The Honda Civic Type R has been making the headlines in the car magazines lately, the sixth-generation version likely the last fully ICE-powered Type R. As such, Honda has attached a pretty monumental price tag to the bewinged road racer - almost fifty grand.
The Japanese company is not alone, either. Volkswagen is celebrating 20 years of the ‘R’ brand with a special-edition Golf R, for which you’ll need around the same amount of money. Fancy a Mercedes-AMG A45 S? That’ll be £63,065 in its poshest specification.
All of which begs the question: what’s happened to the affordable hot hatchback? This genre of performance car was always renowned for providing exhilarating pace and handling, along with distinctly racy overtones, for a relatively affordable price tag. Now, though, it’s fair to say the established names have moved in to the stratosphere (both for price and power).
This is all a far cry from fifteen years ago. Back in 2008, it was possible to buy a Golf GTI for less than £20k, and the world of the ‘city car hot hatch’ was in truly rude health, thanks to the Abarth 500, Renault Twingo 133 Cup and Fiat Panda 100HP. You truly could have a considerable amount of fun for a decidedly inconsiderable outlay. Ah, those were the days.
Thinking back to the hot hatchback stalwarts of the mid-to-late-2000s, there was a diversity of powertrain options that sits in stark contrast to 2023. VW’s fifth-generation Golf GTI was powered by a 2-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged engine; Ford’s Focus ST boasted a blown 2.5-litre, five-cylinder motor whose warbling sound had more than a hint of Audi Quattro about it; and Honda’s Civic Type R was staying true to, erm. type, with its fabled naturally-aspirated VTEC which thrived on hard work and lots of revs.
It’s easy to get sentimental about times gone by, and to mourn the fact that electric propulsion will one day be the feature of all hot hatchbacks. The latter is not without its advantages, and there are plenty of reasons why such a future is an exciting one. The need to drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions is a very real one, and there is plenty of evidence that a zero-emissions future needn’t come at the expense of driver involvement or fun.
I just can’t help but miss the sheer diversity of the performance car world, and in particular that of the ‘humble’ hot hatch. Nowadays, downsized turbocharged engines paired with automatic transmissions and all-wheel-drive systems are de rigueur at the top of the market. Further down, Hyundai’s cracking i20N flies the flag for the old-school with front-wheel drive and a modest 2-litre four-pot - but there can be no denying the future of the ’N’ brand is electric.
Six-cylinder Golfs, five-cylinder Focuses, screaming Hondas. At least the second-hand market gives us cause for joy…
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