I’m looking to get a old school motor, late 80’s early 90’s. For some reason I love the boxyness of the cars around then.

One car I keep going back to is the Nissan sunny ZX either engines 1.6/1.8 twin cam.

I want to keep it N/A and twin cam if possible. Also looked at old primeras..

What am I missing from the Europe boys? Keeping in mind a limited budget of £800 tops..

TIA

Sparx

I’d go for a VW Corrado. Sold mine back in 2001 and regret doing so. Unbelievable car to drive, but I guess it is whatever flicks your switch looks wise.

old Saab. P’raps not normally aspirated, but still fun..

You want boxy?

1981 FORD CORTINA MKV ‘2.0’ V8 GHIA SALOON by bramm77, on Flickr

What about this?…

old english beast

You could fit the bike in the back too!

I have a Volvo 480 and it’s ace. I can’t say why because a certain Mr Hammond stole my line about it in last week’s Top Gear…but it might be something to do with pop up lights.

Mine’s a turbo so not exactly what you’re after but it’s fun, drives lovely and looks good. I won’t mention the electronics though, mine’s is mostly ok but others do seem to suffer.

VW Corrado, save up a bit more and if you can get a VR6. 2.9, 190bhp from a light car 0-60 just over 6 seconds !

I picked up a ’95 Passat estate recently. It’s ace. Cheap to fix, pretty cheap to run and somehow manages to stand out

mk ii golf. 1.4cl. best car ever made

I do like that passat, perfect toy wagon too

I’d say MX5 but it’s not boxy, a lot of fun though

MK1 MR2 (AW11)

Best of all, you can get a bike in the passenger seat, wheels off though.

Audi Coupe (quatro Stylee)
Mk 1 Astra GTE
Fiat X 19
Early celica,this style

They’re 70s…nice though

charliemungus +100000000000000000000

the most fun in a car!

+1 for a Corrado. I had a Mk2 Golf 16v in the 90s but my brother’s Corrado VR6 completely blew it away.

Realistically though, they were thirsty, expensive and very troublesome.

MR2 (pre Car Magazine front page sideways shenanigans) is a good bet, if it were me it would be a Mk 2 Golf again.

Scirocco

Bluebird 2.0 Estate, nuff said

Scirocco rocks! Unless you need to brake quickly…I always wanted one, still do.

Mk1s are lovely

mk1 nissan micra things just keep going on and on and on like ariston.

80s/90s Saab 900 – bulletproof engineering and build quality (which is why you still see so many around), a hoot to drive and oodles of space in the back of the hatch (I’ve slept in the back of one of my old 900s with the rear seats down, and I’m 6’+)

Jap.
Mazda 323F GT 1989 to 93.
Fabulous car, and easily within your budget. Faster than the MX5 and 5 door practicality! Wish I’d never sold it! 🙁
Only thing about old Japs is rust…..mechanicals are usually bulletproof.

Euro.
Audi 80 Estate, or a 100 CC if you can find one. 😀

Old cars are so much cooler.

boxy ?

Alfa 75

Granada 2.9i SCorpio Estate

Forget the rest

saw an old silver scirocco earlier.looked immaculate.

309 GTi / Goodwood.

My old man is thinking of selling his Goodwood
CPI my

How about a Toyota Corolla GT? Mate at uni had one & I seem to remember it being quite an interesting car.

http://www.performance-car-guide.co.uk/corolla-gt.html

Granada 2.9i SCorpio Estate

My dad had one of those, for a barge it was insanely rapid.

E30 3-Series Touring

Corrados are lovely, but the parts are expensive because lots of them are unique to the model, plus the VR6 needs – sort of – new timing chains at around 120,000 or so, which is very expensive and there are a lot of common gliches – sun roof mechanisms seize and break. Cooling system on the VR6 is marginal. I know, I own one. And they’re more curvy than boxy…

If you like the styling but aren’t bothered for performance, have a look at the rare-ish 2.0 8-valve version, a bit under powered but very economical and simple, reliable engine.

.. on the boxy side of things, a nice Mk 2 Golf GTi is worth a look, but you won’t find much that’s decent for around £800.

+1 for the Corrado. And ignore this talk of the inherent little foibles, they make the ownership interesting and give the car it’s personality! Besides, once you open it up and hear the VR6 growl you’ll instantly forget that you’re nearly bankrupt…… And when you hit 60ish (if it still works) the spoiler raises up automatically! Seriously though, great car, and if you choose carefully you should be alright. And you can easily get two bikes in the back! You will struggle to find a loved one for £800 though…..

Until this moment the 309 GTi and Goodwood are still considered by many as one of the best handling Front wheel drive cars ever made.

INteresting…I’d only heard that said about the Lotus Elan M100 before. More wedgy than bosy, but I still want one: