Acceleration. Handling. Soundtrack. You'll love how our winning Thrill-Seekers' car makes you feel on your favourite stretch of road. From our shortlisted threesome, these was one clear winner – the Toyota GR Yaris has redefined what we've come to expect from our hot hatches...
If there’s one thing we’ve got to say about the Toyota GR Yaris, it’s believe the hype. Few performance cars have delivered such a joyous driving experience in recent years, and the fact it’s relatively affordable makes it even better. Its diminutive size means it’s ridiculously light for a modern hot hatch, making this far faster than the horsepower figure would suggest.
Four-wheel drive not only fires you away from a standstill, it also helps drive you out of corners far faster with a little wiggle if you so wish. The steering makes it easy to place the nose whilst the gearbox is a true delight to use. The standard GR Yaris is a wonderful thing, but we’d recommend the Circuit Pack to really unlock this car’s true potential. Put simply, you’ll have more fun than either the M3 or Cayman at a fraction of the price. That makes it an easy winner in our book.
The Porsche Cayman GTS 4.0 is almost the polar opposite to the aforementioned M3. Where that car is happy to slip and slide entertainingly, the Cayman is beyond such silly things. Yes, it’ll play ball if you really must, but it’s much happier being driven as fast as possible from point A to point B. It steers even more sweetly and feels more agile to boot, no surprise given how much lighter it is.
Then there’s the engine. The M3’s is certainly an effective tool, but the Cayman’s flat-six sounds simply incredible when you’re tickling the redline, something you’ll want to do frequently.
Ignore the controversial conk for a second, and look at the specs instead. Under the bonnet is a 3.0-litre twin-turbo straight six with a staggering 510hp, enough for 0-62mph in just 3.9sec. Four-wheel drive will be available, but the rear-drive model we’ve sampled so far provides excitement by the bucketload.
Although you can be as precise as you like thanks to the direct steering, the M3 is always ready to play the hooligan should you wish. With fine balance and well-judged electronics to act as a safety net, this is a car that’s truly thrilling without ever becoming scary, treading a thin line to near perfection.
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