10 Used Hot Hatches For Under £10,000

A glance at the new hot hatch market is a quick route to depression. The Ford Fiesta ST and Focus ST are dead, the Hyundai i20 N and i30 N are dead, Renaultsport as a brand is dead (for now), and the Honda Civic Type R will soon be, you guessed it, dead.

Sad times to be a lover of practical hatchbacks with silly engines and loud exhausts. Nothing the used market can’t help solve, though, with an abundance of fruity little boxes of joy still widely available. With a healthy £10,000 budget to play with, we’ve picked out 10 options.

Mk7 Ford Fiesta ST

Introduced in 2013, the Mk7 Ford Fiesta ST set a new benchmark for the supermini-based hot hatch segment right from the get-go. Arguably, it still hasn’t been bested, even if the Mk8 is objectively a better car.

Its 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder offered up 180bhp and 214lb ft, and that was paired up with one of the sweetest-shifting six-speed manual gearboxes out there. 

The Mk7 sold in droves, which means there’s plenty out there to pick from with our piggy bank. We’d be looking towards an ST-3, which can be had from around £5000 for high-mileage examples, with the best versions just dipping in under the £10k threshold. 

ZC32S Suzuki Swift Sport

Although down on power compared with everything else on this list, every version of the Suzuki Swift Sport is A) pretty cheap and B) seriously fun on a back road.

Take it from a former owner of the original Swift Sport, the second-gen ZC32S is the one to have if you’re in the market. It retained the first-gen’s peppy 1.6-litre naturally-aspirated engine with a little more oomph extracted for a peak of 134bhp. Crucially, it also gained a sixth gear, which, trust us, you’ll appreciate.

Great examples of the 32S can be had from around £5k, and you can adjust that £1k either side for lower or higher mileage cars. 

Mk5 VW Golf GTI

To this day, the Mk5 Volkswagen Golf GTI remains our favourite of the bunch. The Mk7.5 may come close, but good luck finding one of those for a bargain…

As time passes, prices of the Mk5 continue to creep up, but a £10k budget will still easily bag you any pick of the bunch. Prices for really leggy examples kick off around £2000, though expect to pay more than three times that for the very best ones.

Either way, you’re getting an appreciating classic, though don’t let that stop you from enjoying its wonderful turbocharged four-pot and playful handling.

Renaultsport Clio III 200

Although the Renaultsport Clio only left us when production of the IV ended in 2019, the underwhelming final generation was never much to write home about in the first place. Many will say its last great iteration was the III 200, last built in 2012.

As one of the last naturally-aspirated hot hatches, it gained favour for its rev-happy 2.0-litre engine and a seriously capable chassis without being overly clinical.

Although cars equipped with the desirable Cup chassis fall out of budget, plenty of the ‘regular’ versions can be had for under £10k. We suspect that’s only going to head one way.

Mk2 Ford Focus ST

Five-cylinder Ford Focus ST? Five-cylinder Ford Focus ST. 

Although the 2.5-litre lump was co-developed with Volvo, the version used in the ST got variable valve timing, a lighter flywheel and 222bhp to play with. The result was a generationally brilliant hot hatch.

The problem with finding one today is that at one point, they got so cheap that many have been badly modified and badly looked after. Finding a tidy one today is a bit of a needle in a haystack, but not impossible and nor is it expensive. Just keep an eye out for age-related rust as early cars tick over the 20-year mark.

FN2 Honda Civic Type R

Ah, the unloved Honda Civic Type R. Though the FN2 was a lovely bit of kit in its own right, it had the unenviable task of following on from the near-perfect EP3.

Losing that car's independent rear suspension and gaining just one horsepower from the K20 meant it could never get out of its shadow. The good news, though, is that while EP3 prices have skyrocketed in recent years, the FN2 has remained a tempting bargain.

Really good examples of the car top out around £7500, while ratty ones can be had for as little as £2500. We’d look to spend our money somewhere in the middle for a tidy but still usable example.

F56 Mini John Cooper Works

Any sort of used quick Mini deserves a mention, with all carrying familiar traits: Darty, lively handling, fizzy little engines and aggro-cutesy looks we can’t help but love.

A supercharged R53 Cooper S is a great shout if you want some cheap thrills, although we want to highlight the perhaps overlooked F56 John Cooper Works here.

This full-fat version of the regular Mini Hatch (ignoring the array of special editions) had a boost-heavy turbocharged four-cylinder with a very useful 227bhp on offer. Combine that with a chassis keen to cock itself on three wheels like a particularly hydrated dog out for a walk, and it makes for a hilarious recipe. 

Cars as late as 2016 with high mileages fall into our budget, but you can easily grab an earlier, lower-mileage example and with plenty of change to spare, too.

6J Seat Ibiza Cupra

With Cupra now spun off into its own #lifestyle culture brand, it’s easy to forget the name was once reserved for spicy versions of Seat’s contemporary hatchbacks.

While Cupra does still continue to hot up the Leon, the smaller Ibiza hasn’t had the treatment since the 6J went out of production in 2017.

That iteration was never a class-leader, often critiqued for a dull chassis, but its powertrain options offered up some interest. Initially, it had a bonkers 1.4-litre twin-charged (yes, both turbo- and supercharged) four-cylinder engine, though that was later ditched for a more contemporary 1.8-litre turbocharged lump. 

The latter facelift car is the one to have for the sake of reliability and a bit more power, though we’d respect anyone taking a punt on the pre-facelift Bocanegra. 

Vauxhall Corsa VXR

A Vauxhall Corsa VXR drums up a certain image, admittedly. Usually, one that involves fast food car parks, vape smoke and legally-imposed curfews on its drivers

Forget what people think, though, and appreciate it for the car it is. With VXR very much dead and the future of fast Vauxhalls electric, the Corsa VXR will go down as the last hilarious combustion-powered car to wear the griffin badge.

It was a handful, no doubt. Base versions often made heavy work of deploying 189bhp, though LSDs were equipped to more powerful still Nurburgring and Clubsport limited-editions to effectively improve that. Yet, it was a real riot to drive, and seriously quick if you blasted it down a back road.

Good examples are pretty affordable, too. The very best ones only just tip out of our budget, while the sweet spot looks to be around the £7k mark. Just be mindful of ones with poorly-done mods.

Renaultsport Megane R26

Here’s one you’ll want to act quickly on. Prices for the Renaultsport Megane R26 seem to be rapidly increasing, and that’s not showing signs of slowing down anytime soon. Just don’t ask our Mike Bartholomew how he’s feeling about selling his a few years ago.

Core to its appeal was its F4RT. An unfortunate name for a brilliant 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder with 227bhp to play with, and despite the reputation of French cars, it has been known to do moon miles without issue. 

Plopped into a chassis that delivered some seriously satisfying handling characteristics, it made for one of the all-time great hot hatches. Again, please don’t ask Mike about his.