END OF DAYS

If the hot hatch's halcyon days really are numbered, what better send-off than thrashing our top five on an icy Welsh B-road...

- OLLIE KEW

In the cold light of day, our vibrant hot hatch final five gladdens a cynical petrolhead's heart. Five manufacturers. No platform sharers. We've got a supermini and four proper family cars. Two manuals (the Yaris would've been nominated regardless of the gearbox - the only car here to offer a choice) and an EV to break up the turbo monopoly. There's more diversity here than an episode of Star Trek.

But I'm uneasy. How is the most affordable car here the wrong side of £40k? And why is nothing in our final reckoning actually new? Sure, the Audi's fresh from a facelift, but there's nothing truly hot out of the oven. OK, there was the Alpine, but it's not quite there yet. Did we already reach peak hot hatch? Are we sliding inexorably down the other side into oblivion?

That's exactly how the day almost began, actually. Usually the Ioniq 5 N is content to be an SUV cosplaying a super hatch. This morning it performed a scarily accurate impression of a bowling ball on a waterslide.

I undocked it from the hotel charger early doors, noted its 100 per cent battery reckoning on a range of 160 miles, winced, killed the heater and whacked up the seat and steering wheel warmers instead - a more efficient way to thaw out when it's -2°C. As our convoy wove its way over the foothills of Snowdonia we'd cooed at from a safe viewing distance yesterday, it surprised me. It was early, I was sleepy, and not especially in the mood for digi-histrionics. So I left it in the silent Eco mode, whooshed along by instant torque, ignoring the brake pedal while regen took care of slowing down.