REMINISCING ABOUT OLD HOT HATCHES
The other day me and a friend were locked in a heated debate about cars. It was a pretty typical pub chat, Vauxhall or Ford. Our discussion however was not an argument about the pros and cons of the RS Focus and the Astra VXR, no we were disputing which out of the Escort RS and Astra GTE was the hot hatch of the 80’s.
We’ve each driven both and arrived, from our respective experiences, at very different conclusions.
My friend is an avid fan of the RS, which boasts a light weight 1.6 8 valve turbo charged engine pushing out 130 BHP. The Escort was a great car around the track, regularly showing up more illustrious vehicles and a favourite among boy racers for a generation.
The Astra GTE by contrast had a 2.0 16 valve 155 BHP monster of an engine, way ahead of it’s time. Purely taking performance figures into consideration it obliterated the RS, 0-60 in 7.3 seconds, top speed 140 MPH. That is not the full story though.
The Ford engine was very tunable. Power outputs of 180 BHP, reliably, have been achieved countless times over, while the Astra engine gets a bit iffy beyond about 175 BHP. The RS definitely had better handling too. So why would I prefer the GTE?
Well theoretically any car can reach any power figure with enough cash thrown at it. I compare the two in their standard form, and for me the GTE wins hands down. The handling may not have been quite as good, but the straight line speed more than made up for this in my view.
Then there is the styling. The RS is not to mention that digital dash which looks very cool, even now.
Tags: debate