Hyundai Ioniq 5 N review - sensationally quick and engaging
The UK's top 10 fastest hot hatchbacks 2025
Hot hatchbacks are hotter than they’ve ever been before – these are the quickest of the lot
Hot hatchbacks have come a long way since their heyday in the 80s and 90s. Back then, models like the Peugeot 205 GTI, Volkswagen Golf GTI, and Ford Escort RS Turbo gave us the ideal blend of speed and practicality rolled into one compact, affordable package. They may have been quick for their time, but by today’s standards, those classics now feel more nostalgic than outright fast.
Fast-forward three decades and the hot hatchback has now evolved almost beyond recognition. With each successive model, power has been pushed up and up in a never-ending war between manufacturers, vying for both customers and bragging rights. By the end of the last decade, models such as the Honda Civic Type R and Renault Megane RS seemed to defy the laws of physics, sending more power to the front wheels than anyone thought possible, without evaporating the front tyres or skating all over the road.
Clever suspension engineering and improved tyre technology ensures the fast Honda and Renault can send more than 300bhp to the wheels, yet still be driven home from the shops with two child seats in the back and a boot full of bags.
To really harness increasing power and shoot off the mark from a standing start, some of the hottest hatchbacks have now adopted four-wheel-drive, including the Audi RS 3 and Mercedes-AMG A 45 S. With four tyres biting into the tarmac instead of two, these dominate our top-10 list of the fastest hatchbacks from 0-62mph. But as you’ll see, there’s still a place for front-wheel drive, which some manufacturers prefer thanks to its lighter weight, reduced running costs and lower price tag. Hot hatchbacks are meant to be affordable, after all.
If your focus is on style instead of thrills, take a look at our top-10 list of the best-looking cars, or perhaps you’d rather have both, in which case head over to our round-up of the best sports cars. But if you simply can’t get enough of the all-round ability of a great hot hatchback, read on for our list of the 10 fastest hatchbacks from 0-62mph.
- Priced from around £65,000
- 0-62mph in 3.4 seconds
Is the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N really a hatchback? With dimensions closer to a Vauxhall Grandland than an Astra, you could argue that the Ioniq 5 is too big to be a traditional hatchback, but there’s no denying that the N version is hot – 641bhp hot. The four-wheel drive EV puts down its supercar-rivalling power with little effort, launching from 0-62mph in just 3.4 seconds. For context, that’s half a second quicker than a BMW M4 Competition.
But this isn’t just a point-and-shoot EV for scaring your passengers. The Ioniq 5 N loves corners, changing direction with impressive agility and very little body roll. That’s before we even mention Hyundai’s e-Shift feature, which simulates the feel and sound of a petrol-engined hot hatchback, with a rev limiter and fake gearshifts using steering wheel paddles. It’s surprisingly fun to use, but you can always turn it off if it’s not your thing. Like every good hot hatch, the Ioniq 5 N is perfectly usable every day. In fact, being such a large car makes it one of the most practical cars on this list, as well as the fastest.
- Priced from around £60,000
- 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds
When the latest Audi RS 3 came along to take on the mighty Mercedes-AMG A 45 S, it appeared to have a slight disadvantage. You see, although the 395bhp developed by the Audi’s 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine was mightily impressive, it wasn’t quite as impressive as the 415bhp found in the Merc. Regardless of that, however, the Audi still has the Merc beaten against the stopwatch, taking its crown as the quickest petrol-powered hot hatch on the market.
Thanks in part to Audi’s famous quattro all-wheel-drive system and launch control, 0-62mph takes a rapid 3.8 seconds, beating the A45 S by a tenth of a second. Also, a new ‘torque splitter’ allows the car to niftily shift power to each of the four wheels to maintain maximum grip.
This all comes at a cost, however, with entry-level models now nudging over £60,000. However, the Audi makes up for it with a plush yet sporty interior, and touches such as chequered-flag headlight insignias that enthusiasts will love.
- Priced from around £36,000
- 0-62mph in 3.8 seconds
The regular MG4 has proven to be a popular car in the UK, offering great value-for-money for family EV buyers. But even the most powerful 241bhp electric motor won’t be enough for some, which is where the XPower model comes in. This version gets an extra motor for the front wheels, boosting power to 429bhp. Floor it, and it will sprint from 0-62mph in just 3.8 seconds – the same as the RS 3.
Being electric, of course, you miss out on the five-cylinder soundtrack of the Audi, but that only makes the MG4 XPower more relaxing to drive when you’re not busy drag racing. It’s both comfy and refined, plus it gets plenty of standard equipment. But this is a list of hot hatchbacks, so we’re interested in performance. Thankfully, the MG4 XPower gets some useful upgrades over the standard car, including an electronic differential, stiffer suspension, bigger brakes and a recalibrated steering system. The result is an electric hot hatch that’s lightning fast with great composure through the twisties. It’s also comfortably the cheapest car on this list, coming in at half the price of an Audi RS 3 with a few options.
- Priced from around £63,000
- 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds
The Mercedes-AMG A 45 S might no longer be the fastest-accelerating hot hatch there is, but it remains one of the most powerful, its 415bhp being a level of power reserved for supercars until fairly recently. Packing the most powerful 2.0-litre engine ever produced, linked to four-wheel drive, its 0-62mph time of just 3.9 seconds and top speed of 168mph is still mind-blowing.
It’s no stripped-out racing car, though. It still features all the Mercedes luxuries and it’s comfortable when you’re driving at lower speeds. While it is an astonishing piece of kit, we’re a little uneasy about the price of a family hatchback starting at over £60,000, but like the Audi RS 3, that’s the price you have to pay for the hottest of hot hatchbacks. If you like the look of the A 45 S but don’t need all that power, you can pick up the still-fairly-fast A 35 and save yourself £18,000.
- Priced from around £45,000
- 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds
The Volkswagen Golf GTI has been regarded as hot hatchback royalty by many over the last few decades. However, with various manufacturers creating more and more powerful hot hatches, the GTI was beginning to almost appear slow in comparison. Enter, the Golf R.
Sitting at the pinnacle of the hot Golf lineup, the R shares the same underpinnings and 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine as the more expensive Audi S3. Here it produces 329bhp (33bhp more than the Golf GTI Clubsport) and can manage 0-62mph in 4.6 seconds. Some may be unimpressed by the R’s rather flat exhaust note, but it remains great to drive and the 4Motion four-wheel-drive system has plenty of grip.
While the inside of the Golf is certainly smart, it feels slightly less exciting and luxurious than the equivalent Audi. The digital instrument cluster makes the cabin feel modern, however the touch-sensitive climate controls can be frustratingly fiddly. VW has provided the Golf R with plenty of standard equipment such as Matrix LED headlights, adaptive cruise control and grippy sports seats. Yet, some items such as a reversing camera are bizarrely only available as paid extras; and with the options list as extensive as it is, you can easily specify a Golf costing upwards of £50,000.
- Priced from around £48,000
- 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds
You can think of the Audi S3 as the baby brother to the Audi RS 3, with a smaller 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine and ‘just’ 328bhp. Despite the power deficit to the RS 3, tenacious four-wheel-drive traction gets it from 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds. The latest generation of S3, introduced in 2024, picked up the clever ‘torque splitter’ differential from the RS 3, giving it a bit more bite through the corners.
The power and acceleration figures above might sound familiar because the S3 is essentially a Volkswagen Golf R in business attire. The Golf is hardly a bad place to spend time but the Audi is even classier inside, with the S3’s virtual cockpit interior meaning there’s plenty of the latest technology to accompany the comfy, Nappa leather upholstery. If the hatchback bodystyle isn’t your thing, the S3 is available as a saloon, too, much like the RS 3.
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- Priced from around £45,000
- 0-62mph in 4.7 seconds
Power levels in the very fastest hot hatchbacks had become so astronomical that there was plenty of room below for other high-performance versions to bridge the gap between the fast models and the more humble versions. In the Mercedes A-Class range, that car is the Mercedes-AMG A 35, and it plays rival to cars such as the Audi S3, and Volkswagen Golf R.
Sitting between the A 45 and the 221bhp A250, the A 35 has 315bhp and 4MATIC four-wheel drive as standard, helping it sprint from 0-62mph in just 4.7 seconds – just a shade behind the fastest Golf. Despite the performance, the A35 still has the super-luxurious interior Mercedes is now known for, with two large screens and upmarket materials.
- Priced from around £43,000
- 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds
Topping the BMW 1 Series range is the M135, the most powerful version of the popular German hatchback. It’s been through a few changes over the years, swapping from rear-wheel drive to four-wheel drive in 2019, and then picking up new styling in 2024 (and losing the ‘i’ suffix from its name). Despite having slightly less power than the pre-facelift BMW M135i, BMW’s xDrive system means it’s nearly as quick from 0-62mph, with a time of 4.9 seconds versus 4.8 seconds.
Enthusiasts may complain about the move away from rear-wheel drive and a six-cylinder engine (the M140i was the only hot hatchback to feature this configuration), and in truth the M135 could be more exciting. But the M135 makes for a great everyday hatchback, and is still equally comfortable at a trackday or cruising on the motorway. Plus, we don’t think the 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine sounds too much worse than the 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine in the old car.
- Priced from around £44,000
- 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds
When originally designing the GR Yaris, Toyota made it clear that this was to be a fully rally-inspired road-going car in order to maximise the firm’s performance in the World Rally Championship. Fortunately, the world’s most powerful three-cylinder engine and an adjustable four-wheel-drive system help the GR Yaris to live up to these expectations, even exceeding them in some areas.
After an overhaul in 2024, the three-cylinder engine now delivers a very impressive 276bhp, which allows the GR Yaris to sprint from 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds. Unlike many of their other models, Toyota hasn’t put too much emphasis on technological features in the GR, unless they assist in driving performance and pleasure, such as rev-matching. Instead, it has opted for more traditional features such as a six-speed gearbox, although an auto’ is now optional.
Make no mistake, the GR is a very different car from its far more sensible hybrid-engined sibling and it's all the better for it. Just be prepared to pay for it; while the regular Yaris costs from £23,000, the GR variant adds over £20,000 to the bill.
- Priced from around £50,000
- 0-62mph in 5.4 seconds
The Type R badge has been worn by quite a few different Honda models over the years, but it’s the Civic hatchback with which the moniker is most synonymous. And the latest version of the Civic Type R is arguably the best yet, with aggressive looks, scintillating handling and tyre-shredding performance.
Tyre-shredding enough, in fact, to make this list. The Type R’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine develops 325bhp. That’s enough to hurl it from 0-62mph in just 5.4 seconds, and onto a top speed of 170mph, making it the fastest front-wheel drive car on our list. Not to mention one of the most exciting.
The fastest hot hatchbacks: price and score list
See the table below for a full list of the prices and Carbuyer scores of the 10 fastest hot hatchbacks on sale today.
| Fastest hot hatchbacks ranking | Make and model | Priced from | Carbuyer rating (out of 5) |
| 1 | Hyundai Ioniq 5 N | £65,000 | 4.4 |
| 2 | Audi RS 3 | £60,000 | 3.8 |
| 3 | MG XPower | £36,000 | 4.3 |
| 4 | Mercedes-AMG A45 S | £63,000 | 4 |
| 5 | Volkswagen Golf R | £45,000 | 3.9 |
| 6 | Audi S3 | £48,000 | 4.3 |
| 7 | Mercedes-AMG A35 | £45,000 | 4.0 |
| 8 | BMW M135 | £43,000 | 4.2 |
| 9 | Toyota GR Yaris | £44,000 | 4.1 |
| 10 | Honda Civic Type R | £50,000 | 4.2 |
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