The ultimate hatchback

In pure performance terms we take a look at five exceptional hatches that are already in production and those that are well on their way. A45 AMG The Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG has to be number one. It is considered to be one of the best all-round performance cars – the balanced chassis and communicative steering make it fun to drive and in independent tests, the A45 has been timed accelerating from 0-100 km/h in 4.2 seconds . As an added bonus (and for an added price) Mercedes-Benz offers buyers the option of raising the speed limiter to 270 km/h which officially gives it the highest top speed of a production hatchback. The fact that it still claims fuel consumption of 7.3 litres per 100 km makes the A45 a stunning all-rounder. Let’s take a look at the technical aspects. The 2.0-litre turbo features direct injection and a single twin-scroll turbo. It has 284 kilowatts and 450nm of torque. From just 2.0 litres! AMG claims it has the highest ‘power density’ in its class and with 142 kilowatt per litre it’s hard to argue. The car sports a 7 speed AMG speedshift transmission with permanent all-wheel drive to get the power down and so far no other hot hatch can come close. Honda Civic Type R The Honda Civic Type R isn’t the fastest in this group from 0-100 km/h (a depressing 5.6 seconds), but without a speed limiter it can scream its way to a 267 km/h top speed. That makes it the second-fastest car on top end - that is if you can find a stretch of road long enough in Windhoek (tough luck with all these speed humps). It’s also one of the fastest around a race track. Thanks to a 230-kilowatt, 2.0-litre turbocharged engine; the Type-R is officially the fastest front-wheel-drive car to lap the Nürburgring Nordschleife. The Civic conquered the 23km German track in 7 minutes 50 seconds, almost as fast as a Lamborghini Murcielago (7min 40s), in a car capable of transporting five people with a whole lot of boot space. For the first time a Honda’s outrageous sporty look actually matches its speed. Audi RS3 Very few cars can keep the pace with the Audi RS3 Sportback. The 250kW, 450nm, 2.5-litre turbocharged engine, combined with Audi’s Quattro all-wheel-drive system, helps it storm from 0-100 in only 4.3 seconds and offers an immense amount of grip on almost all surfaces. The performance is incredible but the overall experience might feel a bit dull. The car does not move around as much and has excellent grip, but that renders it less playful than some of the competition. Still, it boasts a slick interior, excellent road holding and a decent soundtrack from that five-cylinder engine. The Audi certainly comes closest in matching the Mercedes in performance terms but looks rather plain in comparison and it just cannot match the rumble of the Mercedes, whose exhaust note has not been affected by turbocharging. Golf 400R While still only a concept, VW does apparently intend to produce this thing. It is essentially a Golf R on steroids. Still boasting the same 2.0-litre engine, it has been substantially fiddled with to produce 294 kW – that’s right, 294 kW! More power than a Porsche or Ferrari 3.5-litre engine (Cayenne V6 or F355). This engine has more specific power than that of a Bugatti Veyron! 0-100 km/h is quoted as 3.9 seconds, and it’ll run out of breath at 278 km/h, assuming that you’re not lying upside down on the Western Bypass by then. Not much more info is available as it’s not yet in production. That is the only reason this beast doesn’t take top spot from the Merc. Now we come back to our senses. The Focus RS. While we’re not entirely sure this one will make it to Windhoek, the Ford Focus RS does look promising. Power is quoted as being in excess of 240 kW from a 2.3-litre turbo engine so a 0-100 time between 4 and 5 seconds can be expected. It certainly doesn’t disappoint in the looks department and without road test information not much more can be said. As we conclude we make honourable mention of the BMW M135i. The BMW certainly can deliver stonking performance and the six-cylinder engine has that distinctive BMW growl but with less traction and power than the Merc and Audi, and with a restricted top speed of 250 km/h it just can’t compete in this crowd. So, there you have it. There are a few more worth mentioning such as the Megane R or Astra OPC, but that’s not what this article is about. We’ve focused on hatchbacks at the extreme end of the performance scale rather than on practicality. Each car will appeal to individuals differently. So picking a winner does seem a touch unfair. GARWIN BEUKES