We LOVE our tiny nuggets. From our turbo 4x4 Mira (CLICK HERE) to the mega-honkalicious Nissan March Superturbo (CLICK HERE), or MOOG's JDM Mini (CLICK HERE) through to our amazing Honda City Turbo II (CLICK HERE), we've sampled some of Japan's best tiny nuiggets (not to mention the turbo Kei truck, Curores, Midget utes and more!).
But there's a whole world of other small nuggets which we can get behind, even if we haven't had the chance - yet! We reckon some of the below cars are absolutely brilliant rigs to pick up for a world of different reasons: some are cheap, common cars you can build up, others are older classics, but they're all cool, small(ish) cars with bulk charm.
EDITOR'S NOTE: there are heaps of cars I've left off this list because they're too rare, require too much work to make them in some way interesting, or I couldn't get good images to illlustrate here. Some of these include the Mazda SP20, R50-series Mini John Cooper Works, Honda Integra DC5 Type S, Alfa Romeo 147 GTA, and the MX-5 SE (turbo).
RENAULT CLIO WILLIAMS
I can hear the Japanese car fans recoiling in horror at suggesting a European car, especially a French car, but real recognises real, kids. Renault has gifted us a bunch of killer hot hatches over the years, and one of the all-time greats - right up there with the Mk2 Golf GTI and Peugeot 205 GTI - is the Clio Williams. This homologation special came about in the early 90s as a way to make the Clio legal for Group A and Group N rallying.
Based off the already-sauced 16-valve Clio, which came on the heels of the epic Renault 5 Turbo Group B racer, the Clio Williams boasted a power-to-weight ratio of 110kW-per-tonne... and the engine made 108kW... so this featherweight hatch had all the bones to dethrone the car many believe to be the ultimate 80s hot hatch: the Peugeot 205 GTi.
With a specially-built 2.0-litre NA four-cylinder, tuned suspension and a sweet bodykit the 1993 Clio Williams did move the hot hatch game on for the 1990s. Sure, the Williams name on the car was all about marketing the fact Renault supplied the F1 champions engines, but the Clio (engineered in-house by Renaultsport) which bore the badge is regarded today as a bona fide driver's classic up there with the E30 M3 and Escort Cosworth.
It began a line of hot Clios which continue today and include some absolute bangers like the Trophy and Cup models. Surely the ultimate would be the mid-engined, rear-drive V6 Clio that was hand-made over 2 series and is already considered a classic today.
FORD FIESTA ST (AND BONUS)
One of the best-driving superminis (ie: smaller than a "compact" hot hatch like a Golf or Focus) the Ford Fiesta ST redefined how much fun a hatchback car could be. While many motoring journalists (myself included) got caught up fawning over the "reborn" Golf GTi with the fifth-generation VW, Ford used the early 2000s Fiesta XR4 to remind us what an epic history they have in small cars - Lotus Cortina, Escort RS/Twin Cam/Mexico models, Fiesta XR2... and so many others.
When they brought out the turbocharged 1.6-litre Fiesta ST in 2011, as part of the 6th-generation Fiesta range launched in 2008, few were paying attention. However, when these epic little hatchbacks started dive-bombing Evos at trackdays (and local roundabouts) people began to pay attention.
They're nicely finished, if not as plush as a continental European offering like a VW or Peugeot, but the base Ford engineering in the performance variants is solid.
BONUS FORD: THE FOCUS XR5
I'm chucking this one in as a bonus purely for the noise. The warbling scream of a 20-valve turbo DOHC five-cylinder is worth spending a king's ransom chasing, and the Ford Focus XR5, using a Volvo-sourced "whiteblock" engine, is worth grabbing purely for the aural naughtiness.
Their luggage space sucks. The handling isn't amazing. Reliability is probably going to be a concept for your more sensible relatives who purchased late-model Toyotas. But you won't care once you put a loud intake and exhaust on, and relish that epic Group B Audi soundtrack.
VAUXHALL/HOLDEN ASTRA SRi TURBO
Ok, so this will cause a lot of head scratching because the garden variety TS-series Astra is a horrible, slow, soggy thing typically found in the well-used nappies of babies. Ahem. But, in 2003 Australia got a taste of a fun, turbo front-drive performance variant called the SRi Turbo. With a turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder putting 147kW through the front wheels through a five-speed manual gearbox it wasn't the most-visceral hot hatch or engaging drive on the market (we had Evos in showrooms at this time), but it wasn't a terrible drive either.
It's unfortunate a lot of Aussies don't look past the Commodore models when thinking of Holden performance cars, because there have been some great - if flawed - cars sold Down Under by Holden that are rich with character. Even the first-generation manual V6 Vectra hatchbacks could turn a surprising heel of speed, despite their build quality not being great.
The ultimate go-fast four-cylinder Holden would be the HSV Astra VXR, which hit around 2008. These rare three-doors had 177kW which hit the front-wheels, but there were big-brakes, upgraded handling, brakes, and interior too.
PEUGEOT 306 S16 & GTI-6
Sure, we had a super-budget base-model 206 Peugeot in our Cash vs Trash series (CLICK HERE) but there are far better, spicier offerings from this French brand's deep-cuts. The motorsport legends were riding high in the early 90s with the legacy of the all-conquering 205 GTi, Group B rally domination, Le Mans wins and more. Early in the 1990s the 106 GTi and Rallye models offered bulk driving thrills in a tiny package - and are still worth chasing down today - but while they're engaging like trying to eat a kebab while racing a gokart, I personally think the forgotten nugget Peugeots we need to give a shoutout to (not including my favourite, the 405 Mi16) are the 306 S16 and GTi-6 models.
Powered by a twin-cam 2.0-litre NA four-cylinder driving the front-wheels these Pugs were bigger and heavier than the 106 or 205, but they're still cracking drives and their far-improved interiors and quality of assembly meant they didn't squeak and rattle over bumps like a mouse being beaten severely with a maraca. They also gave us the epic 306 Maxi rally car that used its light weight to beat the AWD turbo WRC monsters in tarmac rallying!
The S16 was the 3-door with a 5-speed and slightly less power than the updated, 5-door and 6-speed-equipped GTi-6 but either are worth picking up if you're after a very different ride to hit your local cars 'n' coffee in... or mechanic.
TOYOTA COROLLA SPORTIVO
It seems like Australia has had more performance twin-cam Corollas than beer taps in pubs, so why would we have one of these near-ubiquitous machines on our list? Because "Corolla" has become a byword for "whitegood" today, and you can get one that's under 40-years-old that'll rev to over 8000rpm and can be built into a good thing.
Now, the enormous grey pachyderm occupying space next to you on the lounge is that the base 2003 Corolla Sportivo isn't a good car. It's a terrible hot hatch. But, it's got GREAT bones. The 1.8-litre, 141kW 2ZZ-GE engine was fettled by Yamaha, who also did the 1JZ and 2JZ so you know they understand how to make Toyotas party.
The Sportivo needs better seats, suspension, wheels, brakes and shifter... golly, that sounds a bit like an episode of our favourite suburban modified car fans, doesn't it? So yes, you can get these cars easily, cheaply, and build them into great little performers.
If you're after a deep-cut look for one of the 2001 Corolla Sportivo Turbo models! Boasting a 115kW 7A-FTE four-cylinder this gold-only five door failed to cut in on the "sport compact" craze as everyone who was interested with that style of car had a PlayStation and a copy of Gran Turismo, so we all knew Toyota had better stuff in Japan they were refusing to import. And we don't take kindly to manufacturers dogging the boys...
VOLKSWAGEN MK5 POLO GTI
Ok, ok, so Marty hated his Mk4 example, but the Mk5 is vastly improved to the point that one of the most-fun driving days of my 25-year-long career as a motoring journalist was in one of these cars on a go-kart track in Sydney. Light, small, dynamic, but well-finished and with an interior quality finish that shames Japanese car manufacturers, the Mk5 Polo GTi is way closer in spirit to the original Golf GTIs than the model which hosts the badge.
If you're after something rarer, with more weight and heft but very collectable, then consider the Mk4 R32 Golf. These all-wheel-drive, NA 3.2-litre V6 special editions were limited to 5000 units worldwide (200 in Australia) and were all hand-built. They're not as razor-sharp as a similar year model STI Impreza or Evo, but their cabins are much, much nicer places to be and, on B-roads, the torque from the V6 means you're not wanting for power against the turbo 2.0-litres.
