Greatest 1980s hot hatchbacks
The 80s was the decade when the hot hatch found its feet and the best examples are now collectors’ items
Much like the supercars and performance saloons of the time, the greatest hot hatchbacks of the 1980s are loud, proud and capable of some seriously impressive speed.
While the technology involved did see some advancement throughout the years, the 80s hot hatch formula is a simple one: take a sensible family hatchback, whack a big engine under the bonnet, perhaps make some suspension tweaks to help the car cope, and fit a more purposeful body kit.
Most - if not all - of the best 80s hot hatchbacks are considered highly sought-after classic cars today. With so many cars being modified or crashed over the years, mint examples are hard to find on the used car market, so values are continuously on the rise.
The choice is a broad one, so we’ve rounded up our favourite 80s hot hatchbacks below.
Alfa Romeo 33 16v Green Cloverleaf
- Price new: £7,500
- Price now: £18,000
- Powertrain: 1.7-litre 4cyl petrol; five-speed manual gearbox
- Power: 137bhp
- 0-62/top speed: 8.7 seconds/122mph
The Alfa Romeo 33 QV arrived in 1986 and while there’s lots of charm in its boxy design, it wasn’t one of Alfa’s most beautiful creations. It featured a charismatic boxer four-cylinder with its capacity increased to 1.7-litres (it was 1.5-litres in the Alfasud) and an output of 116bhp, up from 95bhp. A 16-valve fuel-injected version arrived with the Green Cloverleaf, upping power to 137bhp at 6,500rpm.
The 33 is rare now due to rust and while most of the other cars on this list would run rings around it dynamically, the boxer sound and the Alfa's looks earn it a spot here.
Fiat Uno Turbo
- Price new: £10,800
- Price now: £12,000
- Powertrain: 1.3-litre 4cyl turbo petrol; five-speed manual gearbox
- Power: 104bhp
- 0-62/top speed: 7.6 seconds/127mph
Remember when Fiat built pocket rockets? Well, sadly even the last Panda 100HPs – the firm's final hot hatch – will be hitting their 15th birthday in the next 12 months. That car was great fun, but if you want something even wilder, you'll have to rewind 40 years. The Uno Turbo ie was a bit of a Frankencar, with the turbocharged and fuel-injected Strada motor under the bonnet and lots of black cladding and red detailing for the requisite GTI-style appeal.
It wasn’t the most powerful hot hatch, with only 104bhp, but thanks to a kerb weight of less than 900kg, it was rapid in a straight line, once you got used to overcoming the turbo lag, with a quoted top speed of 127mph. It was a bit less impressive in corners, though, with understeer thwarting any gains made on the straights between bends.
Ford Fiesta XR2
- Price new: £8,430
- Price now: £10,000
- Powertrain: 1.6-litre 4cyl petrol; five-speed manual gearbox
- Power: 96bhp
- 0-60/top speed: 8.7 secs/112mph
It may have lived in the Peugeot 205 GTi’s shadow, but Ford’s pocket rocket was a car that plenty of people coveted (and many still do). Not that fast on paper, its sub-900kg kerb weight meant it felt quick enough on British roads, especially with its rorty exhaust and complete lack of safety systems.
Perhaps its greatest legacy came from kicking off a series of small fast Fords, which would lead us to the modern Fiesta ST - one of the finest hot hatches ever built.
Lancia Delta HF Integrale
- Price new: £11,500
- Price now: £23,500
- Powertrain: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo petrol; five-speed manual gearbox
- Power: 182bhp
- 0-62/top speed: 6.6s/134mph
The Lancia Delta HF Integrale was one of the more brutish eighties hot hatches and was the road-going homologation version of a World Rally Championship-winning racer. It had a four-cylinder turbo engine and an all-wheel-drive system years before that combination hit the mainstream. It came in various forms, but the 1987 182bhp HF Integrale was first to feature the iconic ‘Integrale’ moniker.
Designed by the legendary Giorgetto Guigiaro, its underlying talent was being one of the fastest cars of its time down any road – rain, hail or shine.
MG Metro Turbo
- Price new: £6,000
- Price now: £10,000
- Powertrain: 1.3-litre 4cyl petrol; four-speed manual gearbox
- Power: 93bhp
- 0-62/top speed: 9.4s/110mph
The MG Metro Turbo isn’t the most groundbreaking nor well built car on this list, but British Leyland managed to get the hot-hatch recipe pretty much spot on. That recipe is as follows: take a small, unassuming, lightweight car and then recruit the help of Lotus, bolt a Garrett turbocharger onto the ever-willing A-Series engine and then garnish with red seatbelts.
Austin's Metro handled nicely, thanks to its Mini DNA, but the result of MG’s 93bhp power injection – which was a lot in a car weighing around 800kg – was a hot hatchback that put a huge smile on the driver’s face.
Mitsubishi Colt 1400 Turbo
- Price new: £6,500
- Price now: £12,000 (est.)
- Powertrain: 1.4-litre 4cyl petrol; four-speed manual gearbox
- Power: 104bhp
- 0-62/top speed: 9.4 seconds/112mph
There were loads of eighties hot hatches that boasted uprated power, spoilers, flared arches and flashy alloys. But the Colt Turbo had something none of its rivals could muster: a lever next to the gearshift that operated a ‘Super Shift’ dual-ratio transmission for performance and economy modes, with eight forward gears and two reverse!
The UK’s Japanese car import quotas and the popularity of higher profile European rivals stifled its potential here, but the Colt Turbo still ticks all the right hot hatch boxes.
Peugeot 205 GTi
- Price new: £10,495
- Price now: £10,000
- Powertrain: 1.9-litre 4cyl petrol; five-speed man. gearbox
- Power: 130bhp
- 0-62/top speed: 7.8 seconds/127mph
Hot hatches need to be many things: fast, great to look at, easy to live with. But if they aren’t exciting, then what’s the point? And by that measure, few examples of the breed match the adrenaline hit you get from going ‘full send’ in a Peugeot 205 GTi.
The angry engine (choose between a revvy 1.6 or muscular 1.9-litre) and fabulous gearbox play their part, but it’s the 880kg chassis that’s most responsible for the thrills. The nose is telepathically pointy – sometimes too much so for the back axle – so every corner taken with gusto results in a test of rear tyres’ limits.
Renault 5 Turbo 2
- Price new: £12,500
- Price now: £80,000
- Powertrain: 1.4-litre 4cyl turbo petrol; five-speed manual gearbox
- Power: 160bhp
- 0-62/top speed: 6.9s/124mph
Many of the cars on this list are logical, rational and somewhat practical, but the Renault 5 Turbo is utterly and unashamedly outrageous, because it doesn’t care about any of that. As with so many great cars, it’s a rally-bred homologation special that received some radical modifications over the standard R5.
The most bonkers is the 160bhp 1.4-litre turbo engine fitted where the rear seats would normally be. Not only is it mid-engined, it’s rear-wheel drive and a two-seater. Then there’s the great box flares and double-wishbone suspension all round.
Vauxhall Astra GTE
- Price new: £11,800
- Price now: £15,000
- Powertrain: 2.0-litre 4cyl petrol; five-speed man.gearbox
- Power: 154bhp
- 0-60/top speed: 7.0s/135mph
While the Vauxhall Astra isn’t exactly the most subtle of hot hatches, which probably accounts for it being a car thief’s favourite, I love its unashamedness. The chunky spoilers really lifted the otherwise drab Mk2 Astra, and there were several colour choices.
Post 1988 16V cars were the one to have, when a 154bhp 2.0-litre (decent in a car weighing less than a tonne) replaced the earlier wheezier power. Just don’t mention the GTE's handling…
Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V
- Price new: £11,429
- Price now: £12,500
- Powertrain: 1.8-litre 4cyl petrol; five-speed manual gearbox
- Power: 139bhp
- 0-62/top speed: 9.1 seconds/125mph
When it comes to eighties hot hatches, the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk2 is probably one of the first cars which springs to mind, simply because VW mastered this sporty recipe.
The Mk2 Golf GTI was available with two engines, but it’s arguably the later 139bhp, 1.8-litre 16-valve unit that is most sought-after. You need to work the engine to get the most from it, but combine that with its light kerb weight, and you can easily maintain speed and pick your line on a back road. While it wasn’t the most fun hot hatch, the Mk2 Golf GTI feels planted and solid.
Which 1980s hot hatch is your favourite? Tell us in the comments section below...
