[v.anand]

Voted for Palio GTX purely in terms of fun factor.

Had a red GTX before, a red Polo 1.6 now. Polo has all the required ingredients for a hot hatch but loses out to Palio only in the steering feel department which is an important criteria imo. It either matches or betters Palio in other areas and is more practical too.

I can kind of completely relate to the objective of this thread, but the best hatch in my view is the Laura TSI.:-) Wonder why no mention of it here. Its got no competition yet, just like GTX during its time.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Have not driven many of these hatches but chose the polo 1.6.
Read quite a few positive reviews about it. Decent handling, cornering abilities. Peaky petrol engine, fantastic looks etc.
Again, there could be others in this list probably superior but based on preference its the Polo for me.
Love the Getz CRDI too but it wasn't exactly the best handler. Monster engine though.

[suhaas307]

I voted for the Zen (not the Estillo)

The original jelly-bean Maruti Zen is India's first real and true hot-hatch IMO. It's all aluminum G10B lump was light, frugal and very fast! It has immense tuning potential too, and you could shoe-horn the G13B Esteem engine to instantly give it more power. It's very light on it's feet, and holds corners well too. A sorted 'box and chassis only meant that it's a great little hatch with plenty of potential.

I particularly loved the limited-edition 3-Door Carbon and Steel variants.

Second would be Fiat's Palio GTX. A hatch with 100 bhp is just what the doctor had ordered ten years ago. It caused quite a stir, I'm of the opinion. And rightly so, with a great 'box and supreme chassis, it handled brilliantly, and felt solid too. Cost of spares, low FE and Fiat's poor after-sales-service killed the car, eventually.

Third would be the Honda Brio.

What you have here is a free-revving 1.2 iVtec mill that churns out near-as-makes-no-difference, 90 horses. In a car that's just about a 1000 kilos. Add to that a great steering, a tranny that shifts positively and good dynamics, and you've got the makings of a hot-hatch.

The rear glass-boot-lid and the tail-lights complete that hot-hatch tuner look too. The only thing left to do is remove that ghastly chrome mustache, give it fatter tyres on larger wheels, and a fruity exhaust.

The Polo 1.6 comes tentatively close, IMO. It has the most sorted suspension, chassis and gearbox setup amongst most cars in this list. But the engine just doesn't feel quite as punchy enough as the '1.6 100 hp' figures suggest. Perhaps some minor tweaking should solve that?

[GTO]

All-Time Hot Hatch: Palio 1.6. The first, only (till date) and hopefully not last 100 BHP petrol hatchback to be sold in the country. Lovely engine, delicious steering, addictive engine & exhaust note and typical Fiat ride & handling.

From the currently sold cars: Maruti Swift, VW Polo 1.6 & Fabia 1.6. But none of them bring to the enthusiast today, what the Palio 100 BHP brought in 2001.

Potential Hot-Hatches in the future: Ford Figo 1.6. Now, that will be something else, and easily a superior hot hatch to the Palio 1.6. 100 BHP, sweet 1.6 engine, awesome steering and dynamics. Another one with potential is the VW Polo 1.6 TDi....have your cake and eat it too!

[myavu]

Voted for Palio 1.6 GTX. FIAT re-launch it, please!

Originally Posted by GTO

Potential Hot-Hatches in the future: Ford Figo 1.6. Now, that will be something else, and easily a superior hot hatch to the Palio 1.6. 100 BHP, sweet 1.6 engine, awesome steering and dynamics. Another one with potential is the VW Polo 1.6 TDi....have your cake and eat it too!

What about a T-Jet Punto? OMG! that will be a true hot

Cheers!

Vinu

[S2!!!]

Originally Posted by myavu

What about a T-Jet Punto? OMG! that will be a true hot

Cheers!

Vinu

True that. A gorgeous looking car with the perfect engine to match it. Will surely bring back the smiles on the faces of petrolheads.

Have voted for the Zen. 2 door, 4 door does not matter. It wasn't really a slouch in its original form but had tremendous potential for mods and jugaad to outrun cars worth thrice its price or even more. Moreover it was light, small in dimensions, fuel efficient, peppy and handled like a go-kart (could be much better with wider tyres and better brakes). Now had Maruti just evolved and developed the zen to meets todays standards and performance (rather than bringing the horrid Estilo), it would be a hot seller even today.

[shashank.nk]

After a lot of thought, i finally voted for the Swift. Like you rightly said it just ticks many boxes and is 'hot' in all departments. I haven't driven the GTX, so had no idea about that.

If it were looks as the sole criteria, i'd have given it to the Punto. It looks stunning in red or white even with new competition. Everytime it ensures i give it more than just a second look.

But it really is very tough to pick one from the rest!

[Shivank]

Originally Posted by Enigmatic

And hence Chevy SRV is the Hot Hatch for me .

Seriously dude, it's one great contender that I have forgotten to pick for the poll.

Either it's under-rated or like you say, it was launched way too before the time. Have spotted only a handful of these. Also, never heard any one swearing by it's performance or handling. Nonetheless, with those looks and 100 bhp under the hood it sure qualifies as a Hot Hatch!

Originally Posted by sachinj12

World War 3 you meant.

No, no... It was the II war of words only. Remember the first being already fought before, with my cousin. I mentioned that. Only words!

Originally Posted by libranof1987

In the looks dept., SAIL is classic; especially the rear. And the SAIL 1.6 is quite a mean machine to drive around.

I learned driving this year only, started with a 1.6 Corsa GS. It was really fun. I loved the steering, the handling was pretty good too. Though, it drank petrol like a tank (4kmpl!) and was later sold for only 45k. Guess, the Sail was the same, minus the boot, and lighter.

Originally Posted by chennai-indian

Voted "Others" as Tata Vista was not mentioned in the list. Vista is the most "overlooked" car in India - maybe our bias towards everything 'phoren' is causing this. Let us not give A.S.S as the reason - then we should not have mentioned Fiat here

No denying that Vista is a great car. But for the Hot hatch title it has to come out of its taxi image first. Nothing like phoren or desi here. I hope you take it in a good way. :-)

Originally Posted by v.anand

Voted for Palio GTX purely in terms of fun factor.

Had a red GTX before, a red Polo 1.6 now.

I can kind of completely relate to the objective of this thread, but the best hatch in my view is the Laura TSI.:-)

The Polo 1.6 vs GTX debate is settled now.

Laura TSI? Did you mean the sedan? ... I am not sure if any hatch exists with same name.

Originally Posted by PlatzdaTurbo

Have not driven many of these hatches but chose the polo 1.6.

Me neither!

This thread will provide us great insights on the best cars offered to the enthusiasts so far. That's why I created it.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

I voted for the Zen (not the Estillo)

Oh dear, who would ever in their wildest of dreams think of an Estilo as hot hatch!

Jokes apart, for me, Palio is of course the numero uno. Second would be the Swift, and third is Zen.

Originally Posted by GTO

All-Time Hot Hatch: Palio 1.6. The first, only (till date) and hopefully not last 100 BHP petrol hatchback to be sold in the country. Lovely engine, delicious steering, addictive engine & exhaust note and typical Fiat ride & handling.

Thank you, captain.

So far so good for the decade old GTX.

[Santoshbhat]

Voted for the Palio GTX. What made the GTX special was the fact that it had 100 horses under its belt when cars even a segment above (midisze) during its time could only aspire to have. Today 100 horses is no big deal as cars have become progressively more powerful. Its achille's heel was poor brakes (from a pure driver's perspective of course )

I loved the GTX so much that I plonked my money on a Red Palio Stile 1.6 about four years. Was a bit disappointed with the fact that Fiat had messed up its suspension. Read : Too soft and wallowy. Also no effort was made to improve the brakes. THe engine was still a delight, which when redlined delivered pure bliss!

[Speed.Demon]

Ahh, man I shoulda been born in the good old days!! Looking at the number of people raving on about the 1.6 GTX, seems like I missed a lot!

Well, I started driving only last year, and of all the hatches that thrilled me, the Swift and the Punto top the list.
Well, we have a Swift in the house, so I get behind the wheel every now and then, but its the Punto that really grabs my eyeballs!!

i mean, that car is HOT!! Even hotter in red!! Too bad its engine doesn't thrill too many people, but give that car a tuning box, and she'll rock!! She certainly has the corner tackling capabilities to complement a big engine, now if only Fiat brought in the T-Jet for the Punto.. The hell with FE, that would be the car to replace the GTX!!

[oxyzen]

Originally Posted by GTO

All-Time Hot Hatch: Palio 1.6.

Cant agree more.

Originally Posted by GTO

From the currently sold cars: Maruti Swift, VW Polo 1.6 & Fabia 1.6. But none of them bring to the enthusiast today, what the Palio 100 BHP brought in 2001.

+ Alto K10 with 15" alloys.
+ Brio

Originally Posted by GTO

Potential Hot-Hatches in the future: Ford Figo 1.6. Now, that will be something else, and easily a superior hot hatch to the Palio 1.6. 100 BHP, sweet 1.6 engine, awesome steering and dynamics. Another one with potential is the VW Polo 1.6 TDi....have your cake and eat it too!

And a few more
- Cruze Hatch - I want one.
- Punto 1.4 Tjet
- New Swift 1.6 Sports
-

[GSM]

No contest. Palio it is. For me atleast. Own a Palio Stile 1.6 Sport. And I haven't been to consider any other car as hot. Swift diesel included.

Sadly, after approx 42k kms, time has come for me to replace it. Punto Tjet sounds juicy. If not, will settle for Punto 90.

[JVH]

Somehow missed this thread. Palio 1.6 GTX is unlike any other car. I haven't driven anything like that in that segment. So, to me its clearly the winner. The Swift DDIS will be my second choice.

And I'm lucky to own both :-)

[R2D2]

It's the Palio 1.6 without a doubt. My Dad's Feb 2002 Palio brings a smile to my face everytime I drive it. I just wish Fiat's service and after sales could match the fun-to-drive cars they make.

Cheers!

[vinya_jag]

Its a Palio for me as well.
After having owned the Figo for all this long, and drooled over its handling and redlining, I still remember the day when I stepped into my friends Palio. Albeit for a very short while, but the sound it made was stunning. And that was way back in 04-05.

I guess our industry has aged too quick. Or was it young ever?