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Turbo Tuesday | A trio of hatchbacks that have our stamp of approval

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Suzuki Swift Sport
Suzuki Swift Sport

There's a theme for every day isn't there? Well, every Tuesday is 'turbo Tuesday' and our focus is blown hatchbacks. The world is currently in a dark place and most of our attention is focused on staying healthy and battling the global pandemic, coronavirus. 

Thing is, here at Wheels24, we love to let our minds wander, and well it's settled on five turbocharged hatchbacks that stand out among a sea of new cars. 

From the Suzuki Swift Sport to the Mini Clubman JCW, here are our favourites: 

1. Suzuki Swift Sport - If you're looking for 'bang for buck' from a car, look no further than the 1.4-litre turbocharged Suzuki Swift Sport. We love its go-kart like steering, light body and punchy engine with 103kW and 230Nm. 

With a stiffer body, suspension and anti-roll bars the drive equates to a driving experience with heaps of fun. 

Suzuki Swift Sport

Image: Quickpic

2. Volkswagen Polo GTi - The GTi has grown up, sporting for the first time ever a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine with a familiar 147kW and 320Nm. 

There’s only one gearbox available: a six-speed dual-clutch. A 0-100km/h sprint time of 6.7 seconds is quoted and the GTI will run out of puff at 237km/h. 

For us, this generation of GTi doesn't offer red-blooded performance, it's more of luxury hatch that has a powerful(ish) motor with a chassis that can handle more. So, what's the appeal? It blends understated styling, a top notch interior and comfortable ride in a well-rounded package.

Image: Quickpic

3. Opel Corsa GSi - Purists will say this latest Corsa doesn't deserve the GSi badge, and perhaps they're right. But we don't think Opel are trying to recreate that with this: a 110kW turbocharged 1.4-litre engine is said to have a good power delivery, and is mated to a short-ratio, six-speed manual gearbox. 

The highlight is probably the short-throw 'box and despite the bigger wheels and bigger air intakes, rear spoiler it is perhaps aching to be tuned and made to be even more sporty. 

Basically we're saying, the go doesn't match the show, but that's nothing some tuning won't fix. Think of it as a blank canvas. 

opel corsa gsi

Image: Quickpic

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