In Canada, we've always been fond of hatchbacks. In the '80s, such models with higher horsepower levels, tight suspensions and sport seats were roaming the streets. Remember the original VW Rabbit GTI? The Mazda 323GTX? The Honda Civic Si? The Dodge/Plymouth Colt Turbo? The Toyota Corolla GT-S? The Chevrolet Sprint Turbo and Pontiac Firefly Turbo? The Suzuki Swift GT? We do, as we wipe the tears in our eyes.
But wait. We're in 2008, and we're seeing a slight return of high-strung hatches.
And why not? Owning a true sports car is so expensive these days, with the price of gasoline and insurance that's constantly rising. And as we've gotten older, we've also reproduced, so now we have kids to carry around.
So, we lassoed up a herd of modern Hot Hatches and put them to the test. We specified 5-door models for the compare, and ended up with the Chevrolet HHR SS, Dodge Caliber SRT4, the Mazdaspeed3 and, inevitably, the Volkswagen GTI. Unfortunately, a 5-door version of the VW wasn't available, so we settled for a 3-door. Our four contenders all have turbocharged 4-cylinder engines and front-wheel drive, a great recipe for torque steer.
Our test included driving on country roads and testing on Sanair's racetrack in St-Pie (www.sanairracing.net) in order to evaluate the cars' behaviour in everyday driving as well as their performance and handling on a closed circuit.
By the way, if you bring your everyday car to the track, make sure it's in order and drive safely. Also, check with your insurance company to verify if they will honour a claim for fixing damage occurred on a closed circuit. The same issue applies to the manufacturer's warranty if something breaks down during track lapping.
Without further ado, here's how the final ratings sorted them out.
But wait. We're in 2008, and we're seeing a slight return of high-strung hatches.
And why not? Owning a true sports car is so expensive these days, with the price of gasoline and insurance that's constantly rising. And as we've gotten older, we've also reproduced, so now we have kids to carry around.
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So, we lassoed up a herd of modern Hot Hatches and put them to the test. We specified 5-door models for the compare, and ended up with the Chevrolet HHR SS, Dodge Caliber SRT4, the Mazdaspeed3 and, inevitably, the Volkswagen GTI. Unfortunately, a 5-door version of the VW wasn't available, so we settled for a 3-door. Our four contenders all have turbocharged 4-cylinder engines and front-wheel drive, a great recipe for torque steer.
Our test included driving on country roads and testing on Sanair's racetrack in St-Pie (www.sanairracing.net) in order to evaluate the cars' behaviour in everyday driving as well as their performance and handling on a closed circuit.
By the way, if you bring your everyday car to the track, make sure it's in order and drive safely. Also, check with your insurance company to verify if they will honour a claim for fixing damage occurred on a closed circuit. The same issue applies to the manufacturer's warranty if something breaks down during track lapping.
Without further ado, here's how the final ratings sorted them out.