The distinction between a hot hatch and a warm hatch is not set in stone. Often there will be a more fiery version of the car in question that will qualify as hot, while the cheaper, more tepid model slots into the folder marked ‘warm’.
But just as often a warm hatch is a range-topping model that simply isn’t that powerful, or not too different in engineering terms to the standard models in the line-up. Either way, warm hatches exist for a slightly different purpose to hot hatches, being less expensive to buy, cheaper to run and far easier to insure, particularly for young drivers. But they are still enormous fun, all of which makes warm hatches the best starter performance cars of all.
FOUR OF THE BEST SECOND-HAND WARM HATCHES
The four warm hatches that follow are the best you can buy second-hand right now. They all hail from much the same era, too, having been introduced between 10 and 18 years ago. That means they’re affordable to buy – £2,000 perhaps, or even half that – while not being so hopelessly out of date they don’t have basic safety equipment or modern car reliability.
Most importantly, though, every one of them is brilliant to drive. Experienced drivers will enjoy their vivacity, while new drivers will begin to recognise the differences between an everyday car and a sporty one, noticing the keener steering, tauter body control, pointier chassis balance, and mid-corner adjustability.
SUZUKI SWIFT SPORT
Engine: 1.6-litre naturally aspirated petrol
Power: 125bhp
Torque: 109lb ft
0-60mph: 9.4 seconds
Weight: 1,105kg
Fuel economy: 39.2mpg (NEDC Combined)
If you’ve ever wondered what road testers are talking about when referring to throttle adjustability in front-wheel-drive cars, then the Suzuki Swift Sport is a great car in which to find out. For its chassis is so in tune with what you’re doing with the throttle, and its inherent balance between front and rear axles so good, that you can pitch it into a corner and almost feel it dancing beneath you. Best of all, the little Suzuki is so transparent and communicative that it’s not at all intimidating. Just massively good fun.
The Swift Sport does tend to lean a lot in corners, but it’s got a tenacious front end and crisp steering to go with that adjustable balance. The 125bhp 1.6-litre engine is a keen spinner and the gearshift quick and direct. The model was introduced in 2007 and the earliest, tattiest cars now trade hands for not much more than £1,000. Spend twice that, though, and you’ll bag yourself a cleaner example with around 50,000 miles behind it.
Interior rattles and squeaks are almost unavoidable, the driving position isn’t great with a high-set seat and no reach adjustment for the steering wheel, while with only five gears these cars sit at around 4,000rpm on the motorway using plenty of fuel. But when you find a good B-road, it’ll all be worth it.
MINI COOPER
Engine: 1.6-litre naturally aspirated petrol
Power: 115bhp
Torque: 118lb ft
0-60mph: 9.4 seconds
Weight: 1,105kg
Fuel economy: 52.3mpg (NEDC Combined)
What BMW got so right with the relaunch of MINI in 2001 was capturing the iconic original model’s sense of fun. The all-new version was vastly bigger and heavier while being hardly any more usable, but its darty handling and zippy performance made it feel like a faithful recreation. The high-performance Cooper S and its derivates were the hot hatches of the range, while the relatively humble Cooper perfectly fit the description of a warm hatch.
With the wheels pressed all the way out to the corners of the car, the MINI Cooper even looks fun to drive. Very responsive steering, a taut chassis and a trick multilink rear suspension arrangement underpin what MINI nauseatingly refers to as the car’s go-kart handling, which manages to be both an irritating term and also a kind of true one. Don’t let the cutesy styling fool you; these cars are proper little terriers out on the road. And you can buy a decent one for less than £2,000.
The 1.6-litre petrol engines, good for a peppy 115bhp, have a reputation for being reliable but they’re by no means infallible. A rattling sound from the top of the engine could be hydraulic tappets on their way out or the timing chain in need of tensioning. Meanwhile, a deeper knocking sound from the bottom of the engine could indicate a spun bearing as a result of being run low on oil. In either case, you should walk away given how much choice you’ll be presented with.
FORD FIESTA ZETEC S
Engine: 1.6-litre naturally aspirated petrol
Power: 118bhp
Torque: 112lb ft
0-60mph: 9.9 seconds
Weight: 1,109kg
Fuel economy: 37.5mpg (NEDC Combined)
Even now, a decade after it was introduced, the Ford Fiesta Zetec S could teach an awful lot of newer and more expensive performance cars plenty about cohesion. This is a car with beautifully cohesive control weights; pedals, steering and gearshift all in perfect harmony. It’s cohesive dynamically as well, in the way it leans in bends and rotates all at once, and in the way grip bleeds away from the front and rear axles at a very similar rate. These are all qualities that make present day Porsches so great to drive – only in a tiny hatchback that you can buy for as little as £2,500.
The Zetec S also has a just-about perfect seating position, the seat supportive and the steering wheel exactly where you want it. The messy dashboard design does call to mind an ancient Nokia phone and the seat upholstery feels thin and cheap, but none of that will bother you as you revel in the balance of the chassis and the precision of the steering. This is one of the cars that cemented Ford’s reputation as a master chassis tuner.
Of course, the Fiesta you really want is the ST that followed post-facelift in 2013. But the earliest examples still cost around £6,000 and although the ST is much more powerful than the 118bhp Zetec S, it isn’t necessarily more rewarding to drive.
RENAULTSPORT TWINGO 133
Engine: 1.6-litre naturally aspirated petrol
Power: 131bhp
Torque: 118lb ft
0-60mph: 8.7 seconds
Weight: 1,049kg
Fuel economy: 40.4mpg (NEDC Combined)
The Renaultsport Twingo is the closest thing here to a full-blown hot hatch, and not only because it’s the most powerful car of the lot (by an entire 6bhp). In fact, since it was developed by the world’s preeminent hot hatch builder, Renaultsport, it’s tempting to apply the loftier tag to the Twingo 133 and banish it forever from this list of warm hatches. But it stays because its size, weight and 131bhp all feel about right for that sort of machine, but also because it was only the third hottest hatchback Renaultsport built at the time (2008-2013), which surely renders it no more than warm.
The Twingo is most exciting in Cup specification, in which case it sits a little closer to the road on sportier springs and dampers. The suspension architecture (with a basic torsion beam at the rear) is unchanged compared with lesser Twingos, but the componentry was comprehensively retuned and the tracks widened front and rear to make the car as agile and responsive as a Renaultsport should be. It is, however, a shame the driver’s seat perches you up quite so high.
The engine is reliable and durable, which is just as well given you’ll want to thrash it to within an inch of its life, while the only major issue with the suspension is failing lower-arm ball joints. Listen out for a clunking sound and budget £250 per side. Not as cheap to buy as the other cars here, although £3,000 will still land a very good one.
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