The Best Hot Hatches In 2024

What’s better than a hot hatch? It’s the type of car that basically does it all – puts a smile on your face, does the school run, looks awesome, holds its own on a track day.

With much of the car world going SUV mad, hot hatches are beginning to dwindle in numbers but there’s still a bit of choice out there – from entry-level, relatively affordable fun buckets to mega-powerful options from luxury brands that decided to join the party.

So to help you choose your next hot hatch, we’ve gone through the best options and ranked them.

7. VW Golf GTI Clubsport

The Clubsport badge returned for the eighth-generation VW Golf, but this time, there isn’t any silly ‘overboost’ nonsense going on to avoid upsetting Golf R owners. Now, it’s good for 296bhp each and every time you stand on the throttle, plus 295lb ft of torque.

Read our full VW Golf GTI Clubsport review

As with the old Clubsport and the Mk7.5 TCR, power goes through the front wheels via VW Groups ‘VAQ’ electronically-controlled locking differential. It makes for a capable, fun-to-drive hot hatch if not one quite as entertaining as the raucous Civic Type R. You also can’t have it with a manual gearbox (or on any GTI for that matter) - the only transmission option is a seven-speed twin-clutch affair.

With the arrival of the Golf GTI 8.5, you can’t currently buy a Clubsport. However, we’re expecting the trim to return imminently. 

6. Cupra Leon 300

The Clubsport’s Spanish cousin is ever-so-slightly better to drive despite using much of the same bits in its construction. The steering’s a little sweeter, and although we’d need to get them both on the same road to be sure, we reckon the Cupra might have the edge in terms of traction too.

See how the Cupra Leon compares to the old Seat Leon Cupra R

Not everyone will be keen on new Seat-less branding, though, and like the Clubsport, there’s no manual option. Curiously, this time there’s also a hybrid version and a lower-powered pure internal combustion derivative, each making 242bhp, along with a 306bhp all-wheel drive ‘ST’ estate. The 300 is the one to go for, though.

5. VW Golf R

In times gone by, it would have been ranked lower than its front-wheel-drive relatives, but for the Golf 8-based version, the R has taken a noticeable step forward.

Spec it with the Performance Pack, and the Golf R includes a new ‘R-Performance Torque Vectoring’ system. This is able to lob up to 100 per cent of available torque to a single wheel, making for a car that will actually step out at the back under power. For suitable locations, there’s even a drift mode.

Read our full VW Golf R review

The caveat with the Golf R and the two VW Group MQB products to come before it in our rankings is that the user experience has taken a knock. Like the GTI, we’re waiting for the 8.5 to arrive, which thankfully brings with it proper steering wheel buttons. The infuriating touch-sensitive climate control remains, though.

4. Audi RS3

The RS3 has always been entertaining because of its big bucket of power under the bonnet, but when the latest model was released in 2021, it became the Best One Ever. Audi widened the front track on both Saloon and Sportback models, and widened the back of the latter, too. The brakes are bigger and the tyre contact patch is improved, but the real game-changer was the introduction of Audi’s Torque Splitter. This is basically a recalibrated version of the R-Performance Torque Vectoring found in the Golf R, and it’s worked wonders in the RS3.

Letting you send all the power to back wheels gets rid of the powerful-but-understeery character of RS3s gone by, and turns it into a proper pointy sports car that’s beautifully balanced through the bends, and adjustable too, thanks to various different modes that you can select and fiddle with. And obviously, it still has 395bhp to play with, which means 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds, which is faintly ridiculous.

You can’t currently order an RS3, as we await a facelift, but it’ll no doubt be worth waiting for.

3. Mercedes A45 S

It’s easy to get blinded by the raw performance of the Mercedes-AMG A45 S. 416bhp from a 2.0-litre engine allows for a 0-62mph time of 3.9 seconds, which was supercar pace not so long ago.

Indeed, it feels every bit as impressive when you put your foot down, but it’s more than just a straight-line missile. The A45 is extraordinarily capable in the corners, and unlike most other all-wheel drive hot hatches (save for the discontinued Ford Focus RS), it doesn’t just give you heaps of understeer when you do finally approach the limit.

Read our full Mercedes-AMG A45 S review

The clever AWD system can and often does favour the rear wheels. There are times when it can feel a little unnatural and synthetic, but once you’re used to it, you’ll find the A45 S far more interesting to drive than the average AWD mega hatch.

It’s leagues better to drive than the old one, and even better to sit in since its minor 2023 update, which added new interior tech and a new dial to let you quickly switch between modes. The problem? The one you want, the A45 S Plus, is well over £60,000. Although we’re talking about hot hatches here, we feel compelled to point out that’s BMW M2 money. And as one of the smaller C-segment hatchbacks, it’s not like the A-Class is significantly more practical than BMW’s coupe.

2. Toyota GR Yaris

Our one-time chart-topper has slipped down a place, but the GR Yaris is still a magnificent beast. It’s proved so popular that there’s a ‘Gen 2’ version coming, which you’ll need to enter a ballot to have any hope of ordering. And that’s because it’s not just hype – the GR Yaris is one of the best hot hatches ever made.

The rally car it was supposed to homologate was canned, but in a way, that merely makes the road-going version all the cooler. Particularly given the effort Toyota went to when developing this thing - it shares the light clusters and little else with the standard Yaris and takes 10 times as long to build.

Read our full Toyota GR Yaris review

There’s every chance the new car could claim top spot once we’ve driven it on the road, with an early crack in it on a frozen Finnish lake offering promising signs. That said, the new car carries a hefty price tag too – starting at £44,250.

1. Honda Civic Type R

Previous incarnations of this list have placed the Type R Civic in a very respectable place, but the new FL5 is so good that it goes straight to the top of the hot-hatch rankings. Sure, on paper it looks very expensive and not much more powerful than the previous FK8, but that in no way tells the story. It’s better and more fun in just about every way, from the quality of the interior and the way it looks to the way it drives. OK, we’re mostly interested in the way it drives.

Unlike in the FK8 you can fiddle around with the FL5’s settings to your heart’s content. Want the softest suspension with the most hardcore engine setting? No problem. You can tune it to any type of driving, and it’s wonderful – stiff yet supple, boisterous yet mature enough for everyday driving. The grip and poise through the bends is astounding, but it’s not just technically good, it FEELS good too. You get more engagement in this Type R than ever, aided by a tremendous, short-shifting six-speed manual gearbox.

This is the one, guys. This is the one.

What about the rest?

As you might have noticed, there are some omissions from this list. Hot hatches have been dying out in the last few years, but there are still a few other options out there For instance, since driving the Clubsport, we’re convinced it’s the only VW Golf GTI petrolheads should just consider, so it’s usurped the standard one.

We’d probably rather have the more practical Skoda Octavia vRS over the regular GTI, although it isn’t quite spicy enough to work its way onto our list. Speaking of which, the Audi S3 is a little uninspiring, although we’ll give it another chance once the facelift arrives with the Golf R’s torque vectoring system.

The Suzuki Swift Sport is warm rather than hot, and it currently doesn’t look like a new version is coming, while the VW Polo GTI is a perfectly competent hot hatch that’s not quite exciting enough to make a top list. The Abarth 595 and 695 meanwhile are strangely alluring, pseudo-exotic hot hatches, but are also ancient and uncomfortable. If you really must, go used.

We’ve also sadly had to cut the Hyundai i30 and i20 N following their discontinuations, with the Ford Fiesta ST also bowing out in 2023.