No5. MINI Cooper S

MAXIMUM FUN

MY old MINI Cooper S was my first hot hatch, and it’ll go down as one of my alltime favourites. It eventually met its demise thanks to a careless white van man, but it taught me more about car control than any Ferrari, Porsche or Aston Martin since.

Yes, it only had 180bhp and 260Nm of torque, but that little pocket rocket never failed to raise a smile – whether it was a dawn raid to my parents down in Devon, or a more mundane cross-town commute.

Weighing in at just over 1,100kg, it felt nimble and light on its feet, and I’m yet to

Light weight means MINI is nimble through the bends, and Rich says no other hot hatch feels as playful find a sweeter-sounding or freer-flowing four-cylinder motor; the cacophonous pops and bangs in Sport mode meant it felt like an angry pit bull straining at the leash.

Many people point to the Volkswagen Golf GTI as the ultimate classless hot hatch, but I reckon one could argue a case for the Cooper S. My experience with it proved it was as happy parked outside my dark and dingy Leicester flat as it was pounding

round Europe via the autobahn. Okay, it’s not the most practical car, but as a young 20-something it was all the car I could have needed.

Having since driven everything from the 415bhp Mercedes-AMG A 45 S to a Ford Focus RS, I can confidently say none feels as playful as the MINI. Its dinky wheelbase and wide track meant it always felt planted yet predictable. With loads of grip and pinsharp steering, it was a riot on the right road.

Every garage should have a hot hatch in it; make mine a MINI Cooper S in British

Racing Green, please.