Best hot hatches - driven, rated and ranked

Best for: Track day thrills

The previous Honda Civic Type R was a highly regarded hot hatchback, so expectations for the latest version were substantial.

Given that the old car was at the top of the class right up to the point it disappeared and this one is better, it’s no surprise to learn that it’s the best big hot hatchback now.

Matt Prior, Editor-at-large

Fortunately, it met those expectations. It offers a more mature experience compared to its predecessor, despite the BTCC-style rear wing hinting at a more rebellious nature.

Under the bonnet, the Type R’s familiar turbocharged 2.0-litre engine has been enhanced with a lighter flywheel, a revised intake, and a freer-flowing exhaust. These upgrades boost power from 316bhp to 325bhp, while the six-speed manual gearbox features an improved gate for smoother shifts.

The dual-axis front suspension and multi-link rear axle are largely carried over, but the track is now 15mm wider. This, combined with a 15%-stiffer bodyshell, results in sharper handling and greater ride comfort.

Performance is brisk, with a 0-62mph time of 5.4 seconds and a top speed approaching 170mph. The car delivers this performance with a surprising level of refinement and composure.

Despite its merits, the new Type R doesn't quite lead the segment. The primary drawback is a substantial price increase. The previous model started at approximately £33,000, while the new version commands £50,000, and availability is extremely limited.

Best for: Everyday road performance

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.

You had better make the most of it while you still can. The days of the Focus are numbered, and we’re all the worse off for it.

Jack Warrick, Staff Writer

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. 

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.

This generation is the first to gain adaptive dampers and an electronically controlled limited-slip differential for its driven front axle. The latter remains fairly rare on cars of this price point and certainly adds to its handling appeal.

Unfortunately, the Focus ST won't be on this list much longer. Ford has confirmed that order books for this talented hot hatchback have closed, with production due to end in November of this year. That means no more Fiesta ST, and no more Focus ST. Pour one out, with us. 

Best for: Daily driving

Volkswagen's highly regarded super-Golf, the four-wheel-drive Golf R, has taken a big step forward in this latest form. As well as its 316bhp 2.0-litre turbocharged engine, its arsenal is packed with performance-enhancing equipment. 

Pick up the pace and the suspension gets into its stride, offering confidence-inspiring control and a deftness of damping no matter how wicked the surface.

James Disdale, Special correspondent

Most Golf Rs get 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.

That rear diff gives it staggering agility, and in the softest damper mode it rides remarkably well.

The Mk8 Golf 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.

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 quite a way. 

Best for: Pure power

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.

If the Mercedes-AMG A45 S does go down as the most powerful combustion-engined hot hatch in history, it will be worthy of its fame.

Matt Saunders, Road test editor

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 an 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, yet 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 it has wandered so far from the realms of relative affordability that crowning it the class champion would have been a touch problematic.

Best for: Electric motoring

Make no mistake: the Cupra Born VZ 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.

It has the performance we expect of a proper hot hatchback and a simple, accessible rear-drive handling appeal.

Matt Saunders, Road test editor

Based on the same platform as the Volkswagen ID 3, the regular Born gets a rear-mounted motor that delivers up to 227bhp and instant torque. The Born VZ meanwhile boosts performance to 322bhp and 402lb ft. 

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.

Best for: Rolling refinement

Similar to the Volkswagen Golf GTI, the Cupra Leon adds a dose of performance to the regular Seat Leon hatchback. 

Viewed as an all-round proposition, its practicality and comfort keep the Cupra Leon competitive with the rest in its class, and the offering of a manual gearbox on basic versions is a nice addition.

Illya Verpraet, Road Tester

There are no fewer than seven trim levels for this hot Leon, but the headline powertrains are a brand new 329bhp engine and a 268bhp plug-in hybrid powertrain, both of which offer stonking performance to challenge the GTI and the Civic Type R. 

We like the Leon and think it offers great styling, rapid outright pace and a balanced and comfortable chassis. It's not quite the bespoke Cupra the brand claims it to be, but it's still practical and well-designed, with terrific rolling refinement. 

It's not all perfect. It is slightly let down by its aversion to buttons and its interior quality isn't up there with the class's best. Its steering is also slightly dull, disappointingly. But it's a great all-round proposition and well worth considering if you're after a refined hot hatch. 

Best for: Go-kart dynamics

The Mini Cooper S has always been a solid hot hatch option, and it's a similar story with the model's latest iteration. 

What makes the lack of control over the engine and gearbox all the more frustrating is that the chassis of this new Cooper is hugely entertaining.

Illya Verpraet, Road Tester

Powered by an eager 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine, the Cooper S gets 201bhp and 221lb ft of torque. That makes it one of the least powerful models on this list, but it's still highly capable and enjoyable to drive. And it will still hit 0-62mph in 6.3sec.

It sports sharp handling, which is matched by its capable chassis. While Cooper S models of old felt overly firm for most drivers, the new car feels much more livable.

And unlike any of the other cars on this list, it has a convertible variant on the way. That alone wins it some extra brownie points in our book - especially with summer just around the corner. 

Best for: Luxury

Is the idea of an Audi A3 that’s capable of 180mph more or less absurd than one that might cost you as much as £65,000 after options? 

This would seem to be the best and most roundly impressive RS3 that Audi has ever built.

Illya Verpraet, Road Tester

There is something extraordinary about even the very proposition of the latest generation of Audi's ultra-hot hatchback.

For a start, it has a cracking, characterful five-pot motor fit to grace to engine bays of dedicated sports coupés (as it did in the TT RS).

Then there's the new torque-vectoring back axle, which operates in a similar way to that of the A45 S and can, in certain conditions, result in a longitudinally engined hatchback that can be genuinely steering on the throttle.

The RS3 combines these elements with a chassis that is controlled but far from brittle, and perhaps that is the real magic of this recipe. It's fundamentally usable day-to-day, despite the wild performance on offer and a very punchy exterior aesthetic.

That said, the AMG edges it in our estimations, owing to its warmer cabin and more feelsome driving experience.