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Best Minivans of 2025What is a Hot Hatch?
Adding a bit of power to low and lightweight hatchbacks turns ordinary commuters into extraordinary drivers’ cars.
Defining the Hot Hatchback
The hot hatch occupies a special place within the pantheon of automobiles. They are at once imminently practical and highly frivolous. They are modest yet flamboyant. They look slow but are decidedly not so. But what exactly is this bundle of contradictions we call a hot hatch? Put simply, a hot hatch is a hatchback compact car, typically front-wheel drive and sporting a powerful engine under the hood. The hot hatch answers the obvious question: what if we took this light and well-balanced hatchback and gave it a “real” engine? Classic answers to that question include the Volkswagen Golf R, the Honda Civic Type R, and the Mini Cooper S.
The hot hatch is for those who refuse to compromise performance for practicality or utility for driving engagement. When station wagons are passe and sport coupes an endangered species, the hot hatch is a last bastion for driving enthusiasts seeking a balance of fun and function.
Greatest Hot Hatches of All Time
1969 Mini Cooper S*
The Austin Mini Cooper S is the archaeopteryx of hot hatches. Just as the feathered dinosaur was not quite yet a bird, the Mini Cooper S was not quite yet a hot hatch. It was a box-shaped 4-seat compact with a surprising amount of spunk, but it was not, however, a hatchback as it sported a boot in back. The Mini Cooper S certainly served as inspiration for future fun-to-drive yet practical compacts, and a starring role in the original 1969 The Italian Job certainly didn’t hurt.
1972 AMC Gremlin
The AMC Gremlin is often given the title of the first hot hatch. It was indeed a hatchback and the airy cabin’s ability to suck in and retain the sun’s rays made it hot, but to call it a hot hatch might be a stretch. The Gremlin’s 3.8L straight-six powered it to a zero-to-sixty time of 11.9 seconds. In 1972, the Gremlin got a 5.0L V8, which as we’ll see on this list is massive for a hot hatch, improved its acceleration to a zero to sixty of nine seconds.
1984-86 Dodge Omni GHL/GHLS
By the early-1980s, Volkswagen’s Golf had established itself as the premier fun-to-drive compact and Chrysler, now helmed by Lee Iacocca, wanted an American analogue. Iacocca called up his buddy Carroll Shelby to lend his expertise (and name) to a souped-up version of the Dodge Omni. The result was the Omni GHL (for Goes Like Hell). Shelby tuned the 2.2L inline-four to 110 horsepower, turbocharged it for 146 horsepower, and re-tuned it in a final iteration dubbed the GLHS (Goes Like Hell S’more) with 175 horsepower. While not the most dynamic of hot hatches, the Omni GLH had both a cool name and Shelby’s aura going for it.
1986-93 Lancia Delta Integrale
The Lancia Delt Integrale is a bona fide legend in rally cross. With the dissolution of Group B, Lancia was already hard at work devising a next-generation rally car based off their Delta five-door hatchback. For Group A homologation, Lancia evolved the Delta HF into the Delta HF Integrale. It’s turbocharged 2.0L inline-four made 185 horsepower. That might not sound like a lot, but the car’s four-wheel drive system and light weight allowed it to crew up rally courses. Over its four iterations, the 8V, 16V, Evo, and Evo II, the Delta Integrale claimed 46 WRC wins and took home six manufacturer’s trophies. Of course, as a Group A entrant, Lancia was required to build a minimum of 5,000 Delta Integrales, literally a rally car for the road and one of the coolest hot hatches ever made.
2004-09 Mk. V Volkswagen Golf GTI
Which of the Golf GTI’s generations is the very best is hotly contested. We could have chosen the Mk. I, II, V, or VII and been “right.” In the end we chose the Mk. V GTI as a major step forward for the GTI while still retaining what makes the Golf such an appealing hot hatch. The Mk V was the first generation to sport a multi-link rear suspension. Its turbocharged 2.0L made 197 horsepower and came paired with a six-speed manual. The chassis was perfectly sorted for nimble cornering. To top it all off, the Mk V is today among the GTI’s most affordable generations with most used examples well under $10,000.
2008 Subaru Impreza WRX STI
It’s the Subaru Impreza we have to thank for spawning not only the Outback wagon but the WRX, a legend of both rally car and tuner culture. The second generation of Impreza WRX was the first to be offered as a hatchback starting with the 2008 model year. Its 2.5L turbo flat-four was good for 227 horsepower and a zero to sixty time of just 4.7 seconds. The WRX is pretty spicy no matter the body style, but we’re most partial to the hot hatch version.
2018 Ford Focus RS
The Ford Focus was never a big deal here in the US, especially in an era dominated by burly SUVs. But across the pond in England, the Focus has long been among the most ubiquitous cars on the road. But when Ford decided to honor the RS Cosworth rally car with a new Focus RS, they were kind enough to allot 1,000 for us here in the States for the final model year. The 2018 Focus RS came equipped with torque-vectoring all-wheel drive and a 2.3L turbocharged inline-four making 350 horsepower. The limited-edition 2018 Focus RS came in just two colors: Nitrous Blue or Race Red.
2014-18 Volkswagen Golf R Mk 7.5
As with the GTI, we could have chosen any of the top-shelf Golf R generations to highlight. In the end we chose the Golf R 7-7.5 which spans the 2014 through 2018 model years. This generation gets most of the modern goodies and creature comforts you want plus a powerful turbo four putting out 292 horsepower sent via a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual clutch to all four wheels (technically AWD). The Mk. VII dodges the biggest detraction of the current Mk. VIII wonky infotainment and annoyingly inconsistent haptic touch controls. The Golf R Mk. VII is yet another argument that we’ve blown past “peak car” and why shopping used can not only save you money but get you a better car.
2017-Present Honda Civic Type R
The Honda Civic Type R was once the province of JDM fever dreams, unavailable in the US. That was until the Honda finally decided to bring it to the States for the 2017 model year. The Type R was radical both visually, which we’ll get to in a moment, and mechanically. Its 2.0L turbo four-cylinder put up 306 horsepower and sent power to the front wheels via a snappy six-speed manual. Turbo lag was virtually non-existent and steering razor sharp. The Type R’s looks were polarizing to say the least. The rear wing, origami-like panel creases, and myriad vents (both faux and real) were intended to appeal to tuner culture devotees. Even if the styling is too much, the 2017 Civic Type R was an awesome hot hatch. (And if you don’t care for the look, the new Type R [2022 and later] hews closer to the Civic with much more conservative styling.)
2019-22 Hyundai Veloster N
When Hyundai debuted the Veloster N for the 2019 model year, it was immediately clear the N stood for nutz. First, there was the 2.0L turbo four (sensing the pattern yet?) making 275 horsepower. Then there was the dual-clutch automatic as the alternative to the six-speed manual. And then there was the quirky three-door layout. No, that’s not including the hatch; the Veloster had a small rear door to allow easy ingress/egress of backseat passengers. The Veloster’s peppy 2.0L was potent enough for a spirited zero-to-sixty sprint of just 5.1 seconds. Sadly, the Veloster was only produced through its 2022 model year. On the flip side, its cancellation freed up space in the lineup for the totally banana pants Ioniq 5 N, the wildest and woolliest of all-electric hot hatches (601 horsepower!).
2025 Toyota GR Corolla
Sometimes Toyota’s GR designation, short for Gazoo Racing, makes sense for sports cars built from the ground out like the Supra and 86, both of which now carry the GR banner. That Toyota saw fit to give a performance version of the Corolla the GR treatment illustrates their commitment to transforming the nondescript commuter into a certified track monster. The GR Corolla borrows its turbo three-cylinder from the GR Yaris (sorry, yet another JDM exclusive). That motor puts out 300 horsepower and pairs with Toyota’s GR Four all-wheel drive system. The Morizo Edition of the GR Corolla is a limited track focused build that trades out the rear seats in the name of weight savings (100 lbs. lighter) and replaces them with additional body reinforcements for a rock-solid chassis. Though it’s only a few years old, the ultra-dynamic GR Corolla has already cemented itself among the greatest hot hatches of all time.
