Soldato
R5 GTT without a doubt. 500 quid will see you a fairly good example in need of a bit of bodywork perhaps.. but it'll fly, and you'll be laughing your head off every time you get in it. 
Recommend your 500 quid 'hot hatches'
- Thread starter Stormster
- Start date
Man of Honour
Out of all the suggestions so far, I'd say that:
1) The Renault 5 GT Turbo is probably the most insane, out and out fun car there
2) The Peugeot 309 GTi is the most complete package (and IMO the best overall car)
3) The VW Golf GTi or Jetta 16v are the most practical/ reliable/ sensible option.
But since when did you buy a hot hatch to be sensible
1) The Renault 5 GT Turbo is probably the most insane, out and out fun car there
2) The Peugeot 309 GTi is the most complete package (and IMO the best overall car)
3) The VW Golf GTi or Jetta 16v are the most practical/ reliable/ sensible option.
But since when did you buy a hot hatch to be sensible
You might get lucky and find a mark II escort with a 2 litre engine in it. Won't get a genuine RS2000 for that money, but it'll still shift big style, and be easily modable, plus rear wheel drive.
Not quite sure it would be a hot hatch as such though
-Dolph
Not quite sure it would be a hot hatch as such though
-Dolph
Soldato
Mk3 Toyota Corolla Twincam 16v GTI. 120bhp out of a 1.6 IIRC. Loads of fun and not too bad interior either. Can be had for pennies these days.
Loads on autotrader for 500-700 notes.
I'm a bit biased though as it was my first car. But at the time it had a proper curvy fitted dash and velour upholstery and things like rev counters and digital bits, all my mates had pug 309's that didn't even have interiors just bare painted metal inside, or VW's with big bulky square dashboards
Not many cars at that price will have leccy windows, remote cl, pas(after 89), digital fuel economy meter and a nice interior. Plus as a car I bought it with 40k on the clock and gave it away with a full mot(no failures) with 140k on the clock and there was nothing wrong with it other than a rotten wing(which only rotted cos it was damaged and badly sprayed).
Marvellous cars and so often overlooked. Same engine as mk1 MR2's IIRC.
Loads on autotrader for 500-700 notes.
I'm a bit biased though as it was my first car. But at the time it had a proper curvy fitted dash and velour upholstery and things like rev counters and digital bits, all my mates had pug 309's that didn't even have interiors just bare painted metal inside, or VW's with big bulky square dashboards
Not many cars at that price will have leccy windows, remote cl, pas(after 89), digital fuel economy meter and a nice interior. Plus as a car I bought it with 40k on the clock and gave it away with a full mot(no failures) with 140k on the clock and there was nothing wrong with it other than a rotten wing(which only rotted cos it was damaged and badly sprayed).
Marvellous cars and so often overlooked. Same engine as mk1 MR2's IIRC.
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Originally posted by pinkaardvark
Mk3 Toyota Corolla Twincam 16v GTI. 120bhp out of a 1.6 IIRC. Loads of fun and not too bad interior either. Can be had for pennies these days.
Loads on autotrader for 500-700 notes.
I'm a bit biased though as it was my first car. But at the time it had a proper curvy fitted dash and velour upholstery and things like rev counters and digital bits, all my mates had pug 309's that didn't even have interiors just bare painted metal inside, or VW's with big bulky square dashboards
Not many cars at that price will have leccy windows, remote cl, pas(after 89), digital fuel economy meter and a nice interior. Plus as a car I bought it with 40k on the clock and gave it away with a full mot(no failures) with 140k on the clock and there was nothing wrong with it other than a rotten wing(which only rotted cos it was damaged and badly sprayed).
Marvellous cars and so often overlooked. Same engine as mk1 MR2's IIRC.
sorry, im a bit off topic here.
did a bit of research:
TOYOTA COROLLA GTI 16V 6 1587cc 1987 1992 3 - Petrol Manual insurance: 13
how much did that cost you to insure as your 1st car, at what age was that at aswell please?
Thanks mate
Soldato
Well I got mine in 1996 and I think my first years insurance was £700, second year was £400
Man of Honour
1.8 Turbo or 2.0 twin cam.Originally posted by wohoo
Not really hot hatches, but how about nissan silvia or 200 sx, plenty of me around cheap, i think the silvia was a 1.8 turbo
The Turbo is big fun, very dated looks (especially inside) but who cares, it's a great laugh down the lanes. Easily modded too.
Soldato
Renault 5 GT Turbo without a doubt, with £500 you are hardly going to get a minter but cheap thrills, oh yes 
Soldato
I agree that the R5 turbo would be the fastest and most fun out of the list but for £500 you're gonna get a wreck. They aren't the strongest cars in the world and upping the boost to insane levels is just too tempting.
At best a R5 turbo is gonna be 12 year old and will have been driven hard for those 12 years. People don't buy cars like that to tootle down to Tescos and do the shopping, they buy them to see if the tyres really do come off the rims when you corner at 130mph.
As boring as it might be, I'd got for an 8V Golf GTI.
At best a R5 turbo is gonna be 12 year old and will have been driven hard for those 12 years. People don't buy cars like that to tootle down to Tescos and do the shopping, they buy them to see if the tyres really do come off the rims when you corner at 130mph.
As boring as it might be, I'd got for an 8V Golf GTI.
Soldato
R5 GT Turbo for me, buy it and run it till it falls to pieces then scrap it.
Originally posted by manic_man
fiat uno turbo
HILARIOUS car
Agreed !!!!!
...not many around either, have to think ahead if you're using std brakes though
Mate let his go as px to a dealer for £500 and for it's age it was mint..... fool !
A
Soldato
Originally posted by Dogma
bloody hell there ugly them old Saabs, eugh.
wouldnt really call it a hot hatch either
Well the three doors are hatches, and certainly hot - the old 8v ones are 145bhp/170lbft torque. dunno what the 16v ones are. Styling may not be to everyone's taste but I like em
Wouldn't mind a R5 GTT, they make a mad noise heh, I'll have a look on Autotrader in a bit! Every time I look for Uno Turbo's I aint too successful, very rare nowadays and one which aint rotted costs $$$! Still, funky cars
Those Corollas dont sound too bad, never really thought about them before... will have a nosey around for info on them.
My dad had a 309GTI when I was about 14... pretty quick car, felt nice in the passenger seat on the twisties, but it broke down loads which would put me off a bit. I aint the most mechanical minded of people so something reliable which you can drive hard would be nice. But then again... £500...
Those Corollas dont sound too bad, never really thought about them before... will have a nosey around for info on them.
My dad had a 309GTI when I was about 14... pretty quick car, felt nice in the passenger seat on the twisties, but it broke down loads which would put me off a bit. I aint the most mechanical minded of people so something reliable which you can drive hard would be nice. But then again... £500...
Been having a nosey and the only ones really in 'plentiful' supply for 500 or less are your Golf GTI's, XR3i's, XR2(i)'s, Fiesta 1.6S, Astras and 205 GTI's...
What do people reckon to XR3i's? Bit raw I spose but plenty about to choose from and moderately reliable I'd imagine? If I do get an old banger then I dont wanna spend ages finding one really
What do people reckon to XR3i's? Bit raw I spose but plenty about to choose from and moderately reliable I'd imagine? If I do get an old banger then I dont wanna spend ages finding one really
Soldato
Steer well clear of R5's then.
The Astra GTE 16V would probably be the fastest thing in a straight line
on the list if you didnt include the Integrale (for £500 unlikely). It would take a few "Upgrades" of the R5 GTT before it would be quicker, 115 BHP as opposed to 156 BHP. The Astra has a slightly quicker 0 - 60 than the R5 (but not if you check parkers etc, its a quite common error on these sites to list the 8v 0-60 times for the 16v and thats why they end up with times between 8 - 9 seconds). The official Vauxhall stats at the time were 0 - 60 in 7.2 seconds which was later revised to 6.9 seconds (These figures were for the MKII Astra GTE 16v, the MKIII GSi was a bit slower due to extra weight). The R5 GTT from memory was listed by Renault as having a 0 -60 in 7.2 as well but is quite often quoted around 7.4 - 7.5 Seconds. The Astra MKII was one of the most Aerodynamic cars of its time and this is partially why it went so quickly as well as the fact that it was actually a fairly light car. I've mentioned this before, but it was designed to have 155BHP/Tonne.
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Soldato
Originally posted by melchy
The Astra GTE 16V would probably be the fastest thing in a straight line
Gotta disagree. I've owned and driven both and the 5 wipes the floor with the GTE. The 5 might only be 120BHP as standard (115 was the phase 1 model - C/D reg) but it only weighs <900kg. The 5 certainly shifts as standard but once you up the boost it absolutely flies (free mod BTW).
With only an air filter and slightly increased boost I ran a 14.5 sec 1/4 at Santa Pod, a 16V is around 15.7 IIRC (twas a red hot day too, not good for turbo's)
Put it this way, my current car has just short of 300BHP but if a 5 pulled up besides me I wouldn't be betting on winning, they are rediculously quick little motors.
oh........and the 5 can go round corners too