Which hot hatch?

[Mike 402]

Hi all,

My mum is looking to replace her R53 Cooper S in the next few months. I've drawn up a short list of the following to have a look at:

Mini Cooper S
Fiesta ST
Abarth 500

Is there anything else to consider? She doesn't really need a hot hatch but she likes them so why not. Does anyone have any ownership experiences they can share of the ST or 500?

Cheers

[ecsrobin]

Is she looking at new or used. I own an Abarth 595 so happy to share my experiences but I’m led to believe my newer car has come a long way from the car of a few years ago.

[CJG1]

Depending how much shes spending, The new Polo GTI looks amazing! 200bhp from a de tuned 2.0 TSI Golf R engine.

[ZX10R NIN]

Clio RS
Peugeot 208 GTI

Both should be near the top after the ST

[jacethemutt]

CJG1 said:

Depending how much shes spending, The new Polo GTI looks amazing! 200bhp from a de tuned 2.0 TSI Golf R engine.

Think it's the Golf GTI engine not the R? The one with 230bhp as standard?

[RSTurboPaul]

What does she like about hot hatches?

The compact size?
Straight-line speed?
Secure handling?

Or that 'fun' feeling and the ability to hang the arse out with lift-off oversteer on wet roundabouts? lol


Polo GTi seems to be well-rated as a 'safe' hot hatch, in that it's not actually that exciting to drive round corners, whereas something like the i30N is highly rated as been a riot to drive it like you stole it everywhere, because it feels like it wants to be driven that way.

The latter I have always thought is the case for hot Renaults, and more recently, the fast Peugeots seem to be getting back into that groove. If she just wants to go fast on the motorway or be able to have some power off the line, she may not want something that feels like the back is going to come round if she lifts off mid-corner. lol