As the title, i'm umming and arring about going for a hot hatch, having spent the last year using my Mrs Rover 25 i'm starting to think I don't really need a big car out here in Croatia and the abundance of twisty not very wide roads coupled with the very decent mpg have started me thinking i'd be better off with a little go cart with some half decent shove.

I ran quite a few fiesta XR2's back in the day so one of the obvious choices would be something like the fiesta ST along side the clio 172/182, or a civic type r, I don't know very much about any of them so any advice on the main problems and what to look out for on them is much appreciated.

I'm also looking for suggestions as well, only real criteria is half decent mpg when driven briskly, other wise I may as well keep my wrx wagon if i'm only going to get 25mpg as that's easily achievable with mixed driving, so would need to be mid 30's to make me jump ship.

Don't really want to spend more than £3k

 

172/182 will see mid 30's.
Had one - totally reliable and went ok but I really missed forced induction so had a Fabia VRS which are fairly easy to tune way beyond what a Clio can do but needs money chucking at handling to be a match!

 

Ek9 or if you prefer a coupe the dc2 teg is truly an awesome car

And both will easily see over 30 mpg

 

Been looking at the Hondas but the quoted mpg figures on auto trader are about the same as quoted for the WRX, and like I said i'll not be swapping for similar numbers, especially to a car I don't know as well as I do scoobs.

 

Go diesel.

The Ibiza Cupra TDi's are to be beaten, afaiac, and the FR's can be mapped to similar spec.

GREAT mpg, decent power, very good handling and masses of torque.

I'd love one.

 

Clio 172's are brilliant little cars, not much puff in a straight line, but great fun round the twisties....

 

I used to get 35-37 mpg out of my integra.
Basically just a lightweight 1.8

Don't listen to auto trader figures they are useless lol

 

Does it have to be a hatch back?

having lived over there myself, why not get an MX5 with a hard top for when it get a bit nippers.

 

I have never driven one of these but I really like the look of them

seat cupra r

 

Dull as dishwater mate.

A hot hatch should excite, these don't

 

as I say never driven on just like the look.

 

I had an EP3 civic. Great car. Fuel isn't as bad as my turbo 2000 for sure.
If you decide to look at an EP3, then look out for gear crunches. usually 2nd gear. The syncros wear out.

Everyone will say how the EP3 is undriveable due to its high revving nature. But these are the people who have not owned one. Sure you change gear more, but that's the point and half the fun. If you want something that is a more relaxed, then the civic is not the way to go. If you want an exciting hot hatch that you can thrash the **** off, then an EP3 is perfect. I've not driven the older EK9s and integras, but i imagine they are more raw, and more fun

Driven a Seat Cupra R, feels fast due to torque. That's all I can say. It wasn't particularly exciting, and didn't feel special in any way.

I have to ask, for the sake of getting an extra 10mpg, is it worth changing? If fuel is the concern, might as well go diesel?

 

Why get a hot hatch for the sake of fuel saving?
Surely just buy any hot hatch you like or buy a cheap 1000cc car instead.

Ep3
S3
Glanza
Impreza hatch
Ibiza,Leon,golf gti, cupra r- basically all the same
French......?..Clios,megane etc?
Frs-recommended by ash
BMW 1 series
Proton Satara gti


Like has been said, does it really need to be a hatch only?

 

cosmic grey face lift ep3 is all you need.truly awesome cars, ok not the quickest but it does make you smile and it brings the devil out in you aswell which is what a hot hatch should do.when I can no longer afford the scooby I will be going back to a type r

 

Fuel is not the main concern but I don't see the point in swapping for something thats going to be about the same as i do still love driving a scoob, it's more of a changing for the go cart type handling and the thrills that come with it, and as in the op most of the roads around here (mountain region) are quite narrow so more suited to nippy good handling smaller cars than big powerful ones.

I think the honda type r is not overly suited either because i'd need to be revving the **** off it in first and second a lot and probably be going too fast in the vtec zone in third to make a lot of the bends round here so out of the sweet spot so to speak and back into 2nd bouncing off the limiter, but i could be wrong about that.

I'ts the reason I mentioned the small car big engine so it has the grunt all the way through the rev range.

I'd love an mx5 but the two seats might be a problem from time to time and hanging its **** out every where is probably not a good idea either.

I'm too frightened to go derv.

 

If its ultimately fun your after try a dc2 you will not be disappointed.

 

Then you need a 1.6 petrol turbo of some sort or the Clio cup but it might not be reliable enough as a daily drive.
1.3 turbo Glanza? Or proton satara 1.8 gti

And the 5 won't go loose all the time if it has LSD.

Dazza-the dc2/5 or s2k is my next 2nd car.

 

Drove both teg all day long

They just feel a lot sharper.

 

Only drove the ep3

Tbh it's a toss up between fwd and rwd

 

I've had an ep3 before I bought my teg and the ep3 is not in the same league.



This was mine it was a year 2000 jdm type rx (very rare)
It was more fun than my sti widetrack is.
They do take time to get used to but once you are there isn't much that will catch you down a country road or even on track.

There is a vid on YouTube of one going round the outside of an sti type r on track in Japan.

 

How many times do you want to post that pic? I've seen it about 5 times now

 

Loved that car

 

I do like the idea of one of these but i've only seen either dogs or a million miles and i don't want to go spending more money so has to be on budget at £3k and any that look half decent are a bit more than that.

I might be being a little picky but I don't want to make a mistake and end up with a car i won't be happy with.

 

Can you get a decent dc2 for £3k?

 

Exactly,i've not seen one unless anyone has some links?

 

Up your budget to 3.5 or 4 and you wilk get a very well setup glanza or gt turbo running 200break and they are bulletproof if you dont push the boost past 1bar.

I had a 260bhp glanza v and not much could keep with me on the country roads or straights. The only musts are decent coilovers and a rarb and away you go

Allan

 

You are

3rd gear is perfect for back road blasts. 2nd gear tops out at 58mph. 3rd takes you up to around 90-100. I forget exactly, been a while since I had mine. But plenty of scope for a proper blast, all at sensible speeds (ish)
As you are constantly on the Vtec cam, it certainly shifts.

However, if its tight mountain roads, I imagine you might find yourself in 2nd a bit more on the tighter corners. What sort of average speed do you do when on such roads?

 

Get an S2000 Honda http://www.pistonheads.com/classifie...--2000/1560298

A little more wonga needed though

 

That's exactly what i'm talking about, seems to me like i'll be bouncing off the limiter in 2nd then when I hit 3rd too low in the revs for the Vtec, I want something that's singing nicely between 50 and 70 without needing to change gears and if I do find myself in 3rd it needs to have the grunt from lower down in the revs to.

 

Only glanza I can see is well over £4k, what gt turbo?