Good times aren’t gone
The hatches are better to drive than the SUVs. You don’t say, Sherlock. But we didn’t want to just assume that to be the case, so we drove these cars back to back on the same roads, hopping from one to another to pin down precisely where the real differences reside. But, yes, it’s pretty much what you’d expect: the smaller cars’ handling is more polished, changes of direction are nimbler, and sitting lower means you’re thrown around less. On the flipside, the crossovers’ higher vantage point enables you to see over the top of hedgerows and plot further ahead than in the Fiesta or the i20N.
Point to point, I’d wager the Kona N could cover ground quicker than any car here. And it is genuinely fun to drive. But although entertaining, thanks to its power and thrillingly quick acceleration, it is also the least satisfying driver’s car here. It feels like a car that’s been forced to go faster than it really cares to, rather than a performance car engineered that way from the ground up (despite thorough work by Hyundai’s N division, including extra welding points added to the body). Although the Kona N has been engineered to cope with the occasional trackday (and I suspect it’s quick enough to give a lot of cars a big surprise), you’re conscious you’re heating up the brakes more quickly than you do in the i20N, and taking more out of the bigger tyres.
The Puma is slower but ultimately more satisfying. It’s more responsive, less inert and more playful. That same eagerness, with intensely responsive steering and pattery ride, also makes it a touch less easy to live with than a mainstream crossover.
And the Puma ST is still not quite as entertaining as a traditional hot hatchback. If these cars were ranked purely according to practicality and liveability, the Puma would just shade the Kona, and the Fiesta would bring up the rear. But each of these cars is marketed as being fun to drive, first and foremost, and that’s how we’ve ranked them here.
In their private battle, the i20N is easier to live with than the Fiesta, with a vastly more pleasant interior and a more grown-up character. But the Ford’s still the more exciting car to steer. It really feels like a classic hot hatch we’ll be remembering 30 years from now in the same way we do the Peugeot 205 GTI. I’m not convinced the Puma ST or Kona N will be remembered in the same way. But they prove that it’s still possible to create great driver’s cars as rooflines and hip points rise, and that’s cause for celebration.