What was the best mid-1990s "small" hatch?
Discussion
Seems a bit of a random question and I'm not planning on making a purchase but what was the best "small" (Fiesta/Escort-sized) hatchback as a whole range of the mid-1990s?
I would say that prior to 1990, it would be hard to make an argument against the Golf (mk1 and 2). I think it was genuinely a cut above everything else. Ford obviously blew everyone else out of the water with the mk1 Focus at the end of the decade and then VW arguably bettered it with the Mk5 Golf in 2004 and IMHO it has pretty much been a two horse race since (I favour the Golf over the mk2/3 Focus).
In between is a bit of a grey area though. Popular opinion at the time would have suggested that the mk3/mk4 Golf was still top dog but in hindsight, we know this isn't true and they weren't the quality products that their predecessors were.
My first car in 2000 was a 1995 mk 3.5 Vauxhall Astra 1.4 LS like this:
but in the metallic satin red. I'm not suggesting that this is the best 1990s small hatch but it did feel close to the mk3 Golf in terms of perceived quality and it was fairly comfortable and roomy too. It served me fairly reliably for 2 years too. There ended the good bits though because it was more sluggish than a snail (to this day the only car that I have owned that was faster in 4th than 5th gear) and handled like a blue whale! I should have known really, as my driving instructor's Corsa 1.2 was also gutless and handled like a dinghy but one of my friends had also run an Astra like mine for two years and drove like a maniac everywhere, so I thought they were fast! I probably shouldn't have bought it because I hadn't done my research and thought that the LS came with the 82bhp MPI engine not the 60bhp SPI "Hi-Torq" engine but it was much nicer than the mk5 Escort I also test drove and I dismissed the mk3 Fiesta and 205 diesel that I also looked at and didn't test drive them because I thought superminis were a bit girly! In hindsight, I also dismissed a couple of interesting leftield options in budget (a Citroen BX TD and a mk2 Scirocco)!
The question is, what should I have got instead?
The mk3 Golf and Peugeot 306 would have been considered but both out of budget. The 306 was probably the nicest looking car in its class but quite a bit smaller than the Astra actually and the interior was pretty horrid.
The mk3 Polo looked quite nice but had similar quality issues to the mk3 Golf.
It seems laughable now in hindsight with all the K-Series HG issues (I guess the Honda-engined 216 was alright) but I used to read What Car? magazine at the time and they seemed to have a bit of a hard-on for these!
Citroen ZX?
(sorry couldn't resist posting a picture of a Volcane). Good shout actually. Not as pretty as its 306 cousin but a nicer interior IMO, which felt a lot more solid than a 1980s AX/BX. A TD version would have been pretty nice actually but my dad had a ZX diesel (NA) estate at the time, so automatically uncool and the facelifted ZX was pretty ugly (especially as an estate).
Again, too expensive but I believe the mk4 Astra handled rather better but looked even duller (if that's possible)!
I rather like these actually (not driven one though).
For some reason I have a soft spot for late 80s/early 90s Fiats and a friend's dad traded his mk4 Escort in for one when they came out. It felt very ahead of its time and spacious and I still think the 16v version was pretty cool!
I still think despite being an old design though that the Peugeot 205 was still right up there.
Mechanically strong (especially the diesels), good ride and handling, decent passenger space and boot, didn't rust, excellent visibility, excellent driving position and neat styling. The 106/Saxo with their cramped cabins and offset driving positions seemed like a backwards step and I always thought that the 206 was a nice looking car but mechanically frail, not much more space and a crap driving position. Should have probably bought that 205 diesel (definitely would have done had it been a turbo). It would have been more economical, more fun and probably faster than the Astra too and I could probably have run it for a couple of years and got most of my money back at the end! I did right my wrongs and get a 205 GTi (1.6) a couple of years later though!
What do you think was the best mid-1990s small hatch?
I would say that prior to 1990, it would be hard to make an argument against the Golf (mk1 and 2). I think it was genuinely a cut above everything else. Ford obviously blew everyone else out of the water with the mk1 Focus at the end of the decade and then VW arguably bettered it with the Mk5 Golf in 2004 and IMHO it has pretty much been a two horse race since (I favour the Golf over the mk2/3 Focus).
In between is a bit of a grey area though. Popular opinion at the time would have suggested that the mk3/mk4 Golf was still top dog but in hindsight, we know this isn't true and they weren't the quality products that their predecessors were.
My first car in 2000 was a 1995 mk 3.5 Vauxhall Astra 1.4 LS like this:
but in the metallic satin red. I'm not suggesting that this is the best 1990s small hatch but it did feel close to the mk3 Golf in terms of perceived quality and it was fairly comfortable and roomy too. It served me fairly reliably for 2 years too. There ended the good bits though because it was more sluggish than a snail (to this day the only car that I have owned that was faster in 4th than 5th gear) and handled like a blue whale! I should have known really, as my driving instructor's Corsa 1.2 was also gutless and handled like a dinghy but one of my friends had also run an Astra like mine for two years and drove like a maniac everywhere, so I thought they were fast! I probably shouldn't have bought it because I hadn't done my research and thought that the LS came with the 82bhp MPI engine not the 60bhp SPI "Hi-Torq" engine but it was much nicer than the mk5 Escort I also test drove and I dismissed the mk3 Fiesta and 205 diesel that I also looked at and didn't test drive them because I thought superminis were a bit girly! In hindsight, I also dismissed a couple of interesting leftield options in budget (a Citroen BX TD and a mk2 Scirocco)!
The question is, what should I have got instead?
The mk3 Golf and Peugeot 306 would have been considered but both out of budget. The 306 was probably the nicest looking car in its class but quite a bit smaller than the Astra actually and the interior was pretty horrid.
The mk3 Polo looked quite nice but had similar quality issues to the mk3 Golf.
It seems laughable now in hindsight with all the K-Series HG issues (I guess the Honda-engined 216 was alright) but I used to read What Car? magazine at the time and they seemed to have a bit of a hard-on for these!
Citroen ZX?
(sorry couldn't resist posting a picture of a Volcane). Good shout actually. Not as pretty as its 306 cousin but a nicer interior IMO, which felt a lot more solid than a 1980s AX/BX. A TD version would have been pretty nice actually but my dad had a ZX diesel (NA) estate at the time, so automatically uncool and the facelifted ZX was pretty ugly (especially as an estate).
Again, too expensive but I believe the mk4 Astra handled rather better but looked even duller (if that's possible)!
I rather like these actually (not driven one though).
For some reason I have a soft spot for late 80s/early 90s Fiats and a friend's dad traded his mk4 Escort in for one when they came out. It felt very ahead of its time and spacious and I still think the 16v version was pretty cool!
I still think despite being an old design though that the Peugeot 205 was still right up there.
Mechanically strong (especially the diesels), good ride and handling, decent passenger space and boot, didn't rust, excellent visibility, excellent driving position and neat styling. The 106/Saxo with their cramped cabins and offset driving positions seemed like a backwards step and I always thought that the 206 was a nice looking car but mechanically frail, not much more space and a crap driving position. Should have probably bought that 205 diesel (definitely would have done had it been a turbo). It would have been more economical, more fun and probably faster than the Astra too and I could probably have run it for a couple of years and got most of my money back at the end! I did right my wrongs and get a 205 GTi (1.6) a couple of years later though!
What do you think was the best mid-1990s small hatch?
Edited by white_goodman on Friday 22 August 19:48
Edited by white_goodman on Friday 22 August 20:50
white_goodman said:
Tannedbaldhead said:
Peugeot 306, no doubt. I had one as a company car. If there was a competitor better than it I'd have been in that instead.
Diesel? Why better than a ZX or Golf?The Pug at the time was a far superior car to the Golf at that time. Bare in mind the 306 was up against the Golf in MK3 incarnation and the VW was completely outclassed.
I chose my 306 over the ZX as, in my opinion it was the better looking car. I also preferred the handling. Passive rear wheel steer that gave it a much sharper turn in making it an even more involving drive than the ZX.
Tannedbaldhead said:
Diesel. The French led the way at the time. One minute everyone was in Escorts, Astras, Cavaliers and Sierras the next we were all in Zxs, Xantias, 306s and 406s. The French back then were class leaders.
The Pug at the time was a far superior car to the Golf at that time. Bare in mind the 306 was up against the Golf in MK3 incarnation and the VW was completely outclassed.
I chose my 306 over the ZX as, in my opinion it was the better looking car. I also preferred the handling. Passive rear wheel steer that gave it a much sharper turn in making it an even more involving drive than the ZX.
Yes, I remember now! I was only in my teens but my dad had Peugeot/Citroen diesels for most of the 90s (405, ZX and Xsara though, no 306). I thought the ZX had passive rear steer too though. PSA diesels were light years ahead of Ford's diesels (I think Rover even used them in the 200/400) but wasn't the Isuzu diesel that Vauxhall used pretty good?The Pug at the time was a far superior car to the Golf at that time. Bare in mind the 306 was up against the Golf in MK3 incarnation and the VW was completely outclassed.
I chose my 306 over the ZX as, in my opinion it was the better looking car. I also preferred the handling. Passive rear wheel steer that gave it a much sharper turn in making it an even more involving drive than the ZX.
Hugo a Gogo said:
Honda Civic? the early 90s one or the mid 90s one
does the Nissan Primera count as a small car? came out 95 I think
Are you talking about the Jap 3 door or the Swindon-built Rover 400-style 5dr? I'd say the Primera was another class size up (good car though). Didn't it come out in 1990? does the Nissan Primera count as a small car? came out 95 I think
white_goodman said:
I thought the ZX had passive rear steer too though.
It did - compliant bushes for the subframe. Great until they failed, then jacking the car up could leave the wheels on the ground.white_goodman said:
PSA diesels were light years ahead of Ford's diesels (I think Rover even used them in the 200/400)
Yep, in the "origami" 200-hatch/400-boot R8. When they went to the "bubble", they changed to the in-house L-series, a 4-pot "uncle" to the Land-Rover TD5.
not the quickest thing in the world but loads a fun!
Some great cars mentioned there (Charade GTti, Clio Williams, Sunny GTi-R, 106/306 Rallye) but I was thinking more in terms of the whole range i.e. the ones that actually took the bulk of sales. Were the non-hot Charades, mk1 Clios, Sunnys, 106s and 306s. I know no range of cars is perfect i.e. no question for most of us that the mk1 Focus was a much more fun, better engineered car than the mk4 Golf but if you wanted a diesel, you would understand why people would choose the Golf. On balance though, the mk1 Focus as a range is probably better.
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