MINI Cooper S JCW
I have a soft spot for the way the new MINIs look. There’s something that appeals to my hot hatch inner teenager. I have yet to see one in white with black trim and a subtle spoiler but when i do i might just have to bring it home it to sit alongside the 205 in the garage. As long as it’s an early supercharged version…
This is the latest John Cooper Works, one step below the GP halo car. 228bhp on tap from the 4 pot turbo engine puts it on a par with other hatches in it’s class. It’s no racing snake though and to be honest you can really feel that weight under braking. There’s a slight pause and disconnect in where you want the car to be pointing and where it ends up which makes it hard to nail your apexes.
The mini became the MINI which has now become anything but mini. It’s progress Jim but not as we know it.
Renault Clio RS200
Renault have quite the knack when it comes to hot hatches having stolen the limelight from Peugeot all those years ago with the Clio 172. A mix of light weight and a revvy N/A engine had 20 somethings like me properly excited at the time. The 182 trophy that followed tamed even the most expensive tastes and still wins many fans to this day on road and track. The latest Renault Sport Clio takes a different approach. 5 doors, 1.6L turbo four, a brake based “diff” and an automatic gearbox with paddles.
The fact we ended up spending most of our time playing with the audio settings which can make the car sound like a V6, Clio Cup Car or Alpine a110 through the stereo tells you all you need to know. Back to the drawing board and back to your roots please Renault.
Honda Civic Type-R
Saving the best till last, the new Type R. It doesn’t come much more ubiquitous than this. It’s a very quick car and the latest iteration from Honda has moved it a step up in the power and torque stakes. This is thanks mostly to it’s new 4 pot turbo engine putting out 306hp. You will miss the V-Tec cam change race to the red line but the results more than make up for that. The chassis is very taught and controlled, you never find yourself guessing where each end may end up. Save the +R button for track unless you are friendly with a chiropractor or two though. Put off by the wing and arches? Not for this boy, i think it suits the car and it’s character perfectly.
We’ll have a proper review and video on the new Type R soon so keep your eyes peeled.
