Here are five extremely cool used classic hot hatches we found for sale

Renault powered the Williams Formula One team back in the day, dontchaknow. And the Williams Formula One team had… absolutely zero involvement in this Clio. Didn’t need it – Renault knows a thing or two about brilliant little hatches, and injected its humble city car with 150 very enthusiastic horses and brilliant gold wheels.

Look! Gold wheels and a Clio for under £19k

Speaking of ‘oh-god-it’s-lifting-off-again’, we of course have to mention Renault’s neighbours, Peugeot. The French carmaker’s been up and down, but before it was down, it was very, very up. And this one got pretty sideways, too. It came with either a 1.6-litre four-pot or the more desirable 1.9-litre, but both were crackers.

And would you look at that, here’s a 1.9 GTI in red

That’s right, we’re pulling out all the old records today, and this well-worn one’s scratched its way into the collective Top Gear heart. And yours, too. It’s the Mk2 Golf GTI! A stone-cold classic with clean lines, brilliant wheels, a lovely interior and the choice of a 1.8-litre four-pot or 2.0-litre. 

We’ve of course found a 2.0-litre, because Golf GTI Mk2

You’d buy it for the gearchange alone. This boxy-looking hot hatch was devoid of any styling flair, but blessed with one of the best naturally-aspirated four-pot engines built by talented human hands. That screaming VTEC piped in 197 horsies at 7,400rpm, yo. Just be careful about lifting off in the middle of a corner.

Here’s a minter for under £10k

From an era where Ford had, let’s say ‘challenging’ ideas about interior dash design, and when it absolutely knew how to set up a chassis, comes this firecracker: the 212bhp Mk1 RS. A rorty 2.0-litre, mechanical diff, manual gearbox, all the japes. Get one, and hold on tight.

Be the coolest person in your hot hatch crew with this blue one for less than £19k