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Hot Lists
Five of the best hot hatches you can buy right now
All hail the only car you'll ever need. Maybe
Honda Civic Type R
The FL5 is a surprisingly traditional car. When almost everyone else has followed the market and gone for twin clutch boxes and 4WD, here’s a car that uses the original hot hatch template. And yet as a package it has lost none of its appeal or ability to entertain. It’s a sublime car, this. More demanding of you than a Golf GTI or R, but infinitely more rewarding and beguiling. The biggest change may be to the styling and we’re not sure it’ll have the hyped response that made the GR Yaris such a wild hit two years ago, especially when it costs almost £47,000. But what a thing to drive…
Aimed at: purists
Read the full Honda Civic Type R review
Advertisement - Page continues belowToyota GR Yaris
Two things stand out. That Toyota has created this car at all, and that it’s done an outstanding job of it. Cars like the GR Yaris simply don’t happen these days when everyone spins countless bodystyles off one platform. Toyota is as guilty of that as anyone: look at the BMW-based Supra.
This is Toyota’s riposte. And it’s superb. It proves what we’ve long suspected: that a pukka road-going rally car is the best thing for tackling a modern B-road. Small and light, with punchy dynamics and a gutsy motor, it’s a deeply compelling machine.
Read the full Toyota GR Yaris review
Hyundai Ioniq 5 N
Right now, the Ioniq 5 N is an electric car that's as involving as a really good petrol car. In some ways it does that by brazenly impersonating a petrol drivetrain. The surprising thing is that's absolutely not just a gimmick.
Advertisement - Page continues belowFord Focus ST
All told the Focus ST remains a quietly great all-rounder, even if it’s not the bargain it once was. With cars generally getting taller, heavier and less characterful, we’ll be bereft when production ends.
Read the full Ford Focus ST review
Mercedes-AMG A45
The 415bhp engine, the 4WD system, body stiffness, suspension, the electronics that support everything – all are highly impressive and very well integrated. It is a very particular type of car: a bombastic hatch, big on speed and extrovert gestures, lacking a little in delicacy and adjustability. Leave that to coupes such as the Porsche Cayman or Alpine A110.
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