Ford Focus RS vs Honda Civic Type-R vs Audi RS3 vs Mercedes-AMG A45 & more: Hot Hatch Mega Test

Aside from the most exotic supercars, there aren't many

type

s of cars that provoke as much excitement as the humble hot

hatch

: they give you incredible speed and everyday usability at an af

ford

able price and that's a cocktail guaranteed to get your heart racing. However, even among hot

hatch

es there aren't many cars

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exciting than the all-new Ford Focus RS. Over the years, this little RS badge has been worn by some seriously game-changing machines, making it into a symbol of heritage, pedigree and excellence, the question. Can the la

test

RS live up to the hype? Well, there's only one way to find out: we're carrying out the biggest hot hatch comparison

test

ever seen on video and we're starting here at the Anglesey race circuit in North Wales, where the weather is good.

As unpredictable as a difficult result, each of these nine rivals that you see behind us can

focus

on one aspect or another. Each car will face a series of dynamic tests on track and on the road, but ultimately we are looking for one key measure of success that is the most important aspect for almost any hot hatch buyer and that is how much fun it is. conduct them on that basis. We will reduce our top 10 to three finals and this trio will face off. a series of challenges after that we will crown one of these ten, our ultimate hot hatch anyway, now we know what is happening, it's time to meet those racers and drivers.

The new kid on the hot hatch block channels its 345 brake horsepower through a smart new four. -all-wheel drive system and has an adaptive suspension system as standard, another all-wheel drive competitor and, in addition to a monstrously powerful five-cylinder engine, the RS3 also features a stylish interior and a prestigious badge. BMW's 3-liter engine is the only one in this test with six cylinders instead of four, it's also our only rear-wheel drive contender, another legendary figure in the hot hatch fraternity, the Type R has always dazzled with its handling According to statistics, the A45 has an advantage over the rest of the field because it has the most power and the fastest acceleration. .

Ridiculous name and in this company, the Peugeot has a ridiculously small 1.6 liter engine but with a barely believable braking power of 266 horsepower. The thing is still stupidly fast, one of our oldest contenders, but also one of the most dazzling hot hatches for track days in recent years. Importantly, the cup also has a suspension and exhaust upgrade package. The cooperative has also been around for a while, but let's say. It has just upgraded its 2-liter engine to deliver 286 brake horsepower. Admittedly, it's not exactly a hot hatchback, but this legendary rally car appeals to the same buyers and simply must be included in any comparison test that includes high-performance small cars like a Golf GTI. it's just not enough, the R takes the legendary GT has 217 brake horsepower, upped it to a whopping 296 brake horsepower and adds 4 wheel drive for good measure, ridiculous power and torque means that this Ford is quick enough to take on all comers, but it's a trick all-wheel drive system that really makes you feel special, propelling you out of tight corners, but is quite playful if you feel like doing silly things;

This car makes a really brilliant noise and is undeniably incredibly fast, but it feels stupid. The heavy nose is actually

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prone to understand many front-wheel drive cars and the steering wheel is practically lifeless. I have to be honest, it disappoints you. The best thing about this 135i is the creamy turbocharged inline six-cylinder. petrol engine that doesn't feel turbocharged, you've got this wonderfully linear power delivery and an almighty mid-range that I admit doesn't feel very hot. Hachi, the steering is a little vague for this rear-wheel driver and while most cars here are like being driven quite aggressively to get the most out of the BMW, it actually requires smoother, more consistent and more precise inputs. .

It's like you're perfecting your golf swing. The Civic Type-R is a really angry car, its engine thumps almost as hard as the Focus. RS doesn't growl at you all the time and sometimes you have to fight with the steering wheel to keep it straight, but it has the sweetest manual gearbox, it's harder to believe that such a powerful and good sounding engine is just a four cylinder is nothing. less than phenomenal and so is the way this car grips the road in corners and the way it puts power down on exit. It's super impressive. The GTI may only have a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine. motor, but it does not lack fish and verve and is enormously entertaining.

The problem is that in this company it actually feels less adherent. Here you have to constantly mediate the throttle to ensure you maintain maximum traction and there is no talk of doing it everywhere and the gear change simply does not have the mechanical definition of the Civic Type-R when the RS group feels perfectly at home here On the track, it has the sweetest chassis, very sharp steering, and is lightweight. it feels like it has a real motorsport pedigree, having them really is the surprise package in this test, it's a very easy car to drive very fast because of all the confidence you get from all the controls, plus there's a real Polished in the way this car turns, stops and starts, there's no shortage of fun, let me tell you, this Subaru feels like a nod to those good old days of rally specials.

The week I drove one of these for the first time about 10 years ago and this thing just doesn't feel different, well it will be quite romantic and appealing to the hardcore viewing. I have a feeling that for most people this will feel quite dated with a noisy cabin, slow turbo and ride. quality that is quite firm and bouncy, you can really have your cake and eat it with this Golf R. It's as easy to drive and refined as any gold you can find, but comes to life when driven hard with brilliant traction and composure in the corners. curves and the engine.

It's super smooth and a joy to rev, we know you love going through the stats to compare and contrast all the numbers in great detail, so if you'd like to see a table of all our performance figures, hit the pause button. Happy right now, well guys, so keep in mind that our performance figures are purely indicative at the moment at this stage we are judging these things purely for fun. What do you think is the biggest disappointment for me? Scott B, the rs3, one of the most expensive. cars here sounds great, it's very powerful but I mean in the wet the understeer was incredible and the gearbox is just too slow and the steering doesn't really give you any feel at the front that you can imagine driving that on a dry road . on a highway and it was so safe and comfortable at 100 miles per hour and stuff, but we had access to wet roads and it really took off.

I don't disagree with any of it, but I read as much as I love it and the form. Looks like, I think the Subaru should be next. It seems like a car from times gone by to me, yes it is, yes it has been around since the mid nineties and hasn't changed much and just needs strength everywhere. the steering, the weight control, the truck-like gear change, the Peugeot 308 GTI will probably be next for me. It was quite fun in the dry, in fact I was a little surprised by the engines, brilliant, but the ergonomics of the cabin and the understeer.

In the wet, I think I probably have to rule out another car that I was really exposing, in the wet, it was actually the Honda Civic Type-R. In the dry, that thing is loud, funny, angry and really entertaining, but in the wet, the steering was so corrupt. I know you just didn't feel it was a conversation about steering, it was a tram, I honestly felt like you wanted to throw yourself into a hedge at times, it's a lesson in how much power you can put in a front wheel drive car and probably in It's all too true that BMW It has one of the best engine and gearbox combinations here for this price, it's wonderful and a lovely car to drive, but in this company, for a hot hatch, it's too sophisticated, what's more.

I like a GT car more than a hot hatch. I don't think it will reach the wasteland. What about rest? ​​I mean, it was a surprise package for me. I really enjoyed how composed it felt at high speeds. Excellent. it was in the corners and it's still just a front wheel drive car and the engine was such a dominant player in grip and the control weights were fantastic and that's it I think the engines are really smooth for me when you

focus

just on those two. Front wheel drive cars, it's gobby, the Renault, isn't it? Another question, I think Renault is saying I've been using a table, four cars left, three places left.

McGunn has to stay in our bottom three, okay, he was the best second wheel driver we had here, probably one of the best chassis regardless of the way it's driven, and this is an old driven one, it's largely measure an oldie that's been around for a good amount of time but that chassis still has the shine to cut it with any of the newer cars, it feels like it's adjustable only the steering is very good too, yes it's about the balance, isn't it? Because it kind of shows that you don't have to chase him like a high horse. powers necessarily to create a great hot hatch, so that's clear.

I propose that the next spot in the top 3 goes to the new guy. Focus is sensationally fast. It seems like an absolute deal, but it's much more than that. Control over that. car, whether you're on the circuit, all over the track, weathering wet weather in the dry, allows you to take tighter alignments than you thought possible. It's all about fun. I think the focus remains on the top three. You have one place left. who they were giving it to and they are so different, aren't they? It was amazing, it actually put the Audi rs3 to shame by 15 grand, absolutely cheaper, it behaves like you would want a four wheel drive car to behave, but at the same time there were some moments where I really felt like it wasn't really part of the experience.

I didn't really feel like that was connected. I felt like my mom could drive it as fast as I could drive it. I've seen your driving suit, well there you go and when you compare it to the Merc, to be honest, it was a surprise package because it was just wild, I mean I think it's fascist. Things had a very good word to describe it. I keep taking it out on the track, which I think is probably a good sign when it comes to a hot hatch, it's just the way it sounds. I love the way it looks and it was a very aggressive feeling but not uncomfortable like it used to be.

For me the advantage, while the golf as you said is really good but the gearbox doesn't always work with you when you want it to be on the track and it just feels a bit heavier when turning. I think it's a brilliant all-rounder, but out and fun I think the golf goes when I'm thinking about what car I want to drive tomorrow what color I want to learn more about the paper on the left side of that dashboard so we say goodbye to the Volkswagen part Golf I think so, those are the soft regions, so now that we have our last three, it's time to leave this wonderful circuit and head north to complete the rest of our tests before we leave, however, it's time to do the first of them and that's a good old man. fashion drag race, why, firstly, because we can and secondly, because it's important to know which of these cars is likely to give you bragging rights when you inevitably find yourself in your own traffic like the three , so let's get under departure orders on our first stop is the Vajilla hydroelectric power station in Flint Barris, also known as Electric Mountain.

The water flows through a dam in the reservoir at the top, through Europe's largest artificial Kevin and six different generators before being released here into the Lin Paris reservoir. The question is why. Have we come here to this dam/power station to properly test the af

ford

ability of these cars? If money is your biggest barrier to owning one of these things, then we thought we'd calculate exactly how much you need to spray against a wall in As far as the search for raw power goes, I think it's fair to say up front that the Mercedes is probably the most weak in this area, even considering just the base prices, it will cost you ten thousand pounds more than the Ford and 16 more than the Renault, and that's before you delve into the extensive options list, it has strong residuals, but the numbers shake when you look at insurance or financingof PCP, both of which will cost you hundreds of pounds more than the other two each year, it's a shame because supposedly this 45 is actually the cleanest car here with the lowest CO2 and the best economy, although on the track We recorded nine point seven mpg, so it's probably best to drive with a light right foot if you can, whichever way you look at it. like the striker is a performance bargain and the taxes and insurance are practically identical.

The Focus RS of yesteryear has always held its value very well and with a current waiting list of almost a year for this car, we don't see that. Changing a lot this time, they are in mind that you will probably want to add the Recaro seats and 19-inch forged alloy wheels on this car, both of which cost a lot. Those tires come with a free set of stickier Michelin pilots. sport cup tires having said that they are not cheap to replace on paper, at least this new Renault Sport mcgann cup s cups, whatever you want to call it, looks like a complete bargain, the best handling front wheel drive hot hatch of all time for less of 24,000 Pounds surely that cannot be true.

This surprisingly low figure includes air conditioning but little else. We really think that if you want the best out of this car, you'll probably want the very expensive optional adjustable Olan dampers and perhaps the Recaro seats, the Alcantara interior and our infotainment system. Link, oh and if you wanted to look like this car. then you'll also want to save £600 for this flame red paint and around a thousand quid for these 19-inch Speedline alloy wheels; However, if you just want to get into this car at the lowest price possible, then it's been all that. Go down and buy a Garmin instead of Norway.

We headed north through some absolutely stunning rural plains. Tempest Fifty Five North Wales Highway. It's all very dazzling on the track, but it's here, on the Great British B Road, where it's hot. The hatch really has to shine and, by God, this approach is a brilliant imp. The 2.0-liter turbocharged engine doesn't have that II Turbo Nutter boost feel, but you might expect power delivery to be fairly consistent throughout the rev range, but one thing is for sure that it never feels anything other than absolutely ferocious and If you plug in the standard launcher, there aren't many cars for any money that will stay with you away from the lights, don't be tempted to select race mode on public roads because it's firm.

If you increase the adaptive dampers by 40%, the ride becomes too harsh for even the most dedicated fan. The standard setting is firm but tolerable and provides all the control you need for truly agile handling. The instant responses you get from the throttle. Powerful brakes, Quick feel, Beautifully weighted steering will help this car sit beautifully in the bowl, but it's that all-wheel-drive system that really weaves all the magic as it juggles power to give you plenty of power. Incredibly credible traction and grip. and combined with active torque vectoring you can drive through and out of corners at frankly crazy speeds, all the while it feels edgy and alive and really very, very exciting and while the RS does all that regular hot hatch exceptionally well, then it skids.

Mode on top of that, this sends more power to the rear wheels and optimizes things like the steering, shocks, and traction control to get you sliding sideways in Smoky. Spectacularly, is it perfect? No, the riding position is a way to hide the slightly small boots. and aside from a bit of blue stitching, this cab makes you feel like you could be sitting in any old spotlight, it's just not special enough, but once you wind it up and hit it, you're no longer lucky for any of that Once we have the North Wales Motorway it's not long before we reach Conley Tunnel, the site of our next challenge, essentially it's a road surrounded on all sides by several thousand tonnes of concrete and we're looking to stop the noise. of the engine bounce so that there is no other place for miles around.

That will make these cars sound better. The method for this test is to simply shift it down a couple of gears and give it treats. This is essentially a straight exhaust that leads to a pretty eloquent silence, but we thought of us, Miss Foiler, to make it sound even. Better, hopefully, just a chance to resonate with yes, are you going to give it another moment? I say six running is good there could be six a little bit of assembly worship I think it's there yeah come on seven this has the Akrapovic aftermarket exhaust yeah how much does that cost? cost oh, you'll have to Roman, it's very reasonable, it's, it's, it's affordable for an average high school.

I see Steam, yes, it will be a trade-off between your two and a half thousand pounds, but it's so bad that it sounds pretty good, everyone's fine. The tunnel is coming, it's okay, fish face Hey, it sounds great, everything is better. I always remember this guy sounded great at high revs, but you have to hang in there, it gets attention. CLD lowers the changes on the mound, so while we think, this is very different from the approach it's not how I like it although sighs I prefer it maybe not yes I like the way this is easier to turn to provoke a lot I would say seven from the workers yes but with an asterisk saying but that I could take care of turning it off, yes it has a leak, but yes, when he's riding you, of all the cool sounds, this is the purpose, then the whole dance is like you're flanked for a pair of Chinook helicopters, famously skip it. much louder here we go Oh, it feels like that, boy, balance between two movements or something, the noise is Prateek Singh, who lives almost on the V roads, as you know when you're always in second gear and in Burgett curves, so that you're always going to member again, but not only is the noise amazing, it's also really controllable, yeah, you can, you're doing it little, you know?

Suddenly, from time to time, so I played an instrument, I don't think I will. doing this in our city at 8am it's definitely this is at night it's for me winner winner chicken dinner let's go in the a45 AMG you can be the fastest and most powerful hot hatch that exists but this facelift has transformed it from an exercise clinical improvement to something Much better now, the extra power in conversations is mainly for bragging rights, but it's the smaller, more subtle changes that have had the biggest impact. The 7-speed DCT gearbox used to really throttle the wild delivery of this engine, I doubted, but the shorter ratios and crisper shifts in this new revamped box mean every pull of the paddles is a real event.

Both can have four-wheel drive and a trunk full of power and traction. It's a very tractable car on the road compared to the In the Focus RS, the steering is lighter and certainly feels less, but the chassis underneath is so brilliant that you soon realize it will grab and go even if it doesn't always. You can feel all those front tires until the body control is incredibly stiff. that quick changes of direction can be handled with a single flick of the wrist and then you're back to power by rocking this monster of a motor forward; It was imperious in wet weather on the track, but any worries that that unflappable danger will translate into boredom on the road practically evaporate in an instant as soon as you start complaining, it's firm, especially without the new adaptive dampers, though.

It's no more uncomfortable than the low-speed approach and settles into a very contained squat when driving around farms. roads like this, meaning even the biggest bumps are unlikely to throw you off course. It feels heavier than the other two. I admit that, in particular, when you ride downhill you feel the weight on your body that you have to push. brake to make the nose turn sharply if you do, although it turns in a nice predictable mark, let's get in front of the elephant in the room, although this car is expensive, it also feels expensive, it has the best seats of any car here, this magnificent address.

I borrowed the wheel and gear selector directly from the AMG GT. Some of the plastics below are a little less impressive. You could argue that the RS and Macam are more rotary and keep you more busy behind the wheel, but this is so devastating in Rapid absolutely everywhere, which creates a thrill of its own having crossed the frontier. We have swapped Wales for Wembley, as we heard for our next step. Part of the beauty of cars like this is that you can live with them every day. and for the average hatch car buyer, they should have enough room to get you and your mates to a five-on-five lounge on a Thursday night, they should be easy enough to get in and out of so you don't strain any muscles before . you get on the course and then you need to have a boot big enough to accommodate everyone's gear bag.

The thing is that we are not that good at football, so for this test we have enlisted the help of some friends with much better tattoos, so friends. what are your trophies if based purely on practicality, which of these three cars would you choose to get to the futsal with your friends? Well, that's the Mercedes a45 AMG. Paul wins that one and how about second place for practicality? I don't have the Focus RS so I guess the FA Cup will be for me, thanks guys, if you vote for Italy, noise is the last to get paid.

Sorry, but you'd have to be idiots to spend. With 40 grand on a hatchback, regardless of what the hospitals are like and thanks to Renault Sport, you don't really need the car pass, it's the final curtain on this generation and features all the best parts of Renault's sports development, including a 2-speed turbocharged engine. One-liter gasoline engine upgraded to 271 brake horsepower, has a stiffer cup chassis, a limited-slip differential to help the front end turn even firmer. Stiffer springs, anti-roll bars and our test model also has the optional but simply brilliant öhlins shock absorbers for road and track. Combined with a set of rather special 19-inch alloys, this car starts at just under 24 grams, in a context that is a completely cheaper macam than the Mercedes, but the best thing about this car is the inherent vagueness of each element. the engine, the chassis, the steering, the driving position, even its appearance.

I really love the fact that no area is overshadowed by another north of 62 miles per hour, it takes six seconds, but the composure of the chassis is simply sublime and you become so There is a lot of detailed information through this steering wheel, so that you feel really confident that you can carry a lot more speed into the corners when the other two cars actually brake again, it's only when you have two really big straights where the macam starts to lose contact. I don't doubt that other hot hatches are more refined at high speeds or easier to handle on daily commutes, but if you're thinking about pure, pure driving then this model is compatible with almost any car on the market. road and remember that this is probably your last chance to buy what are possibly: popular lots from this decade, never mind this test as our convoy moves further and further north, we now arrive in Manchester, the last Stockman of the tour;

However, before we give our final verdict, we have one. Obviously you want to do more testing to get your hot hatch delivering as much cloud as possible, if you have it, but looks are a very personal thing and who are we to decide which of these cars is prettier, so what we need is a good old man consensus of opinion we are basically going to ask the good people of Manchester to vote for which car they think looks the best and the winner is the one with the most votes, so the votes have been counted and verified and I can now reveal that the Renault McGann he got these poor six of the Queen's votes.

Well done. Renault disappointed the Ford Focus RS. 20 votes. Not bad. Thanks Manchester, but once again the Mercedes a45 AMG. 36 votes. It's another victory for Mercedes and another defeat for Renault. but remember that the final decision lies with us, so it could still go either way. We have covered several hundred miles and a variety of different things, we have allowed ourselves to run a tunnel, we have been completely humiliated at football and visited a power station built inside a mountain, one of the most incredible feats of engineering you will find anywhere. place in the United Kingdom. Speaking of incredible engineering feats, we've taken ten of the best hot hatches on sale and narrowed them down to our top three.

All three think they are truly sensational in their own way, but now it's time to reveal which one is better. The Renault Sport Magan will be the most attractive of all for the purist andcommitted hot hatch. The delicacy of the chassis and the clarity of the direction. helped make it one of the most attractive performance cars you can buy at any price and the fact that it's so cheap simply makes it more accessible to a larger portion of the population; Unfortunately, its comparative paucity of power and performance held it back, as did its lack of practicality in refinement and standard equipment that relegated it to third place.

The AMG combines astonishing speed with confident handling. It's well worthy of a place in our top three as an example of a hot hatch that's as quick and desirable as most sports cars and also turns heads, sounds epic and feels really special inside, which helps justify the high price tag that pushed hard into the wind, but was ultimately undone not by money but by the fact that, despite the extra performance, it was only a tenth of a second faster than the approach on our track and the numerical steering, an extra weight that it carries kept it in the Abbey Road explosion, where it really counts, this car completely rewrites the hot hatch rule book, proves that you can have monstrous power That four-wheel drive will give you allows, but you can combine it with the participation and commitment of smarter front drivers.

Fast, smooth and unfailingly exciting, this car has proven itself in all weather conditions, on all

type

s of roads and against all its rivals. The Ford Focus RS is the best hatchback money can buy. Oh yes, the legend of the RS definitely continues. Thanks for watching until the end. You clearly have a longer than average attention span and we congratulate you for this if you have enjoyed what you have enjoyed. I just watched it, then hit the subscribe button to check out our YouTube channel and more videos like this. If you want to see what goes into making a movie like this, you can click on the box at the top right of your screen now or if you want to see another grip test video of the BMW 3 Series, Jaguar XE and Mercedes C-Class, you can press the box at the bottom right and then there's the big question: Do you agree with our verdict?

Do you think we have become strict? You're either completely crazy or you're a committed Type R owner with an ax to grind. Leave us a comment in the box below to let us know what you think.