5 Door Budget Hot Hatch

[Osmoliver]

Apologies if the title is a contradiction. I appreciate that a 5 door hatchback is not going to be as hot as its 3 door counterpart.

Anyway, my question is what is the best 5 door budget hatchback?

Your typical go to hot hatch is a Renault Clio 172/182 or a Honda Civic Type R, but as far as I'm aware they are 3 door only.

I used to have a 3 door Toyota Yaris T Sport and I know 5 doors are available. A VW Golf GTI is an obvious good 5 door hatch.

But what's the best 5 door hatchback for under £3k? I.e. Could dice with a Clio/Civic on a track day, be fun to bash up and down B roads and also be good for nipping around town.

[Blanchimont]

5dr Focus ST in budget? May be a little leggy, but worth a look

[Osmoliver]

Blanchimont said:

5dr Focus ST in budget? May be a little leggy, but worth a look

Great shout! A 2005 onwards Focus ST will be very leggy to be in budget, but if you paid a little more I don't think it'll be something that loses much value. Finding one that's not been abused may be a challenge.

[darren9]

Skoda Octavia vrs
The mk2 is a golf gti in a bigger, more practical body.

[ZX10R NIN]

I'd say you need to up your budget to 3.5-4k & you can get a decent Focus ST/Golf GTi.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

MK5's Golfs come in at pretty much on or under budget:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

Or it's a MK4 GTI which is a hard sell as a hot hatch or the ST170 which will handle better but is no ball of fire but they can be bought for around 1.5k.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

ST170

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[Mo28]

How about a Mazda 3 MPS

[Ian Geary]

You could get a leggy Renaultsport megane 225 for that money?

[Justinas]

Question - why a hatchback?

[Mr Tidy]

There must be loads of Seat Leon Cupras in that budget - I loved mine!

But there must also be loads of Octavia VRs's too.

[Osmoliver]

darren9 said:

Skoda Octavia vrs
The mk2 is a golf gti in a bigger, more practical body.

The Octavia vRS is a good idea. Their boots are incredibly practical too!

ZX10R NIN - Agreed that the budget would have to be stretched for a nice Focus ST. There's nothing wrong with the Golf GTI mk4/5, but it just doesn't excite me. I don't feel like I want to own one.

Mo28 said:

How about a Mazda 3 MPS

I don't know much about them. From a very brief google, they sound like a good car?

Ian Geary said:

You could get a leggy Renaultsport megane 225 for that money?

I've looked at these for a while and been tempted to pull the trigger. The build quality puts me off. You never hear of how dependable/reliable a Megane is. Plus I'd only be going for the Megane over a Clio 172/182 because it has more doors.

Justinas said:

Question - why a hatchback?

Great question! No particular reason. I have a Mk1 Mx-5 and a BMW Z3, so just something more practical. I don't really want a saloon/estate though because they're typically heavier and slower unless you have a bigger engine which then suffers from higher fuel consumption.

Mr Tidy said:

There must be loads of Seat Leon Cupras in that budget - I loved mine!

But there must also be loads of Octavia VRs's too.

The Leon is probably better looking than the vRS, but I kind of like a car that's a little bit of a sleeper.

[ZX10R NIN]

The Mazda3 MPS is a good shout as long as the one you're looking at has had the timing chain done, if it hasn't budget this into the overall cost, they're normally enthusiast owned so look for lots of receipts.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

[RSTurboPaul]

ZX10R NIN said:

The Mazda3 MPS is a good shout as long as the one you're looking at has had the timing chain done, if it hasn't budget this into the overall cost, they're normally enthusiast owned so look for lots of receipts.

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

I spotted that one while browsing earlier - it's cheap, almost half the price of most of the other 'cheap' ones on there, so I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing!

[HTP99]

Ian Geary said:

You could get a leggy Renaultsport megane 225 for that money?

Ooh no, and I have sold them and still sell Renault, they do not age well at all, it will be likely a bag of nails.

[Dift]

An R55 Clubman S is technically a 4 door, but can be had for budget. Make sure the timing chain has been done on the N14 engine.

[ajguk]

I had a mk1 MPS, which I loved until it started misfiring and no one seemed to be able to diagnose it. Went through new plugs, coil packs, timing chain had already been done, and never got to the bottom of it. Watch the VVT actuator(?) too, these are a common fault.

Ridiculous road tax too so factor that in. £500+ per year on a £3k car doesn't really add up to me.

Great cars when they're going, very quick, and not as bad torque steer as eveyone will tell you.