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On the other hand, a $70k Golf R is much faster than a $70k BMW 3. If a young driver wants a performance car he buys a second hand one. Hell, if a young driver wants a car at all he pretty much buys a second hand one. I'm not sure how much of a market hot hatches have had here at all, given the ease at which a large 6 or 8 cylinder sedan can be had.
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The hot hatchback is entirely Europe creation with European needs in mind, and that's probably why it doesn't work anywhere else in the world. Once the hatchback became mainstream in the early 60's, with cars like the Renault 4, the Renault 16, the Autobianchi Primula, the Simca 1100 or the Austin Maxi it was clear that thanks to its mix of practicality and compact size it would eventually become a prefered bodystyle in Europe's cramped cities and roads.
Later on, in the next decade the world suffered the first oil crisis in 1973 and later on another one in 1979, which made everyone clear that the western world petrol-avid future maybe wasn't so sure after all. In this context many projects of big and powerful cars with thirsty engines were cancelled and it was obvious that those that remained were not going to be the future.
This is where the hot hatchback appears. Arguably there were predecessors of it, like the Austin Mini Cooper or the 500 and 600-based Abarths but those, while similar in spirit didn't have rear hatches. The proper example of the breed as most will know is the 1976 Volkswagen Golf GTI. This combined a practical 3 door hatchback bodyshell with a 1.6 litre fuel injected four cylinder engine. At first it was meant to be a limited edition car, but soon everyone saw Volkswagen's engineers genius and everyone wanted one.
There were other examples like the Renault 5 Alpine or the Mark 3 Escort XR3 that also tried to capture this same market. And of course, two old-schoolers like the Sunbeam Ti and Lotus and theVauxhall Chevette HS, which still had rear wheel drive and live rear axles. But the template was set, by the Golf and soon enough everyone else would follow, wanting a piece of this newly created market.
And, moving on, we reach the eighties with the economy improving and the oil crisis behind us. And so, in 1984 an icon amongst icons is launched, the Peugeot 205 GTI. Initially with a 1.6 litre engine and later with 1.9 litre unit this is the car that ultimately took the hot hatch from its early days in the mid and late 70's into the first golden era which would last until the early 90's.
The Golf also evolved into its second generation, getting bigger and faster, but basically this was the time when every single manufacturer wanted [I]a GTI[/I] in its range. And therefore we have an outstanding variety of cars from this era. From 11 Turbos, to Escort RSs, including the Alfa Romeo 33 Quadrifoglio Verde, the Fiat Ritmo Abarth, the Opel Kadett GSi amongst others. It was also a time when cars were still relatively light and many go faster solutions were popularised, like 16 vavle heads and turbochargers, altough in an 80's temperamental style.
It was also the time when hot hatches grew outside of its original market, both down and up. Many smaller cars also got the hot or warm hatch treatment like the Polo or Corsa, which complimented their bigger, faster and more expensive brothers. Also, thanks to the Group B demise in 1987, and the need of homologation specials hot hatches also evolved into more sophisticated and powerful all rounders. We've got thank Group A for cars like the Delta Integrale, the Golf Rallye or the Escort RS Cosworth, which all were serious ground coverers thanks to blown engines and four wheel drive.
However by the early 90's the craze had reached its zenith and was starting to go down again. The insurance premiums shoot through the roof and hot hatches had boy racer image no one really wanted to be associated with. The 1992 Renault Clio Williams, another Group A homologation special, signals the end of the first golden era of the hot hatch.
Throughout all the 90's, hot hatches pretty much disappeared from the market as most people moved on to cars with often smaller engines but with premium badges. Those that remained were often a pale shadow of the great ancestrors, and the Golf is a clear representation of that since neither the Mk III or the Mk IV GTI could achieve the status the Mk I and Mk II had achieved in the 70's and 80's. There were still some gems like the 306 GTI and 106 GTI, but they were the exception more than the rule.
And then, all of a sudden, Europeans re-discovered their love affair with the hot hatch. In the noughties the Clio RS or the Ford Focus RS re-captured the audience heart's and again became desired by young new-comers to the car world as well as oldies which missed the old-schoolers. In this resurgence era a distinction started, that would be even greater as time passed. It was that of mere hot hatches and those of ultra-hot hatches with performance to embarrass sportscars.
In the first category, the benchmark was reborn in 2003 with the fifth generation Golf GTI. And it was the Golf again the car that would set the template for the modern hot hatch. However, in this era it was the second category which got the most attention. It was time in which it was ok the shoe-horn the biggest engine you could fit under the bonnet of your mid range hatchback and the green consience wasn't as present as it today yet. And as such we had cars like the six cylinder-engined Golf R32 and the 147 GTA or even the second generation Focus ST with its Volvo-sourced five cylinder engine.
And finally we arrive at the modern era, what could possibly be regarded as the second golden era of the hot hatchback. Cars are getting more technologically advanced, and there's no place for dinosaurs like the 147 GTA or the R32. Today emissions are as important as performance and in this light downsizing, turbocharging and direct fuel injection are king. But technology isn't limited to the engines, and dual clutch gearboxes are getting increasingly popular. However again, as in the 80's, everyone wants to have a piece of the cake. And as result there's choice pretty much wherever you look. There's the newest GTI and Golf R, the new Focus ST, Leon FR and Cupra variants, the Giulietta Qudrifoglio Verde, the Megane RS or the Octavia RS to mention a few.
And as in the 80's action isn't limited to C-segment cars. B-segment cars get a lot of attention too, with the Mini Cooper S, the Abarth Grande Punto, the Clio RS, the Ibiza Cupra or the Corsa OPC. And even A-segment cars are included. That means that pretty much everyone can have one, big or small, cheap or expensive.
To finish, where is the hot hatch going? Well, undoubtedly technology will be increasingly present, possibly with hybrid technollogy around the corner. I don't think diesel will ever catch on with the hot hatch, since it was tried in the 2000's but they weren't very popular. But if they have survived several crises (including the one we are undergoing) and going out fashion and managing to come back with a vengeance, they can survive everything.
Long life to the hot hatchback!
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Thank you, Ferrer. ;)
What do you think it will take for hot hatches to become more diffuse in places other than Europe?
Ridiculously cheap pricetags?
A premium snobby image?
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cant stand how hatches are going 4 door (mazda 2 , Fiesta , Jazz)
also was surprised at how bad the weight distro is with the new Fiat 500 . i would own the hot Arbath model in an instant tho if i could afford one
the surprise hot hatch of the 90s was the Ford Ka (once you swopped out the engine of course) - excellent handeling for a FR car
imagine if VW made a run of Rabbits again , just for fun . i wonder how fast they would sell out
the original 106 GTI has to be the smallest car fitted with a 1.6L 4 cyl surely ? they are smaller than the detomaso charade
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Potential threadjack. I'm actually looking at buying a 2008ish Mazda Speed 3 right now as a daily driver. Right now, my '99 Pathfinder is starting to show its 182K miles a bit. Anyways, anybody have any comments or anything in regards to the Speed 3 as a daily driver? Right now, I'm at a tossup between the Speed 3 and an older Audi A4 2.0T or 3.2L V6...
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Dear lord, if you have any soul, don't buy an Audi.
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[quote=Kitdy;952322]Dear lord, if you have any soul, don't buy an Audi.[/quote]
:confused:
Why the hate? The 3.2 I drove seemed like a pretty solid car w/ decent handling for what it is, and the tiptronic was a nice alternative too, at least, that's what I gleaned from my experience. Something I'm missing?
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[quote=sours;952325]:confused:
Why the hate? The 3.2 I drove seemed like a pretty solid car w/ decent handling for what it is, and the tiptronic was a nice alternative too, at least, that's what I gleaned from my experience. Something I'm missing?[/quote]
Just internet wankery. If you like it, buy it.
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i liked the S3 iirc.
but the A4.. just.. no.
have had two as courtesy cars, just feels like an upmarket camry imo.
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[quote=sours;952325]:confused:
Why the hate? The 3.2 I drove seemed like a pretty solid car w/ decent handling for what it is, and the tiptronic was a nice alternative too, at least, that's what I gleaned from my experience. Something I'm missing?[/quote]
I would suggest evaluating/driving other competing vehicles before picking one up... I don't have a lot of good things to say about modern Audis or VAG cars in general (there are exceptions of course).
My experiences with tiptronic have been miserable - mind you, that's in an Acura - it was the worst of both worlds.
[quote=2ndclasscitizen;952327]Just internet wankery. If you like it, buy it.[/quote]
No doubt, but wouldn't you suggest other options before an A4, or at least trying them before deciding on it?
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I found the A3 I drove time ago an utterly dull and uninspiring car. As for the A4, (assuming it's a B7) better than the bigger A6, but still a curiously hard riding car plagued with bad handling.
However when looking at 2nd cars other factors like price and condition are important. So consider those too when buying a 2nd hand car.
[quote=f6fhellcat13;952301]Thank you, Ferrer. ;)
What do you think it will take for hot hatches to become more diffuse in places other than Europe?
Ridiculously cheap pricetags?
A premium snobby image?[/quote]
High(er) fuel prices, tighter spaces. The first one is possible, the second one not. We'll se if fuel prices alone can put people in other places in hot hatchbacks.
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In somewhat related news...
To hell with donwsizing.
[url="http://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/scoop/vws-new-496bhp-30-litre-vr6-engine"]VWs new 496bhp 3.0-litre VR6 engine | Autocar[/url]
Welcome everyone to the new VR6 engine.