Year of the hot hatch

The arrival of the fifthgeneration Honda Civic Type R has ignited a special enthusiasm among those passionate about hot hatches.

It also signals a ressurgence in the front- wheel- drive hot hatch segment of the New Zealand market.

The Volkswagen Golf GTI has been the traditional flag- carrier in the sector, which also includes the Ford Focus ST, and more expensive Audi RS models.

While there have been relatively small numbers of highperformance models available from a range of manufacturers, this year will see the competition seriously ramping up.

The GTI remains the benchmark model others aspire to knock off its perch.

Manufacturers are offering these cars onto the New Zealand market, and they are being snapped- up. For example the first 30 Civic Type R models have already been sold.

Honda New Zealand let journalists take the Civic Type R for TONY VERDON three laps of Hampton Downs during the launch on Wednesday, while we also drove the range of new Civic Hatchbacks, and the new CR- V SUV. will be testdriving the three models over coming weeks.

This is the first time Honda NZ has sold the Type R here, and hot hatch officionados think it is wellpriced at $ 59,990.

But, by the end of the year, there will be other options available direct from manufacturers — for example the SEAT Cupra from Spain, and the Hyundai i30 Nseries from South Korea.

All are high- performance models providing enough practicality to use in daily motoring on the road, while having the power and technology on board to provide both a gnarly and thrilling experience on the race track. ABOUT US