hot hatch
Video: Wheeling Little Hot Hatches Around Tracks In Europe — We’re Jealous
Something we’re gluttons for punishment over, and that general, non-tracking car enthusiasts share with us, is being jealous of Europeans for having so many fun cars that never came over to the USA.
Driven: 2013 Ford Focus ST
The Ford Focus ST doesn’t appear too dissimilar from the standard Focus upon which it improves, but there is plenty to set it apart visually. It has its own front and rear fascia, with lots of aerodynamic touches, including a bold rear spoiler that looks great in person. The center-exit dual exhaust tips are easily distinguishable (and eyes of passersby will be drawn to this feature by the sound—more on that later). The fact that it has been lowered 10 millimeters gives it a more athletic pose. Of course, the subtle-yet-bright ST badging lets you know exactly what you’re looking at.
Driven: 2013 Hyundai Veloster Turbo
With the extra power on tap, we found the Turbo to be very forgiving. Shifting too soon and landing too low in the revs was not a huge problem. Just lay into the accelerator, and the forced induction makes up for any errors. Yes, we were surely slower when we did that, but the engine didn’t feel like it was penalizing us too much for a small error or circumstantial necessity.
Driven: 2012 Fiat 500 Abarth
Because, from the moment we slotted ourselves behind the flat-bottomed steering wheel, outside of the Hard Rock Hotel on the Las Vegas strip, to the last turn of the last hot lap we ran for the day, we loved driving this car.
Driven: 2012 Volkswagen Golf R
Alright, folks, honesty assessment time. How many of you really have grounds to believe that the Golf R32 VR6 4Motion (now breathe) was the best thing since pimped white bread? Really and truly?
Well, categorically, it wasn’t.
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