How Much Does It Cost to Own a Hot Hatch?
What is a “hot hatch” car?
If you don’t know, a “hot hatch” is a high-performance hatchback typically with front-wheel drive, front-mounted petrol engines and a standard powertrain layout.
Why buy a hot hatch?
Hatchbacks are a great vehicle choice as they combine practicality, space and affordability. So a hot hatch combines these qualities with the high performance of sports cars, making them great choices as family cars while still being enjoyable to drive.
What hot hatch cars are available on the market today?
Ford Focus ST
A very common hatchback that was first released in 1998, each generation has further improved the specs to provide a truly exhilarating driving experience.
The latest 2022 model has specialist performance seats to ensure you are comfortable whether you take the car to the track or run errands. Even with a 2.3L EcoBoost petrol engine, you’ll still have a powerful vehicle as the mild hybrid engine will add a little extra when accelerating.
Price: £24,980
Ford Fiesta ST
The 2022 model also has an EcoBoost mild hybrid engine to help reduce CO2 emissions and overall running costs. The Fiesta has an advanced dual-clutch system to make driving smoother and gear changes seamlessly.
So even if you live in a built-up area, the Fiesta should provide a less demanding drive if you find yourself in stop-start traffic.
Price: £27,245
VW Golf-R
Most hatchbacks tend to be two-wheel drive, so the Golf-R range benefits from the 4MOTION all-wheel drive system. This means that should the car need a little help while in front-wheel drive, the 4WD system will take over to maintain consistent performance.
Price: £42.190
BMW M135i
BMW has incorporated their “xDrive” four-wheel drive system into the M135i to improve handling and traction when putting this car to the test. The driving experience has further been enhanced as the suspension mounts have been redesigned for a stiffer drive. For those who love listening to the sound of the engine, the M135i has engine sounds coming through the speakers.
Price: £38,470
Mercedes AMG A45
If you’re thinking of booking your next track day, then the AMG A45 might be just the car to take. When you use the Race driving mode, you’ll be able to access the “race start” launch control system. Mercedes has also made it possible for you to change the engine's sound depending on your preference.
Price: £56,570
What if I wanted to modify my hatch?
Even though hot hatchbacks are already souped up to provide high-performance and speed in a hatchback body style, it is still possible to further increase the specs. To keep costs down and specs consistent, car manufacturers will often limit specific characteristics of the vehicle like its acceleration, torque and fuel economy.
At MCS Performance, we can help to further improve your vehicle’s performance via an ECU remap. But you don’t have to retune everything. We can provide you with four levels of tuning depending on what you’re interested in improving.
Economy tuning
This option is best suited if you want to make your car as economical as possible regarding fuel consumption.
Performance tests
If you want to know how well your car performs after it’s been remapped, we can use GPS to track performance in real-time.
Tuning boxes
For a more temporary boost in performance, we can install a tuning box to your car and then remove it at any point to return the vehicle to stock specifications.
Performance tuning
This tuning option can increase the maximum power and improve the throttle response and acceleration.