The Year is 1989...HOT HATCHES !!!

Saab Ed

Right boys and girls, time to relive your youth in some cases or for the younger crowd this will be an education in how things were so bad yet so good. Which one of these hot hatches would you have bought in the day?

VW Golf MkII Gti 8v


Ford Escort XR3i


Opel Kadett GTE


Toyota Corolla Gti Twin Cam


Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9


Citroen BX 16valve


Lancia Delta HF turbo ( Not Intergrale)


Alfa Romeo 33 1.7ti


Suzuki Swift GTi


Renault 5 Turbo


MG Maestro Turbo

maidhc

Citroen BX 16 valve

I love these threads.

Only one for me: the 205.

stealthyspeeder

Alfa Romeo 33 1.7 ti

Its not a very fun thread to contribute too when you have named them all in your first post!

Edit* misread it!

I would have the Lancia or the MKII, couldnt decide!

SV

MG Maestro Turbo

The 5 turbo walks away with shi one.. with the 205 coming in a close second.

Drummerboy08

Citroen BX 16 valve

Pug wins it for me. Im only 21, so I wasnt around when they first came out, but I'd love one now!

Bitten & Hisses

Ford Escort XR3i

It could only be the Golf for me.

Anan1

Alfa Romeo 33 1.7 ti

The Golf GTI 8v wasn't really a hot hatch, even the 16v never quite felt fast enough. I was torn between the 205, the Delta and the BX - voted for the Lancia, but i'd happily have any of them. Of course if you'd included the HF 4WD there would have been no contest.

Saab Ed

Lancia Delta HF Turbo

I had a BX 16 valve and couldnt afford to run it at the time. Its the only car I ever regret getting rid of. Wicked car to go.

DanFindy

Opel Astra GTE

Who in the name a Jaysus would want one of them ugly horrible Citroen things........hot hatch???? cold shoulder from me:o Escort Xr3i for me then the corolla then the golf everything else horribly unreliable and of course horrible lookin too:rolleyes:

Drummerboy08

Citroen BX 16 valve

That 205 GTi looks so right! I'm off away to browse the net looking for one to buy....:pac:

Anan1

Alfa Romeo 33 1.7 ti

DanFindy wrote: »

Who in the name a Jaysus would want one of them ugly horrible Citroen things........hot hatch???? cold shoulder from me:o Escort Xr3i for me then the corolla then the golf everything else horribly unreliable and of course horrible lookin too:rolleyes:

I think you may be missing the point of a hot hatch...

Henry Ford III

Citroen BX 16 valve

205 all the way. R5 was quick but a p.i.t.a. Impossible to start a hot engine. HF Turbo wasn't great (the 4x4 Integrale was majestic however).

Saab Ed

Lancia Delta HF Turbo

Drummerboy08 wrote: »

That 205 GTi looks so right! I'm off away to browse the net looking for one to buy....:pac:

A friend of mine had an early 1.6 with the crappy interior and the lower bhp ( cant remember how many now ) but it was still a hoot. Bits fell off it for sport but you know when people say " it goes round corners like a go cart ". Well this did .... Another friend of mine still has one. 88 1.6 in white with the 1.9 alloys. 1 Lady owner car from the UK. Its mint and still grat craic to take for a spin......just watch the tail :D

Drummerboy08

Citroen BX 16 valve

Looks like the 205 is just pipping it at the minute....:cool:

Anan1

Alfa Romeo 33 1.7 ti

Now that I think about it, the 205 was close to the perfect hot hatch - nothing looked anything like as well, it was great to drive, and the fear factor just kept you coming back for more!

Robbo

Citroen BX 16 valve

205 all the way, in fact I'd be tempted to get one now if I had the money and found a minter.

An hourable mention to the Swaaaaaft. That these, like the 205s, are still a decent beginners rally car has to be worth something. The engine will take a lot of abuse, can produce good horsepower and revs like there's no tomorrow.

JHMEG

Wot, no CR-X? And the 160bhp DOHC VTEC model came out in 89 too...

bladespin

Citroen BX 16 valve

Gotta be a Pug

TomMc

MG Maestro Turbo

Always had a thing for 5 Turbo's. Although a 19 16v a few years later would have been more my kind of car or the 309GTI (16). Not as pretty as the 205 but even more of a drivers car.

Mena

Toyota Corolla GTi

I actually had the (what you call) Astra/Kadett GTE. It was called an Opel Superboss 16v Turbo GSI where I came from.

Loved that car. Massive rivalry with the GTI folk that always ended in tears for them

Saab Ed

Lancia Delta HF Turbo

Mena wrote: »

I actually had the (what you call) Astra/Kadett GTE. It was called an Opel Superboss 16v Turbo GSI where I came from.

The GTE wasnt a turbo here though. There was a Vectra turbo and a Calibra turbo.

R.O.R

Toyota Corolla GTi

I'm the other vote for the Vauxhall Astra GTE as I knew it.

Pretty sure it was quicker than the XR3i and Golf GTI.

We did have a BX 16v for a weekend once as my Dad "had" to wash it before it went back to the leasing company - seem to remember it being sweeeeeet.

Henry Ford III

Citroen BX 16 valve

This is nice, but the price is v. high

.Longshanks.

Citroen BX 16 valve

I've know a lad who still has a fully operational, if not taxed :pac:, 1990 (think) 1.9 205 diesel. The road tax probably costs three times the value of the car at this stage....:D

Anan1

Alfa Romeo 33 1.7 ti

Henry Ford III wrote: »

This is nice, but the price is v. high

I see he did so much work that he feels justified in listing it as a 2009 car! Nice, though.

Mena

Toyota Corolla GTi

Saab Ed wrote: »

The GTE wasnt a turbo here though. There was a Vectra turbo and a Calibra turbo.

Oh, didn't know that.

R.O.R wrote: »

I'm the other vote for the Vauxhall Astra GTE as I knew it.

Pretty sure it was quicker than the XR3i and Golf GTI.

We did have a BX 16v for a weekend once as my Dad "had" to wash it before it went back to the leasing company - seem to remember it being sweeeeeet.

Was no standard GTI that could keep up with the one I had, on a straight road at least... The GSI was never that good at cornering, well not when compared to the Golf at least.

peasant

Lancia Delta HF Turbo

Ohh that reminds me ...

Left my old GS at the Citroen dealers for a service and he practically forced me to take a test drive (unaccompanied!) in the BX GTI. Living in an area where you had several alpine like mountain roads (only shorter) with hairpin bends and the likes to choose from ...that was one great test drive.
For that alone my vote goes to the Citroen.

Henry Ford III

Citroen BX 16 valve

Anan1 wrote: »

I see he did so much work that he feels justified in listing it as a 2009 car! Nice, though.

Yeah:D

I reckon it's worth maybe €4k tops. It's an old Pug at the end of the day, albeit a nicely restored one.

Zonda999

Ford Escort XR3i

Would have been tempted by the Pug but i know i definitely would have gone for the Golf GTi in the end!:)

mikedragon32

Citroen BX 16 valve

I was about to select the Delta until I copped that it wasn't an Integrale. 205 please sir!

pred racer

Citroen BX 16 valve

I wanted to pick the BX as my first boss had a BX Gti and it was sweeeet, but it has to be the pug. We had a diesel 205 and it was brilliant. Never had a go in the gti tho.............anyone offering?????:D

TomMc

MG Maestro Turbo

All these threads kind of hit home that what you would have fancied as a teenager or twenty something, could be world's apart from what you would prefer today. There is a lot to be said for 20 years more maturity or hindsight.

mike65

Citroen BX 16 valve

A right mix of the good the bad and the fuggly.

Peugeot 205 GTI 1.9 but a bit of me would go for the Alfa 33 (it would be the Cloverleaf spec though)

alfaromeo84

Why has nobody mentioned the Fiat Uno Turbo, featherweight car, with masses of go. My dad had a Mk1, rocket.

TomMc

MG Maestro Turbo

And the 2.0 Tipo 16v was another fun hot hatch introduced a year or two later.

Sizzler

Opel Astra GTE

Escort XR3i for me all day long !

pburns

Golf & 205 were the default choice. I'd go for the BX or R5. I liked French cars as a nipper...

ianobrien

Citroen BX 16 valve

I voted for the 205.

But if the year was 1990, I'd have voted for the Citroen AX GTi - a jump of 15 to 20hp over the AX GT that was available in 1989.......

Anan1

Alfa Romeo 33 1.7 ti

TomMc wrote: »

All these threads kind of hit home that what you would have fancied as a teenager or twenty something, could be world's apart from what you would prefer today. There is a lot to be said for 20 years more maturity or hindsight.

There's a bit to be said against it too.;)

cadaliac

Citroen BX 16 valve

It has to be the Pug for me too, although, when I was growing up, it was believed that the 1.6 was a better handling car than the 1.9?

Gary ITR

Ford Escort XR3i

Anan1 wrote: »

The Golf GTI 8v wasn't really a hot hatch

Stupid boards... Can't ban co-mods :mad:

I'll let you have a blast in mine, should be finished in 4 weeks. 8v pushing about 170bhp

The Pug or the Golf are the only ones for me. If the renault wasn't made from crepe paper and was any way reliable I'd have it in a heartbeat though

Saab Ed

Lancia Delta HF Turbo

I was just thinking. So many of these cars used to come in saloon form aswell. Jetta GTI, Orion 1.6i Ghia, Lancia Prisma Turbo and MG Montego Turbo. I know there was a fast saloon version of the Kadett too ( might have been an Astra Belmont of some sort ) but I cant remember what it was called.

mark renton

Citroen BX 16 valve

Great pics - just dont make cars like these any more

Orange69

Peugeot 205 1.9 GTi

Anyone else utterly aghast that so many people voted for the god awful Peugeot? I voted for the corolla (i actually had an old one as a teen) but would ultimately pick a crx.

Madame Razz

A Volvo 480 ES

I know it isn't a hot hatch but still they were gorge

Saab Ed

Lancia Delta HF Turbo

Orange69 wrote: »

Anyone else utterly aghast that so many people voted for the god awful Peugeot?

:eek::eek::eek:...Does that deserve a ban


PS Swift and Maestro still to get a vote. Now I can understand the Maestro but Im supprised by the Swift, they were great little cars.

maidhc

Citroen BX 16 valve

Orange69 wrote: »

Anyone else utterly aghast that so many people voted for the god awful Peugeot? I voted for the corolla (i actually had an old one as a teen) but would ultimately pick a crx.

Post reported.

Orange69

Peugeot 205 1.9 GTi

Saab Ed wrote: »

:eek::eek::eek:...Does that deserve a ban

Kidding aside i really cant understand it, just looking at it makes me physically ill.. It reminds me of that little 'my precious' creature from the lord of the rings..

Maybe someone can sum up the attraction for me.. particularly in terms of aesthetics..?

Saab Ed

Lancia Delta HF Turbo

Orange69 wrote: »

Maybe someone can sum up the attraction for me.. particularly in terms of aesthetics..?

Its a generational thing. Can I ask what age you are?

TomMc

MG Maestro Turbo

Oh the irony, a Corolla fan questioning the Pug's aesthetics

Orange69

Peugeot 205 1.9 GTi

Saab Ed wrote: »

Its a generational thing. Can I ask what age you are?

Im 28.. so, not so young that i can appreciate a 90s car :pac: