Top 10 hot hatches of the ’90s

Last seen hooning around a supermarket car park

Not since the fabled pairing of fish with chips has there been such a heady combination as the hot hatch.

Partnering the diminutive proportions of an average hatchback with the performance of an uprated – often turbocharged – motor, the result was generally a mix of accessible power and absurd fun.

Born in the ‘80s, the hot hatch found its calling in the ‘90s, tearing up rally stages, race tracks and many a supermarket car park on its way to becoming a true motoring icon.

With that in mind, here are the 10 greatest hot hatches of the ‘90s.

1. Alfa 145 Twin Spark

Launched at the 1994 Turin Motor Show, the Alfa 145 bore distinctive ‘breadvan’ styling – but that didn’t stop it being one of the nippiest hatchbacks around.

Its 2-litre Twin-Spark engine was good for 150bhp in Cloverleaf guise and, with a kerb weight of 1200kg, could push the 145 to 60mph in 8 seconds, continuing all the way to 129mph.

1. Alfa 145 Twin Spark (cont.)

Praised for its sharp, light handling, the 145 offered high-revving laughs in true Italian fashion – with a dollop of body roll for good measure.

Production ceased in 2000 and Cloverleafs are now very thin on the ground – in fact, fewer than 100 are registered in the UK today, with prices regularly topping £2500.

2. Peugeot 106 GTI

Peugeot had set the hot-hatch standard during the ‘80s with the seminal 205. Despite the presence of the larger 306 XSI and GTI-6, it was the compact 106 that really carried that car’s ethos into the following decade.

At the model’s launch in 1991, the stripped-out, 1.3-litre Rallye – which derived 100bhp at a heady 7200rpm – was the performance option.

2. Peugeot 106 GTI (cont.)

Five years later, the 106 was facelifted to become the Phase II, and the GTI joined the range.

Once promoted with a memorable print advert that showed the hot hatch heading for the skies after taking off over a humpback bridge, the GTI packed a 118bhp, 1.6-litre four-cylinder powerplant into its tiny form.

Featherweight and gifted with sharp steering, the iconic 106 GTI proved to be hugely entertaining.

3. Rover 200 BRM

On the face of it, this looks like a slightly tenuous evocation of sporting heritage – a middle-of-the-road hatchback in a tracksuit, if you will.

But the basis of the Rover 200 BRM was the 143bhp 200vi model, to which Rover added lowered, firmer suspension, a close-ratio gearbox and a Torsen differential. It got quilted leather seats, too.

3. Rover 200 BRM (cont.)

Sure, some of the visual elements were trying a little too hard – notably the orange air-intake that mimicked BRM racers from the 1960s – but this rare, underrated and undervalued car was every bit the hot hatch.

Only 797 BRMs were built for the UK market, out of a total run of just 1115 cars.

4. Nissan Sunny GTI-R

A number of Japanese manufacturers embarked on competition programmes in the late-’80s and early-’90s, from Honda in F1 to Mazda in sports cars – and Nissan was no exception.

The GTi-R was built so that the firm could go rallying in Group A and, though in theory it was based on the existing family hatchback, it was about as far removed from the standard Sunny as you could get.

4. Nissan Sunny GTI-R (cont.)

By no means subtle, the souped-up Sunny carried a turbocharged 2.0-litre engine good for 227bhp which, coupled with four-wheel drive, meant it could sprint from 0-60mph in a staggering six seconds.

Tommi Mäkinen drove a works variant in 1992, but even the great Finn could only manage a best finish of eighth, on that year’s RAC Rally.

5. Seat Ibiza GTi/Cupra

Introduced in 1986, the Ibiza really started to make a name for itself after the marque was taken over by Volkswagen.

The Mk2 of 1993 was based on the Polo platform but, in GTi form, it utilised a 2-litre powerplant that produced 115bhp. That was then upgraded with the 16-valve, 150bhp motor from the Mk3 Golf GTI to create the Cupra – one seriously hot hatch.

5. Seat Ibiza GTi/Cupra (cont.)

Thus equipped, the Cupra got to 60mph in 7.6 secs from a standing start and topped out at mighty 134mph.

A key part of VW’s plan to reinvigorate Seat’s image was to take the new hot hatch rallying and, proving its performance capabilities, the kit-car version of the Ibiza won the 2-litre world title three years in a row from 1996-’98.

6. VW Golf VR6

After the razor-sharp and iconic Mk1 and Mk2 models, the Mk3 Golf GTI felt a bit bloated and soft – and it was no longer the marque’s performance flagship: that honour went instead to the VR6.

Launched in 1992, VW shoehorned its six-cylinder 2.8-litre engine into the Mk3 to create a 174bhp Golf that could get to 60mph in 7.1 secs.

6. VW Golf VR6 (cont.)

Sure, it wasn’t quite the seat-of-the-pants driving experience that the original Golf GTI had offered, partly because of the extra weight gained by replacing a four-cylinder engine with a six-cylinder one. 

Nonetheless, the VR6 was a well-specced, grown-up model that handled well, moved fast and put the hot hatch firmly into BMW territory.

7. Renault Clio Williams

Launched in 1993 as a limited run of 3800 cars, the hottest variant of the Clio hit the market at a time when Williams and Renault were sweeping all before them in F1.

In truth, the 150bhp, 2-litre road car had nothing to do with the British racing outfit, but the only-sold-in-blue hot hatch nonetheless attained cult status.

7. Renault Clio Williams (cont.)

Actually designed to allow the marque’s motorsport department to go rallying, demand for the Clio was so great that an additional 1600 first-series cars were built, followed by a further two editions – though many of the 12,000 eventually sold were converted for the track.

Sales can’t have been harmed by the fact the Clio Williams performed safety car duties in the 1996 Formula 1 season.

8. Citroën AX GTi

It’s easy to overlook hot Citroëns. While Peugeot hogged the limelight with the 205 GTI, its stablemate flew beneath the radar with the Visa.

The performance versions of the later AX deserve more recognition, too: this diminutive lightweight was first offered in twin-carburettor Sport form, then as the single-carb GT, and finally as the fuel-injected, 100bhp, 1360cc GTI.

8. Citroën AX GTi (cont.)

Basic almost to the point of being flimsy, the front-wheel drive AX delivered the sort of thrills that were being filtered out of hot hatches as cars grew bigger and heavier.

Its top speed was a respectable 118mph, but the real boon was its sub-800kg kerb weight, which made for great fun – even at low speeds.

9. Fiat Tipo 2.0 16V

The basic Tipo had been good enough to win European Car of The Year in 1989, but it wasn’t until ’91 that the hottest variant arrived.

Following the time-honoured tradition of equipping a small family runaround with a powerful engine– in this case, the 2-litre 16-valve unit from Lancia’s Thema – the little Tipo became a 148bhp hot hatch.

9. Fiat Tipo 2.0 16V (cont.)

Equipped with the requisite bodykit and 15in alloy wheels, it certainly looked the part – and performance was hardly shabby, with a top speed somewhere around 130mph and a 0-60 time of less than eight seconds.

The Tipo platform would go on to be used as the basis for, among others, the Lancia Dedra, the Fiat Tempra, and the Alfa 155, Spider and GTV.

10. Ford Fiesta RS Turbo

The Fiesta has a long history of performance variants, from the 1979 Supersport to the current ST, but its first foray into forced induction came with the RS Turbo of 1990.

Based around the XR2i’s 1.6-litre CVH engine, it gained a Garrett turbocharger to take it into proper hot hatch territory.

Space restrictions beneath the bonnet meant it used the smaller T2 turbo, rather than the T3 found in the Escort RS Turbo – but it was hardly underpowered.

10. Ford Fiesta RS Turbo (cont.)

Turbo fitted, the Fiesta RS had 130bhp at its disposal. While that was still 7bhp less than the Mk2 Golf GTI 16v, it was enough to propel the little Ford to 60mph in less than 8 secs.

And, from the bonnet louvres to the 14in three-spoke alloys and Recaro sports seats, there was no doubting its sporting intent.