Alex Unleashed on Cars

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, ...