We just love hatchbacks.
The 1984 Hyundai Excel 3-door hatchback’s MSRP was just $4995 with room for 5. At the time, it had more standard features than any other car in its class, like an electric rear-window defroster, wall-to-wall carpeting and full size Goodyear steel-belted spare tire. Under the hood was a 1.5 liter overhead-cam engine and front wheel drive. It even came with the “Cross Country Motor Club” membership for road side assistance.
1984 Hyundai Excel
The 1982 1.5s (sport) Ford Laser Hatchback was Ford’s Sports Star that captured the magic of Ford’s performance, value and competition heritage.
Some of the featured equipment included 175/70 low profile radial ply tires, 5″ J steel wheels, sports handling suspension that included a front stabilizer bar and upgraded shock absorbers, 5-speed manual transmission, halogen headlamps, unique black accent treatment and body-side moulding, Super graphic body-side stripe, Right and left remote control exterior mirrors, front mudflaps, stone guard, locking petrol cap, sport fell steering wheel and gear shift, 3-point armrest, driver’s foot rest, unique sports interior with black cloth trim and red accent stripping, deeply contoured separate fold-forward rear seats with recline and adjustable head restraints, automatic return memory on front passenger seat, tachometer, full center console, cut pile carpet, heated rear window and heater with side window demister.
1982 Ford Laser Hatchback
The 1988 Suzuki Swift GTi’s 16 valve, 1.3 liter, twin cam, electronic petrol injection engine delivered 101 PS and reached 0-60 in 8.6 seconds witha top speed of 112 MPH. It had a 5-speed close ratio gearbox, aerodynamic body components, front ventilated disc brakes, 65 profile radials. All for only £6,899.
1988 Suzuki Swift GTi
The $5,500, 1987 Subaru Justy’s 9-valve, 3-cylinder engine achieved 38 mpg city and 41 mpg highway.
1987 Subaru Justy
The 1984 Subaru Hatchback MSRP was $4,989. It got 34 mpg in the city and 45 mpg on the highway.
1984 Subaru Hatchback
The 1980 Peugeot 104s luxury 5-door sports hatchback was powered by a 1360 cc aluminum alloy engine with twin choke carburetor. It’s top speed was around the 100 mph mark and reached 0-60 in just over 10 seconds. It had four wheel independent suspension with front and rear anti-roll bars which made the ride comfortable but swift. The dual circuit power assisted brakes with front discs gave it the assurance of positive, safe braking.
From the outside, the 104S distinguished itself from the crowd with its crisp aerodynamic lines, wide aluminum alloy wheels and racing color paint finish with contrasting sports body stripes and matt black trim.
The inside “sporty” feeling continued with black cloth upholstery trimmed with red or blue stripes and the reclining front seats were fitted with matching head restraints. Electric front windows and tinted glass were all standard, as was the quartz digital clock, radio console and modern touch button controls. All that in a package that gave you 24.5 cu. ft of space with the rear seats folded down.
1980 Peugeot 104s
1986 Merkur XR4Ti from Germany, with an overhead cam turbocharged engine developed 175 horsepower, taking it from 0-60 in 7.8 seconds. The XR4Ti’s independent suspension strikes a perfect balance between aggressive cornering and Grand Touring comfort.
1986 Merkur XR4Ti
A heavily re-designed Volkswagen Scirocco “Mark II” variant went on sale in 1982, although it remained on the A1 platform. One unique feature of the Mark II was the location of the rear spoiler midway up the glass on the rear hatch. A mid-cycle update occurred in 1984, which included minor changes over the 1982 model: removal of the outlined “SCIROCCO” script from the rear hatch (below the spoiler), a redesigned air conditioning compressor, and a different brake master cylinder with in-line proportioning valves and a brake light switch mounted to the pedal instead of on the master cylinder. Full story on Cartype.
1985 Volkswagen Scirocco "White Cat". 1.8-liter gasoline engine with 66 kW/90 bhp, 4+E gearbox, alpine white. (source: Volkswagen)
1987 Lancia Delta accelerated from 0-60 in 7.9 seconds and reached 126 mph. It had alloy wheels, electric front windows, sliding steel sunroof and could be had for under £6,500.
1987 Lancia Delta
1984 Isuzu Impulse attributes included power windows, power mirrors, power steering, 4-wheel disc brakes, cruise control, tilt steering wheel with memory, tinted glass, AM/FM stereo radio, I-Tec computer controlled fuel injection and alloy wheels. Of course, for comfort, there’s the air conditioning, reclining bucket seats in the front and reclining bucket shaped seats in the back. all on deep pile carpeting. It even had a remote controlled hatch release and fuel filler lid. There was a total of 55 standard features, but also had the option of an automatic transmission.
But wait, you want something special? There was also the 1984 Isuzu Impulse Special Edition that was limited to 3000 units and came in Charcoal Metallic, gold striping, bronze tinted glass, gold turbine wheels, special interior and sound system.
1984 Isuzu Impulse
1984 Isuzu Impulse Special
The 1989 Isuzu I-Mark RS retailed for $9359. It came with a twin cam 16-valve fuel-injected engine that delivered 125 horsepower and redlined at 7800 rpm. It took the RS from 0-60 in 8.1 seconds.
1989 Isuzu I-Mark RS
The 1980 Ford Fiesta Sport was advertised as the little front wheel drive car that came from Germany and was voted the most significant import of the year in 1978 by readers of Car & Driver magazine. Rolling of Michelin steel belted radials, it reached 26 mpg in the city and 38 on the highway. The Fiesta was assemble by Ford in Germany.
1980 Ford Fiesta Sport.
in 1981, Ford introduced the Escort as “The New World Car”. It had an EPA of 30 MPG city and 40 MPG on the highway. It had the new-design compound valve hemispherical head (CVH) engine and came with front-wheel drive, four-wheel fully independent suspension, rack-and-pinion steering, stabilizer bar, new all season steel-belted radials and other road-control features.
1981 Ford Escort
The 1980 Citroen GSA had something that was unique to Citroen: hydropneumatic, self-leveling suspension. Instantly, when a blow-out occurs, this system compensates for the shift in the balance of the car, so it could be steered and driven almost as though nothing had happened. This 5-door hatchback had a 1300 cc engine and was mated to a 5-speed gearbox making it capable of 100 mph.
1980 Citroen GSA
