There are no hitches with our top 10 hot hatches – but which pocket rocket claims the number one spot?
If you’re after the Swiss army knife of performance cars, look no further than the hot hatchback. Blending pace, poise and practicality with a welcome dollop of affordability, these do-it-all adrenaline pumps are hard to beat.
The recipe is fairly simple: take a compact family hatchback and drop in a bigger, more powerful engine before uprating the suspension and brakes to cope. If you’re doing it properly, you will also want to add some natty bodykit parts, not to mention the odd red stripe. The result is a car that can slip as easily into your life as its less muscular siblings yet can turn that frown upside down when you take the long route home after a testing day at the office.
Of course, there’s nothing new about the idea of the hot hatch, but nearly half a century after Volkswagen popularised the genre with its Golf GTI, the pocket rocket concept remains as popular as ever, with many brands having a superheated family runaround on their books.
However, increasingly strict emissions regulations mean the hot hatch is changing. They’re no longer the affordable performance machines they once were, and although internal combustion still rules the roost, but there’s a definite sense that these petrol-engined machines are the last of the breed; and as if to prove the point, there’s an entry in our list that runs on electrons rather than unleaded.
As a result, now is the time to buy one of these quick and versatile cars before they’re legislated out of existence. The question is, which one do you pick? Well, read on as we reveal our top 10 hot hatches.
1. Toyota GR Yaris
Developed initially as a rally homologation special, the GR Yaris was almost dead on arrival when a WRC rule change meant it was no longer strictly needed. In the past, a car like this would have been pushed into the corner and forgotten about, but current Toyota chairman Akio Toyoda is a proper petrolhead and couldn’t see this motorsport-inspired pocket rocket left to rot.
We can only imagine what it cost to develop this bespoke piece of high-performance art, but the brand’s renewed commitment to delivering desirable driver’s cars meant that it was clearly worth rummaging down the back of the sofa for the extra cash.
Underneath its steroidally enhanced body, the GR Yaris has a 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder engine making 257bhp and a four-wheel drive system (with optional mechanical torque-vectoring differentials if you want them) that makes it 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’s perfectly tuned for fast B-road driving in just about any weather.
With 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 previous version of the Honda Civic Type R was one of our favourite hot hatchbacks, so expectations were high for this one – and happily it didn’t disappoint. In many respects, that’s because it isn’t quite as box fresh as you would expect. Like the regular 11th-generation Honda Civic, the exterior and interior are new but the platform is an ‘optimised’ version of its predecessor’s, and that includes the oily bits too.
Under the bonnet, the familiar turbocharged 2.0-litre engine gets a lighter flywheel, revised intake and freer-flowing exhaust that help lift power from 316bhp to 325bhp, while the six-speed manual gearbox has a tweaked gate for even slicker shifting. The dual-axis front suspension and multi-link rear axle are very similar, but the track is now 15mm wider, which works in partnership with a 15%-stiffer bodyshell to combine even sharper handling with greater compliance. This Civic feels like a more grown-up proposition than the old car, even if the BTCC-style rear wing still suggests it’s a bit of a hooligan.
It’s certainly quick, with 0-62mph done and dusted in 5.4sec and 170mph just about within reach. Yet it delivers this performance with real sophistication and civility. There’s no torque-steer unruliness and the chassis combines tenacious grip and cast-iron control with a rare adjustability that allows you to tease and tweak your line through a corner by either lifting off the throttle or trailing the brakes. It’s still a car that gets your heart racing and synapses snapping, but it’s also one that doesn’t make the commute a chore or motorway trips a test of endurance.
So why doesn’t it top this list? Well, for starters, Honda has hiked the Type R’s prices, and significantly so. The previous version started at around £33,000, but you will need (are you sitting down?) £50,000 for this one. Just take a moment for that to settle in. And even if that figure doesn’t put you off, you will struggle to find one, as UK imports will be in the hundreds rather than the thousands.
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3. Hyundai i20 N
Hyundai suddenly became very hard to overlook as a purveyor of affordable performance cars, and the i20 N rally-inspired supermini was the main reason why. It’s a simpler and more direct attempt at a classic hot hatchback than the bigger i30 N. Being smaller and lighter helps, of course. But it also uses a conventional limited-slip differential in place of an active one, a punchy but not domineering 1.6-litre turbocharged engine, a six-speed manual gearbox in place of any clever dual-clutch automatic and good passive dampers, rather than adaptive ones.
The results are really very effective indeed. This car has the carefully honed, extra-purposeful character of a genuine rally-stage exile. Its body control, high-speed precision and composure and steering precision are all of an order you rarely find in a car this size, and its ground-covering pace is greater than you would expect of a car with only 201bhp to put to use.
The i20 is impressively roomy and well equipped, too, given the strides its maker has taken these past 10 years in drawing level with the best small cars that Europe can offer. Some will find it a bit too grippy, precise and compose, while others will appreciate that it’s a less hyperactive take on the junior hot hatch than the Ford Fiesta ST. Not that it matters very much, because the Fiesta has been axed.
Time may be running out for the i20 N too, since the regular Hyundai i20 has just been facelifted but Hyundai is keeping quiet about an updated N version, preferring to focus on the electric Hyundai Ioniq 5 N.
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4. Ford Focus ST
The Blue Oval has had some memorably brilliant, chart-topping hot hatchbacks over the last couple of decades – and while the current Focus ST isn’t quite as sharp and involving as the Yaris and Civic above, it absolutely honours the fast Ford legacy. It’s a good deal more affordable than the Civic, too.
Although STs are typically slightly subordinate hot hatchbacks, Ford hasn’t held back with the make-up of this one because there was never going to be a Focus RS for this generation. It’s the first Focus ST with adaptive dampers and the first with an electronically controlled limited-slip differential for its driven front axle, the latter being something that remains fairly rare on cars of this price point and which certainly adds to its handling appeal.
If you want an even more specialised and hardcore prospect, there’s the Ford Focus ST Track Pack with its very special, manually adjustable coilover suspension, bigger brakes and lightweight alloy wheels wrapped in Pirelli P Zero Corsa rubber. It takes the ST’s dynamic recipe to even greater heights for body control and handling incisiveness – although it’s hardly cheap, at £3000 extra.
The Focus ST has direct, agile handling, purposeful-feeling firm body control and abundant vocal and motive performance-car character. It’s the kind of hot hatch built to make even the more mundane road miles enjoyable, and it succeeds at that – although it lacks the outright grip and performance of some fast Fords of old.
Perhaps that’s the right balance for an ST model: more the effusive everyday road performance car than the really purposeful, big-hitting track machine. It’s not quite enough to make this car our ultimate hot hatchback of the moment, but it’s a very strong contender all the same. If you’re tempted, put your order in now. The smaller Ford Fiesta ST has already died, along with the standard Fiesta, and the Focus range is due to be axed in 2025.
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5. Mercedes-AMG A45 S
Let the following statement sink in: the Mercedes-AMG A45 S is a four-wheel-drive hot hatchback that costs more than £60,000 and has a 2.0-litre four-pot that makes 416bhp and 369lb ft. Not only does that mean Affalterbach’s most rabid hot hatch has the most powerful series production four-cylinder engine on the planet, it also has a engine with a higher specific output than that of the Ferrari 488 Pista. It is, in a sense, utterly ridiculous.
Be that as it may, there’s still a phenomenal – not to mention usable – driver’s car lying beneath all its wings, fins and flares. Straight-line performance is undoubtedly immense, but more of a surprise is how well-mannered its complex, steroidal driveline is when you’re simply tooling about. Body control is rock-solid at speed, but there’s genuine compliance in the chassis too. Grip is outstanding, meanwhile, and the accuracy, weighting and textural feedback from its electrically assisted steering rack is easily up there with the best in class.
As a multi-talented hot hatchback, the A45 S is undoubtedly a triumph. But priced as it now is up beyond £50,000, it has wandered so far from the realms of relative affordability that these cars are supposed to champion that crowning it class champion would have been a touch problematic. Still, what a fantastic machine it is. And if such a pricey Merc is a step too far, we would direct you to the Volkswagen Golf R rather than the AMG A35, which isn’t quite so impressive, despite its similar looks.
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6. Volkswagen Golf R
Volkswagen’s highly regarded super-Golf, the four-wheel-drive Golf R, has taken a big step forward in this latest form. Unlike 20 years ago, when the V6-engined R32 vied with the Alfa Romeo 147 GTA to be the very hottest of hot hatchbacks that could be bought with a full factory warranty, the latest one isn’t quite the fiercest car of its kind. Its 316bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged engine still gives it significant bragging rights, mind.
And it has other weapons. Most Golf Rs come on adaptive dampers, which can switch between B-road ironing and teeth-rattling modes at the touch of a screen. Meanwhile, the fully torque-vectored four-wheel drive system can juggle drive not just front to rear but also asymmetrically across its rear axle. Tick the right options boxes and the car will even offer a drift mode, as well as increase in the speed limiter’s ceiling to 168mph (both are part of the R Performance Pack, although we wouldn’t bother, since it’s a bit of a gimmick).
The Mk8 R takes on quite a different character to the Mk7. It has lost some of the just-so compromise of suppleness, stability and pace that made the last version of the car so popular, while even greater body control and adhesion have come in to make up the balance – and greater driver involvement too, albeit only if you really probe at the car’s limits.
For those who liked the ‘one fast car for every journey’ charm of the Mk7, the Mk8 may feel a little too serious and perhaps just a touch aloof at lower speeds. But there’s no denying that the car’s outright dynamic capabilities have expanded by quite a way. That rear diff gives it staggering agility, and in the softest damper mode, it rides remarkably well.
As in every Mk8 Golf, the touchscreen-heavy control interface takes a bit of getting used to, and it can be slow to respond, but the incoming Mk8.5 facelift promises to address that.
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7. Volkswagen Golf GTI
Previous versions of Volkswagen’s long-lived Golf GTI have featured prominently in this line-up of the greatest affordable performance cars, but this one is a slightly different kettle of fish. Volkswagen went in search of greater handling response and driver appeal with the eighth-generation of its hot Golf but had only questionable success in finding it. Meanwhile, it adversely affected the sweet-riding, easy-to-use temperament that the GTI has traded on for so long, introducing an unwelcome firmness to its ride.
None of which need suggest that this GTI wouldn’t make a good, enjoyable everyday driver. Its 242bhp 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine remains a little short on power compared with the rest of the cars here, and it could feel a little keener-revving at times, but it makes for strong and responsive thrust, which the chassis allows you to deploy pretty freely. The car’s new firmer springing makes it work better on smoother surfaces than typical UK country B-roads, but adaptive dampers do allow for some adjustment of the ride. Steering is newly pacey but still a little light and numb; undemanding in everyday use but not as absorbing as it might be.
In GTI Clubsport trim, the car’s key vitals rise to 296bhp and 295lb ft, its final drive ratio is reduced and its suspension is firmed up. It becomes a more grippy, direct and incisive-handling car without losing much by way of everyday cruising habitability but still not the best-balanced or the most exciting or involving driver’s car in this list.
Crucially, in all its forms, the GTI has lost its chameleon-like ability to match your mood whatever the road or occasion.
A facelifted Golf is due soon, which should fix some of the issues with the Golf’s multimedia screen but which will also mean the end for manual gearboxes in the GTI.
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8. Hyundai i30 N
Hyundai clearly wasn’t interested 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 into. 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 its firmest and most aggressive suspension, steering and drivetrain modes are too uncompromising and make it a hard car to read. There’s also arguably too much choice in the fine-tuning, with Hyundai proudly boasting of thousands for possible settings, which can prove overwhelming when all you want to do is drive.
But at its best, when set up for pragmatic ease of operation rather than out-and-out grip, the i30 N is an involving, balanced, genuinely appealing driver’s car.
Even so, it’s a shame that Hyundai no longer offers the slow-selling entry-level 247bhp version that featured smaller wheels and was shorn of some of the more powerful model’s sharper edges. Sure, it lacked the bar room bragging rights, but it was a sweeter and more balanced package.
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9. Skoda Octavia vRS
Skoda’s warmed-up Octavia, the vRS, has always been the answer to a question asked by drivers of a certain age and stage in life who find themselves in need of greater practicality from their daily driver but also not quite ready to give up driving something a little bit exciting.
Versatility is what this car brings to the affordable driver’s car scene. You can have one with a 242bhp 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine or a 197bhp 2.0-litre diesel if you prefer, plus the latter can be had with four-wheel drive. The petrol used to be available with three pedals and a manual shift lever, but that’s no longer the case. For a while, there was also a 1.4-litre plug-in hybrid to bust benefit-in-kind tax. There are five-door hatchback and estate bodystyles to choose from, too.
While the hybrid was a little bit of a limp and alienating driver’s car, the turbo petrol combines family-appropriate ride suppleness and space with just enough performance and handling agility to keep you interested. The four-wheel-drive diesel makes a great foil for that petrol option, meanwhile, offering greater traction and everyday usability, as well as the prospect of greater economy and cruising range.
If you’re looking for the kind of hot hatchback you could just about get away with, be that in the office car park or for wider family motoring, the Octavia vRS might be the one, its blend of speed and subtly making it a true modern day Q-car.
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10. Cupra Born
It doesn’t quite have the outright muscle of the others in this list, but this Cupra makes this top 10 on merit rather than as a makeweight that has any positives suffixed with the phrase ‘for an EV’. Not only does the Born look the hot hatch part, it drives it too. There’s real talent here.
Based on the same platform as the Volkswagen ID 3, the Born gets a rear-mounted motor that delivers up to 227bhp and instant torque. It feels genuinely quick up to 60mph, and while accelerative force diminishes beyond this point, few fast car fans will be disappointed. It also steers keenly, with quick turn-in and poised, low-roll handling that allows it to scoot through a series of corners quickly and accurately – although a little less intervention from the electronic safety net would help unleash some of its rear-drive balance.
Elsewhere, it does the other hot hatch things well, with a spacious and versatile interior plus decent everyday comfort and refinement. Better still, with the larger 77kWh battery, the Born promises a very respectable 341 miles on a charge.
