Drivetrain: FWD
Front-wheel drive, where power is sent to the front axle only. It’s always been the default layout for the hot hatch, with the compact front-engined, front-drive layout fitting more comfortably into the practical hot hatch format. There are a few outliers, some rear drive, some driving all of the wheels, but it’s front-wheel drive that dominates the market.
FWD Hot Hatches
Browse FWD hot hatch entries with comparable specs and model links from 50 published entries.
Models In This Section
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Renault Clio Williams
The Clio Williams was a motorsport-branded special that became a legend. Its 2.0-litre engine and beautifully judged chassis make it one of the most coveted hot hatchbacks of the 1990s.
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Renault Clio 16V (1991)
The Clio 16V carried Renault’s small hot hatch line into the 1990s with wider arches and a rev-hungry 1.8-litre engine.
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Ford Fiesta ST200 (2016)
The ST200 gave the outgoing Fiesta ST a power bump, shorter gearing and limited-run status.
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Renault 5 Gordini (1979)
The Renault 5 Gordini, sold as the Alpine in some markets, gave Renault’s supermini serious pace before the turbo era arrived. It stands out for combining light weight, a five-speed gearbox, and a genuinely eager engine in a small everyday hatch.
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Vauxhall Corsa VXR Nurburgring (2010)
The Vauxhall Corsa VXR Nürburgring Edition was one of those cars that sounded a bit like marketing bravado, but turned out to be much more serious than expected. It took the already lively Corsa VXR and gave it the sort of hardware usually reserved for more grown-up performance cars: Bilstein dampers, uprated springs, Brembo brakes,…
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Mini John Cooper Works Manual (2015)
The F56 JCW brought the Mini hot hatch into the 2.0-litre turbo era with more torque and maturity. Manual cars preserve the traditional enthusiast appeal, even if they can’t match the performance and economy of the 8-speed automatic.
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Mini Cooper S (2002)
The reborn Mini Cooper S used a supercharger and playful chassis to reinterpret the small hot hatch for the 2000s.
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