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I had a Mk2 Honda CRX, whis isn't really a hot hatch but it certainly went like one, great little thing. Mine wasn't a VTech but it was still quick enough and great fun to drive.
I love a hot hatch! Great thread with some lovely cats.
I’ve had:
- Polo GTI 6C
- Fiesta ST3 mk7.5
- Polo GT 6C (more warm
hatch)
- Golf R mk7.5
Most recent and favourite is the Up! GTI. More warm than hot. Slowest and most basic car I’ve had but definitely the most fun.
Love my Golfs. Currently have an R estate, had a GTD estate, and my favourite was probably the GTI.
https://flic.kr/p/2qMfCeG
https://flic.kr/p/2qMnoVb
https://flic.kr/p/2qMmrqr
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.
That reminds me,
A mate had a Renault 5 GT Turbo. It was, frankly, terrifying (not least because of the way he drove it). How stock it was and how much he'd had it buggered about with I do not know.
For the turbo to kick in you had to mail out a form signed in triplicate but when it did, my god, it was like being hit in the small of the back by a Saturn V. An absolute hoot in a straight line, not so much when it suddenly fired whilst booting it through corners. I refused to get in it in the end. I believe it ended its days upside-down in a field rotating quietly to itself, wholly unpredictably.
Love my Golfs. Currently have an R estate, had a GTD estate, and my favourite was probably the GTI.
https://flic.kr/p/2qMfCeG
https://flic.kr/p/2qMnoVb
https://flic.kr/p/2qMmrqr
I've literally just come back to VW ownership and have just bought a MK7.5 Performance, how did you find your Mk7? Did you fit the towbar and what bike rack is that?
Of all the silly cars I've had over the years the only one I miss is this one.
This was my first, only (and definitely last ever) brand new car. The rocketing price of 'classics' i.e. any old shite, made buying a modern car the most sensible option.
It was normal enough to be totally useable everywhere, and it was just daft enough to be really fun without driving at hyper-hatch speeds.
I really loved it and intended to keep it until I physically couldn't drive it. But, just having it on the drive was enough to bring gangs of masked dickheads to my house trying to nick it. We were in and out of hospital at the time with a 6 month old boy and both really suffering from exhaustion and sleep deprivation. We didn't need to be paranoid about being burgled every night.
I gave it to WBAC when they were hoovering up everything in sight. I've regretted it ever since but also know there's no point having anything nice where I live. We sleep soundly with a Skoda on the drive.
My interest in cars has also died a death in the last few years so I'm not bothered about replacing it.
For a while these were my go-to cars & over the years I've had:
- Alfasud Ti
- Fiesta Supersport
- XR2 Mk2
- Pug 205 GTi
- Golf GTi Mk1
- Sunbeam Lotus
- RS1600i
- Astra GTE Mk1
- Corolla GTi
- Renault 19 16v
- Giulietta Veloce
- Giulietta QV
Not sure I'd class them all as 'hot' but in their day that's where they sat.
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.
That reminds me,
A mate had a Renault 5 GT Turbo. It was, frankly, terrifying (not least because of the way he drove it). How stock it was and how much he'd had it buggered about with I do not know.
For the turbo to kick in you had to mail out a form signed in triplicate but when it did, my god, it was like being hit in the small of the back by a Saturn V. An absolute hoot in a straight line, not so much when it suddenly fired whilst booting it through corners. I refused to get in it in the end. I believe it ended its days upside-down in a field rotating quietly to itself, wholly unpredictably.
A mate was exactly the same in his!
He got rid of it after hitting a reasonably deep puddle at speed which caused half the front end to bend 🤣
I had a Mk2 Honda CRX, whis isn't really a hot hatch but it certainly went like one, great little thing. Mine wasn't a VTech but it was still quick enough and great fun to drive.
Oh god, that brings back memories.
A guy i used to knock around with in my early post graduate days had one of the split glass boot lid ones as a project car. Except his day job was to design/build/test motorsport engines, so i have no idea of the full list what he'd done to this thing but it revved to something ludicrous (think motorbike red line, not V-Tech). Straight through exhaust and straight cut box, dry sumped, no sound deadening or rubber mounts anywhere in the car. Needed ear defenders to drive it at anything other than about the first 1000rpm of the engine range. And he eventually did a mid engine conversion.
Don't think it had much top end, but acceleration at "normal" road and track speeds was, errr, startling. And probably resulted in him getting some speeding tickets...
@spooky211: I did fit a tow bar to the GTI. I think the rack was a brand called Hollywood. It was actually very good, and cheap. And stable. But it required putting a fitting onto the tow bar that took a while to remove.
Despite my preference for driving within the speed limit - I have had a few warm/hot hatches:
- Peugeot 306 XSI. 1999 - 135BHP
- Audi S3 (8L). 2003 - 225BHP
- Volkswagen Golf R (Mk7.5). 2019 - 300BHP
All unmodified and stock configuration.
I've a a couple, the most iconic being the C plate 8v Mk. 2 Golf Gti. I fitted a sub the size of a small child and an amp that you could use as a heater and it looked after me right up until someone reversed into it. The, after it was fixed, it blew through a piston. Then the replacement engine needed new con rods. The I bought an Omega MV6. Which blew a head gasket.
Luckily I had not sold the Golf, so drove that for the six months it took me to replace both head gaskets and get the valve seats, stem seals and skimming done.
I had a D plate Fiat Panda 4x4 as well (which counts as a hot hatch and I will die on that hill...) and had use of an 80's Nissan Silvia turbo until it blew said turbo and was sold. That was a hoot to drive in Tesco car park after it had been raining. And that MG Montego was fun up until the suspension bushings just disintegrated on the M4 on the way to Wales. I think it is still in a field somewhere.
@spooky211: I did fit a tow bar to the GTI. I think the rack was a brand called Hollywood. It was actually very good, and cheap. And stable. But it required putting a fitting onto the tow bar that took a while to remove.
Never heard of Holywood before - from their site the racks look good. How was you GTI? Any issues?
Nearest to a hot-hatch I’ve ever owned was a Puma 1.7 Zetec. Lovely car to drive, the Yamaha engine rather encouraged a certain amount of juvenile behaviour, like keeping it in a lower gear to keep the revs up, just because it sounded so good! Only about 125-130bhp from a 1.7; my EcoSport has about the same power from a 1.0, although that’s with a turbo.
Had to sell it in the end, change of job with less money, around 30mpg if driving like a granny, plus high tax and insurance meant I just couldn’t afford it any longer. 😢
Nearest to a hot-hatch I’ve ever owned was a Puma 1.7 Zetec. Lovely car to drive, the Yamaha engine rather encouraged a certain amount of juvenile behaviour, like keeping it in a lower gear to keep the revs up, just because it sounded so good! Only about 125-130bhp from a 1.7; my EcoSport has about the same power from a 1.0, although that’s with a turbo.
Had to sell it in the end, change of job with less money, around 30mpg if driving like a granny, plus high tax and insurance meant I just couldn’t afford it any longer. 😢
Only one hot hatch, and it was a borrowed EP3 Civic Type R from a mate. Brilliant, brilliant car.
I've always been more coupe/fastback - in order:
Vauxhall Chevette
Fiat Uno 45
Fiat Uno 60
BMW 318iS
Mazda 323
Toyota MR2 Turbo mk2
Toyota MR2 Turbo mk3
Mazda FD RX7
Mitsubishi Legnum VR4
Lexus IS200
Renault Clio
Honda Civic
Skoda Superb
Mitsubishi L200
Ford Mustang GT
I've had a couple over the years....
F Reg Peugeot 1.6 205 GTi
H Reg Rover 216 GTi
57 Reg VW Golf GT TDi
Thing the 205 was my favourite though.
Only hot hatch I've owned was a bright yellow ibiza cupra r. Loved it.
Now an owner of a far more practical cupra leon estate, which can do 0-60 in sub 5 sec with 2 dogs in the boot. I'm astounded that you can now get that kind of performance out of a reasonably priced, sensible family estate
Two Golf Gti's, both mk 2, one 8 valve the other 16.
8 valve Delta Integrale
Peugeot 106 Rallye
My first car was the mighty Pug 205 Rallye:
Was expecting some kind of GTi type performance, but it only had a little 1.4 engine. Looked the part though.