
When it comes to the balance of performance, cost and daily usability, no other type of performance car does it better than the not-so-humble, full-sized hot hatchback.
The idea of taking a regular family hatchback and turning it into a performance car is now time-honoured and remains popular with enthusiast buyers in the UK especially.
Volkswagen assumed ownership of the concept with the Mk1 Golf GTI of 1976, although students of the segment will tell you that the hot hatchback niche was founded earlier by either Simca or Autobianchi. Whoever went there first, most manufacturers now have one of these fundamentally enjoyable cars in their line-up.
From mega-power German luxo-hatches to newcomers from Hyundai, the segment has never offered so much choice. Creating some semblance of order, here are our top 10 picks.
1. Toyota GR Yaris
The top-ranking entry on this list may stretch the definition of a 'full-sized' hot hatchback that you've only just read, but you can believe it when you read that Toyota's incredible new rally-bred Yaris deserves top billing here in any case. It may not offer quite the space and usability of the rest of the cars on this list, but it yields little if anything to anything to most of them on real-world point-to-point pace or driver reward. Since it's also priced more like a full-sized hot hatchback option than a 'pocket rocket' hot supermini and also punches well beyond its weight in terms of outright performance, it makes sense to include it here instead of elsewhere.
This car had a fascinating development, having been first intended as a rally homologation car but then falling victim to a WRC rule change that could have killed the project stone dead. That it made production anyway says much about Toyota boss Akio Toyoda's commitment to change the perception of the brand for which he is responsible, by bringing exciting new driver's cars into its model range at multiple levels.
The GR Yaris is just one of those cars. It has a 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine making 257bhp, and a four-wheel drive system with optional mechanical torque-vectoring if you want them that makes the car capable of 0-62mph in just 5.5sec. It also has a chassis and suspension developed with input from Toyota Gazoo Racing's WRC team that is perfectly tuned for fast B-road driving in just about any weather.
With a communicative controls, surefooted cornering balance, and an uncanny dynamic composure that eggs you on to greater speeds and more amusement wherever and whenever you can get it, the GR Yaris is a very rare and special affordable performance car of a kind that has fallen out of fashion somewhat, but we're delighted it see it rekindled so successfully.
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2. Honda Civic Type R
The performance car market's best hot front-driver isn’t such a financial stretch when you consider the price of some of the other cars in this list. The Honda Civic Type R is a seriously involving effort from Honda. It gives you grip when you need it, handling adjustability when you go looking for it, plenty of control feedback, as well as a spectacular turbocharged engine and outstanding practicality too.
That combination yields sensational driver appeal that invites you to exploit everything this car has to offer as often as you can get away with. Honda revised the car for 2020, adding a very special Limited Edition fitted with revised suspension mountings and Michelin Cup tyres among other things - but we still prefer the standard Type R.
A less aggressive-looking track-biased car with a greater focus on cabin quality than hardcore dynamism might have been a bigger seller, but it wouldn’t have been half as compelling to drive. Nor would it be one of the most exciting and capable hot hatchbacks that can currently be bought.
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What about....?
Now that we’ve decided or Autocar has are the top ten, what’s top three ugliest...?
lol no Peugeot 308 GTI and
lol no Peugeot 308 GTI and Megane 4 RS but crap like Golf GTI, Octavia RS and I30N, your french bashing makes you lose the little credibility you had
SuprêmeLion wrote:
Considering Evo Magazine commended both the Peugeot and Renault for their highly involved driving experiences, it’s a shame that autocar continue to undermine these excellent hot hatch offerings in favour of the completely dull Octavia RS. The consistency just doesn’t add up when they give the i30N a three star review and the Peugeot a four but yet don’t list it in the top ten. Both Autocar and their sister site Whatcar? are always bashing French made cars, which is quite confusing when other magazines like Evo have spoken so highly of them. Hopefully the new 508 might change some minds.
good bit of german...
can't beat these german machines, golf r and golf gti are excellent cars.
i think what youve forgotten is that cars also have to be judged on their comfort, reliability and interior (besides the extras). vw have thrashed every time on this (that includes audi, seat and skoda) with mercedes coming in close pursuit then the likes of honda and hyundai giving a good try at getting there.
practicality puts this list in a right order apart from 1 and 2 need to be swapped....
maybe next time autocar:
1. VW Golf R
2. Honda Civic R
3. Hyundai i30n
4. Mercedes-AMG a35 4matic+
5. Audi RS3 Sportback
6. Skoda Octavia VRS 245
7. Seat Leon Cupra
8. VW Golf GTI
9. Renault Sport Megane RS 280
10. BMW M140i
i know a lot about cars wrote
have to agree with you on that. if i were you though i would remove the renault all together and put a Seat Leon Cupra 280 in there, after all it would whip every time.
i know a lot about cars wrote
Ah 50 shades of VAG but no room for a Fiesta or Focus ST...