Best cheap hot hatches of 2025
Hot hatches can offer the perfect mix of performance, practicality and pricing – as long as you pick the right ones. With just about every major manufacturer offering a speedy hatchback of some sort, here’s a rundown of the best cheap hot hatches on the market
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The Hyundai i20 is a great daily driver, made even better in sporty N trim. Aside from having double the power of the base i20, the i20 N also gets a number of performance updates to let you make the most of the extra performance on offer. Despite its sporty edge, the i20N retains its five-door layout and is still comfortable enough to be used every day.
2025
Pleasure of Driving Award
Highly Commended
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Equipped as standard with all-wheel-drive and a mental turbocharged 253hp engine, the Toyota GR Yaris feels like a WRC car let loose on the roads. And that’s because in many ways it is. The GR Yaris was borne out of a need to meet rallying homologation rules and has very little in common with a regular Yaris. Not much will touch it for the money, especially if you spend a bit more on the Circuit Pack.
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The stylish and sophisticated Audi A1 hatchback comes with the kind of luxuries and build quality you’d expect in a larger car. In S Line 35 TFSI trim it also gets a punchy 148hp turbocharged engine and quick-shifting seven-speed auto ‘box. This makes it nippy in the traffic with plenty in reserve for long and sweeping backroads, too.
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You can customise your Mini in a variety of cool ways, but the first box you should tick is the one marked Cooper S. This gives you 178hp instead of the base model’s 136hp, and let’s you make the most of its famed go-kart-like handling. Make sure you avoid the rest of the substantial options list to keep prices in check.
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The Fiesta ST finds that hot hatch sweet spot between driving fun and useability. It’s lots of fun on a twisty road, and still happy to trundle along in the traffic on the daily commute. A lack of rear doors limits practicality a bit, but it’s cheap to run and comes well equipped as standard.
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The VW Polo has matured into a luxurious and comfortable family hatchback that makes you question why you’d need the bigger Golf at all. The Polo GTI adds big car performance to the package and comes standard with a seven-speed DSG automatic transmission. Few hot hatches this size feel as grown-up, which makes the Polo GTI a great choice both in town and on the motorway.
2025
Smart Spender Award
Highly Commended
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Sporty Renault Clios of old used to be uncompromising driver’s cars with hard rides and eco-unfriendly fuel economy figures. The latest Renault E-Tech Hybrid 145 is an altogether more mature offering, equipped with a fuel-sipping 145hp self-charging hybrid that delivers an impressive 69mpg. It still retains a sporty driving feel down a back road, but is now more capable in the cut and thrust of the daily commute.
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You could always get the standard Suzuki Swift with its tiny 83hp engine, but why not spend a few pounds more and get the much quicker Swift Sport instead? It comes well equipped and the 129hp engine makes it much more fun to drive in any situation. It’s still cheap to run and that mild hybrid tech helps it average an impressive 50.4mpg.
There’s a lot to like about small city cars, you won’t have a problem scooting through gaps in traffic or squeezing into a tight parking space. The VW Up! GTI can do all this and delivers an added dose of driving fun thanks to its fizzy little 113hp engine. It’s just as quick as the original hot hatch (the 1974 Golf GTI) yet will deliver 51.4mpg and is refined enough to tackle motorway journeys, too.
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Think of the Abarth 595 as Superman and the Fiat 500 as Clark Kent, and you’ll understand how different the two are even though they share the same basic components. Avoid pricey options and limited-edition versions as the base 165hp version is tons of fun and delivers a great hot hatch driving experience. At an affordable price.
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