With the latest Honda Civic Type R raising the stakes in the hot hatch market, we look at how its rivals will respond over the next 12 monthst
TWENTY-SEVENTEEN MIGHT JUST GO down as a watershed year in the history of the hot hatch. With 400bhp now the target for the most powerful of the breed, it’s also cause for reflection on what attributes a hot hatch requires to succeed as the decade draws to a close, and what the next batch of new arrivals promise for the years ahead.
First and foremost, can the new Audi RS3 Sportback (Driven, evo 240) even be termed ‘a hot hatch’ given its power (394bhp), acceleration capability (0-62mph in 4.1sec), generous weight (1510kg) and other vitals? Perhaps the time has come to start properly differentiating the merely potent from the extraordinary with some trite term such as ‘superhatch’ or even ‘hyperhatch’.
Then again, not all the new arrivals seem to be complicit with a race for more horsepower, and the third-generation Renault Sport Mégane is a case in point. The Mégane’s substantial portfolio of talents has never been defined by raw power alone, although its numbers have usually been competitive. Nevertheless, in recent years it’s been the trusty 2-litre ‘F4’ engine that has started to show the package’s first signs of weakness in the face of its rivals. In a class where 300bhp has rapidly become to be seen as the minimum required, the old car’s peak of 271bhp (in its ultimate guise), and a top end without the same effervescence as the most potent VW TSI engines, had started to betray its age. Not, it must be said, that we cared: it remained the pick of the bunch to drive right up until its demise.
Denne historien er fra December 2017-utgaven av Evo.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra December 2017-utgaven av Evo.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
BMW M135 xDrive
The M135 has lost an and gained chassis revisions and a restyle. Is it enough to make it a benchmark hot hatch?
Audi S5
S5 by name, S4 by nature, is Audi's new mid-size petrol-powered saloon a step in the right direction?
Lamborghini Urus SE
Lambo's super-SUV gets a major mid-life overhaul, going hybrid in the process. Has it become any easier to like?
HALL evo OF FAME
The evo Hall of Fame was established to recognise the great and the good of our corner of the universe. Prepare to welcome this year's inductees
CIRCUIT DAY
After three days of assessing their behaviour on the road, it's time to head to the Circuito de Navarra to find out how our nine contenders respond when their handling limits are explored
EVO CAR OF THE YEAR 2024
Nine brilliant cars, from flyweight roadsters to bombastic supercars to a be-stickered estate(!), do battle on some of Europe's finest and most spectacular roads. Which will emerge victorious? Place your bets now.
Porsche Panamera GTS
It lacks the raw power of its hybrid rivals, but does the new GTS’s more traditional approach give it its USP?
Alpine A290 GTS
The new electric Renault 5 has won plenty of plaudits. Is the hotter Alpine version a car to win petrolheads' hearts too?
BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
TYRE 2024 TEST
Want to fit the very best tyres to your performance car? The annual evo Tyre Test identifies the cream of the current crop