The market for electric hot hatches is burgeoning, with long-time stalwarts of the genre like Volkswagen, Peugeot, Renault (through the Alpine brand) and Vauxhall all rolling out sporty plug-in hatches. This is, undoubtedly, a good thing: whether we like it or not, most regulations around the world still point to the long-term future of cars being electric, and if we can’t have traditional hot hatches, then electric ones are better than nothing.
It does, however, mean that the market for petrol-powered hot hatchbacks is well and truly on life support. The simple fact is that, in Europe, ever more stringent emissions rules mean it’s becoming near-impossible to sell performance cars that don’t feature at least some kind of electric assistance.
This means that there, in sharp contrast to the hot hatch boom of a decade or so ago, there are now just 10 purely petrol-powered hot hatches left on the British market, a number that’s set to dwindle further in the coming months. And while they’re quicker and more capable than ever, they’re also more expensive. Here’s a rundown of the last non-electric hot hatches left in Britain.
Audi S3 Sportback
Audi S3 Sportback
Powertrain: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, all-wheel drive
Power: 328bhp
Torque: 310lb ft
0-62mph: 4.7 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Price: From £49,960
Now in its fourth generation and following a mid-life facelift, the Audi S3 has finally managed to shake off its reputation for being a competent and rapid but slightly blunt instrument. It’s still got one of the nicest hot hatch interiors around and is seriously rapid cross-country, but the addition of a torque splitter system with the model’s facelift, allowing the car to make on-the-fly adjustments to power distribution between the axles, has unlocked a new dimension of playfulness from the car.
Read our Audi S3 review
Audi RS3 Sportback
Audi RS3 Sportback
Powertrain: 2.5-litre turbocharged five-cylinder, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, all-wheel drive
Power: 395bhp
Torque: 369lb ft
0-62mph: 3.9 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Price: From £63,655
Like its little sibling, the first couple of RS3s were undeniably rapid but lacked a little something that set them apart as truly great hot hatches, but that too has changed with the third generation car. It gets the same torque splitter system as the S3, which is made all the more useful by having an extra 80 or so bhp on tap from one of the great engines of the modern era, Audi’s wailing 2.5-litre turbo five-cylinder. Unfortunately, that engine will also prove to be its undoing: it won’t meet the incoming Euro 7 emissions rules, meaning it’ll be phased out in Europe within a year or so, although some other markets like the US will continue to get it.
Read our Audi RS3 review
BMW M135
BMW M135
Powertrain: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, seven-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Power: 296bhp
Torque: 295lb ft
0-62mph: 4.9 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Price: From £45,630
No, not the M135i: under BMW’s new naming strategy, petrol-powered models drop the little ‘i’ (which once denoted fuel injection), which is now reserved for the start of EV model names. Although BMW calls it a new generation, this is essentially a heavy facelift of the old M135i, and unfortunately, it still suffers a little from the same lack of verve and character. It’s not bad, just a bit… plain. Still, it’s got a very nice interior and is quick point-to-point, so if that matters more than ultimate engagement, it’s not a bad choice.
Read our BMW M135 review
Cupra Leon 2.0 TSI
Cupra Leon 2.0 TSI
Powertrain: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, front-wheel drive
Power: 296-321bhp
Torque: 295-310lb ft
0-62mph: 5.7-5.4 seconds
Top speed: 155-168mph
Price: From £47,025
A slightly confusing one, this, because while you’d expect the Cupra Leon to simply be the hot version of the Seat Leon, you can in fact get the Cupra-badged car in 1.5-litre form with as little as 148bhp. Thankfully, there is still a properly hot one available: it’s essentially a Golf GTI Clubsport in a racy Spanish suit, and gets the same 296bhp and electronic diff lock as its German cousin. There are a couple of limited edition VZ versions incoming with 321bhp too, including a touring car-aping TCR model that ditches the rear seats.
Read our Cupra Leon 2.0 TSI review
Mercedes-AMG A35
Mercedes-AMG A35
Powertrain: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, eight-speed dual-clutch automatic, all-wheel drive
Power: 301bhp
Torque: 295lb ft
0-62mph: 4.7 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Price: From £48,030
Mercedes has been in the hot hatch game for far less time than some others, but the AMG versions of its A-Class have quickly become some of the most popular takes on the posh, fast all-wheel drive hatchback formula. The A35 arrived as a new version of the current-generation A-Class, designed to serve as a new entry point as the A45 grew ever further in power. It’s been around for a while now, but it should stick around for as long as this generation of A-Class does, and it remains a compelling choice even next to newer rivals.
Read our Mercedes-AMG A35 review
Mercedes-AMG A45 S
Mercedes-AMG A45 S
Powertrain: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, eight-speed dual-clutch automatic, all-wheel drive
Power: 416bhp
Torque: 369lb ft
0-62mph: 3.9 seconds
Top speed: 168mph
Price: From £65,465
416bhp from a 2.0-litre engine, and not one that needs servicing every five minutes like the mad versions of the Mitsubishi Evo used to. Even seven years on from its launch, that figure still boggles the mind, and keeps the A45 S as one of the very fastest hot hatches around. It’s a savagely quick thing, albeit one that’s a bit more compromised as a daily than the slower, cheaper A35. That won’t matter soon, though: like that of its big rival, the Audi RS3, the A45’s M139 engine will soon fall foul of emissions rules, meaning it’s going off sale soon. If that wasn’t clear enough, AMG’s just launched a run-out special Final Edition.
Read our Mercedes-AMG A45 S review
Mini Cooper JCW
Mini JCW
Powertrain: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, front-wheel drive
Power: 228bhp
Torque: 280lb ft
0-62mph: 6.1 seconds
Top speed: 155mph
Price: From £33,550
Pretty much the only properly small petrol hot hatch still regularly available in Europe, the shortcomings of the Mini JCW – its lack of manual gearbox, sometimes frustrating interior and punishingly firm ride – are made more forgivable by its sheer lack of proper rivals. It still corners with the sort of darty joie de vivre we expect from a modern Mini, and it’s generally just a fun car to be around. There’s an electric version too, and you can still get a medium-spice Cooper S, but in the grand scheme of things, that one’s just not very hot any more.
Toyota GR Yaris
Toyota GR Yaris Aero Performance
Powertrain: 1.6-litre turbocharged three-cylinder, six-speed manual or eight-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Power: 276bhp
Torque: 288lb ft
0-62mph: 5.2 seconds
Top speed: 143mph
Price: n/a
This is a strange one availability-wise, because since its 2024 facelift, the Toyota GR Yaris has only been sporadically available in Europe in limited numbers, likely another consequence of emissions rules. After the initial run of facelifted cars, it disappeared for a while, then came back in bewinged Aero Performance form, then vanished again. We expect at least a couple more UK releases, though: it’s already been confirmed that a few units of the limited-run Morizo RR, unveiled early this year, are Europe-bound. Anyway, the GR Yaris: you’ve likely heard plenty about this car already, and therefore already know it’s considered brilliant. We’re certainly not going to contradict that – this is by far one of our very favourite modern cars.
Read our Toyota GR Yaris review
Volkswagen Golf GTI
Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 50
Powertrain: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, front-wheel drive
Power: 261-321bhp
Torque: 273-310lb ft
0-62mph: 5.9-5.3 seconds
Top speed: 155-168mph
Price: From £41,860
The definitive hot hatch rumbles on in 2026, now in its eighth generation and following a facelift which rights a few wrongs of this generation of Golf as a whole. Sadly, that same facelift also saw the manual gearbox dropped, leaving the Golf GTI as an auto-only model. It comes in three flavours: the 261bhp standard car, 296bhp Clubsport and limited-run 321bhp Edition 50. We’ve tried the first two, but given that the Edition 50 will set you back north of £50,000, we reckon the Clubsport represents a nice middle ground: the basic car, while decent, feels a bit tame next to its few other hot hatch contemporaries these days. It’s still as competent an all-rounder as ever, though. Long live the Golf GTI!
Read our Volkswagen Golf GTI review
Read our Volkswagen Golf GTI Clubsport review
Volkswagen Golf R
Volkswagen Golf R
Powertrain: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder, seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, all-wheel drive
Power: 328bhp
Torque: 310lb ft
0-62mph: 4.6 seconds
Top speed: 155-168mph
Price: From £46,930
Introduced on the Mk6 Golf and continuing the lineage of the old V6-powered R32, the Golf R remains a faster, all-wheel drive take on the hot Golf recipe. It’s no longer all about point-to-point pace over playfulness, though: the latest model gets the same torque splitter feature as its Audi cousins, complete with a drift mode, so really, you can have just as much fun in the R as in any of the current GTIs. In many ways, it’s now the hot Golf to get if your budget allows, as it’s still a superb one-car-fits-all performance machine, just with an added layer of playfulness.
Read our Volkswagen Golf R review
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