€48,500 Leon Cupra and €57,600 Golf GTI TCR: Hot Hatches Are Getting Expensive

Quite the opposite. In fact, this German comparison review shows prices have reached alarmingly high levels.

The star of the show is the Golf GTI TCR, which is not a race car like its name might suggest, but a full-fledged road car. This last special edition is the most potent GTI ever made, but as far as we know, it's also the most expensive, even adjusted for inflation.

The model in our video comes in at a whopping €57,600. Of course, you get several performance gains over the standard GTI, like better tires, brakes, exhaust and interior tweaks. Options are also responsible for jacking up the price, like the carbon fiber mirror caps.

But at the end of the day, if you're only concerned with raw horsepower numbers, 290 HP from a 2.0 TSI isn't mind-blowing. Of course, you can get much more from the Civic Type R, but if you're dead-set on a TSI engine, the SEAT Leon Cupra has an identical powertrain.

This isn't even its final form, a title that belongs to the Cupra R model with its carbon and copper-colored bits. This particular hot hatch retails for €48,500, €9,000 cheaper than the TCR, but still insanely expensive.

So is the super-Golf worth all that cash. Well, the reviewers say they'd have a Cupra, not only because it's cheaper, but also due to its individuality - GTIs are everywhere in Germany. On the other hand, a normal GTI with a few options is still worth picking up as an everyday car.

If fun is all you're after, there are much cheaper cars on the market, though. The Hyundai i30 N naturally comes to mind. And what do you guys think, are prices getting out of hand?