When it comes to hot hatches — performance variations of hatchback vehicles — the Volkswagen Golf GTI was the car that started it all.
Now, more than three decades after the GTI was first announced in Frankfurt, automakers including the Detroit Three are driving hot hatches back into the spotlight.
Ford Motor Co. has its Focus ST and could soon add a sport-performance Fiesta like the one coming to Europe. Fiat SpA, the parent company of Chrysler Group LLC, has the 500 Abarth. General Motors Co. has its Chevrolet Sonic RS. Volkswagen still has its GTI, along with a Golf R. And don't forget about the Mini Cooper S, Mazdaspeed3 and Subaru Impreza WRX.
Source
The Detroit News