Budget hot hatch

[J6XRD]

So...
5 grand budget
Petrol turbo
Golf and a3 out of the question
Nothing french
Easily tuneable
Thrill to drive

My choice:
Seat Leon Cupra R 225 MK1
Focus mk2 ST225
Astra H VXR
Corsa D VXR

Which one and why?

Suggestions on other cars?

Edited by J6XRD on Friday 21st April 01:33

[Packrats]

Civic type r even though it's not turbo. 3k Ish for a tidy car .then spend around 2k for a turbo or charger conversion.proper little weapon then ..

[rayyan171]

Focus ST. Lovely Inline-5 engine.

[Blayney]

Why no French?

[egor110]

Blayney said:

Why no French?

Exactly , you might get a trophy for £5000 or get a 182 or cup for half the budget and you have a snagging fund or improve the handling/stopping.

[clowesy]

From your list I'd have the Focus because it has the most interesting engine, but in my opinion it still feels like a lazy cruiser rather than a hot hatch. My choice would be a Megane R26 as it's the best to drive of that generation. It's a great setup out of the box with an LSD, good brakes and the Perfohub front suspension... I'd sooner burn the money than spend it on an Astra.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say get the ST225 it's a cracking car, but I will say even if you want to leave it standard change the Intercooler in standard form it's just not up to the job, but don't discount the Megane it's a very good car & the wildcard is the Astra it's underrated & has a healthy following.

2006 Focus ST-3

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2015...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2008 Megane F1 R26 (with your price point this is the Megane to have)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2008 Astra VXR (these are good value for the money)

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2006 Golf GTI

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Leftfield

A3 3.2

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2016...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2008 Mazda 3 MPS

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

2007 Tuned Leon Cupra

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Edited by ZX10R NIN on Friday 21st April 12:07

[HJMS123]

I owned an R26 Megane and they will handle better than almost any hot hatch within your budget. To exploit the handling you need to regularly track the car or at least hit plenty of B roads throughout the week imo and I never hence why I sold it.

I'd get the best ST3 spec focus I could find within budget however most will be high mileage/ropey examples or ST2's and I personally couldn't live with those fabric seats.

EP3 Type R would probably be the most reliable but also feel the slowest.

You could get the best Leon Cupra R in the country for your budget however nearly all of them have mega mileage if that's something that bothers you.

[GreatGranny]

My £5k would be going on this.

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2017...

Yes I know it's a little predictable but IMO it's the best all round "hot hatch" there is.

And who can resist tartan seats? :-)

Also easily tunable,. £500 should get you to 240-250 bhp.

[J6XRD]

What about the Corsa VXR?
Not far over a tonne and stage 1 map to about 220 bhp must go like stink

[Ahbefive]

Focus ST3 no question. Great cars and very playful too. Best engine of any hot hatch from that era by far.

[_Rich_]

J6XRD said:

What about the Corsa VXR?
Not far over a tonne and stage 1 map to about 220 bhp must go like stink

I had one for 3 years, still one of my favourite cars I've owned. mod wise I only changed the exhaust to remus for the pops and bangs. Really was a daft yet fun car.

[AdamFX]

_Rich_ said:

J6XRD said:

What about the Corsa VXR?
Not far over a tonne and stage 1 map to about 220 bhp must go like stink

I had one for 3 years, still one of my favourite cars I've owned. mod wise I only changed the exhaust to remus for the pops and bangs. Really was a daft yet fun car.

This. Great car, despite the pasting they tend to get on here.

[J6XRD]

Think ive narrowed it down to the Astra H VXR and Focus ST 225 and my wildcard would be the Corsa VXR.

Reasons against the others:

Megane r26
- looks and interior arent to my taste
- its french

Seat leon cupra r mk1
-1.8 from what ive read is a bit boring in its power delivery
-Prefer a 3 door
-Interior looks a bit dated to me

Astra G GSI
-NO!

Golf mk5 gti
-Find them boring and a bit dull
-Not into my VAG

Audi A3
-Same again
-Like a boat
-All the weight infront of the front wheels no thanks
-Common as muck

Mazda 3 MPS
-Hard to find a decent one for the price
-Dont know much about them

Seat leon cupra mk2
-Cant stand these cars think theyre ugly

Civic type r EP3
-Sorry but i need a turbo

Clio 172/182
-french
-same again, i am in dyer need of a turbo

Why i picked the three:

Focus ST
-5 Pot turbo ohhhh yeahhh
-FastFords appeal to me
-big fan of the looks
-independent rear suspension
-easily tuneable
-love the st3 interior
-low down torque

Astra VXR
-Big fan of the looks
-Love the sound
-apparently a blast to drive
-good driving position (low down)
-Seats look ace
-Tuneable
-Old school 4 pot turbo
-Supposed to be a bit of a handful (what im after really)

Corsa VXR
-Love the looks
-Sounds ace on a decent exhaust system
-Lightweight and capable of decent power
-Good on the twisties apparently
-Dont mind sacrificing the space
-Fairly cheap to modify/work on
-Only heard good things about this car (bar all the unreliability claims)
-Would preferr something a bit more raw than refined like the above two
-THE SEATS!!!!

[InitialDave]

I don't follow, you're ok with the Seat, but not the A3 or Golf? They're basically the same thing.

[J6XRD]

Like the looks of the mk1 cupra r dont see many of them about and A3 's are just common AS. And the Golf GTI just looks like a golf, does nothing for me.

[Ahbefive]

Drive all 3. You will but the ST.

[rayyan171]

J6XRD said:

What about the Corsa VXR?
Not far over a tonne and stage 1 map to about 220 bhp must go like stink

Honestly appreciate the VXR, coming from a BMW fan, as it simply is a very capable car compared to the competition, and handles great too. Strong engine with very capable performance, a chip tune can easily get it into MK 7 GTI specs, and more tuning may get it within Golf R specs.

[Blanchimont]

If you're looking at Corsa VXR's, what about the Abarth Punto?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2009-Abarth-Grande-Punto...

It looks like the EsseEsse version with 180bhp. maps to about 220IIRC.

Also, if you like driving fast above all else, the Megane is the car to have. Yes it's french, but out of the box it's the most sorted, maps to around 280ish, and has the best brakes, a proper diff, it's light and there's a reason why there are loads of Mk2 and MK3 Megane RS' at tracks.

If you want a great noise, with decent pace, then the Focus is the one to have. After driving one I found the focus reasonably quick, but didn't feel as alive as the Megane did.