Hot hatches

[scracha]

http://www.topgear.com/content/timetoburn/sections/galleries/other/hot_hatch_debate/30/

Why don't more kiwi's drive hatchbacks? Discuss......

[McJim]

Back in the UK there's the BCSD syndrome to keep small car sales buoyant.

Kiwi blokes are actually comfortable to advertise their lack of penile development by driving large cars - good on 'em. Well done. Helps their women identify the European blokes that can really satisfy. :rofl:

Seriously though it might have something to do with petrol being one third of the price it is in the UK.....and STILL they complain - who's whingeing now? Oh yeah...and Boomer drives a big car too......:Pokey:

[Karma]

Yeh, I love the hot hatches.

At the moment we've got a Golf Mk 4, that's fairly flickable, but built like a tank, it'll survive a fairly large crash well.

Personally I'm a retro 80s fan, I'd be well happy with any of the below models, but running one would cost a fortune over here :(

[McJim]

The guy in the next parking space at work has a corrado - apparently there are only a handful of them in NZ - lovely car - esp the V6 version.

And as for the Capri - there's some tiny drop top thing over here that they call a capri - looks japanese - I remember lusting after the 2 tone 2.8i Capri in the UK.

[Deviant Esq]

Hot hatches are fun to drive. I've got one of Honda's original hot hatches myself, an EF9 1990 Civic SiR - the first of Honda's DOHC VTEC engines. Never thought I'd end up getting one as they're pretty rare these days - most have been put into rally or have been absolutely caned. I was lucky to get mine in stock original condition.
I notice that Top Gear rate the new Civic Type R as top... Go the hot Civics! :cool: Been going since the original 1984 Civic Si and still going strong. Shame we don't get the hatch in New Zealand and even if we did, we wouldn't get the Type R since Honda Cars NZ are a bunch of old ladies... :angry:

You're probably not interested, but here's a pic of my Civic (click to see larger):
<a href="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/SiRedge/Car%20Stuff/My%20Cars/MyEF902.jpg?t=1172866976"><img src="http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y89/SiRedge/Car%20Stuff/My%20Cars/th_MyEF902.jpg" alt="Click to see a larger image"></a>

[Karma]

Meh, the 2.8 was ok... I was after the 3.0 XType I think it was called.

There's a fair few golfs around, but it's the trouble with getting any parts for them, I saw a Pug 205 1.9 GTi on trademe that I was gonna pick up, not much interest in it cos kiwis wouldn't know a pocket rocket if it kicked em in the crotch.

Trouble was that it had a busted headlight, now I'm not joking, but this part is imported by only one person in NZ apparently, and he wanted somewhere around $250 for it, one headlight! Could have got it in a scrappers in the midlands for 10pound tops.

So yeh, euro hot hatches, fucken sweet till you've gotta fix something :(

[avgas]

Front wheel drive....its just wrong ok

[The Pastor]

Civics are grandma cars.

[scracha]

At the moment we've got a Golf Mk 4, that's fairly flickable, but built like a tank, it'll survive a fairly large crash well.

Survive a crash well. According to the euro crash thingimibobbery it'll survive better than most of the huge SUV's.

Shame they're so bloody heavy. Blagged a company Mk4 a couple of years ago and it was a real disappointment compared to my old Mk2. Felt about twice the weight and the room inside was actually less. Must be due to all the safety stuff and electronic gizmos. Build quality was fantastic though. Similar aged ford focus zetec was miles better in every aspect.

[scracha]

Front wheel drive....its just wrong ok

I'd take a well sorted front wheel drive 1.4 turbo fiat punto over a rear wheel drive holden/ford $hitbox every time.

[scracha]

I remember lusting after the 2 tone 2.8i Capri in the UK.

Bwhahahaha...showing your age. Probably about the same time you wore skinny jeans and had a moustache. Escort cosworths were the lust items of my yoof. Nobody could afford them nor the insurance though so most bought $hitty Vauxhall 1.2 novas and stuffed the 1.8/2.0 Astra SRI motors in them.

[Karma]

Survive a crash well. According to the euro crash thingimibobbery it'll survive better than most of the huge SUV's.

Yeh they're fairly heavy in relation to others, but can't fault the safety.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=2544675 (links to a car forum)

Truck hit the car doing 45-50mph, which equates to around 80kph ish, and to walk away with barely a scratch is fairly impressive I'd say.

[McJim]

Bwhahahaha...showing your age. Probably about the same time you wore skinny jeans and had a moustache. Escort cosworths were the lust items of my yoof. Nobody could afford them nor the insurance though so most bought $hitty Vauxhall 1.2 novas and stuffed the 1.8/2.0 Astra SRI motors in them.

:rofl: Aye - I'm an auld fart eh? I remember Strathclyde Police took possession of 4 RS Cosworth Sierras for unmarked M8 work. Great piece of hoon machinery, flooring it, up through the gears, screaming along the M8, then try and change down.....uh oh...gearbox is died jimmy. Ford didn't let the Cosworth boys replace the gearbox in the first consignment - couldn't handle the output apparently!

[avgas]

I'd take a well sorted front wheel drive 1.4 turbo fiat punto over a rear wheel drive holden/ford $hitbox every time.
fair enough, but the fact of the matter exists that would you rather have a fwd 1.4 turbo fiat or a rwd version if you had the choice?
Fwd is just a cost cutting exercise by the car companies. That why fuck all expensive cars use it. Saab 9000 is a joke next to a cheap porsche

[avgas]

what ever happened to the ford puma, looked like a nice car - with a decent 1.7 to boot?

[ninjac]

I love my hot hatch. It's a Nissan Pulsar S-RV VZ-R.
I's only 1.6L but has more power than most 2.0L.
I love the go-cart like handling of hot hatches. I have driven many large cars and they just don't have the communication with the road to inspire confidence when pushing it. Plus, even when you thrash it (and smoke larger cars in the process) the fuel economy returned is only the average for a large car.
I love the look of the latest Golf GTi.
The downside is not being able to power-slide and do donuts with front wheel drive.

[Swoop]

And as for the Capri - I remember lusting after the 2 tone 2.8i Capri in the UK.

There is something about the shape of the Capri, isn't there!!!
Lovely lines!

[scracha]

fair enough, but the fact of the matter exists that would you rather have a fwd 1.4 turbo fiat or a rwd version if you had the choice?
Fwd is just a cost cutting exercise by the car companies. That why fuck all expensive cars use it. Saab 9000 is a joke next to a cheap porsche

Cost cutting for the drivers who purchase the cars. They're lighter and get better fuel economy. They handle slippery / wet roads better and are easier to drive for "normal" drivers. They also don't have a big transmission shaft going the length of the car taking up valuable space. If by "Expensive cars" you means sports cars then you're correct.

Of course, all kiwi blokes think they're Ralf Schumacher and therefore have to purchase V8 rear wheel drive $hitboxes.

Comparing a Saab 9000 to a Porsche is just plain stupid. Why not compare it to an Alfa Romeo or Audi TT? Oh I forgot, different market and different price range,

As for your earlier question, you've obviously never experienced torque steer on a high powered front wheel drive car.

[Motu]

My Charade GTti was a pretty impresive little hatch,apart from the Euro stuff I haven't driven a Jap hatch that could get anywhere near it.But hatch's have a lot of weight high in the rear - after driving my NX Coupe for a year I've noticed the better weight distibution,it's not a fast little car,but as a heap of shit it handles better than a hatch with all the gear.

[bane]

hatches are pretty popular in NZ. If you look at smallish models with both a hatch and saloon variant (corolla, tiida. Mazda 3, the old civic), around 75% are bought as hatches.

In the 80's, the basic small hatch had rubbish performance, and a hotted up version was required for any form of fun - now days, even the basic model have respectable performance.

Take the mazda 3, basic 2L version does 0-100 in 8.5secs, and has top speed of 210kph - late 80's Golf GTi type figures. They handle well, and are good fun (especially as rentals) :whistle:

The MPS version of the 3 ("hot hatch") does 0-100 in 6secs and tops out at 245kph, supercar performance in the early 90's.

As for rwd vs fwd, the most tail happy car ive ever driven was a Pug 205GTi (1.9). You had to be mighty quick to catch the lift off oversteer (the closest ive ever come to writing off a car in a test drive). Its not as satisfying as power oversteer, but it certainly gets the adrenalin pumping!

[boomer]

Back in the UK there's the BCSD syndrome to keep small car sales buoyant.

Kiwi blokes are actually comfortable to advertise their lack of penile development by driving large cars - good on 'em. Well done. Helps their women identify the European blokes that can really satisfy. :rofl:

Seriously though it might have something to do with petrol being one third of the price it is in the UK.....and STILL they complain - who's whingeing now? Oh yeah...and Boomer drives a big car too......:Pokey:

Both my cars are big, its just the bike thats small and my cocks HUGE! big enough to fill 3 prams bro!

[Swoop]

A hatch, I guess, is a way to improve traffic flow by having less "big" cars on the road.
Logically then, improving the situation would mean making a hatch even smaller. Perhaps removing a wheel, since a car can drive on three.
The next step in the evolutionary scale of "motoring life" would be to reduce the size again and also removing another wheel, since you can balance on just two and use your foot for balance when stationary.
Imagine the space we would save on the roads and the pitiful amount of congestion on NZ roads if we all did this!
What would we call such a wonderful mode of transportation...?