2024 Toyota GR Corolla (Top Gear)
By James Kelly
During this past episode of The Engine Block, Colin and I got talking about how we want inexpensive fun-to-drive cars to come back. We might not have been around during their peak in the nineties, but we love to think about a time where souped-up economy cars and cheap thrills reigned supreme.
Sure, there’s been an uptick in sporty cars on sale today, but it’s hard to look at them without shedding a tear since their days could very well be numbered. Toyota has said that while it doesn’t have plans to end production of the Supra, we know the Bavarians are the ones calling the shots there. But it does make a point that in a world where V-8 muscle cars are getting 86-ed, all that’s left is, well, just that. The GR lineup is a testament to affordable performance with the Corolla and the 86. Honda holds true to the inexpensive sentiment with the Civic Si, and with Acura reviving the Integra, it breathes a little life into the spirits of poor petrolheads everywhere.
But there’s a new player drivers can choose from: Hyundai. Oh how Hyundai has turned the industry on its head when it comes to reliability and fun. Looking back at the genesis of Hyundai’s sports cars, it quite literally starts with the Genesis. The brand’s first attempt at a real sports car was in 2008 with the Genesis Coupe, which packed a 2-liter turbocharged four cylinder that sent power to the rear wheels. It even let drivers move through the gear ratios themselves. A manual transmission was also available on later models after the turbo-four was replaced with a 3.8-liter V-6. The brand’s new wave of sports cars came in the form of hot hatches. The Veloster and Veloster Turbo, both odd in their naming and number of doors, began a detour into equal-parts torque steer and noise complaints.
After the Elantra GT came and went, and the Veloster got a redesign, The Veloster N came along and with it the Elantra N. Two cheap economy cars that were sent to the gym and pumped-up in looks and performance. While the Veloster is no longer with us, the Elantra N was given its chance at life because of the hatchback that preceded it, and it would live to beat Volkswagen at its own game.
Wait a minute, where the heck is Volkswagen in all of this?
Indeed a fair query to pose, but the Golf and Jetta are starting to lose what charm was left of them through Volkswagen’s replacement for manual transmissions: price gouging. Golfs have gotten really expensive since VW decided to trim the lineup down to just the GTI and R, which start at $31,965 and $45,665 respectively. Put up against the rest of the competition it doesn’t seem so expensive, and while it might not be on paper, the devil is hiding in the details.
Looking at the $30,000-45,000 mark, you have a car-cuterie board of cheap fun to pick from. The Subaru BRZ and WRX, Toyota GR86 and GR Corolla, Honda Civic Si and Type R, Acura Integra, Hyundai Elantra N, Volkswagen Jetta GLI and Golf GTI, and the Mazda Miata are some of the cheapest ways to get into brand-new fun cars today. Go a hair above and you dip into the $45,000-$60,000, which is where the Toyota Supra, Nissan Z, Ford Mustang and others play. Anything above this is Corvette and Porsche territory where the lines between contenders are more clearly drawn.
The Prelude was Honda’s precursor to the Civic coupe, and from the spy shots, it looks like the previous generation Civic coupe anyway. It is slated to pack an electrified powertrain and lack a manual gearbox, but the platform might be where it shines. Again, this is something that VW had when it still offered cheaper Golfs in the US, but alas, this is no longer the case and where it gets beaten by everyone else in the market it created.
Hot hatches and sporty compact sedans should always be around. It needs to be a law at this point because it gives enthusiasts something attainable. Looking at it from the other direction, more sporty platforms in unassuming cars get our non-car friends excited about driving.
Enter: Mazda. None of Mazda’s cars (outside the Miata) look like they are as sporty as they really are. A few of the brand’s offerings hide a little party trick: their handling. The Mazda3 sedan and hatchback, as well as the CX-30, CX-50, and CX-90 have really good steering feel and composure. Nothing inherently macho about them, but when you take a corner too quickly in one, you’ve realized Mazda is making car lovers out of unassuming drivers, and that’s what it should be all about.
