Fuel Type: Petrol
It all started with leaded fuel, then moved onto unleaded, but petrol power has always been the favourite for hot hatchbacks. Sure, the 00s and 10s saw a surge in popularity for fast diesels, but fashions have changed again and petrol is back as the main choice for a performance hatch. However, there’s some serious competition coming from the battery-powered brigade.
Petrol Hot Hatches
Browse Petrol hot hatch entries with comparable specs and model links from 57 published entries.
Models In This Section
-
Ford Focus RS Heritage Edition (2018)
The Ford Focus RS Heritage Edition was the final flourish for the Mk3 Focus RS: a UK-only run of just 50 cars, built to mark the end of production in 2018. It was not just a sticker-and-paint runout model either. Ford gave it a proper mechanical send-off, combining the later RS Edition’s Quaife front limited-slip…
-
Renaultsport Clio 200 Raider (2011)
The Renaultsport Clio 200 Raider was another ultra-limited UK Clio 200, and in spirit it sat very close to the Silverstone GP Edition: both were 50-car specials, both used the same fizzy naturally aspirated 2.0-litre Clio 200 base, both leaned heavily on the desirable Cup chassis, and both were essentially Renaultsport raiding the options list…
-
Renaultsport Clio 200 Silverstone (2011)
The 2011 Renaultsport Clio 200 Silverstone GP Edition was special partly because it was properly rare: Renault built just 50 examples for the UK, launched to celebrate the Silverstone British Grand Prix. It was priced at £19,995, making it a very expensive Clio by 2011 standards, but it came loaded with the sort of “best…
-
Ford Fiesta ST (B479)
The B479 Fiesta ST was the final fast Fiesta: the last-generation European Fiesta ST, sold from 2018 until the Fiesta itself was retired in July 2023. Top Gear summed up the mood well: by 2023, “the Ford Fiesta is no more, and neither is the ST hot hatch version of it.” Mechanically, it was a…
-
Renault Megane Renaultsport 250 Cup (X95)
The Renaultsport Mégane 250 Cup is one of the defining front-drive hot hatches of the early 2010s. It arrived at a time when the class was splitting in two: cars like the Mk6 Golf GTI were becoming polished, premium and everyday-friendly, while cars like the Ford Focus RS were big, loud and theatrical. The Mégane…
-
Hyundai i30 N Performance Manual (PD)
The manual Hyundai i30 N Performance is the version that best captures what made Hyundai’s first proper hot hatch so likeable. It is not just quick for the sake of numbers; it feels engineered by people who understand why drivers still care about a clutch pedal, a short shift, a noisy exhaust and a front…
-
Hyundai i30 N Performance DCT (PD)
The 2021 Hyundai i30 N Performance DCT was the facelifted i30 N at its most complete: still a front-drive, noisy, slightly lairy hot hatch, but now with the option that many buyers had been waiting for. In the UK, the facelift effectively standardised the Performance Package, giving the car a 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, 280 PS,…
-
Abarth 500 Esseesse (321)
The Abarth 500 Esseesse was what you got when Abarth had turned the wick up properly on the Fiat 500. In most markets, the Esseesse was not a separate clean-sheet model so much as a factory-backed but dealer-fit “SS” conversion for the Abarth 500. The headline change was the 1.4-litre turbo T-Jet being lifted to…
-
Volkswagen Golf GTI Performance (5G)
Back in 2015, you could order your Golf GTI in two flavours. Standard trim with 220PS and the Performance Pack with 230PS. Not much difference, it seemed, until you looked more closely at the specifications. The Performance Pack was special because it fixed the one area where a front-drive GTI could feel ordinary when pushed…
You must be logged in to post a comment.