If you want to have your hot hatch cake and eat it, then you'd best have a look at the Mercedes-AMG A45 S. It's one of the priciest hot hatches on sale, but combines outrageous performance with one of the classiest interiors you'll find here. 

So what does more than £50,000 buy you? How about a 421PS, 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, four-wheel drive and an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox? It's a recipe that means the Mercedes-AMG A45 S can get from 0-62mph in 3.9 seconds and onto a limited top speed of 168mph. Point-to-point, even a six-figure supercar will struggle to keep up.

And it can serve up this scintillating speed while pampering you inside one of the poshest interiors you'll find this side of a Mercedes S-Class luxury saloon, thanks to huge infotainment screens and trick augmented-reality sat-nav. Sure, it's not the roomiest car here, but four adults and a medium-sized dog won't be complaining. 

The car that popularised hot hatches, the Volkswagen Golf GTI may no longer have the market to itself, but it remains one of the most desirable hot hatches around and one of the most capable all-rounders. True, others are quicker, better to drive or look more aggressive, but the understated Golf GTI is a hot hatch that can also be a practical day-to day-family car.

It does this by offering nearly all the same comfort and refinement of a regular Golf. Some criticise it for being too civilised for a hot hatch, but when you need to get round the M25 at rush hour, you'll be glad you didn't opt for something more hardcore. 

The very latest Mk8 Volkswagen Golf GTI (pictured) launched in 2021, but it costs over £37,000 and comes with the same fiddly infotainment as the regular Golf. If you don't need a new car, then, we reckon you'll do well to go for the previous 2013-on Mk7 version. 

The standard Mark 7 GTI has 220PS but the models to go for are those fitted with the optional Performance Pack. A £1000 option when new, this ups power to 230PS, but more importantly, it adds uprated brakes and a limited-slip front differential.

The latter of which makes the most difference. It means traction from low speeds is markedly improved, with the wheels able to transfer the power down cleanly without the tyres scrabbling for grip. A budget of just over £15,000 will get you a four-year-old Golf GTI.

It's true that previous versions of the Audi RS3 - however fast and powerful they were - were slightly underwhelming when it came to driver engagement and outright fun. The latest version, however, released in 2021, has turned that narrative completely on its head.

Don't get us wrong, it's still insanely fast, with a 2.5-litre five-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine punting out a stonking 400PS. That's less power than in the Mercedes that sits at the top of this list, but the RS3 still manages to see off the 0-62mph dash a tenth of a second quicker, so the bragging rights are at least shared. Rest assured, supercar drivers will still be left red-faced as they wonder which way you went.

Where the new car has improved so substantially, though, is in how connected it makes you feel to the whole experience of driving it. The steering is sharper, the handling responses are more faithful, and there's a real playfulness that just wasn't there before. Yes, it's stupendously expensive, but with the latest RS3, you don't feel like you're being short-changed.

Let’s just say the Honda Civic Type R’s styling might be your biggest hurdle to purchase – you either like it or you hate it – but it deserves its place in any list of the best hot hatches. After all, if supercars can get away with having outlandish styling, why can’t hot hatches? 

Particularly because the Civic Type R will give most supercars a run for their money on A and B roads. That comes thanks to a combination of a 329PS 2.0-litre turbocharged engine, a limited-slip differential that gives it limpet-like grip, direct steering and adjustable dampers. It's the most powerful front-wheel drive production car on sale.

It can be rock solid one minute and (relatively) soft and cosseting the next. That makes the Honda entirely usable. And there's good news when it comes to the Civic's infotainment as it's been upgraded from the woeful offering in its predecessor. It has a solid interior, too, which has loads of space and a surprisingly big boot.

You'll need a budget of over £47,000 for a latest-generation Honda Civic Type R due to production numbers being severely restricted. Otherwise, you'll be looking at the older car, which is still impressive in its own right.

Granted, Ford has taken the decision to discontinue the Fiesta ST as a new car (boo, hiss...), along with the rest of the Fiesta range, but it remains on our list of the best hot hatches because it's still good enough to outshine a lot of much newer kit, and by a good distance.

It’s powered by a turbocharged 1.5-litre, three-cylinder EcoBoost engine. You might be concerned that this represents somewhat of a step down the performance ladder but worry not: the advanced engine punches out a hefty 200PS and 290Nm, granting a 0-62mph time of just 6.5 seconds.

Being a Ford hot hatch it handles superbly, too. There’s endless fun to be had and the ST serves up masses of grip and a playful feel which – in conjunction with accurate, well-weighted steering and plenty of feedback – makes it reassuring, quick and (most importantly) fun through corners. Prices start from a little over £15,000 for the latest 2018-on version, too. Hit the classifieds and get yourself a used version before they all get snapped up. Trust us, you won't regret it.

If you're thinking of buying a hot hatch, Hyundai may not be a name that immediately leaps to mind. However, the Hyundai i30N is one of the many cars in Hyundai's stable that is making the brand leap higher and higher: this isn't just good for a Hyundai, it's a great performance hatch full stop. 

It's powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine - the standard version (now discontinued) has 250PS, but the Performance version with 275PS proved much more popular, and you will find these slipping into the £20,000 price bracket on the used market. Trust us, it's worth it.

It's not just raw power that makes the i30N appealing. It's packed with all sorts of performance-enhancing tech - including a limited slip differential, launch control, adaptive suspension and all sorts - that makes it both capable and enthralling to drive. It's also got a solid and spacious interior, plenty of kit, and a good warranty, so it has the sensible boxes ticked, too.

While the MINI Cooper S is hardly slow, if you want the pinnacle of the MINI range when it comes to performance, the John Cooper Works (or JCW as for short) is the model to go for. It is, in fact, available on all MINI bodystyles, from the Clubman estate car to the Countryman small SUV. But for us, the standard three- or five-door MINI JCW hatchback is the best in the range.

True, the JCW hatch doesn’t have as much power as the Clubman or Countryman versions, with ‘just’ 231PS, but in a small car like this, that's plenty. You also get a rorty exhaust note, a must-have feature in a power-boosted MINI, letting you relive The Italian Job on every trip to the shops. 

And being a MINI, this is a car that’s fun and engaging to drive, even if you’re not using all that power. Responsive steering means it tackles corners with gusto and while the suspension is pretty firm, it’s still comfortable enough for everyday driving.

A £15k budget will get you a four or five-year-old MINI JCW three-door with below average mileage. Look for models with the optional (but desirable) Chili Pack fitted.

Going all-electric doesn't have to mean sacrificing fun, even if the electric hot hatch genre is fairly  limited right now. Okay, so it probably isn't a hot hatch in its traditional sense, but we reckon the Cupra Born does a very passable impression.

Granted, it's far from the fastest electric car, and isn't the most exciting to drive in this list, but it's a real step in the right direction. Right now you can have a 204PS or 230PS model with either a 58 or 77kWh battery, which translates to a 0-62mph time of as little as 6.6 seconds and a range of up to 340 miles depending on the version. 

Underneath, the Cupra Born is basically the same as the Volkswagen ID.3, but there's been some key changes to the chassis to make it sharper in the bends and more aggressive to look at. You'll enjoy zipping about town and bombing along the open road in it, plus it's the only rear-wheel drive car here. 

What's more, the Born is a solid all-rounder, with plenty of kit, refinement and practicality. Prices are punchy, though, and you won't find many cheap used deals around. 

Hot hatches don’t always need to have a snarling petrol engine. Abarth has been tuning up Fiat 500s for years in order to make them into pint-sized pocket rockets, and now, it's applied the formula to the latest, fully electric 500 to produce a new battery-powered barnstormer.

Turn the Abarth 500e on, and you get guitar-riff audio to welcome you to the car, while on the outside an embarrassingly loud burble reminiscent of a petrol-powered Abarth is played. It’s certainly a gimmick, but it all adds to the playful nature of this car, although you can turn it off if you so wish.

This is an EV which will put a smile on your face, and keep it there. The handling is sharp and there’s enough power underfoot to nip you through traffic and dart round country roads.

Abarth has also souped up the interior for a sportier aesthetic to complete the package. If your budget allows, go for the Turismo trim, which gets you a bunch of great extras.

If you like your hot hatches distinctly old school - in a good way - then the previous version of Renault’s Megane Renaultsport is an ideal choice. While many other hot hatches have gone for refinement and practicality, the Megane Renaultsport sticks to the tried-and-trusted method of plenty of power and raw thrills.

Like many hot hatches, Renault continually improved the Megane Renaultsport over its lifetime, improving power and adding more equipment and technology. What started off with 250PS ended up with 275PS, along with better brakes, uprated suspension and even better performance. It's one of the sharpest and most exciting hot hatches ever made as a result. 

The Renaultsport Cup models are the ones to go for if you want your hot hatch to be that bit more hardcore, but the standard model still delivers more than enough performance and fun for the money. A budget of £15,000 will get you a five year-old car with below average miles.

Of course there's a later-generation model, called the Renault Megane RS, which launched in 2018. It gets even more power and better tech, but we don't reckon it's anywhere near as exciting as the much cheaper older model, which we consider to be one of the all-time hot-hatch greats.