The “hot hatch” concept — sporty but practical, with plenty of horsepower — is being swallowed by (what else?) S.U.V.s.
For the longest time, the defining features of a true “hot hatchback” didn’t necessarily include the hatch. A hot hatch, then, was measured by its fun factor: agility, responsiveness and engine power that punched way above its weight.
There was more to like. Economy at the dealership, economy at the gas pump. Practicality, with four doors typical and a trunk that held more than a golf bag if you folded down the rear seats. Overachieving rubber on oversize wheels with oversize brakes. Outrageously bright, show-off color palettes (Magma Orange, anyone? Ginster Yellow?) that perfectly decorated a compact car that rarely extended past 170 inches. Hot hatches were Hot Wheels for grown-ups.
But driving enthusiasts in the United States, who since the mid-1970s have had the European-engineered Volkswagen GTI as the prime example of hot-hatchness (and, later, its high-end, high-performance cousin, the Golf R), should consider a new benchmark on the near horizon: the hot-hatch compact utility vehicle, essentially a shrunken S.U.V.
More than half the “cars” sold in the United States in 2020 qualified as some sort of S.U.V. or crossover. The compact truck has eclipsed the sporty compact car, leaving precious few examples of the latter in our country, including the venerable GTI and Hyundai’s performance-oriented Veloster N.
So which choices remain? Well, there’s the Mazda CX-30 Turbo.
It’s fast enough — 250 horsepower — but don’t just haul it down a highway. Throw it a curve. Take it on a twisty track. Or over rocks. This all-wheel-driver, which starts at about $31,000 and is just now landing at dealers, blurs the line between an ordinary commuter appliance and a — well, a hot hatch.
“In a very competitive segment, it makes a lot of sense to add this more powerful option,” said Jay Chen, a powertrain engineer at Mazda. “Most manufacturers are treating the small C.U.V. segment as errand-runners, entry-level vehicles. The Turbo offers a lot more daily driving enjoyment.” What it doesn’t offer is a manual transmission, a defining option in hot hatches of yore. Mr. Chen said a stick shift was discussed, but rejected.
The Turbo isn’t just about its engine (which is based on one that has been used in Mazda trucks for some time); there are tweaks to its software settings for off-road use, alongside some hardware that can absorb a more aggressive ride.
Of course, Mazda isn’t after just a halo product, which is essentially a fancy, low-volume, high-trim model created by manufacturers for bragging rights. It’s in business to do business. “The Turbo is really helping us to move out of the commodity space where we might be competing with the Toyotas and Hondas and Hyundais, and more into premium space,” said Drew Cary, a Mazda spokesman.
Whether or not the CX-30 Turbo attracts the “urban adventure customer” Mazda seeks, the model is positioned “in a segment that is shifting as society changes,” Mr. Chen suggested. “Its utilitarian capability is becoming more significant. So I would argue that the Turbo is a hot hatch — or maybe what a hot hatch should have been.”
Or maybe not.
“The thought was that some of these subcompact crossovers could be a bit sporty — they’re basically the size of a hot hatch — but they don’t necessarily have the styling that is a hallmark of a hot hatch,” said Jessica Caldwell, an analyst with Edmunds, an automotive research group. “Hot hatches were meant to be niche players. I don’t think that’s the case with this one.”
Ms. Caldwell is guarded about whether the CX-30 Turbo will hit its sales target. “This segment is so incredibly crowded,” she said. “You have to find a way to stand out. If you market it on pure horsepower, it would be marketing it on dead ears.”
She added: “They have to appeal to the spirit of driving, fun to drive. That feeling makes it more compelling.”
In the long run, the concept of a hot-hatch C.U.V. might find a more receptive audience in Europe, where the GTI, the Renault Mégane R.S. 280 and the Peugeot 205 GTi delighted a whole generation of enthusiasts. In many markets, those cars qualified as stealth machines, even though they outperformed some sports cars of the day — and most avoided the hooligan tags because they were so, well, ordinary.
Ms. Caldwell also pointed out that while some Americans embraced the notion of a small hatchback, most admired them from a distance as “niche.”
Some hatchlike C.U.V. candidates have already come and gone. The Toyota C-HR is still for sale, but its lifeline may not be too long. The Nissan Juke, after being on sale for more years than it deserved to be, was finally laughed to death.
But with a tweak here and there — a performance boost, sleek interiors, aggressive tires and some body details — it wouldn’t be surprising if other manufacturers followed Mazda’s lead and tried to grab a slice of this market.
Here’s a look at some other C.U.V.s that have hot-hatch potential.
Mercedes-AMG GLA 45. The hottest of the hot? For sure, if one factors in the AMG-specific engine, which puts out a neck-bending 382 horsepower in such a small crossover. The GLA 45, part of the newly redesigned GLA range, will churn to 60 miles per hour in just over four seconds; don’t mind the industrial rasp of the engine, or the jarring ride.
Volkswagen ID.4. In the electric realm, an early candidate (and one of the very few) for spunky C.U.V. is the Tiguan-size ID.4, which is based on the platform of the ID.3 hatch already introduced in Europe. With its rather generic looks, one won’t mistake this $40,000 vehicle for a sports car, although its specs are fundamentally impressive, with 201 horsepower and an estimated range of 250 miles.
BMW X2 M Mesh. The compact X2 was introduced a couple of years ago to add some sass to a platform that supports the X1 as well as a couple of Mini models. The bodywork is sleeker than the X1 and doesn’t reduce cargo and passenger space by very much. Now the German brand is offering a dressier version of the 2, the M Mesh edition, on the front- or all-wheel-drive models. There’s little to gussy up the performance of the truck, but poseurs might embrace the exclusive grille, the 19-inch wheels and the sport steering wheel.
Toyota C-HR. It falls into the attractive/unattractive conundrum, depending on one’s taste. The interior is plain and functional, the touch screen is underwhelming, and the amenities are limited. The C-HR rides surprisingly well at moderate speeds on smooth roads, but it bucks and shakes in my Queens neighborhood. Needs more work to turn up the hot-hatch heat.
Honda HR-V. Looks swift but, like the Toyota, lacks power. Surprisingly, Honda is without a hot-hatch entry, unless you count the Civic Type R, which is essentially a track car. Perhaps the HR-V will develop some chops, especially now that the clever Fit hatchback has been axed in the United States.
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April 15, 2021 at 05:00PM
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Hot Hatchbacks: Party in the Front, Business in the Back - The New York Times
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