Top five used hot hatches for under $20K

If you grew up in Europe or the United Kingdom then the term ‘hot hatch’ will kindle memories of compact cars, often black with GT stripes on their doors, dicing at sometimes illegal speeds on the motorway or belting through back streets.

If you spent your youth in Australia, then none of that ever happened. We hosted an automotive culture centred around locally-made V8s and that saw no credibility at all in tiny, two-box performance cars.

Europe devised the hot hatch in response to horrendous oil price increases during the 1970s and tax penalties applied to cars with engines larger than two litres.

A decade later and in a typically cautious way, Japanese manufacturers began to get involved too, but took some time to progress past the Mazda Familia Turbo and Nissan Pulsar GTi-R.

As the Century turned, more brands entered the fray, but modern iterations of the hot hatch still share attributes with those pioneers from 35-50 years ago.

All but one from our selection has four cylinders and only one lacks a turbocharger. All are front-wheel drive and despite being 15-18 years old, they incorporate various kinds of traction control to minimise wheelspin and wrist-wrecking torque steer.

Three of our cars have traditional European origins and two are Japanese. Soon there will be Korean and Chinese contenders challenging for a spot in a list of used hot hatches like this.

These cars, when sold new into the pre-2010 market, were all priced (before extras and on-road costs), at less than $42,000. The Focus at $36,490 was a major bargain.

Assuming the car you find has been well-maintained and hasn’t travelled a zillion kilometres, excellent examples of all five of the cars here will have retained close to half their new-car cost.

Is there a winner? Not as such, because each of these cars is entertaining in its own way and only personal evaluation will determine which one best suits your individual needs.

If pressed, we might suggest that buyers who crave performance in their family transport could lean towards the Golf, Mazda or Focus, while younger HH lovers will look cool behind the wheel of a Civic.

And the Megane? Just ask the character lounging in the corner with the helmet and track day entry forms.

Ford Focus XR5 2007-10

Ford wasn’t even a player in the early days of hot hatch infiltration. Its four-cylinder, two-door contender was the Escort RS2000 and even when an XR3 replacement arrived in 1980, conventional design prevailed.

The Focus XR5 comes from humble stock, but five cylinders plus a turbocharger create a car that is vastly different from a base-grade CL.

Bury the pedal in a Focus and the little turbo ensures plentiful performance becomes available in a great hurry. And you don’t want to slacken your grip on the wheel when it does.

The Volvo-sourced inline turbo-five is quirky but with a reputation for decent reliability. Bigger than any other motor in this grouping, it realistically produces more power than most of the 2.0-litre cars but falls short of the Renault and Mazda.

With tweaked boost and better breathing, the five-cylinder Ford would likely top 200kW, but that could cause other issues. Even with a decent dose of traction control, that degree of grunt being fed through 225-section tyres would see drivers spending more time fighting for grip than enjoying the drive.

The XR5’s 18-inch alloys host 40-profile rubber which provide decent communication between road and driver. However, their cushioning effect is challenged when your favourite road is dotted with bumps and potholes.

On the practical side of the ledger, the Focus offers decent interior space, an interesting dash, OK seats and boot space that’s adequate for a car of this kind.

Find a Ford Focus XR5 on carsales

Honda Civic Type R FN2 2007-11

Honda built its reputation in the four-wheeled world with a succession of high-revving and beautifully-built automotive engines.

The first Civic Type Rs appeared in the Japanese market during 1997, with 136kW from just 1.6 litres and no turbocharger. Various updates followed before the FN2 ‘international’ version appeared locally during 2006.

Like most in this selection, the Civic runs a 2.0-litre engine, shared with the larger and heavier Integra Type R of the day. It isn’t turbocharged yet still develops a healthy 148kW at a raucous 7800rpm.

The Civic body is compact and cute – it was slated to be the basis for a revamped Jazz – and mounts its fuel tank below the cabin to enhance handling and collision safety.

Wheelspin as the tachometer zips past 7000rpm en route to peak revs could become prodigious but is kept in check by Honda’s very effective helical differential. Grip and predictability improved further from mid-2009 when an upgraded version of the FN2 debuted a limited-slip diff.

Rear suspension on earlier Type Rs had been independent via struts and wishbones, however, the FN2 adopted a simpler and cheaper torsion-beam arrangement that didn’t harm handling much at all.

Anyone buying a Type R as their sole means of transport needs to take note of its compact dimensions and tight access to the rear seat. Boot space at 485 litres is, however, immense for a car of the Civic’s size.

Scrupulous maintenance and high-quality lubricants are essential if the Type R’s complex valvetrain is to keep working as it should.

Find a Honda Civic Type R on carsales

Mazda3 MPS 2006-10

Category-leading power allied to a disciplined chassis make the MPS version of Mazda’s 3 a hard car to overlook in this company.

Its 2.3-litre turbo engine comes straight from the bigger and heavier MPS 6, but without the calming influence of that car’s all-wheel drive Drive and still delivering 190kW of power.

Early BK-series cars came with a four-star safety rating and that’s an issue when every other model in this grouping claimed five stars. From mid-2009 when a BL version appeared, it also qualified for the highest available ANCAP rating.

A six-speed manual transmission is mandatory, with first and second gears getting you off the mark quickly and sixth reportedly good for 249km/h.

That means when touring at the posted 100 or 110km/h limit, MPS engine should be working very lightly and delivering significantly better fuel economy than the average 12.8L/100km recorded by a 2007 road test.

Thirst in a smallish car can be due to weight (a relatively heavy 1415kg) but more likely the way it encourages drivers to exploit the performance. Let it off its leash, an MPS will keep V8s of similar age clearly in sight.

Size counts as well and those big doors plus the rear hatch provide easy access for cargo and passengers. The front seats even when adjusted all the way don’t pinch too much of the rear passenger’s foot space either.

Appearance is subjective, with the MPS and GTi in a battle for blandest of the vunch. However, some people don’t want their performance car to be ostentatious, so having an MPS in the mix isn’t a bad thing.

Find a Mazda3 MPS on carsales

The logical contender in this company would be a Megane 225, but they sold in small numbers and have become difficult to find.

Keeping within the bounds of a $20,000 spend though, you can probably still find a later and more sophisticated Megane RS250 with its 184kW engine and loads of nervous energy.

Another of the 2.0-litre turbo brigade, Renault’s wild child presents more as a performance coupe, however, it still has a folding luggage platform accessed via a panel that incorporates the back window and that’s hot hatch enough for us.

In terms of power and effective delivery, the Megane RS brains an XR5 and very nearly knocks off the MPS as well, with a 14.7sec 0-400m sprint time against the Mazda’s 14.5. Where it wins outright though is in drivability due to more effective gearing.

The Renault runs well past 100km/h before its driver needs to pluck third gear and none of the others will do that. Mid-range acceleration almost matches the Mazda’s but the Renault will deliver fuel economy that easily creeps below 10L/100km.

Handling and traction levels are exceptional and only on a wet or loose road will the intuitive traction control work hard. Tyres are 19-inch with 35-profile rubber, so grip on dry bitumen is fabulous but the tyres’ contribution to ride quality is minimal.

Inside, the imagery falls away somewhat, even in the upmarket Trophee with its sportier seat design. Air-conditioning suited to Europe struggles on hot Australian days and a basic infotainment system is characterised by cheap speakers. Check during the test drive that everything still works.

Find a Renault Megane RS250 on carsales

Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk6 2008-12

DNA from the original Golf GTi is detectible in every other hot hatch on the planet so it’s no surprise that Volkswagen, even after 50 years, still refuses to alter the basic philosophy of its contender.

Pitted against others in this grouping, the Mk6 GTi presents as conservative and not by accident. Holding onto your heritage will do that, but does it justify having a terrific engine and failing to fully exploit its attributes?

155kW from two litres isn’t shabby and camping in the fast lane of the autobahn at 180km/h is easy when your car is geared to reach for 250km/h. That kind of distance gobbling has been outlawed in most of Australia for a long time and so our buyers tended to want cars that delivered in other ways.

Even compact performance models like the Golf need to look and also sound fast. We also want them with enough low-end grunt to make the tyres yelp when departing the traffic lights and leave our forearms in mild distress after fighting the turbo for traction during an early morning strop through the hills.

The GTi won’t win any ribbons for savage performance or rib-rattling ride quality, but it does combine driving enjoyment with practicality. VW’s problematic Direct Shift six-speed semi-automatic transmission is available in the Mk6 GTi, but for fun and to avoid possible problems we prefer the manual.

Five-door access for the family, a decent boot, good seats and a sensibly designed dash are plus points. But undersized tyres that hurt the handling and a taste for premium 98-octane fuel where others use 95 incur demerits.

Find a Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk6 on carsales