Alex Unleashed on Cars

  When you say Subaru to someone, chances are they think of the Impreza, the high flying turbocharged rally machine. And rightfully so, the Impreza Turbo and later WRX & STi models defined an era of ultimate bang for your buck performance. And yet, after 10 years, something happened, the usual fanfare and praise for the hot Impreza fizzled out, it was just more of the same, the same old same old Impreza. But back when the Turbo 2000 first hit UK shores it was a revelation, here was a humdrum saloon (or 5-door hatch or estate) with 208 BHP, could hit 0-60 in a confirmed 5.2 seconds, top out at 140 MPH all for less than £20,000 and that infamous flat-four engine note, it was one of the all-time greats of the 90s a real era defining car. And if perhaps you hadn't being paying attention to the car magazines then just one year later Subaru took the WRC title with the late great Colin McRae at the wheel which propelled the Subaru Impreza to a new level of stardom, here was a car now ...

The Citroen Xsara is generally seen as a sub-bar offering from Citroen, at a time when Citroen were trading their quirky and unique image for a more mainstream and sales friendly image. The Xsara is disliked mainly for its boring looks and for being very middle of the road, not overly exciting or revolutionary, just satisfactory. But I say the VTS coupe is actually a very good car and one of the best hot hatches of the late 90s. It uses the same 2 litre 167 BHP 4-cylinder engine as the Peugeot 306 GTi-6, but the Xsara is faster as it has a 5-speed gearbox as opposed to the Peugeot’s 6-speed, this allows it to do 0-60 in 7.7 seconds, faster even than the VW Golf GTi mk4, Rover 200 BRM and the Alfa 145 Cloverleaf. It will also top out at 137 MPH, which for the 90s was at the top of the pile in terms of performance save for the bonkers Clio V6 and the various Group A homologation specials. In the corners, the Xsara VTS was praised for having sharp brakes and steering whilst being less twi...

Since it has been 3 years since I got my first car I decided to write up a big long-term review on what life is like with my car covering all areas of driving and owning this vehicle.  Driving On the road the Fiesta is a joy to drive indeed. The 1.4 Zetec engine gave 79 BHP new, and it certainly feels like it still has 79 BHP, overtaking even in 4th or 5th gear isn’t as difficult as you’d think. But it’s in the corners where the Fiesta really shines. On sweeping bends, it feels stable and the lack of body roll in corners just encourages you to keep on driving with enthusiasm and the steering is nicely weighted as well, the words poised and balanced describe this cars handling perfectly. The gearbox is also fantastic, it has a nice firm action that encourages you to drop a cog and give it some welly out of bends, it’s also a nice and tall lever rather than short and low down, you know where it is aand can shift gears effortlessly. Then there’s the brakes, their strong and the pedal ...

The 90s were a quiet period for hot hatchbacks, after sky high insurance premiums killed off the likes of the Escort Cosworth and Delta Integrale, manufacturers made their cars more understated and milder compared to what had come before. Except Renault, who decided to shoehorn a 3 litre V6 from the Laguna into a Clio to create the ultimate hot hatchback. The Clio V6 was first made as a race car with it being the successor to the Sport Spider one-make series. With road cars being made afterwards. The early Phase 1 cars ('00- spring '03) were made with help from TWR who’d been behind all of Jaguar’s racing efforts and the Nissan R390 GT1. The car itself would be made in the same Swedish factory as the Volvo C70 which was also made with help from TWR. The later Phase 2 cars as they’re known (summer '03 – '05) were made solely by Renault in France with a little help from Porsche tuning the engine. Now Renault had done a similar trick before, sticking an enormous Garret tur...

I know I’m normally positive here, singing the graces of cars but today I wanted to do something different as I have a lot to say about the Fiat Stilo and how it partially put Fiat into trouble in the early 2000s. The Stilo was the replacement for the Brava/o and whilst that pair had brought some flair to the normally dull family car sector the pair had ultimately become old hat compared to the new Focus, Golf mk4 etc. So, Fiat decided to model their car on the Golf, and why not? It’s a very good car that’s solidly built and offers a good range of models. Fiat even went as far as to use the same suspension set up as the Golf MK4 (semi-independent torsion beam) instead of the fully independent rear suspension that had been used by it’s predecessors and the brilliant Fiat Coupe which along with a 50KG weight disadvantage over the equivalent Ford Focus along with soft springs and dampers meant copying the Golf’s homework had meant it was simply not as nice to drive as said Focus. It did p...

50. Peugeot 106 GTi (1997-2004)- Possibly one of the best hot hatchbacks of its time, looks smart and has good performance even compared to the bigger 306 GTI-6, but where’s the aircon? 49. Fiat Panda (2004-2012)- The Panda was a giant leap forward over the old Seicento, simple and funky and with the hot 100 HP version its also a cheap junior hot hatch. Genuinely turned Fiats fortunes around. 48. Skoda Yeti (2011-2024)- I like Skodas, but not their drivers. Anyways, the Yeti is a highly capable car, maybe not a driver’s car but it’s practical, solid, good off-road and quirky. Pity the restyle took away the funky lights. Plain and simple engineering. 47. Nissan 200SX (1994-2001)- A fantastic coupe of the 90s. Rear-wheel drive and packing a healthy turbo motor that can get it to 60 in 6.8 seconds and a facelift brought some more aggressive styling too. 46. Aston Martin Vantage (1993-2000)- Aston’s flagship was always called a dinosaur but the “Rolls-Royce with attitude” suits it better, ...