In my close to 15 years of driving experience, I've changed plenty of cars. From a '88 Volvo 740 2.0L turbocharged beast that was so un-aerodynamic, you felt like you were driving a hearse, but oh Lordy me, once the turbo hit, you felt like the king of the road. To a '05 Subaru Legacy (actually, six deadbeat Subarus throughout the 15 years - from Imprezas to Foresters) - an irrational love of mine - most of them were made in the glorious '90s. Now, I might be prone to some irrational nostalgia considering cars from the period, but to me, nothing beats an old stripped-to-basics vehicle that's as predictable as your 10th re-run of The Office.
And boy, did my cars and I go on some adventures! From abandoning my refrigerator-white Volvo v90 stuck to its arches in a bog and wading to the nearest homestead some 5 kilometers through uninhabited fields on an Easter evening to fixing my bugeye Impreza of its ailments by slamming the hood down as hard as I could (it always helped - except for a manifestation of a rusted-out hole in its floor), the '90s cars will always mean adventure to me. Although, in all honesty, I'm so old-school when it comes to cars that the first time I saw an SOS button inside a Volkswagen, I burst into a laughing fit - why would anybody want their vehicle to call for help? You either do it all yourself (yep, including the driving part), or woe is you.
By now, you might be pretty confident of your narrator's stance toward '90s cars, but if my words aren't witness enough, I've prepared a whole list of the best '90s cars for you! From the Audi 100 (lovingly called a herring where I'm from) to such beauties as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo and a Ford Sierra Rs500 sporting the rare as hen's teeth Cosworth engine, you'll find all of the winter-beaters, whale-sized town cars, rally beasts, and every notable vehicle that came from the '90s. And to make it even better, I talked to the creators and organizers of the Rat Race rally - the whole premise of which is to complete a 1000km race with a car that costs as little as possible (say 500 EUR), so '90s cars are the top choice for most of the contestants. And you don't even have to be a professional to compete! So scroll down below to see what the Rat Race crew has told me about the race, '90s cars, and their adventures!
This post may include affiliate links.
1990 Acura Legend Coupe
Audi 100 Sedan
1990 Audi 100 Sedan Quattro
1990 Audi 200 Sedan
1990 Audi 200 Station Wagon Quattro
1990 Audi 80 Coupe
Audi 90 Coupe
Audi 80 Sedan
Audi 90 Sedan
Audi Coupe Quattro
Buick Century Coupe
1990 Audi V8
Buick Century Sedan
Buick Century Station Wagon
Buick Electra Coupé
Buick Electra Sedan
Buick Estate
Buick Lesabre Coupe
1990 Buick Lesabre Sedan
Buick Reatta Convertible
1990 Buick Reatta Coupe
Buick Regal Coupe
Buick Regal Sedan
Buick Riviera
1990 Buick Skylark Coupé
1990 Buick Skylark Sedan
Eagle Talon
Ford Aerostar Wagon
Ford Bronco
1990 Ford Aerostar Minivan
Jaguar XJ220
Ferrari F40 Now That's A Beauty
Mazda MX-5 Miata
Honda NSX
1 Of 2 Mercedes-Benz CLK GTR Supersports
Bmw 850CSI
Nissan 300ZX Twin Turbo
Volkswagen 1990 Golf
My first car was a white 1995 Golf (my mom's that was passed down to me in 2008). I sold her 5 years ago and I still miss her 🤍
Honda/Acura NSX
Mazda Rx7
Ayrton Senna's Mclaren F1
White R34 Skyline GTR
Bmw M3 E30
Bmw M5 E34
Finally, there are way to much audi. I love the Old designs from Mercedes and BMW, this as example.
Bmw Z1
Lancia Delta Integrale EVO 2
Lotus Elise S1
Toyota Supra Turbo
Bmw E30 M3 Sport EVO
Bmw Z3 M Coupe: Controversially Beautiful
Nissan Skyline GT-R R33 Nismo 400R
Nissan Skyline R34 GTR
Jaguar XJ220
Toyota Celica GT4 ST-185
Iconic Mitsubishi Eclipse
Ferrari F355
Renault 5 GT Turbo
Mercedes-Benz SL
Lotus Elan Sprint Convertable
Got a lift many years ago from a guy on the North circular in London, I was hitching home for Christmas, he'd bought one of these for himself as a birthday present (he was a city banker and spent a little bit of his twice yearly 'bonus' on it) and was off his tits on something. He was a complete c**t but is was an exhilerating and very fast lift to where I needed to be for my next hitching stop !! Still remember him pulling out into traffic without looking and accelerating so fast that I nearly went over the seat (no seatbelt rules in those days) !! Hey ho, happy days. How I made it to my 40's I'll never know ; I'm now 63 and I'm still astonished to be around ........
Lotus Esprit Turbo
Mercedes Benz 560 SEC AMG
Beautiful Porsche 964
Volkswagen Corrado
Volkswagen Golf GTI
Ferrari F40
Mitsubishi 3000 GT
Nissan Silvia S15 Spec-R
Ford Mustang SVT Cobra R
1990 Nissan 240SX S13 Hatchback
Jaguar XJ6
Lexus SC300
Buick Roadmaster Estate Wagon
Honda Integra Type R
Dakar Yellow M3 BMW
Real Italian Style Alfa Romeo GTV
Lotus Carlton Omega
Mitsubishi Galant VR4
Mitsubishi Galant Super VR-4
Nissan Nismo 270R
Ford Sierra RS500
Bmw E30 325i
The Classic Blue Body, Gold Wheels Subaru Impreza 22B STI
Audi 90 Quattro
Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX
Ford Bronco 2
Honda Civic Hatchback
1990 Honda CRX SI
Lamborghini Diablo
Lexus LS400
Maserati Shamal Coupe
Mercedes-Benz SL-Class 300SL Roadster
Mitsubishi GTO SR
Mitsubishi Lancer GTI
Mitsubishi Wagon
In the UK it was a Delica - had 2 of them; sadly both needed so much work that i couldn't afford to have done I had to get rid - wish I'd kept them !!!
Pontiac Firebird
Porsche 911 Carrera 4 Coupe
Porsche 911 Carrera 2
Porsche 928 GTS
Porsche 944 S2
Subaru Alcyone 4WD Turbo
Subaru XT Coupe
Suzuki Samurai SUV Hardtop
Volkswagen Cabriolet
Volkswagen Jetta Coupe
Alpine GTA Turbo Le Mans
Nissan R32 GT ST
Toyota MR2 Turbo SW20
Bugatti EB110
Bugatti EB110 Aerodynamic Prototype
Mitsubishi Lancer EVO, Tommi Makinen Edition
Ferrari F50 Convertible
Ford Escort RS Cosworth
Chevrolet Corvette ZR1
Chevy C4 Corvette
Venturi 400 GT
Nissan 300ZX
Bmw 535I
Mercedes-Benz E-Class 300 E
Savanna RX 7 GT-X
The Only Rolls-Royce Silver Spur Turbo R
Jaguar XJ Sovereign
Chevy C5 Corvette
Pontiac Firebird Formula 350
Honda Prelude VTI - R
Mercedes-Benz 190e 2.5-16 Evolution II Very Rare
Marcos Mantis
Wow, not seen one of those for many years. Great leather interior if I remember...
