BARGAIN HUNT

Where did 2019’s affordable hot hatches go? The Focus ST, A45 S and Trophy-R had better be worth the pricetags

WORDS OLLIE KEW

Hot hatchbacks normally arrive at Speed Week as the underdogs. The worthy ones with the big boots where we keep the melted chocolate bars. This year, the shopping trolleys are out for blood. A juiced-up fast Ford, a Mercedes A-Class that’s more powerful and expensive than a used Ferrari 360, and a Renault Megane without satnav, holes instead of foglights and priced to fight a Porsche Cayman GT4. Sure, the last A45 was a record-breaking nutter, and Renault’s no stranger to emptying out a Megane, but this feels like the moment when hot hatches really got gentrified. These cars take themselves seriously. So shall we. No getting bogged down in monthly payments or sweet spot semantics here. Which is the most heart-zappingly exciting hatch, period. The Focus ST is better than…

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Top Gear South Africa (Digital) - 1 Issue, November 2019

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