The Car That Got Away: Nineties and Noughties

Cars of the nineties and noughties kept our noses squashed against showroom windows, whether you yearned for the rally-charged roar of the Subaru Impreza or the sleek styling of the Audi TT.

Now Hitachi Personal Finance wants your help with its mission to find Britain’s greatest lost car love.  

Check out the above gallery showcasing the most lusted-after cars of the nineties and noughties that your wallet just couldn’t quite stretch to. Once your eyes are fully feasted and you’ve found your Car That Got Away, use the links at the bottom to vote.

And thanks to a competition from Hitachi Personal Finance and Top Gear magazine (published by Immediate Media in the UK), everyone who votes will be entered in a draw to win £10,000, giving you the chance of never seeing another car slip through your fingers. The competition is open to UK residents only. 

This will conclude the misty-eyed trip down memory lane, so look out soon for the big moment when Britain’s greatest lost car of all time is announced. 

Click here to cast your vote

Hitachi Personal Finance has been voted the UK’s Best Direct Loan Provider and it’s easy to see why. With some of the lowest rates on the market, you can borrow between £2,500 and £25,000 at rates as low as 3.8% and the funds could be in your account with 48 hours. 

Negotiating is always easier with the money in your hand, so you’ll be in a great position to get the deal you want for the car you just have to have. 

It was a rally replica for the road with arguably the most famous spoiler in history (although it would go even faster if you removed it). It was also one of the most uninsurable cars ever, not just because it was a supercar-killer, but because it was always being nicked by joyriders.

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You could study for a degree in Subaru’s naming policy and still be confused by all the letters and numbers assigned to hot Imprezas. But this is the one that really sticks in the mind – the original WRX STI from 1994, made famous on the world’s rally stages by Colin McRae.

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An Italian coupe designed by Pininfarina with the option of a hearty V6 up front? Lovely. So you would look longingly at these things in the classifieds, examine your bank account in forensic detail, then buy a Fiat Coupe because it looked a bit similar and didn’t cost as much.

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An all-wheel-drive, turbocharged and highly tuneable rally car for the road. Based on the Lancer, a dull domestic saloon, the first Evo was launched in 1992, but things really got going with the Evo IV in 1996. You couldn’t afford one though, and settled for some replica mudflaps instead.

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The E36 was the first M3 to get a straight-six, which is why it sat near the top of your first-car wishlist. The more powerful Evo versions were even better, but none of this matters because you’d have to make do with gluing an ‘M’ badge to whatever BMW you could actually afford.

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It was launched in ’98 but forged its reputation in the following decade. The Mk1 became an instant classic thanks to its famous Bauhaus styling, and infamous handling foibles that lead to the introduction of a fixed rear spoiler. That didn’t stop you wanting one, though…

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It might have had only four cylinders, but it could rev to a frankly ridiculous 9,000rpm. So it arguably had one of the finest naturally-aspirated four-pots ever, and what’s more, its power was sent to the rear wheels via a limited slip differential. The noughties wouldn’t have been the same without it.

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The Clio V6 was the spiritual successor to the fiery Re­nault 5 Turbo. In other words, it was a sensible hatchback with all the sensible bits removed to make room for an engine in the middle of the car. And that’s why you ended up with the more rational Renault Sport 172, right?

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After the fast Sierras and Escorts of the 80s and 90s, the RS badge screeched into the Noughties with this, the Focus. It was, and still is, a legend among hot hatches, but even if you couldn’t get your hands on one, the bog-standard Focus was still a great budget alternative.

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A two-seater, rear-wheel-drive coupe with a thumping 3.5-litre V6 up front, the 350Z was a sort of Japanese muscle car. Not the sort of thing you’d jump into after passing your test, unless your driving instructor taught you the noble art of looking-where-you’re-going-out-of-the-side-windows.

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