Question of the week: What's the greatest hot hatch ever?
Fri, 28 Mar 2025
Dear Honest John,
"What do you think is the greatest hot hatch of all time? This is a long-running argument between me and my friends and everyone seems to have a different opinion on what makes a great hot hatch, never mind which one is the best of all-time. Even the motoring press seem to disagree on this."
- VB
Dear VB,
This is a bit like asking 'What's the greatest film of all time?', as even when experts agree, everyone has their own idea of what makes the greatest piece of work.
But it's worth considering what the premise of a hot hatch is before we try and pick a winner. Take a run-of-the-mill, front-wheel-drive hatchback that is practical, useful, relatively easy to drive and not so precious that you're afraid to park it anywhere.
Then had a hefty dose of extra power, tune the suspension, jazz it up inside and out, and you should be left with something just as usable as the standard as the standard car but a lot more fun.
There's a case for the original Mini Cooper being one of the the first examples of this - except it's a saloon, not a hatch - and while the 1976 Volkswagen Golf GTI tends to get the credit for being the first, the Autobianchi A112 Abarth arrived five years earlier, though never sold in big numbers.
What the Golf GTI got right though was having the speed and handling to trouble more expensive machinery, without sacrificing any of its practicality while being comfortable and refined enough to be used every day, and that is why it is considered one of the greatest of all time.
Eight years later the Peugeot 205 GTi turned up, another contender for the title. What the 205 had to its advantage was it a blast to drive even in standard form, so the addition of the 1.6-litre XU5J engine with 117 PS really took it up a notch. The 1.9-litre version was even quicker, but purists argue that the 1.6-litre handled more sweetly. Just watch out for the lift-off oversteer.
Assuming we're sticking to the front-wheel-drive rule which excludes firecrackers like the Vauxhall Chevette HS, Lotus Sunbeam, Lancia Delta Integrale and Volkswagen Golf R, there's still a remarkable shortlist of hot hatches that have raised the bar in the last 30 years.
Renault delivered the sublime Clio Williams, 182 Trophy and a slew of Renaultsport Meganes including the truly bonkers R26.R. The Volkswagen Golf GTI MkII, MkV and MkVII were arguably the best of the bunch, Ford provided us with two generations of Focus RS as well as the Fiesta ST, while the Honda Civic Type R was exceptional in EP3, FK2 and FK8 guises.
The winner? You could pick any one of these and make a good case for it. Twist our arm, and we'd probably plump for the Peugeot 205 GTi. It disappeared just before cars started getting heavier (and safer) which meant power outputs had to spiral to still make them exciting. Sure, we love having hundreds of horsepower under our right foot, but the 205GTi hit the sweet spot of speed and delicacy that could make driving at relatively sane speeds still a thrill.
Why don't you rate the Ford Focus ST as one of the best hot hatches?
