SINCE the hot hatch arrived around 50 years ago, car makers have honed the formula to the point where you can pretty much have your cake and eat it. You can have a comfortable ride as well as sharp handling, luxury with agility, and performance with reasonable economy.
During the eighties and nineties, sales of hot hatches boomed, but the market calmed down a little as we went into the noughties, although these pint-sized bundles of fun became more accomplished than ever during this period.
Now that we’re