What hot hatch?

[solidlad84]

Hi all. Currently I drive a MK1 Octavia VRS which has been slightly modded, but its time for a new car in a few months and i'm struggling to decide what to go for.

My main requirements are:

1. At least the same speed as my current car (it has around 225 bhp)
2. Not looking for a barge but it must be practical enough - able to seat 4.
3. Must be up to or under insurance group 17, since I am only 20 anything higher will cost (even more of) a fortune.
4. Must be engaging to drive, I used to own a Clio 172 and have started to miss the chuckability and driver feedback of cars like that.

So far the car that I am leaning towards is the EP3 Type R, I really can't think of a car that fits the bill more for me, so would be interested to hear what people recommend !
Thanks for any suggestions anyway guys

[Mastodon2]

I would suggest a Megane of some sort. If you can live with the foibles of a Renault (as you did in the past) then I doubt you will be disappointed. They have a few different models too, but the top line R26.R does not have back seats and the front seats have 4 point harnesses, so thats out the window.

If you can find one of the F1 models, that would be an excellent choice. A tad more BHP than you are used to and possibly a little less weight, great interior, very comfortable, excellent handling (so I'm told) and they look great too. Even the F1 model with the decals is very stealthy, the 225 more so. They have an absolutely heavenly exhaust note too!

[pitbull turbo]

after driving pretty much all the hot hatches i would say for nice balance and handling the clio 197 cup but didn't feel that quick or for grunt and what i would go for would be the mazda3 mps.

[rb5230]

focus ST, the noise, the torque and the interior are better than any other hot hatches i have been in(so pretty much all of them) by a country mile.

[RossB_eg4]

You'll not be disappointed by an EP3; buy one and spend a small amount on the fast road setup and you'll love it.

[solidlad84]

All 3 are good calls and cars that I did look into, but even though I can get fair enough insurance quotes on an EP3 Type R, the prices for the 3 MPS and ST always tend to come back ridiculously high. Do like the sound of the meganes though, heard a lot of positive comments about them. Budget is only up to 6k ish aswell, which I forgot to mention originally so would probably be limited to a 225 model.

[solidlad84]

RossB_eg4 said:

You'll not be disappointed by an EP3; buy one and spend a small amount on the fast road setup and you'll love it.

What does the fast road setup consist of? my elder brother actually has an EP3 already, which is why I was slightly biased to this as its the only car out of my choices that I have real world experience of.

[thenortherner]

You'll get a decent EP3 for 6k. You might even get an anniversary model if you bid a private seller down.

I've had mine for 3 months now. Feel free to ask away with any questions.

[solidlad84]

thenortherner said:

You'll get a decent EP3 for 6k. You might even get an anniversary model if you bid a private seller down.

I've had mine for 3 months now. Feel free to ask away with any questions.

I've always heard about it but never actually known what extras the anniversary comes with. Are they much different?

[BckFlash]

Leon Cupra R? Same engine as the VRS but with the bigger turbo.

[pbirkett]

If insurance isn't an issue you could get the JDM EP3 CTR, as its noticeably better / faster than the UK spec.

[The fatboy]

EP3 is really good, beautifully built, the k20 engine with chain-driven cam is bullet-proof, good interior space and driver friendly centre console.

[Papa Hotel]

I reckon you'll be looking something turbo'd, the Focus ST would be my pick from the usual bunch. I can't think of any hot hatch I'd rather own less than a Golf GTI.

[frosted]

solidlad84 said:

thenortherner said:

You'll get a decent EP3 for 6k. You might even get an anniversary model if you bid a private seller down.

I've had mine for 3 months now. Feel free to ask away with any questions.

Some recaro seats , momo stuff , ac standard , and better sounds ( still crap though )

I've always heard about it but never actually known what extras the anniversary comes with. Are they much different?

[pitbull turbo]

sorry didn't know you had a 6k budget. civic ep3 everytime without doubt.
handles well and very reliable, nice inside and makes a good noise with a induction kit and vtech kick in. as for the focus having the best torque and interior i disagree, the mps in much nicer inside and i found the focus engine a pit rubish to be fair and really didn't put the power down well at all either.

[rb5230]

pitbull turbo said:

as for the focus having the best torque and interior i disagree, the mps in much nicer inside and i found the focus engine a pit rubish to be fair and really didn't put the power down well at all either.

have your driven an ST? i never had a problem putting the power down in mine in fact all the reviews said that was a trait of the mazda and not the focus. I also much preferred the interior to the one in the mazda 3 so personal preference i suppose. But the seats in the focus are night and day better than the mazda ones.

If £6k is the budget though i would say a civic type-r is a good bet, but then £6k could get you a few other nice cars too.

[pitbull turbo]

yep driven 3 focus st's and didn't get on with them really. i didn't like the seats and if its a st2 the colour in the seats looks utter pants, wasn't keen on the dash it was very bland compared to the mazda, the mazda puts the power down better i would say and its throwing alot more of it through the front wheels to.
i would take a ep3 over a st to be fair although the looks of the st are growing on me each day.

6k would get you a clio 180 cup which aren't bad but again did nothing for me, a megane i wouldn't bother with it at that price and i think the clio is better than the megane.
you won't get a mazda 3 mps for than budget or a st really. lean is ok but again bland inside but i like the looks and liked the 20vt engine and the 225 would be good as i like the 180 bhp 20vt in my old mk4 ibiza cupra (another fine choise maybe?)

[RossB_eg4]

solidlad84 said:

RossB_eg4 said:

You'll not be disappointed by an EP3; buy one and spend a small amount on the fast road setup and you'll love it.

What does the fast road setup consist of? my elder brother actually has an EP3 already, which is why I was slightly biased to this as its the only car out of my choices that I have real world experience of.

Just a more specific allignment tbh; you'll need to buy camber bolts for the front and the adjustable arms for the back; but the bolts come from honda for pennies and the arms are less than £70 and are worth every penny.

Basically Honda's factory spec allignment settings is between two tollerances; which allow the car to be more universally friendly and give understeer. Where as if you get the specs of the fast road set up, the car feels 100% more throwable and balanced; even becomes a bit more lift off oversteer in character.

I wasn't a huge fan of the EP3 even after i bought it; but i had the old honda blinkers on and the firm belief that Honda lost their way in the 90's, but i'm a massive fan of mine now and have started going down the route of LSD's and things so i can use it for a bit of track time next year.

[GingerWizard]

RossB_eg4 said:

You'll not be disappointed by an EP3; buy one and spend a small amount on the fast road setup and you'll love it.

I have one with a fast road set up. In my expirence it uses and deploys its power better then any other hot hatch i have been in. Much beyond 215bhp you will need a LSD if you worried by such things.....

[ortontom]

R26 or a 330 coupe, the civic is just a gutless rev happy hard work thing...taking into account what you have driven previously the drop in torq will be slightly painful...

R26 offers better value over the ST too, cheaper on fuel consumption also...

330 is a lovely car too, sense of quality and rear wheel feel its a nice car..