Top 10 Forgotten hot hatch greats of the 1990s

Everybody loves the clio williams and has heard of the first JDM Civic Type R, but how many of these other 90s hot hatches do you remember?

4y ago
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The 1990s was a tough time for the hot hatch. Car thefts sent insurance premiums soaring and compulsory catalysts killed off some of the greats from the decade before.

But car makers still came up with the goods, even if we've forgotten most of them 20 years later. Road testers loved these 10 when they were new, but do you love them enough to remember them now?

1. Renault Clio RSi/16v

Blame the Clio Williams. When the blue and gold wonder showed up name-dropping F1 connections fast Clio fans were already well served by the less well remembered 16v and its warm hatch brother, the RSi.

The RSi had stealthy narrow arches and 109bhp from a torquey single-cam 1.8, while the wide-track 16v used the same 135bhp twin-cam 1.8 and delicious turbine wheels as that other forgotten Renault gem, the 19 16v.

2. Peugeot 106 XSi

The 205’s near-mythical status casts a long shadow over some of Peugeot’s other great hot hatches. Cars like its 309 GTI big brother, and this, the 106 XSi, surely the prettiest hot hatch ever committed to Tarmac.

Okay, so it only had 100bhp, but the 106 was light, fun and insurable at a time when rampant car crime made getting cover for quick cars a quick route to poverty. See also: 306 XSi.

3. Mazda 323 GT

See, even Mazda was in love with that damn 205, pinching its wheel-at-each-corner stance for a hot hatch that had all the right ingredients: 138bhp from a 16v 1.8, a close ratio gearbox and tight, throttle sensitive handling.

The GT is so forgotten, I couldn’t even find an original stock image of one, so the pic’s of the nuttier awd GT-R instead. Maybe I just imagined the GT...

4. Nissan Almera GTi

Never mind forgotten cars from the 1990s, this inexplicably hearse-like hot hatch would have been forgotten in the 1990s if it wasn’t for two things: the brilliant chassis and 141bhp twin-cam motor, and a great TV ad that riffed on 1970s cop show, the Sweeney.

Honourable mention for the earlier front drive Sunny/Pulsar GTi – little brother to the GTi-R, and better than a contemporary Golf GTi.

5. Honda Civic VTi

Honda had already dropped its sensational VTEC 1.6 into the very last of the old fourth-gen Civics, but it was on the fifth-generation cars where the package really came together, mating 158bhp, an 8000rpm redline and coupe styling.

It's fun to imagine the odd octogenarian being talked into buying one of these by a bonus-hungry Honda salesmen then soiling themselves (again) the first time they accidentally took the thing past 5000rpm.

6. Seat Ibiza Cupra Sport 16v GTi

Despite helping create the whole hot hatch scene in the 1970s and 1980s, by the 1990s and the Mk3 Golf, VW’s GTi had settled firmly into middle-age and stopped working out, going out and putting out.

Fortunately the hot hatch spirit was alive and well at Spanish partner Seat, who used all the old VW engines and platforms to remind the new VWs what a GTi was meant to feel like.

7. ford Escort RS2000

There aren’t many pigs-ear to silk-purse transformations to top the one Ford achieved by turning the abysmal Mk5 Escort into the almost class-leading RS2000 – and the Cossie doesn’t count, because that was a Sierra in disguise.

Ford did it by fitting revised suspension with roll bars at both ends, and dropping a 16-valve head onto the 2.0 I4 block to come up with 148bhp. Good job, but it didn’t excuse the rest of the Escort range.

8. Rover 200Vi

Hard to believe it now, but tweedy old Rover pumped out some quality quick stuff in the 1990s. No, really. Look, just ignore the picture for now if it helps.

There was the Honda-powered 216 GTi, a Metro GTi 16v transformed by ditching the ancient A-series for the new K-, and there was this unassuming little blob with its tidy handling and VVC-equipped 1.8. Let’s not spoil things by mentioning the wayward 220 Turbo.

9. Citroen ZX volcane

Peugeot’s slinky Pininfarina-couture clobber meant it almost always out-sexed PSA partner Citroen in the 1990s. But look past the sack-cloth exterior and cars like this ZX Volcane were right up there with the class best.

The engine was closely related to the 205 1.9’s, the chassis even had passive rear steering and the TD version helped pioneer the idea of a diesel hot hatch. What’s that? It still looked like a mouldy potato? Hmm, yeah…

10. Fiat Bravo HGT

The rare but raved-about and tongue-twistingly titled Tipo Sedicivalvole often crops up in lists of forgotten hot hatch greats, but what about its Bravo HGT successor?

As sensual as the Tipo was square and powered by the charismatic 2.0 five from the Bangle-designed slash-cut Coupe, it wasn’t the sharpest GTi, but the growl counted for plenty.

Tags: #modern-classics #hot-hatch #new-era #honda #civic-vti #vtec #rs2000 #ford #peugeot #xsi #gti #205-gti #renault #clio-williams #nissan #pulsar #gti-r #seat #seat-cupra #fiat #hgt #rover #mazda

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Comments (19)

  • Astra GSI - Kadette GSi ( ok the Kadette not started at the 90' s ) - Volvo 480 1.7 Turbo - Alfa Romeo 145 2.0 Qv

      4 years ago
  • I'm sorry - you left out one car which means I can't even take this list seriously :) - www.aveoforum.com/forum/f81/opel-kadett-superboss-car-magazine-review-1990-must-read-10373/

    Some examples can be found here:

    www.raceweb.co.za/gallery/superboss/images/PICT0099.jpg

    www.raceweb.co.za/gallery/superboss/images/PICT0101.jpg

      4 years ago
    • Not sure anyone has forgotten the Astra GTE. And it was launched in the 80's to be fair.

        4 years ago
  • How could you... Astra gsi

      4 years ago
  • What market was the Mazda 323 GT for Chris Chilton? From the Mazda 323/Familia BG series I can remember there being a...

    GTX - 1.8 turbo 4WD (pictured)

    GTR - more powerful than the GTX, additionally styling, homologation special, luxury interior

    GTA-E - limited run for conversion to rally cars, was lighter and was without a lot of equipment that the GTR had.

    Oddly, the GTX was initially used for rally use, with the GTR being created later. The GTR was only ever used by privateers for Group N as Mazda Rally Team Europe (MRTE) pulled out of the WRC at the end of 1992.

      4 years ago
    • proud owner of a gtx here. definitely drives like a rally car! Also there is a Mazda gt that lives near me as well. I'm in New Zealand so would guess it was a jdm release? Most cars on the road here are grey imports

        4 years ago
    • My friend has a GT-R, agree they are things of beauty. The economy always surprises me. We did recce for Targa Tasmania in it, and despite some spirited driving were getting 9L/100km. Post up if you find anymore on this Familia GT anyhow.

        4 years ago
  • VW Golf Rallye. That's all.

      4 years ago
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