Top old-school hot hatches from £2k

A sense of rawness, swollen arches and spoilers, and gobs of wheelspin - perhaps even a whistling turbo. Although the 1980s were considered the golden era of the hot hatch, they were massively appealing to youngsters during the 1990s who would often retrofit them with ludicrous bodykits or gargantuan exhausts.

These were cars that could tackle B-roads with ease and have more than enough power to make you grin like a Cheshire cat. No matter the reason for buying one, they still have a special place in our hearts and on our list. Here are some that we think you’ll like:

There’s no doubt you’ve probably seen, or heard, one of these, screaming around a random neighborhood at some point, with a cap-loving youth at the helm. The Citroen Saxo was available in an array of guises, and was built for an extensive audience, but amidst the most popular were the VTR and VTS models. Although the 1.6-litre up-front produced a modest 118bhp, it was more than enough to shove the VTS’s tiny 935kg weight to 60mph from a rest in just 7.7sec and onto a fruity top speed of 127mph. 

Recently, they’ve become scarce and although it’s not too hard to find unmolested examples nowadays, prices are on the rise. Rougher examples start at £1,500, but we spotted a clean low-miler for £6100.

The original S3 might not seem much by today’s standards, considering S3s of today push out 310bhp, but that doesn’t mean it should be sneered at. When it arrived in 1999, it rattled the hot hatch world: four-wheel drive, 222bhp, a 0-62mph dash of 6.4sec, and you could pile in it and go for dinner. Like many Audis of that era, it was discreet. There were no monstrous spoilers mounted to the rear or vents cut out the bonnet, but instead - slightly swollen bodywork, twin exhaust pipes and tasty 17in alloys. 

From the factory the S3 was showered in tech such as self-levelling xenon lights, climate control and electric Recaro seats. Today, original S3s are harder to come by, but they’re still out there. We spotted a project car for just £1,590; if you’re willing to part with more cash, however, an honorable example can be had for £7895.

Unfortunately, there aren’t many cars around like the Fiat Uno Turbo nowadays, and that’s a shame. Small low-powered engine combined with miniscule weight meant oodles of fun on a quiet B-road, exactly what the Uno Turbo had to offer. Fiat took the regular Uno and plopped in a 1.3-litre inline-four engine with a water-cooled turbocharger which overall produced a teensy 105bhp - however, it only had 850kg to shift. 

This meant the Uno Turbo could tackle the traffic-light Grand Prix with ease and cover the 0-62mph dash in 8.3sec, keeping hot on the heels of a Ford Sierra XR4X4. Only 16 Uno Turbos are registered on British roads today, making them vastly uncommon. We spotted a flawless example with 69,000 miles on the clock for £10,000.

Autocar described the AX GT5 as “offering extra versatility in a fun though uncomfortable package” back in 1989. It was quite the improvement over the regular AX GT thanks to decent equipment levels and extra two doors, making it quite attractive to the petrolhead that had family duties. Mechanically, the AX GT5 benefitted from a twin-choke carburettor, high-lift camshaft and modified inlet ports. You’ll probably question why the GT5 is on our hot hatch list with its mere 85bhp, but yet again it comes down to sheer lack of weight.

The GT5 weighed in at less than 700kg, and Citroen only required three bolts to hold each wheel in place — weight saving at its best. The result was 117bhp-per-tonne, that was more than that of an Audi Quattro 2.2T. The engine had to be worked to build any form of pace, but regardless, the AX GT5 was still a peppery hot hatch. We spotted a clean example today for £4884.

In the early 1990s, the ageing but mighty, Peugeot 205 GTi was sat quite comfortably on its pedestal, until Renault stormed into the throne hall with the Clio Williams, tossing a cat amongst the pigeons. And, it was handsome too. Lowered Clio Cup racer suspension sat neatly on golden alloy wheels; a nifty bonnet scoop, some deep bolstered sports seats and a numbered plaque on the dash to top things off. 

Although it wasn’t exactly an almighty hammer blow to the 205 GTi, it was enough to divide opinion on which one of these hot hatches should hold the crown, and even to this day, it’s a topic that’ll ignite debate down at the local pub. Under the bonnet was a 1.8-litre 16v powerplant developing 148bhp at 6100rpm allowing it to scamper the 981kg Clio Williams to 62mph from a standstill in 7.6sec and onto 134mph. They have been known to fetch as much as £37,500 in concours condition, but we spotted a spotless example today for £17,990.

When the MK1 Golf GTI arrived in 1976 Volkswagen inspired desire. But as time moved on people shifted from the little GTI and onto bigger, smoother, six-cylinder cars like the BMW 3 Series. Volkswagen then quickly realised that if you can’t beat them, join them, and in 1992 the six-cylinder VR6 appeared. The Golf VR6 may now be of a ripe old age but that doesn’t mean it still can’t perform even by today’s standards. 

The 2.7-litre six-cylinder lump up-front produced a hefty 174bhp fed through the front wheels and when coupled with rather discreet bodywork, it could be plenty of fun. Picking one up today is easier than you might think, but there are some questionable examples still around. We spotted a decent one for £3000.

A few years after Rover released the Rover 25 and with a development budget of next to none, the MG ZR was born in 2001 with a blend of engines. Engineers did a fairly decent job by turning the 25 into something sporty and unique. Different vibrant colours were available and it was treated to mesh grilles, flared bodywork, 16in alloy wheels and a spoiler that had clearly been nabbed from a rally car. If you opted for the 1.6-litre 160bhp variant, you were rewarded with a well-balanced front-wheel drive hot hatch.

Unfortunately, many cars had various build-quality issues and over the years and MG ZRs slowly started to disappear from our roads. Today though, you can grab a bargain hot hatch for as little as £1495. We spotted a nice low-miler for £2100.

Oh, to have been in the meeting that came up with this one. Nissan must’ve thought ‘why don’t we give Godzilla a little brother?’ and we’re very thankful that they did. The Nissan Pulsar GTi-R earned its own cult status without Nissan having to push it too much. People in 1991 must’ve loved the idea of a small four-wheel drive hatchback taken straight from the Nissan Skyline GT-R's gene pool.

And, while the Pulsar GTi-R was sold as the Pulsar in Japan, it was sold in less powerful Nissan Sunny variants for Britain. This then saw a rise in Pulsar imports directly from Japan over the years. 

The differences from a bog-standard Pulsar were quite obvious. To start, you had a turbocharged 2.0-litre that pumped out 277bhp, four-wheel drive as standard and alluring bodywork. 0-62mph was dispatched in 5sec, making even the Porsche 911 of the same era sweat profusely. Today, these cars demand top dollar, but we spotted one for £15,000.

With 205 GTis demanding ludicrous prices nowadays, perhaps the 106 GTi can entice you instead. It was tiny, zesty and one of the best handling front-wheel drive cars of its era.

Peugeot managed to cram a naturally aspirated 1.6-litre 16v under the bonnet with 120bhp, resulting in a giddy hot hatch. The 106 GTi would happily ballet dance around tight B-roads with ease and keep up with more powerful cars on the straights thanks to its weight advantage, at only 950kg. 

It sprinted to 62mph in 7.4sec and would power on to 130mph, if allowed to stretch its legs. Prices are on the rise for these little rockets; we spotted a lovely-looking example with just 42,000 miles on the clock for £11,000.

Even in standard form, the Lupo was a fantastic little car with the three-cylinder 1.2-litre diesel model seeing 94mpg on long runs. But, in true Volkswagen style, a stonking GTI variant was soon conceived. Low weight and modest power were key here.

Volkswagen put the Lupo on a diet with the GTI; the steel bonnet was replaced and the doors swapped out with lightweight aluminium, the end result being 978kg. As standard, you got bi-xenon headlights, 15in Bathurst alloys, a centered twin-exit exhaust and hugging seats. 

It squatted close to the road thanks to its uprated suspension which lowered the car by 20mm. Mountains of grip, combined with agility, meant that the little GTI could nip through corners at alarming speeds. Today, one can be sat on your driveway for as little as £3450. We spotted a tidy example for £5995.

Vauxhall has often released some high-performance, slightly deranged variants of average cars. This all started with Vauxhall’s GSi range. Back in the early 2000s, engineers from the Opel Performance Centre spent many hours carefully tuning the Astra GSi at the Nürburgring circuit. The result was well-balanced front-wheel drive hot hatchback that couldn’t have felt any more detached from its warm Astra SRi sibling. 

The 2.0-litre turbocharged engine gave 197bhp at 5,600rpm, allowing it to fire on when required. 0-62mph was over in 7sec and you were well on your way to 150mph. Sporty bumpers, 17in wheels and a lush spoiler were standard. We found a well-looked-after example for £4375.

It’s not difficult to see why the Escort RS Cosworth was so popular; it was even placed on a plinth next to more expensive supercars and was an exception that made it into many people’s “if I won the lottery” list.

In true Cosworth style, the Escort had undergone major cosmetic surgery. A large ‘whale tail’ spoiler was added to the boot lid, deep star-like alloy wheels filled the grippy tyres, aggressive bonnet vents dispersed hot air from the powerplant and meaty bodywork iced the cake. It was about as far as you could get from the otherwise mediocre Escort Mk5 as you could get – and indeed was rather more Sierra than Escort underneath.

Underneath was a turbocharged 2.0-litre, which had just as much horsepower as it did torque (224bhp and 224lb ft), fed to all four wheels. In turn, this resulted in impressive figures and 0-62mph was cracked in just 6.2sec. Being a collector's item nowadays, Escort RS Cosworths have been known to fetch up to £60,000 in incredible condition. We spotted a near-showroom condition car for £30,000

The Focus ST170 was decent enough, and while it offered a fair performance package, to some, it wasn’t quite enough. So that’s where this car came in. When the Focus RS hit the road in October 2002, many could’ve mistaken it for a road-going WRC car. It was wider than an average Focus by 65mm, it was 25mm lower, and over a two-year build period, engineers at Ford upgraded 70 per cent of the Focus’s basic components. 

A 2.0-litre with 212bhp was dropped in, and being front-wheel drive, power was managed through a Quaife torque-sensing limited-slip differential, allowing 0-62mph to happen in a flash at 5.9sec. It was a success and Ford keep making Focus RS models even to this day. Prices are on the rise, but we saw a cherished car for £16,395.

As the cover was being pulled off the Clio V6 in 1999, the reactions must’ve been magnificent. It paid homage to its grandfather, the Renault 5 Turbo, and behind the front seats was a mid-mounted 230bhp V6 sourced from a Laguna that fed all power to the rear wheels.

To squeeze the engine in, the body work was ballooned, making the Clio V6 171mm wider than a regular Clio 172. In later years, the Clio V6 underwent further surgery to right some wrongs from the first car. 

Power was upped to 255bhp and the wheelbase was increased by 23mm, Porsche was later called in to extract more from the Laguna V6 engine, and they did so by raising the rev limit. We’ve seen cars demand as high as £64,000, but we spotted a great example for £32,000.

When the rather chubby MG Maestro went on sale in showrooms, its sassy bodywork, five-doors, and already slightly dated styling put it firmly in second place when sat next to Ford’s alternate Escort XR3i. But the Maestro Turbo stood on its own.

Unlike the first MG Maestro which had a Maxi engine, the Maestro Turbo had 150bhp, giving it a 123mph top speed and a 0-62mph time of 6.7sec. Only 505 cars were ever built during its limited production run, making them scarce today. We spotted a clean example for £9000.

Although Delta Integrale prices have launched into space, that doesn’t mean that you can’t get in on the boxy Delta hatchback fun. The Delta HF Turbo shared similar 80s hot hatchback looks with its gym-induced brother, the S4, without being over the top.

Lift the bonnet, and you would find a turbocharged 1.6-litre engine with a respectable 130bhp, which unlike its four-wheel drive siblings, would be fed through the front wheels. 0-62mph was dispatched in a Golf GTI-rivalling 8sec. 

Unfortunately, the Delta HF Turbo never got the rather attractive twin headlights as found on the Integrale, but various other changes were made over the years to bring it closer to the Integrale. Although they’re hard to come by, they’re some still out there. We spotted a car with 65,000 miles for £12,500.

The 306 GTi-6 is the perfect example of a low-profile performance hatch that can easily be mistaken for a run-of-the-mill diesel. Although there were better cars to throw around a tight bend, the 306 GTi-6 handled sublimely thanks to its well set up chassis and 1125kg weight; it would even offer lift-off oversteer. A naturally aspirated 2.0-litre 16v sat up-front developing 167bhp, launching the 306 GTI-6 to 60mph in 8.5sec and onto 135mph. 

As the name suggests, the GTi-6 had the added benefit over previous GTi models of a six-speed manual gearbox. Cars with under 100,000 miles occasionally pop up for less than £3000, but we found a mint example for £5500.

Diving backwards to 1997 into Honda’s Type-R heritage, it was easy to have oodles of fun and not get into too much bother by the time you’ve looked down at the speedometer. The EK9 was the beginning of the Civic Type-R lunacy.

Although other colours were available, Championship White was the most common. Black and red Type-R badging could be seen on the boot lid and the sides and going with the red badge theme, the seats and door cards were also red. 

But as always, the engine and chassis were where the Type-R came alive. The 1.6-litre produced 182bhp and screamed its way to 8200rpm; combined with a limited-slip differential, the handling was impeccable. We discovered a well-loved example in Championship White for £14,495.

There’s never quite been a car like the 147 GTA since. Someone at Alfa Romeo clearly thought it would be a great laugh to take the fabulous Busso V6 and plop it into a front-wheel drive hatchback.

There was no limited-slip differential either to contain all those 247 horses, which meant that when it was pushed too far on a country road, it could succumb to understeering. Its straight-line performance was impressive, however, with 62mph arriving in 6.3sec and a 153 top speed, all delivered with a fantastic soundtrack.

Cars can be had for as little as £7475, but we spotted a decent spec example for £9,995.

When the Suzuki Swift Sport was released in 2005, people quickly began to forget about the fizzy Ignis Sport, Suzuki’s answer to Ford’s SportKa and Citroen’s C2. Although it wasn’t exactly a rally car built for the road, this little hot hatch had hints of Suzuki’s rally heritage such as Recaro seats with yellow netting in the headrests, and some even came with Suzuki Motorsport livery. In comparison to a normal Ignis, the Ignis Sport had some peculiar body flangery. 

Underneath, however, was the recipe for a well-balanced hot hatch. A 1.5-litre 16v VVT engine produced a healthy 107bhp, allowing the Ignis Sport to scrabble to 60mph in 8.9sec. The suspension was lowered by 50mm too, to improve corner stability. We spotted a car with 123,000 miles on the clock for £3000.