SLIDE AWAY

IT ENDS UP IN A PARADOXICAL REALM WHERE FAMILY HATCHES CAN DO POWER OVERSTEER

AS EVER, THE HEADLINES mislead. Pointlessly powerful mega-EVs and SUVs propelled by supercargrade engines aren’t the only ‘exciting’ things happening on planet car in 2021. At best they’re ephemeral (and at worst absurd), and more heartening, worthwhile signs of this industry’s ability to elevate its game can be found closer to home. Possibly as close as your own driveway.

We’re talking about hot hatches. Specifically, the more sophisticated ones, with four-wheel drive and do-itall remits. These are the machines currently leading the genre down an unexpected path that starts with a signpost that dryly reads ‘active rear-axle torque vectoring’ but ends up in a paradoxical realm where family hatchbacks can do power oversteer.

Brewing over the past half-decade and now found on several big players, torque-vectoring technology in this humble bit of the market is a genuine double-take development. The Audi RS6 and its ilk will inevitably become quicker, you can bet that Rolls-Royce will somehow make the Phantom yet more soporific and the next Land Rover Defender will probably be able to wade the Mariana Trench. But a Volkswagen