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Evanuel9
Evanuel9 Reader
1/25/24 12:59 p.m.

So this is a third follow-on thread in my search for a fun car with some autox and track ability. Lightweight FWD hatches are unfortunately looking more and more like the answer. I am looking at the mazda2 and honda fit as well as mini cooper S and fiat 500 abarth. Want a FiST if I can but the only one i've found clearly has a bad third gear synchro. Anyway, I want to make sure that I'm exploring all my options and wondering if there are any b segment or below hotted up hatches (or sedans/coupes) that I am missing. The 500 abarth, cooper S, and FiST seem to be the only performance versions - the fit and mazda2 don't have sportier versions. Are there any cars that I'm missing/forgetting in that 2500lbs or less hotted up market?

fatallightning
fatallightning HalfDork
1/25/24 1:13 p.m.

There's the often forgotten Scion IA which is a Mazda 2. I've seen a couple cleanly modified Yaris hatches. More lukewarm rather than hot.

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
1/25/24 2:15 p.m.

Rio SX hatch has the big brakes over the Accent. Loaded SX with power everything is about 2550lbs. Lower trim manual windows are under 2500lbs with the 138hp GDI. Want a hot version? Snag a Veloster Turbo and bolt it in. 

 

lnlds
lnlds Reader
1/25/24 2:21 p.m.

Base 8th Gen civic (140hp/~2560lb), 2g mazda3 skyactiv, duratec focus, Celica 03+ GT or 00-05 gt-s, Corolla xrs, matrix xrs /vibe gt, Sentra se-r is often forgotten (has issues but also has a LSD). Also cobalt SS/Saturn ion redline if you're considering the mini Cooper S and that caliber of reliability.

 

bmw88rider
bmw88rider GRM+ Memberand UberDork
1/25/24 3:56 p.m.

Mine is more of a hot hatch JDM import but it's smaller than everything mentioned (and a Miata) 96 Mirage Hatchback. 

 

I wouldn't recommend it for a daily but man do I love it on track. 2100LB and 145WHP. 

nuthunmuch
nuthunmuch New Reader
1/25/24 4:03 p.m.

Hyundai Veloster Turbo? Kia Forte Koup SX (1.6T)?

I think both use the same 1.6L turbo rated 201 HP / 195 lbf-ft.

Both weigh more than 2500 lbs (I think they're 2800-2900 lbs range) but they'll be faster than the base B-segment cars (Mazda 2, Honda Fit, Toyota Yaris..) which are usually 100-115 HP range.

bobzilla's recommendation of the Rio SX sounds like a good option as well. Similar size and weight as the other B-segment cars but 20-30 HP more.

No Time
No Time UltraDork
1/25/24 4:22 p.m.

Along the lines of Bobs suggestion, there is also the Elantra GT hatch, I believe older ones (2013) are around 2700-2800 lbs and 145hp, newer ones(2016) gained some power to get to 170hp and a little over 2800lbs. 

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
1/25/24 4:27 p.m.

In reply to No Time :

and if you're going that far, the Veloster Turbo is about 2900lbs, The Forte5 SX came with the 1.6T as well.

Peabody
Peabody MegaDork
1/25/24 4:39 p.m.

500 is an A segment car.

Chevy Sonic is a decent platform, has a 1.4T and lot's of aftermarket

ProDarwin
ProDarwin MegaDork
1/25/24 4:45 p.m.

The cars the OP mentioned are not under 2500lb to my knowledge, but the Fiat could get there.  If you want sub 2500, get a 90s car, and you'll likely end up with better power to weight and suspension geometry at the same time :)

There is some year after which Kia Hyundai products cannot defeat stability control, so be cautious of that.  A lot the cars mentioned in this thread are extremely rollover prone in an autox environment, so be cautious of that as well.

 

Evanuel9
Evanuel9 Reader
1/25/24 4:51 p.m.

In reply to bobzilla :

Manual ones seem to be a unicorn around me. I do like them though

Evanuel9
Evanuel9 Reader
1/25/24 4:51 p.m.

In reply to bmw88rider :

Nice! Probably not in the cards for me but does seem fun

Evanuel9
Evanuel9 Reader
1/25/24 4:52 p.m.

In reply to nuthunmuch :

I like the rio sx. Not sure about the other two - the weight difference is too much.

Evanuel9
Evanuel9 Reader
1/25/24 4:53 p.m.

In reply to Peabody :

Fair enough - basically looking for B-segment and smaller

I've heard bad things about the sonic and it being boring - is that accurate?

Evanuel9
Evanuel9 Reader
1/25/24 4:55 p.m.

In reply to ProDarwin :

I've read that the fiat is 2500, mazda2 is 2200, fit is 2400, cooper is 2550 ish (though I've read the S is heavier - can't find concrete info). You're right for the FiST though - base fiesta is in the 2500 range but the FiST is 2700. 

Any 90s recommendations?

How would I assess rollover prone-ness?

Evanuel9
Evanuel9 Reader
1/25/24 4:58 p.m.

In reply to lnlds :

I thought the 8th gen civic was 2800 lbs minimum - I know the SI is 2900 lbs IIRC. Mazda3 is also heavier and it's a c-segment car. Not sure what the duratec focus weighs. Celica does weight 2500 - hard to find a GT-s around me but I have been hunting. XRS rolla is 2900, matrix xrs is 3000. Cobalt SS is 2900.

B13 sentra SE-rs are promising. Found one near me. Weigh 2400 ish,

ProDarwin
ProDarwin MegaDork
1/25/24 5:06 p.m.
Evanuel9 said:

In reply to ProDarwin :

I've read that the fiat is 2500, mazda2 is 2200, fit is 2400, cooper is 2550 ish (though I've read the S is heavier - can't find concrete info). You're right for the FiST though - base fiesta is in the 2500 range but the FiST is 2700. 

Any 90s recommendations?

How would I assess rollover prone-ness?

The simplest ball-park method is to look at track width vs. height.

Another method is to look at which of those cars the SCCA has banned, or banned the non-performance variant of.  IIRC base Fiesta, base 500, and all Sonics are banned.  Surprisingly the Fit is not, but given its dimensions it would not surprise me to see one roll.  You can easily find videos of a Fiesta ST bicycling and a 500 Abarth rolling over.

 

90s recommendation?  Any Honda hatch.

Peabody
Peabody MegaDork
1/25/24 5:20 p.m.

In reply to Evanuel9 :

I've heard lot's of bad things about the Sonic, some of them true, but never heard boring.

eastsideTim
eastsideTim UltimaDork
1/25/24 5:38 p.m.
Evanuel9 said:

In reply to Peabody :

I've heard bad things about the sonic and it being boring - is that accurate?

The 1.4T Sonic isn't too boring.  I've driven both the stick and automatic, kind of prefer the automatic, but maybe the manual could be improved with some bushings and a short shifter.  I think it rides a bit softer than most cars its size, though, so that may translate into needing to do more suspension work to get the handling up to some of the others in your list.

WOW Really Paul?
WOW Really Paul? MegaDork
1/25/24 5:48 p.m.

I'm honestly thinking the supercharged MCS is a better option for autox/track day than most mentioned. Those guys have literally broken everything on those cars and know how to prevent it and end up reliable. You can make the Abarth work, but they need work to suite them to anything more than an occasional autox car. The problem with the Abarth is that they are multiair engines and have a oil powered brick running your intake valves, when you only have 4qts of oil, that gets a bit 'warm' pretty quickly and things start getting wonky. 
 

 

RonnieFnD
RonnieFnD Reader
1/25/24 6:47 p.m.
Peabody said:

500 is an A segment car.

Chevy Sonic is a decent platform, has a 1.4T and lot's of aftermarket

I second this

Evanuel9
Evanuel9 Reader
1/25/24 7:58 p.m.

In reply to ProDarwin :

Thank you! Is the standard wider than it is tall?

I did find a couple videos of 500 abarths rolling - that does scare me a bit. Surprised the fit isn't.

So basically 90s civics?

Evanuel9
Evanuel9 Reader
1/25/24 7:59 p.m.

In reply to Peabody :

Fair enough - probably going to be out on account of autocross bans though.

Evanuel9
Evanuel9 Reader
1/25/24 8:00 p.m.

In reply to eastsideTim :

Got it. Still don't think I'm going to add it to the list on account of higher weight than competitors and, most importantly, banned in auto-x but thanks!

Evanuel9
Evanuel9 Reader
1/25/24 8:02 p.m.

In reply to WOW Really Paul? :

I really like the MCS - it's the only one in the group with IRS and it's pretty cool looking. It's 300-400 lbs heavier than the mazda2 and 100-200 heavier than the fit though and I'm curious if that will make a difference?

Can you explain what you mean by an oil powered brick?

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