Hot Hatchbacks

[Beemer-5]

Aren't these cars losing their way a little, if they are getting up towards 1400 and even 1500 kgs now?
I love a lot of the latest ones, but the weights seem to be rising the whole time.

Edited by Beemer-5 on Friday 23 February 12:06

[minimax]

i'm not in to modern hot hatches at all...about the only one I like is the Renaultsport Clio 182 Cup and that's because it's stripped out!

[900T-R]

Beemer-5 said:

Aren't these cars losing their way a little

More than a little, I would say, if judged by traditioal hot hatch standards.

One could however argue that the family hatchback-based ones are really the successors to the BMW 325i, Saab 900 Turbo, Audi Quattro/S2, Sapphire Cosworth et cetera of yore - being more 'GT' than 'GTI' if you catch my drift, and as a consequence regard stuff like Fiat Panda Abarths, Suzuki Swift Sports, anything up to and including the Renaultsport Clios as the new core of hot hatchdom. A MINI Cooper S would sit somewhere inbetween the two camps in that universe, which leaves the Civic Type-R which can't seem to decide whether it wants to be a stripped-for-action, hardcore action hero or a grown-up, sophisticated sporting family hatch - pretty much defining the problem with that particular car.

[Beemer-5]

I see, so putting the VW Golf R32, Audi S3, Ford Focus ST, VW Golf Mk5 GTI, etc., in a group above 'hot hatch'?
I spose, yeah.

Where would an Astra VXR or Seat Leon Cuppra (both 237 bhp) sit? They are quite fiery.

[Beemer-5]

The reason for the question, many hot hatches now weigh as much or more than my M3 CSL, which seems a bit silly.

Edited by Beemer-5 on Friday 23 February 14:56

[Polarbert]

minimax said:

i'm not in to modern hot hatches at all...about the only one I like is the Renaultsport Clio 182 Cup and that's because it's stripped out!

Friend, its only about 25 kilos lighter than mine you know! I know you were loving doing 140 in mine with me last year!

[Polarbert]

My clio has a kerb weight of 1090kg or thereabouts.

I believe the 172 cup tips the scales at under a ton. Thats the daddy of the hot hatches. Better than a 182 cup by miles.

[Beemer-5]

Hot hatch daddies?

1980s. The Sunbeam Talbot Lotus i had. Unmatched at the time.
1990s. My Escort RS Cosworth. (If it counts as a hot hatch!)
2000s. Too hard to say. Civic Type R or 172 Cup must get a shout.

[Balmoral Green]

Beemer-5 said:

Hot hatch daddies?

205 1.9 GTi
Fiat Strada 130TC Abarth
MG Maestro EFi (no sniggering at the back, LJK rated the car, and that is the word of God)
BX 16 valve

I remember Car magazine did a giant test back in the eighties, and it really was a giant test, they had something like two dozen hot hatches assembled. The GTE/XR3/Golf were all at the bottom, yet they were the most popular sellers.

Ian is right though, all fat lard arses these days.

[Beemer-5]

Numbers one and four in your list there, were in my garage Warren. 1988 and 1991.
The BX 16 Valve was very underrated. It was a bit big for a hot hatch but i did 107,000 miles in mine. Nice 160 bhp motor.

[Beemer-5]

Of the 2007 hatches, the Renault R26 seems to be about the best.

Decent lsd and a great chassis combine with 230 bhp and high torque.