Turbo charged titans
This trio of hot hatches is guaranteed to put a broad smile on your dial
Though the sun is setting on petrol-powered performance cars, enthusiasts remain spoiled for choice in the hothatch market. We pit a longtime favourite against two fresh faces.
VOLKSWAGEN GOLF R
This Aussie favourite is the quintessential modern hot hatch, thanks to its extraordinary flexibility.
Sunday morning blasts are a riot of turbocharged torque, all-wheel-drive traction and rapid-fire gear changes accompanied by a percussive whomp from quad exhausts.
Drive it to work on Monday morning and you’ll enjoy comfortable leather seats, a slick auto, Harman Kardon stereo and glossy touchscreens in an environment that rivals prestige machines.
That makes sense, as the Volkswagen is not cheap. It’s officially priced from about $73,000 driveaway but some dealers are asking up to $99,000 to part ways with lowmileage examples.
A significant waiting list suggests Volkswagen got something right. The order banks are so full that VW dealers cannot order the Golf R.
Powered by a 2.0-litre, fourcylinder turbo engine with 235kw and 400Nm, the VW’S seven-speed dual-clutch auto and all-wheel-drive help it reach 100km/h in just 4.8 seconds.
The latest model is the most focused Golf R yet, with stiffer suspension, bigger brakes and a fancy computer-controlled torquevectoring differential that shunts power to the outside rear wheel, minimising front-end push when cornering.
It’s a competent and focused machine that doles out speed in a fuss-free manner: simply floor the throttle and pull the paddles.
On a racetrack or in the showroom, the new Golf R is difficult to catch.
CUPRA LEON VZX
Don’t want to wait a year for a new car? You can have a Cupra Leon VZX in the driveway within weeks.
The latest member of the Volkswagen Group serves up VWderived cars with a focus on style and performance.
Priced from about $64,000 driveaway, the Leon is a mishmash of Volkswagen Golf R and GTI bits in a crisply styled body with eye-catching matt paint and copper-coloured highlights. It has the best interior of the trio, with supportive seats trimmed in blue leather with gold stitching.
Properly defined buttons on the flat-bottomed steering wheel are better than the VW’S glossy surfaces, though both cars are overly reliant on the central touchscreen for simple features such as climate control.
A motor and seven-speed auto similar to the Golf’s is detuned to make 221kw and 400Nm, returning a 5.7 second sprint to 100km/h.
The Leon misses out on the Golf’s all-wheel-drive, powering the front wheels with an electronically controlled differential pinched from the less powerful Golf GTI.
It also has a version of the GTI’S outstanding adaptive suspension that allows drivers to choose from 15 settings spanning from marshmallow soft to crinkle-cut crisp.
It’s a fine car in everyday driving and works well in dry conditions when pressing on. But autumn showers on our test exposed flawed front-drive traction.
The Cupra’s front wheels scramble for purchase on slippery roads.