Are you in the market for a mega hot hatch? Well, if so, then buying the fastest of them all is in all likelihood, at the top of your list.
But which is the fastest? CarWow’s Mat Watson set out to answer this question by pitting the Audi RS3, Mercedes-AMG A45, Honda Civic Type R, Volkswagen Golf R, and Ford Focus RS against each other.
The first part of the video shows the five high performance compact cars drag racing a quarter mile, which has a clear winner, while the second part brings the numbers forward, reminding us that Ingolstadt’s machine is the most powerful of all.
It puts down 400PS (395hp) and 480Nm (354lb-ft) of torque from a 2.5-liter five-cylinder turbocharged engine. Naught to 100km/h (62mph) takes 4.1 seconds and top speed is electronically capped at 250km/h (155mph), though it can be raised to 280km/h (174mph).
The Audi RS3 is followed closely by the Mercedes-AMG A45, which has a 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbo’d engine that makes 381PS (376hp) and 475Nm (350lb-ft) of torque. The 0 to 100km/h (62mph) acceleration is done in 4.2sec, and top speed is limited to 250km/h (155mph) as well.
The other three hot hatches are slightly less powerful, with the Golf R having 310PS (306hp), the Civic Type R delivering 320PS (315hp), and the Focus RS making 350PS (345hp).
Before letting these five powerful machines rest, the reviewer pitted them against each other one last time, from a rolling start, with some surprising (or not?) results.