Top 10 best hot hatches 2019

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2. Volkswagen Golf R

Upping the pace and excitement quotient of the Golf GTI while delivering daily usability alien to any other fast hatchback on the market is what the Golf R excels at. This is a car that blends the classy sophistication and roundedness that you’d expect of a Volkswagen with first-order rawness, handling dynamism and sheer driver appeal – and four-wheel drive stability gets chucked in for good measure.

The car lacks the aural drama of the old R32’s V6, and its ride is greatly improved by the optional addition of adaptive dampers. But get the specification right and you’ll find this is one hot hatchback that you can drive every day, for any journey, without it wearing you down or tiring you out. That’s a rare trick indeed for any hot hatchback – and it makes the Golf R a uniquely talented car.

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3. Renault Sport Mégane RS 280

The fourth-generation Mégane RS isn’t a hot hatch for pretenders; with Cup chassis specced, this is a hard-riding, sharp-edged B-road weapon that demands some serious commitment if you’re to get the best out of it.

Four-wheel steering virtually shortens its wheelbase through tighter bends and makes for super-incisive handling, while hydraulic bumpstops ensure the suspension can take any punishment you’re prepared to dish out. Meanwhile the car’s 1.8-litre four-pot provides plentiful performance - though not as much as a Civic Type R .

Ergonomics aren’t that great, neither’s the cabin in general, and neither is the shift quality of the manual 'box (though it’s preferable to the clumsy paddleshift auto). 

But on the right road, in the right conditions, there’s a lot to like here. And if you’re confident enough to plough your own furrow, ignore the wider market’s preference for the firmer cup version of the car, and order a sport-spec car instead (with its softer suspension much better-suited to everyday use and fast road driving), you’ll get a Megane RS that’s within touching distance of the finest-handling examples of its breed. 

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4. Hyundai i30 N

Ascendant Korean car-maker Hyundai clearly wasn’t interesting in half-measures with its first N-branded performance model, the i30 N. This was the car it hired former BMW M Division engineering supremo Albert Biermann to help make, and then poured huge R&D resources behind.

And, although there are one or two caveats to admit, it didn’t go to all that trouble in vain. The i30 N has surprising hardcore temperament and a real sense of performance purpose, neither of which you expect from a car-maker with so little previous experience in the segment. There’s a really old-school flavour to the weight in its controls, and about the gravelly boost in its power delivery and the increasing firmness in its damping.

If anything, Hyundai went too far with the hardcore tuning of this car – as the i30 N’s firmest and most aggressive suspension, steering and drivetrain modes are too uncompromising, and make it a hard car to read. But at its best – in modest trim level, and set up for pragmatic ease-of-operation rather than out-and-out grip level – it’s an involving, balanced, genuinely appealing driver’s car.

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5. Mercedes-AMG A35 4Matic+

We’re currently between model generations of the walloping Mercedes-AMG A45 mega hatch – but that doesn’t mean there’s no fast A-Class in Mercedes showrooms. The A35 4Matic+ is Affalterbach’s slightly cheaper and more accessible lure for anyone looking for pace, everyday usability, driver appeal and premium brand cache from their hot hatchback.

Using a detuned version of the A45’s turbocharged 2.0-litre motor that produces just over 300-horsepower, and channelling its power to the road via a seven-speed twin-clutch gearbox and both axles, the A35 doesn’t drive like a subordinate performance derivative. It’s seriously fast, surprisingly firm-riding and quite aggressive-feeling for a car intended to be used every day. And yet it also has plenty of on-road handling precision and poise, and a chassis and drivetrain that always combine to find excellent grip and traction, even in slippery conditions.

Add to that the established technoglare appeal of the A-Class’ gadget-laden cabin and Mercedes’ brand allure and you’ve got a package that’s sure to find plenty of showroom success – even if it wouldn’t quite be the car we’d recommend for the ultimate in hot hatchback thrills or for any-weather, any-occasion usability.

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6. Seat Leon Cupra

Seat’s Cupra-branded hot Leon range has been through plenty of change of the last couple of years, having climaxed with the limited-series, now-defunct Cupra R.

Now you can choose between a front-wheel drive chassis and 286bhp of power in the shorter five-door hatchback version, or four-wheel drive and 296bhp of the stuff in the more practical ‘ST’ estate. Neither version is any slouch, though – and unlike the VW Golf R to which it’s otherwise quite closely related, the front-driven version of the Seat uses an electronically locking front diff.

The Leon’s handling is crisp, agile and grippy, though not quite as communicative, balanced or biddable as some in the class. The engine’s a strong suit for the car, revving hard right to the redline and sounding hard-edged.

Added to all that is a pretty convincing bang-for-buck argument for this car, with the five-door version available from under £30,000, and smart, sharp-edged styling that isn’t too chavvy. It makes for plenty to like – though perhaps not quite the incisive driver reward needed to top this chart overall.

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7. Audi RS3 Sportback

Production of Audi Sport’s superheated A3, the RS3 Sportback, is on an emissions-related hiatus at the moment, with an updated WLTP-emissions compliant version returning later in 2019 before the A3 itself is replaced.

The price of Audi’s most junior RS model is likely to be just as colossal when it comes back, mind you, as it was before it left the scene – but what the money gets you is a simply incredible 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine and dual-clutch gearbox. It’s a combination that allowed the 395bhp RS3 to hit 60mph in just 3.9sec during Autocar testing, and dispatch 100mph in less than 10 seconds. That’s double-take stuff for a hatchback and puts the model well into proper sports car territory on acceleration.

If there’s a caveat, it’s a familiar one – the quattro four-wheel-drive system still doesn't contribute much to handling appeal. That said, cross-country pace is utterly mighty and handling is ever-secure. Fitting the optional adaptive dampers is a must if you want a daily-use ride.

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8. Volkswagen Golf GTI

The most iconic hot hatch of them all is not as powerful or hardcore as some – far from it – but it remains desirable, superb on the road and great to own.

Breadth of ability and versatility are its greatest dynamic strengths. However, even in its GTI Performance guise, this ultra-composed Golf has no answer for the agility or incisiveness of a Megane RS of a Civic Type R. It’s perfect for everyday, real-world use each day of the week, however, and it’s also well capable of blowing off the cobwebs come Sunday morning.

If Volkswagen made the Golf GTI a bit more visually assertive and a little more interesting at its limits, then it could give the car the additional joie de vivre it needs to compete in outright terms as a real thriller. As it is, though, few GTI devotees would change this singular successful, long-lived performance icon – and we wouldn’t either.