I love a hot hatch, and I’m sure many of you reading this will agree that they can be some of the most fun squashed into the smallest automotive package. But what if a manufacturer messes up the hot hatch formula?
In that case, you might end up with one of the worst hot hatchbacks ever made. So to find out which hot hatch through history could claim this title, we turned to you.
On Friday, we asked, “What’s the worst hot hatch of all time?” Here are some of the best answers we received.
“In the last year of the Fiesta in the US they presented the ST-Line trim.
“It went from being a truly amazing little go kart of death to just a couple of applique trim pieces. No more 190hp engine, no 6spd manual, no upgrades to the suspension. Just a run of the mill Fiesta with 120hp, some red stitching on the seats and a grossly misleading ST badge.”
Sadly, the Ford Fiesta ST is one of those great cars that you used to be able to buy in America but now can’t. But instead of vacating these shores in style, the final ST in America was something of a damp squib.
Suggested by: istillmissmyxj
“Honda CRZ. We were hoping for the next coming of the CRX when we saw early press and photos about this. Is was supposed to be a true hot hatch hybrid. Performance + green efficiency! But the power was anemic, and reviews on the handling were mixed at best. It flopped, and rightfully so. Such a disappointment.”
The Honda CR-Z, what a shame. I absolutely loved the styling of this pocket-sized runaround when it debuted. But with its poor power, the CR-Z lacked the bite to match its bark.
Suggested by: improvius
“When Ford brought the Fist and Fost, Chevy countered with.... an optional black wheel package called the RS. It had the same... 1.4l turbo which matched the base model as well as the Buick Encore. The base model might have even been quicker since it weighed about 50lbs less.
“I say it is the worst because Chevy sold a ‘sticker’ but you didn’t really get any stickers either. You got ‘graphics!’
“You might not call it a hot hatch, it wasn’t but that did stop GM thinking it was…”
While the RS line has always been more of an appearance package for Chevy’s cars, the company itself might not be happy to admit that at times.
With the Sonic, Chevrolet paired the turbo-charged motor with a manual gearbox in an attempt to make it seem hotter than it was. It didn’t fool anyone.
Suggested by: futuredoc
“May I introduce the Innocenti Turbo?
“A ‘hot hatch’ with so much torque steer that it had a tendency to leap for the ditch if you stepped on the throttle unwisely.”
The base Innocenti Mini was produced between 1974 and 1982. Soon after this, the Italian firm – which was passed around between British Leyland, Dihatsu and Fiat over the years – decided it needed a hot version of the small car. But I’m afraid to say that adding a turbocharger didn’t improve the car that much.
Suggested by: mgs
“I’m going to say a MKV VW GTI. On paper it has everything a hot hatch should have, good power, understated sporty looks, functionality, and good numbers on a skid pad.
“Except, when you actually drive one, it’s so robotic and soulless, an engine that feels perfectly linear with no personality. It really is the washing machine appliance of hot hatches.”
There were a few different suggestions for the worst Golf GTI out there, but it was the Mark Five that came out on top thanks to its lack of sparkle. There were also suggestions for the MK3 thanks to its low power (just 148hp), and the fact that it was just “too heavy.”
Suggested by: thomas-hinkemeyer
“I’m going in a non-brand specific direction and stating that the worst hot hatch is any car with an automatic transmission.
“No matter how lowly a manual car is, you can still thrash the sh*t out of it for some entertainment value. And if it’s a generally sucky car, that just means that you can get them cheaper.
“Automatic transmissions just drain the fun out of any hot hatch. Especially on anything pre-2000.”
If your hot hatch doesn’t have a gearstick like the one pictured above, it’s best left well alone.
Suggested by: ginsunh
“Yugo GVX. It was half a second faster to 60 than standard model, but was still stuck in the teens. Fun fact: there are too 1/4 mile times for the Yugo GVX because no-one could ever get it to run that long.”
While we love a Yugo here at Jalopnik, not many of us would consider it a place to go in search of driving joy. I’m afraid to say that the GVX with its 1300-cc engine also isn’t a hatchback many would call “hot.”
Suggested by: leveedog
“The North American Ford Escort LX Sport of the mid 1990s.
“It was listed as a ‘Sport’, but it had the same asthmatic 88hp 1.9L SOHC 8V engine as the base model.
“Basically all it amounted to was a sticker, a non-functional trunk spoiler and some other minor non-performance things.”
Call it sporty but make no changes to the engine and performance, sounds about right.
Suggested by: manwich
“Dodge Omni GLH (Goes Like Hell), 175 hp fun if you didn’t mind the high risk of rolling it due to its insanely soft sway bars but also having a brutal ride due to stiff shocks. Ah Shelby. And built with all the quality 80s and 90s Chryslers were known for.”
A Shelby-badged Dodge Omni, whatever next! Produced from 1984, the Carroll Shelby-tuned Omni packed in a 2.2-liter turbocharged engine.
Suggested by: davidswartwood
“Terrible handling, terrible acceleration, terrible reliability. When these were new I really loved the design, but thankfully I never had the scratch to pick one up.”
Fuego means fire in Spanish, so this car had better be as hot as its name suggests.
But, you guessed it, it isn’t. Packing a 1.6 L turbocharged engine, the Fuego cost $8,495 at its launch in the US, but sales across the country didn’t live up to expectations.
Suggested by: dugdeep