The new BMW M135, VW Golf R and – a later addition to the niche – Mercedes-AMG A35 we’re pedalling over a damp North York Moors might be those cars’ much-altered descendants, but they ...

It’s in Sport+ you get the snappiest gearshifts too (nearly on a par with the Golf’s, but the Merc’s metal paddles are more pleasurable than the plastic pucks in the R), and without the AMG ...