all ways, with 5 seats and a boot.

I have been in an R26R and it's bonkers, but I personally hated the turbo noise. It can also lap faster than a Cup, but isn't more fun.

Strictly speaking it's a 4 seater, the middle belt was removed as part of the weight reduction, so only 4 belts.

[Tickle]

mstrbkr said:

I scanned a page from the original brochure where all the changes are listed. Sorry for the size but the text would be difficult to read if the image were smaller. There are some other good pages in there if anyone wants to see more.

That's great, can't imagine many modern hot hatch manufacturers detailing things like; front and rear track width, castor angle revisions and weight reduction as selling points.

[Hol]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

Surely. as petrol heads we should all be buying cars for the grin factor gained from driving them, rather than what they look like (compared to a less able but pretty alternative).

[Tallow]

Now that's a Renauly-heavy list