Best Buy | Hot Hatch for under £2,000
So we are starting a new segment looking at the best cars available for a budget, the cars are all selected on the day of writing the article and are found on auto trader. On a different day or across a wider range of platforms we may well have found a different selection, but we will keep it fair and use what is available on one platform in a single day!
Enough of the boring stuff, let’s look for a new car... the best hot hatch for less than £2,000. Maybe you would want to strip this car and turn it into a track car maybe you just want to enjoy the car on the road. Of course for each car we can offer a selection of modifications which you can check out in our shop. So what could your £2,000 or less buy you right now!
Ford Fiesta ST 2.0 150
| Price Listed: | £1,895 |
| Mileage: (Miles) | 77,780 |
| Power: (BHP) | 148 |
| Weight: (KG) | 1,137 |
| Redline: (RPM) | 7,000 |
I thought I would start with a platform I am familiar with, having owned a Zetec-S of the same generation. This ST is fitted with a 2.0 Duractec engine producing around 150HP from the factory. Being a naturally aspirated car you can’t easily extract big power from it but the selling point of this car lays in its handling. The Fiesta is a stable well balanced car pretty much ready to hit the track from factory but it could benefit from a little bit of lowering or a more enjoyable exhaust note. Check out the options here.
Mini Cooper S 1.6T
| Price Listed: | £1,899 |
| Mileage: (Miles) | 91,896 |
| Power: (BHP) | 172 |
| Weight: (KG) | 1,205 |
| Redline: (RPM) | 6,950 |
A British classic, now with a German heart, the Mini is an icon even if not so Mini anymore. This particular car is an absolute steal as a 2008 R56 model it is fitted with the 1.6 Turbo engine rather than the supercharged unit found in the R53 models. With just a stage 1 remap you could find this car with around 210-220HP a noticeable gain from the 172HP quoted from factory. Alongside this a range of chassis parts are available to turn this car into a very capable fast road animal! One criticism of the standard Mini is the quiet exhaust tone, as a premium model it was aimed at being appealing to a broad range of people, as we love noise we would recommend fitting a Scorpion exhaust on and freeing up that engine! Check out the parts available here.
Honda Civic Type R EP3 2.0
| Price Listed: | £1,495 |
| Mileage: (Miles) | 120,000 |
| Power: (BHP) | 197 |
| Weight: (KG) | 1,204 |
| Redline: (RPM) | 8,100 |
The Honda Civic Type R is a really popular car and the EP3 is a phenomenal package. With the high revving naturally aspirated engine reaching 8,100RPM this car offers an almost motorsport experience, VTec Yo! With such a high revving engine, why not make the most of it and enhance the exhaust tone with a Scorpion exhaust system. The chassis was built to match the engine, with great handling out of the box. These cars are really popular on the track and this was the only Type R in our price bracket. Check out what upgrades we can offer for the car here.
Renault Clio Sport 182 2.0
| Price Listed: | £2,000 |
| Mileage: (Miles) | 130,000 |
| Power: (BHP) | 182 |
| Weight: (KG) | 1,090 |
| Redline: (RPM) | 7,000 |
The Renault Clio Sport is perhaps seen as the essence of a hot hatch, small, light and with a big 2.0 engine producing 182HP from the factory. Another car which is just great out of the box, again extracting major gains from the engine are difficult but you can really enhance the handling with a range of suspension and chassis upgrades. The Clios are becoming harder to find as more and more become turned into dedicated track toys. This car in particular is already fitted with a Scorpion exhaust which you can find here. Or explore the full range of parts here.
Seat Leon FR 2.0TFSI
| Price Listed: | £1,850 |
| Mileage: (Miles) | 92,564 |
| Power: (BHP) | 197 |
| Weight: (KG) | 1,334 |
| Redline: (RPM) | 6,500 |
This is the curveball for those looking for something a touch more practical. Basically the MK5 Golf GTI’s Spanish cousin you can see a considerable increase in power from just stage 1 software. Taking this car from 197HP too somewhere in the region of 245HP or more with supporting mods. I think the Leon looks an odd shape in pictures but in real life I think they have a good presence. The looks of the car are really enhanced when lowered! With DSG and 5 doors this is the most mature of the cars on offer.
As for what I would personally chose to have if forced to pick one of the above it would probably be the Mini, it wasn’t the first to come to mind and I was expecting to say the Civic. Who knows I probably wouldn’t be disappointed with any of the cars! What would you chose? You can find all the links below whilst the adverts are live!
Leave comments below and let us know what would you have?!
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