By the mid-1980s hot hatches had a acquired a firm position in the marketplace and any self-respecting vehicle manufacturer in Europe offered one. The Golf was widely considered to be the benchmark choice, yet those in the market for a practical and entertaining compact car were spoilt for choice. Here are five of the main contenders from around 1986-87, albeit in 1/43 scale. Let's see how they stacked up against one another according to the car magazines of the time! Surely, no one could beat Volkswagen at their own game. Or could they?
And which would be your choice?
#1 - The default choice
Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk II (model by Maxichamps, nr. 940 054120)
The first-generation Golf GTI played a major role in popularizing the hot hatch genre. It definitely wasn't the first of its kind, but Volkswagen perfected the recipe of affordable fun in a practical hatchback. The Golf GTI was soon seen by many as the best hot hatch. To this day, the Golf GTI can be considered the benchmark, a class-defining vehicle. As Motor Sport magazine wrote at the introduction of the second-generation Golf GTI in 1984, the Golf GTI was still seen as "the top car of this increasing cult in very quick, sporting modest-sized cars".
So the second-generation Golf GTI had some large shoes to fill. The progress made by the "cooking" versions of the Mk II Golf - a more refined and grown-up car compared to the nimble Mk I - would not necessarily translate in advantages for the GTI. The Mk II's greater weight and sturdier build meant the Mk II GTI may not have lost any of its coolness, but definitely some of its vigour and agility. In 1987, at the introduction of the more powerful but also considerably more expensive 16V variant of the Golf GTI (with 129hp instead of 107hp), Motor magazine wrote: "A number of contenders have eroded [the standard GTI's] advantage to the point where its considerable all-round ability is barely enough to keep it ahead". It continued: "the German car is [being] caught on the unfashionable side of 8 seconds for the 0-60 mph sprint".
However, even in its more powerful 16V guise, the Golf GTI struggled to fend off new competition. In direct battle with the Peugeot 309 GTI described below, Motor magazine noted in June 1987 that the Golf, normally considered the "established paragon of chassis competence", can feel "imprecise and unrewarding after the Peugeot and has to concede in ride comfort, too". Although the Golf remained a superb all-rounder with "a better standard of build and finish" it was no longer reigning supreme. It was still "a very civilised way of going remarkably fast in a refined car of moderate size" (Motor Sport Magazine, Sept-1984) but increasingly at risk of being outpaced and outhandled by the competition.
#2 - The challenger
Peugeot 309 GTI (model by Norev, nr. 473908)
In 1987 the Peugeot 309 GTI was one of the main challengers to the Golf GTI's crown as best hot hatch. In the 1980s Peugeot was in the midst of an impressive resurgence. As Motor Sport magazine wrote in April 1987 at the introduction of the 309 GTI, "the resurgence of the Peugeot name has been an impressive phenomenon lately, with the handsome 205 in the vanguard".
The 309 has not grown to become quite the same icon as the smaller 205. At the time, Motor magazine wrote aptly: "Though the Peugeot [309] looks modern, its notchback shape has a less styled-as-a-whole look about it". Car journalists at Motor Sports agreed: "The 309 is not in the same league for visual appeal [as the 205], despite the common front end (...) The 205 is a truly handsome little car, but the boot and heavy rear window of its three-box brother (i.e. the 309) sit a little oddly". On a more positive note, Motor Sports magazine appreciated the neat sporty addenda on the 309 GTI: "It is not a new recipe; this overtly sporting package has smart alloy wheels, deeper airdam-type bumpers and side-strips, a rear spoiler, spot and fog-lamps, a special steering wheel, and sport seats — all those items which are expected in the apparently ever-expanding sports-hatch market." In my view, the sporty add-ons made the 309 GTI more flamboyant than the perhaps too understated Golf.
Despite reservations on the looks, the 309 GTI was very enthusiastically received by the motoring press. Motor Sport concluded its verdict as the 309 being "a package which is strong in performance and refinement, but perhaps lacking in style". In direct confrontation with the Golf GTI 16V and Vauxhall Astra GTE, Motor magazine went even further: "The 309 is deliciously responsive and agile with the best grip of all yet the most delicately adjustable cornering balance." It concluded: "The 309 GTI isn't just better value [than the Golf] but a better car."
#3 - The rally icon
Lancia Delta HF Turbo (model by DeAgostini)
Model shown is the four-wheel-drive HF Turbo Integrale
Those who would consider a VW Golf or Peugeot 309 perhaps too mainstream could find a great alternative in the Lancia Delta HF Turbo. For about the same money, this would give you a more exclusive car with the type of combined style and substance perhaps only the Italians can pull off quite so convincingly. And with various rally titles to its name, the Delta had true pedigree none of its rivals could match. Perhaps the abominable reputation of Lancia in the 1980s is to blame for the Delta not being a lot more popular that it deserved to be. Truly bad cars such as the Lancia Gamma and Beta - and worst of all the Trevi.. - in the 1970s had tarnished Lancia's image. By the mid-1980s the cars were a lot better but the reputation still in tatters.
The Delta, however, received laudable reviews in the motoring press. In June 1985, Motor Sport magazine wrote: "the present Lancia Delta HF Turbo is a very fine little car, of highly impressive performance and good road manners." They applauded the dual nature of the car: "If the driver so chooses, this Delta Turbo can be a veritable road-burner, yet is a comfortable family-type car."
Although some quirks and quality issues surfaced in Motor Sport's test - e.g. "the handbrake was reluctant to hold on hills" - positive sentiments dominated: "To its very impressive performance the Lancia Delta couples handling qualities that make driving it a rare pleasure." The interior also got top marks for the "neatness of instruments and controls" and "the Recaro rally-type" front seats which were judged to be "comfortable and supportive, with built-in soft headrests and upholstery of Italian wool-fabric. "All in all, they concluded that the "Lancia Delta HF Turbo puts a real slice of fun into family-car motoring without losing the desirable qualities of comfort and flexibility".
#4 - The boxer
Alfa Romeo 33 1.7 Quadrifoglio Verde (model by Pego, nr. 1001)
Model shown is no a second-gen 1.7 QV as described but a humble first-gen 1.3
In the hot hatch class the Alfa Romeo 33 presented a substantially cheaper offering compared to the rivals above, with only minor shortfalls in sheer performance compared to the Golf, 309 and Delta, and the characterfully sounding boxer engine thrown in as a bonus. It may have been a sheer necessity to undercut rivals in price, as - just like Lancia's - Alfa Romeo's reputation lay pretty much in ruins.
Motor Sport magazine was, however, quite hopeful in 1987 that the recently updated 33 could turn the tides: "Alfa Romeo has not had a happy time in Britain throughout the past five years, with sales declining remorselessly. But with new management both in Italy and in the UK, and improving products, it looks as though the tide will turn in 1987. One of the reasons for the saga was a reluctance among former Alfasud owners to take the 33 model to their hearts. Introduced four years ago, it lacked all the ingredients of the Sud except, perhaps, its proneness to rust. The launch of the “second generation” Alfa Romeo 33 should put heart back into the range. The 1.5-litre and, especially, 1.7-litre versions just launched in Britain are lusty performers, and quiet too when cruising at high speeds. They are what you would call driver’s cars, full of Italian brio, comfortably out-performing the beloved Sud Ti while offering better build, more spacious interiors and greater room for luggage". It concluded the 33 was an enthusiast car, "worthy of the Alfa Romeo badge".
#5 - The wildcard
Volvo 480 ES (model by Premium X, nr. PRD437)
Model shown is a Volvo 480 Turbo
The wildcard in this quintet of hot hatches is the Volvo 480. Apart from its eccentric design, it was substantially more expensive than the other four cars and much slower. It was not really a hatch but rather a sort of shooting brake, and not very hot either. Motor Sport magazine agreed the Volvo 480 was a car that was a bit difficult to place...
"Somehow the 480 ES sits a little uncomfortably in Volvo’s range. If there is one manufacturer which has pressed the safety message home, making it the strongest selling point of all, it has been Volvo. Solid, safe, dependable — and that was just the styling. Yet now comes the first sportingly-styled Volvo since the [P1800 in the] 1960s] (...) and it is fitted with the lowest-power engine in the range. The official line is that the car should not be compared directly with out and out sportscars, [but] if so, what sector is it aiming for?"
Odd market positioning aside, the 480 ES did not exactly convince the journalists of its intrinsic qualities. "Output from the engine, which derives from Volvo’s collaboration with French giant Renault, is 109bhp at a noisy 5800rpm, together with torque which hovers somewhere around the 100 lb ft mark at a comparatively high 4000 revs — not impressive characteristics for a 1.7-litre injected engine. These figures are more comparable to a Ford Orion 1.6i than the sort of car which the Volvo seems to be aimed at, given its [high] price tag, and the unit is if anything less refined than the Ford (...). Lacking urge at the bottom end, the revs need to be kept high in order to use what performance there is, and the penalty is noticeable roughness and an increasingly rowdy noise as the power peak is approached. That might be acceptable if there was some sparkle to be found somewhere in the rev range, but it feels bland and flaccid."
Ouch. They do find a few positive things to say: "for a front-wheel drive car, the little Volvo turns in obediently" and "the chassis feels better balanced than many FWD cars, (...) and can be threaded through faster corners with spirit; it is also very stable in cross-winds." Yet, overall, the judgement seems to be one of style over substance.
My favourite is definitely the Lancia Delta!