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Loving this thread, though my contributions are no where near what others are! The only 'hot hatches' I've owned were 2 Peugeot 306 Gti6's. A sigma blue phase one and a black phase 2, both brilliant cars. Not owned anything fun for a long time, though forever window shopping (keep getting tempted by FN2 Type R's at the moment)
Ah... this reminded me of my lovely Citiv Type R (EP3)... I'd love to buy another one, stick a supercharger and intercooler on it, adn track the thing!
DrP
Some great cars throughout this. I've tried sensible cars but even in my forties I still find myself back in a hot(ish) hatch. Passing my driving test in late 90s was the time of the 106 GTI / Saxo VTS but as a young bloke insurance cost kyboshed those aspirations.
First 'own' car: Punto Sporting with a whole 1.2 16v and 85bhp, but it weighed so little it was surprisingly quick (only got a photo of half of the car...)
Followed that with my only new purchase: Clio 172 when they were getting sold off for £10.5k new from Motorpoint. Lowered it on H&Rs and a Cup splitter. Probably my favourite hot hatch I've owned but electrical issues led me to trade it in before it ruined me.
EP3 CTR replaced the Clio. Looking back now I realise I was unnecessarily harsh on it: I always compared it against my Clio which was more fun to drive and cheaper to run, but it was a great car in its own right. Ex-press car with that numberplate.
Seat Ibiza Cupra TDI. Mrs a11y had a Fabia vRS at the time so I thought the same car with a bit more power would be better. Wrong. Fabia had better power delivery, better-balanced handling and much better MPG. Better seats too. All round disappointing.
R56 MINI Cooper s (the turbo'd one). Loved it. Underneath all the chintz of modern MINIs they're really good little cars. Had to sell as the kids outgrew it. I downsized from 17" to 16" wheels which was transformational..
And my current one: F56 MINI Cooper SD. Modern day equivalent to the Fabia vRS in some ways - reasonable performance and low running costs (£20 VED, 50-60mpg) and cost comfortable less than £10k to buy. Being a modern 'MINI' it's big enough for family with 2 x mini-a11ys in the backseats.
No pictures to hand, but will dig some out
Polo G40 - miss that charger whine to this day
Seat Leon Cupra
VW MK7 GTi Performance Pack
VW Mk8 GTi Clubsport
My first car was a Citroen AX GT. Ace little thing, at least when the fuel filter wasn't blocked with rust from the fuel tank!
Had a Focus ST170 too, which was fun and had lovely leather Recaro's.
Best car I've had for back road blasting was my BMW i3s though, which was like a Speeder Bike and hilarious!
Great thread!
Had two Saxo VTR's - the only new cars Ive ever bough - they came with 2 years free insurance!
1999 MGF VVC - does that count?
1972 Mini 850 🙂
Integra Type R (DC2)
And current car is a 2011 Civic Type R (FN2) - £40/month tax and 20mpg!
Some great cars throughout this. I've tried sensible cars but even in my forties I still find myself back in a hot(ish) hatch. Passing my driving test in late 90s was the time of the 106 GTI / Saxo VTS but as a young bloke insurance cost kyboshed those aspirations.
First 'own' car: Punto Sporting with a whole 1.2 16v and 85bhp, but it weighed so little it was surprisingly quick (only got a photo of half of the car...)
Followed that with my only new purchase: Clio 172 when they were getting sold off for £10.5k new from Motorpoint. Lowered it on H&Rs and a Cup splitter. Probably my favourite hot hatch I've owned but electrical issues led me to trade it in before it ruined me.
EP3 CTR replaced the Clio. Looking back now I realise I was unnecessarily harsh on it: I always compared it against my Clio which was more fun to drive and cheaper to run, but it was a great car in its own right. Ex-press car with that numberplate.
Seat Ibiza Cupra TDI. Mrs a11y had a Fabia vRS at the time so I thought the same car with a bit more power would be better. Wrong. Fabia had better power delivery, better-balanced handling and much better MPG. Better seats too. All round disappointing.
R56 MINI Cooper s (the turbo'd one). Loved it. Underneath all the chintz of modern MINIs they're really good little cars. Had to sell as the kids outgrew it. I downsized from 17" to 16" wheels which was transformational..
And my current one: F56 MINI Cooper SD. Modern day equivalent to the Fabia vRS in some ways - reasonable performance and low running costs (£20 VED, 50-60mpg) and cost comfortable less than £10k to buy. Being a modern 'MINI' it's big enough for family with 2 x mini-a11ys in the backseats.
RS Twingo 133. God it was fun. Really great to drive, naturally aspirated 1.6, the car they teach you track driving at Silverstone. Crash proof too as Son1 put it onto the central barriers of the M25. I miss it. Replaced by a Mini Cooper that was nowhere near as much fun, but faster in a straight line. Son2 keeps sending me ads for a replacement - he missed it too.
Clio 200 Cup pack is my current car, after a Porsche Cayman, Lotus Evora S, Golf GTI mk7 PP. All have been bike-carrying cars and used on track.
The Clio is an absolute peach. Fine for a daily, takes bikes in the back, fantastic on track, parts are cheap, and the missus isn't scared of driving it like my other cars.
Mk7 Gold GTi was the biggest disappointment, far too refined and capable in my pov, going fast in it didn't feel fast. Sold it after a month.
Not sure why i can't upload a picture?
CBA find pics of any of them but in no particular order:
- mk5 Golf GTI. Absolutely loved that car despite being a cheap buy and so had a few cosmetic issues but in the end we sold it for what we paid for it after 3 years. Black with rare cream interior and DSG. As fast as you'd ever need and very, very easy to drive quickly (almost boring but most modern VAG hot hatches are the same). Would think about having another but an ED30/Pirelli.
- Mini R53 Cooper S (the supercharged ones) x2. Bought one, loved it, the dealer I bought from then advertised a better one so I px'd mine for the better one. Will definitely get another - it had a few mods and felt special every time I got into it.
- a warm hatch but an EP2 Civic Sport. That was great from what I can remember. Really good on a motorway or wringing its neck.
- bit of a weird one - Mondeo ST TDCI (it was a hatchback!). For a diesel at the time it was reasonably quick but while not a B road weapon, it returned 55mpg however you drove it and was stupidly comfortable and practical.
- 6N2 Polo GTIs x2. A really under rated little car but maybe people are starting to realise how good they are - both of mine were pristine with heated leather and were bought for about £2k and the only ones available for that now are absolute rotters. Gearboxes were made of chocolate but brilliant little steers and very practical (2 bikes in the back with seats down easily). My first one which had some handling mods with coilovers etc I remember taking over to CyB from Wrexham and the road (think it forms the bottom of the Evo triangle?) from Bala was an absolute blast.
Need another hot hatch on the driveway...
I've had two i30Ns both pre-facelift manual and now facelift DCT. Cracking cars for driving and not too bad as a daily either.
I'm currently waiting for a M340i touring on order so will be sad to see my current i30N go, but excited to embrace the world of fast estates
Ok boy wonder we get the jist you liked your cars but 3x posted , as Marvin Gaye once sung What's going on ?
G reg Nova Sr looking back was crap
Citroen Zx 16v same engine as 1.9 205 gti, was quick, very comfy and passive rear wheel steer, would corner on rails, ran it into the ground
Here's my XR2 – lovingly looked after LOL!
How do I embed images in the new forum FFS?
My lovingly cared for XR2 🤣
Golf GTi, MK3 8 valve. I found out after buying it, it was the slowest golf GTi.
Good fun until it started cutting out randomly. 40,000 miles of relatively cheap motoring.
I owned one of those for a year or so between Mk2 GTis. It was hugely underwhelming, not very fast, over-geared, lifeless handling and big and hollow feeling. It was an okay everyday car, but as people said at the time, very much 'not a GTi'. The 16v was supposed to be somewhat better and the VR6 if you sorted the handling out.
I was going to say that it was quite reliable, but then I remembered the time I lent it to a mate who was over from Spain for a few weeks and found out months later that the driveshaft had fallen off, but he hadn't told me. A very sad car.
It was a nice colour though, Mystic Blue, same as my Corrado.
MG Metro!
Sorry no pics to hand as it was pre internet/digicam. I know it was fast because it had red seatbelts. Great fun, nippy enough but not dangerous and handled almost as well as the mini that preceded it. It's demise came when mrsmidlife took avoiding action for a sheepdog in the road and drove it along the top of a drystone wall for 30 yards.
It's demise came when mrsmidlife took avoiding action for a sheepdog in the road and drove it along the top of a drystone wall for 30 yards.
That sounds a similar story to mine (picture of the XR2 above) – I swerved to avoid a rabbit in the road and lost the back-end (I may have been speeding a little). I had just about got it under control when I hit a verge and it flipped onto its roof. It was about 1am and amazingly I wasn't even breathalysed (I hadn't been drinking).
Just acquired a shopping trolly to celebrate my 70th and save the miles on T5! One owner 60k Edition 30 in brilliant unmolested condition. Wife asked if it was a midlife crisis car. I said I didn't think I'd get to 140 and the son pipes up "Just a crisis then" 
Love a hot hatch! My list (in order of ownership):
- 1990 Citroen AX GT*
- 2000 Honda Civic VTi*
- 2002 SEAT Leon Cupra
- 1998 Audi A3 1.8T Sport (remapped to 200bhp)
- 2004 MINI Cooper S*
- 2017 Ford Focus ST
- 2020 Golf GTI PP
- 2022 Golf GTI
- 2006 MINI Cooper S*
The ones with asterisks are what I consider the 'good' ones. The last on the list is in the garage right now; purchased two years ago as a fixer upper and now running and handling sweetly and looking rather resplendent in its chili red body/white roof combo
Love a hot hatch! My list (in order of ownership):
- 1990 Citroen AX GT*
- 2000 Honda Civic VTi*
- 2002 SEAT Leon Cupra
- 1998 Audi A3 1.8T Sport (remapped to 200bhp)
- 2004 MINI Cooper S*
- 2017 Ford Focus ST
- 2020 Golf GTI PP
- 2022 Golf GTI
- 2006 MINI Cooper S*
The ones with asterisks are what I consider the 'good' ones. The last on the list is in the garage right now; purchased two years ago as a fixer upper and now running and handling sweetly and looking rather resplendent in its chili red body/white roof combo
Love a hot hatch! My list (in order of ownership):
- 1990 Citroen AX GT*
- 2000 Honda Civic VTi*
- 2002 SEAT Leon Cupra
- 1998 Audi A3 1.8T Sport (remapped to 200bhp)
- 2004 MINI Cooper S*
- 2017 Ford Focus ST
- 2020 Golf GTI PP
- 2022 Golf GTI
- 2006 MINI Cooper S*
The ones with asterisks are what I consider the 'good' ones. The last on the list is in the garage right now; purchased two years ago as a fixer upper and now running and handling sweetly and looking rather resplendent in its chili red body/white roof combo
Loved a hot hatch here is my journey.
Citroen AX GT
Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9
Honda Civic (EG4) Import 1.5 SOHC 
Honda Civic (EP3) Type R
Volkswagon Golf GTI TDi PD Awful car (MK4)
Had a small number of hot hatches...
First one was a Lancia Y10 Turbo. Not that quick really but a mental thing to drive! Just like any other little city car... until the old-style turbo finally kicked in after weeks of lag, at which point you got a couple of seconds of being pressed into your seat until it ran out of steam again. Huge fun but not that reliable. Not my photo...
Next one was a Pug 206GTi. Nice to drive and quick enough but a bit polite and sanitised.
Last hot hatch we had was by far the best - probably the best car I've ever owned and driven. Megane 225 with the Cup chassis. Had an engine replacement before we bought it that I suspect was the newer 250 lump. Proper quick car and a bit of a sleeper if you didn't know what you were looking for - fast enough to surprise much more expensive machines until you got into properly fast territory. Downside was it was very much a potential license loser. Never driven anything better or more fun on twisty B roads (except maybe a properly sorted old mini). Also, the fastest bike carrier I've ever owned. Only downsides were it was VERY thirsty if your right foot was heavy and maintenance costs weren't small.
Had a couple of mk2 golfs having lusted after one since I was about 9.
First was an atlas grey 90 spec 16v with a 2l bottom end. Ran on k jet with a ported head, bigger cams and a whole load of other bits. 198bhp and with a mk3 gti box, it just pulled and pulled in every gear. Even at the top end of third doing 100mph it would still surge forward going into 4th with the occasional wheel spin. 3 wheel cornering was possible with enough commitment.
It caught fire while I was driving it (sensibly). I cried a little bit.
Replaced it with a blue 90 spec 8v that had been outfitted with the front end of a g60 corrado. It was faster than the 16v but somehow not as much fun. I think probably the induction noise just wasn't as addictive. I was always terrified that the charger would randomly die.
I took it apart because the conversion hadn't been done quite as well as it appeared when I bought it. Then I bought a house and spawned a tiny human.
5 years since it moved house with me (on the back of lorry,) it's still in the garage looking sad. I don't really know what to do with it. I've been tempted to sell it to get half of my garage back but I'd love to keep it and put a 24v 3.2 in there.
Maybe one day when funds are available.
Maybe.
Mk3 GTI 8V (slow but bombproof)
MK3 GTI 16 (not as slow and nowhere near as bombproof)
Fiesta XR2 track car (stripped out, twin Webber carbs, lightened flywheel, an absolute hoot)
Seat Ibiza Cupra
MK5 GTI (loved it)
MK3 Focus ST estate (really really good car, been great)
Now considering a MK7.5 GTI. Anyone owned one?
Medium and hot…
106 1.4xt 75bhp, great fun amazing handling.
Punto GT turbo, on Abarth springs, bonkers fun, not great handling as I found out after rolling it multiple times. Nice and roomy, allowed me to boot out the rear window whilst it was on its roof, walked away with a slight scratch.
Mini Cooper s R53 BBR stage one. Nuts, great handling, stupidly small inside, a 2 seater really.
Mini works- 220 bhp I think. Stupidly quick even more stupid ediff dragged the car all over the road under full power which was all the time.
120D Msport bought as a cheaper option to drive than the mini, but probably not more economical if I drove the mini normally. After the mini it felt very slow, but it was in fact a quick, great handling car.
Renault Sport Clio 182 Cup in obnoxious orange.
3 Peugeots - 205 GTi 1.6, 106 XSi 1.4, 106 GTi 1.6 - all great cars
VW Golf Mk5 GTI DSG - kept for nearly 8 years
Now driving a BMW X3 M40i - best of the lot (apart from the fuel economy)
Just a few. I miss my car days.
Mk5 Fiesta ST - warm rather than hot, K&N induction kit and lowered
Mk2 Focus ST - in electric orange, standard
Clio 182 Cup - in liquid yellow, magnex catback system, air filter, and uprated discs and pads
The clio was the best drivers car by far, the Focus was comfortable and sounded fantastic, even as standard.
Just a few. I miss my car days.
Mk5 Fiesta ST - warm rather than hot, K&N induction kit and lowered
Mk2 Focus ST - in electric orange, standard
Clio 182 Cup - in liquid yellow, magnex catback system, air filter, and uprated discs and pads
The clio was the best drivers car by far, the Focus was comfortable and sounded fantastic, even as standard.
Never had a hot hatch.
Had a Mk1 Fiesta Supersport, so lukewarm, but awesome car.
The only fast car I've had had a boot - Audi RS5
Had a couple of MK2 Sciroccos, the 1800 scala had the suspension done. Adjustable coilovers were fun! A 5 cylinder Audi coupe in black. Lovely car, nice engine but a bit of a barge. Tvr chimaera 4l tracked a few times. Boring things. Now Mk7 GTi with sdg, pp, and winter pack. I look to change it every now and then but it's just such a swiss army knife. Took it to combe with the GF then trickled home with the adaptive cruise and the Aircon on. Fits dogs and bikes in the back. Only fwd car I've ever had that will oversteer under power
Had a couple of MK2 Sciroccos, the 1800 scala had the suspension done. Adjustable coilovers were fun! A 5 cylinder Audi coupe in black. Lovely car, nice engine but a bit of a barge. Tvr chimaera 4l tracked a few times. Boring things. Now Mk7 GTi with sdg, pp, and winter pack. I look to change it every now and then but it's just such a swiss army knife. Took it to combe with the GF then trickled home with the adaptive cruise and the Aircon on. Fits dogs and bikes in the back. Only fwd car I've ever had that will oversteer under power
Pug 309 ‘Goodwood’ and Pug 205 Rallye were the best. There was 8v VW GTi briefly but my heart belongs to Peugeot.
Pug 309 ‘Goodwood’ and Pug 205 Rallye were the best. There was 8v VW GTi briefly but my heart belongs to Peugeot.
Renault Sport Clio 182 Cup in obnoxious orange.
Yay for the baked beans!
Had a few over the years.
2006 Leon FR
Only car I've ever owned from new. It was a frankly astonishing £17K, which seems really cheap compared with the price of anything similar now
Same running gear as a Mk5 GTI, usefully quick rather than fast
2010 Leon FR
Didn't really mean to buy a second Leon, but they were still brilliant value, I couldn't really justify the price difference for a Golf.
Chipped this one, it was a fun little car
2015 Focus ST Mk3
Lots to like about the Focus, it had amazing seats and a good engine. Ride was a brilliant compromise for everyday driving and it was generally just a nice place to be. But it got a bit ragged when pushed, and it has a shockingly bad turning circle.
2020 Hyundai i30N
Love it. Brilliant handling, lovely manual gearbox, good seats.
The fastback version, like mine, even has a nice big boot
This is the only car I ever regret selling, Clio 172 cup (rare one with factory air con) daily driven for 2 years and roughly 30k miles loved the thing but MrsMomo wasn't so keen. Replaced it with a mk6 Golf GTD and unfortunately at the time I didn't have the space to park it up and keep hold of it, otherwise I'd probably still have it today.
[url= https://live.staticflickr.com/7159/6410762639_63756e4a71_b.jp g" target="_blank">https://live.staticflickr.com/7159/6410762639_63756e4a71_b.jp g"/> [/img][/url][url= https://flic.kr/p/aLuQok ]P1010958[/url] by [url= https://www.flickr.com/photos/le_grande_momo/ ]Matt Cotterill[/url], on Flickr
Just thought I'd add a bit more to this thread, it's not a great picture coz I couldn't be bothered taking it down to get the light better, but you get the idea.
Some evidence of the S2 rs's I had, including the crash damage. A lad bought that off me for spares for a decent wedge plus I got an insurance payout which afforded me the grey series 2.
I remember the insurance assessor inspecting the white one, it was insured at standard, I was lucky he ignored the scorpion exhaust, the obligatory k+n, the adjustable boost valve, the blue silicon boost pipes and the cork I'd wedged into the hole left by the dump valve I'd already sold on 😅
If you zoom in a bit there's a glimpse of the mini that was my first car. My mum took that on after me, drove it round for years, we replaced the bucket seats and the cherry bomb exhaust, but she kept the eight ball (an actual drilled eight ball) that was the gear knob!
Just thought I'd add a bit more to this thread, it's not a great picture coz I couldn't be bothered taking it down to get the light better, but you get the idea.
Some evidence of the S2 rs's I had, including the crash damage. A lad bought that off me for spares for a decent wedge plus I got an insurance payout which afforded me the grey series 2.
I remember the insurance assessor inspecting the white one, it was insured at standard, I was lucky he ignored the scorpion exhaust, the obligatory k+n, the adjustable boost valve, the blue silicon boost pipes and the cork I'd wedged into the hole left by the dump valve I'd already sold on 😅
If you zoom in a bit there's a glimpse of the mini that was my first car. My mum took that on after me, drove it round for years, we replaced the bucket seats and the cherry bomb exhaust, but she kept the eight ball (an actual drilled eight ball) that was the gear knob!
My favourite hatch was a 205 Gti (originally a 1.6 and badged accordingly) that had an MI16 conversion. It was slightly budged and ate driveshafts but probably my driving helped with that.
I think it had some poly bushes (but not all through), Tarox drilled and grooved discs with updated pads at the front, very loud slash cut exhaust and at one point it was pretty stripped out. Absolutely flew and was very amusing.
After that it’s probably one of the Saxo Vts’ I had - just minor things like lowered / exhaust / filter / brakes upgraded.
Clip 182 on coilovers was fun but somehow the Vts felt more abusable. Suzuki Swift Sport was fun albeit less fast than all of the above.
I've had a few but my favourite was a Volvo S40 T5. A real wolf in sheep's clothing, the only giveaway sign was a discrete T5 badge on the boot.
My god it could shift 🤩
Anyone had a supercharged Yaris GRMN or Corolla T Sport Compressor (not the standard T Sport)?