RWD & AWD around the 1985-1999 timeframe? Rally or cheap sports car

I'm having a hard time coming up with some low-end sports car/ rally based car that is operating on RWD or AWD/ 4WD, that came out around the 1985-1999 timeframe.
I'm looking for something that can be found for under the $9000CAD/ USD range today on the resale market.

Just to let y'all know what type of cars I'm talking about, here's a list of cars that I've come up with:

Toyota Corolla GT-S Levin (AE86)
Nissan 300ZX
Mitsubishi GTO/ 3000GT
Subaru Impreza (AWD ones)
Subaru Legacy (AWD ones)
Toyota Celica All-trac
Toyota Celica GT-Four
Volkswagen Golf (Typ 1H)- (AWD ones)

what are some more of this type of cars?

[CENTER][FONT="Century Gothic"][SIZE="4"]Exceptions:[/SIZE][/FONT][/CENTER]

Please leave American cars out of this list. and also cars that use up gas like a supercar, and also cars that have major reliability problems for its age (also if it costs alot to repair it), also exclude wagons (hatchbacks are allowed though).
Also exclude the following:
Nissan Skyline (GT-R/ GT-S or any variant of the skyline)
Nissan 240sx and 180sx
Mitsubishi Evolution
Mazda RX-7 & RX-8
Toyota Supra
Toyota Altezza, Soarer
Lexus IS or SC models

The Lancia Delta Integrales are AWD and fit the timeframe, but do cost quite a bit to keep going. A good one though is a pure joy :)

Other than that, there are some European cars - such as Vauxhall Calibra 4x4s or Ford Sierra XR4x4s or Cosworths.

Was the Mitsubishi evo around then?

Bmw M3

Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.3-16

Nissan Skyline (non-GT-R)

Ford Escort (Euro)

Mazda RX-7

Subaru Legacy turbo

Volvo 240 Turbo, the list is almost endless.

[QUOTE=Fuerte100;774580]Was the Mitsubishi evo around then?[/QUOTE]

Evos have never been sold in Canada yet

[QUOTE=092326001;774583]Evos have never been sold in Canada yet[/QUOTE]

Oh this is for Canada, sorry, didn't look at your flag.

[QUOTE=092326001;774583]Evos have never been sold in Canada yet[/QUOTE]

Evos and STI's were latecomers to North America, right?

I wouldn't put the Lancia Delta there because the guy lives in Canada. Not sure if they were ever sold here. Even if they were, parts supply must be horrible.

I think you've got most of the cars available to you in that list. Pick the one you like best I guess.

Well...if I'm correct, Canadians can import cars from the very, very late 80's, so I'm sure you could get some wild stuff.

[QUOTE=Ziostilon;774571]I'm having a hard time coming up with some low-end sports car/ rally based car that is operating on RWD or AWD/ 4WD, that came out around the 1985-1999 timeframe.
I'm looking for something that can be found for under the $9000 range today on the resale market.

Just to let y'all know what type of cars I'm talking about, here's a list of cars that I've come up with:

Toyota Corolla GT-S Levin (AE86)
Nissan 300ZX
Mitsubishi GTO/ 3000GT
Subaru Impreza (AWD ones)
Subaru Legacy (AWD ones)
Toyota Celica All-trac
Toyota Celica GT-Four
Volkswagen Golf (Typ 1H)- (AWD ones)

what are some more of this type of cars? Please leave American cars out of this list. and also cars that use up gas like a supercar, and also cars that have major reliability problems for its age (also if it costs alot to repair it).[/QUOTE]

What do you want to use the car for? IMO the easiest to find in good condition, easiest to maintain etc. is the Impreza...

[QUOTE=Clivey;774572]The Lancia Delta Integrales are AWD and fit the timeframe, but do cost quite a bit to keep going. A good one though is a pure joy :)

Other than that, there are some European cars - such as Vauxhall Calibra 4x4s or Ford Sierra XR4x4s or Cosworths.[/QUOTE]

thanks, good idea with the Lancias and the Vauxhall, i'm not too familiar with quite a few european brands and a few of their models so thanks for bringing them up

[QUOTE=Clivey;774600]What do you want to use the car for? IMO the easiest to find in good condition, easiest to maintain etc. is the Impreza...[/QUOTE]

I'm just planning to use it as a daily use car, just going from one place to another. not planning to take it onto a race course, just something thats fun to drive

any e30 bmw

[QUOTE=cmcpokey;774605]any e30 bmw[/QUOTE]

avoid those....I've had 3 friends bought those in the last 5 years, all 3 had nothing but problem and still paying a bunch to upkeep....unless you can find one that has been taken care off, in good shape with minimum rust, I'd steer clear of E30.....would love to drive one, would hate to own it....

[QUOTE=RacingManiac;774621]avoid those....I've had 3 friends bought those in the last 5 years, all 3 had nothing but problem and still paying a bunch to upkeep....unless you can find one that has been taken care off, in good shape with minimum rust, I'd steer clear of E30.....would love to drive one, would hate to own it....[/QUOTE]

We've had an E30 for 6 years now, it's not been looked after overly well and it's still bulletproof. It's done over 355,000 kms.. not sure of the exact figure, the odometre doesn't work! :D

Alfa Romeo Milano (75), Rover SD1 or the Mazda MX-5 are two of which I kind think off the top off my head right now.

[quote=kingofthering;774591]Well...if I'm correct, Canadians can import cars from the very, very late 80's, so I'm sure you could get some wild stuff.[/quote]


We can import anything over 15 years old.

Some early Lancers are eligible!

[url=http://www.terra2imports.ca/import-japan117513881580706.htm]Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution - Import this 1992 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution from Japan to Canada[/url]

^^u got anymore of those importing sites around the Lower Mainland of BC?

a mid to late '90s E39 BMW 528i should be in your budget.

Lots of fun, great handling, very practical.

94-96 Subi WRX
Early Mitsu GSR's
Galant VR4
E30 323is bm

bro, start test driving and you'll quickly narrow down what you want

AWD versions of this:

[IMG]http://www.mirage-performance.com/EclipseGSX/Stock/1998EclipseGSX000.jpg[/IMG]

Should be excellent. However, it may be difficult to find one that's not been "molested" by ricers. Shame, as it's a nice looking car [I]as standard[/I].:(

^^is that a GTO?

[QUOTE=Ziostilon;774866]^^is that a GTO?[/QUOTE]

Nope. That would be an Eclipse.

avoid the eclipse if you like reliability apparently.

[QUOTE=clutch-monkey;774938]avoid the eclipse if you like reliability apparently.[/QUOTE]

ya, i've thought about the eclipse before, but knowing that it shared the same platform with the Plymouth Laser and eagle talon, it went off my list.

there were also the Peugeot 405 and Citroen BX 4x4.
and of course the king of the 4x4s, the Fiat Panda.....

Not in Canada there wasn't...

[QUOTE=The_Canuck;775066]Not in Canada there wasn't...[/QUOTE]

I once saw a Peugeot 405 MI16 in Montreal...from the same period..and as Egg Nog said., you can freely import anything over 15 years old...

Well I'd be afraid of importing anything that would be used everyday, damn road salts might eat away at something like that...? But you did see one in Montreal....so it's possible.

[QUOTE=The_Canuck;775082]Well I'd be afraid of importing anything that would be used everyday, damn road salts might eat away at something like that...? But you did see one in Montreal....so it's possible.[/QUOTE]

it might actually have been Winnipeg, but here is the car...

[QUOTE=henk4;775069]I once saw a Peugeot 405 MI16 in Montreal...from the same period..and as Egg Nog said., you can freely import anything over 15 years old...[/QUOTE]

But you'd never be able to service it cheaply.....

[QUOTE=henk4;775086]it might actually have been Winnipeg, but here is the car...[/QUOTE]

Why would anyone go to Winnipeg?

[QUOTE=Kitdy;775109]Why would anyone go to Winnipeg?[/QUOTE]

a natural stop on a cross Canada trip.....

[QUOTE=NSXType-R;775108]But you'd never be able to service it cheaply.....[/QUOTE]

was that an issue?

its been a few months and i decided to revisit this topic for a few more suggestions

anything that hasn't been mentioned, and more opinions from different perspectives?

Well any Group A car that was 4WD or RWD could do. And the list is pretty long, Celicas, Sierras (or your Merkur XR4Ti), Escorts, Deltas, M3s, Galants, Coupe Quattros, RXs,...

mitsubishi galant VR4
mitsubishi starion
mistubishi lancer GSR
nissan pulsar GTiR
Nissan S12 gazelle
mazda familia GTX/GTR
MX-5
MR-2
suzuki cappucino (lol)
etc etc...



plenty of cars out there..

Nissan Silvia

Nissan Skyline GT-R

Lancia Delta, etc. etc.

I'm sure most have been said already.;)

[QUOTE=Ferrer;802375]Well any Group A car that was 4WD or RWD could do. And the list is pretty long, Celicas, Sierras (or your Merkur XR4Ti), Escorts, Deltas, M3s, Galants, [B]Coupe Quattros[/B], RXs,...[/QUOTE]

Thank god!

THE best AWD rally type cars from the time frame you say is obviously the Audi Coupe Quattro. That or the S2 or the urQuattro.

[QUOTE=Ziostilon;775027]ya, i've thought about the eclipse before, but knowing that it shared the same platform with the Plymouth Laser and eagle talon, it went off my list.[/QUOTE]

The Eclipse GSX is one of the best choices you could make and one of the best cars you could buy. The Eagle Talon was just a rebadged Eclipse and so was the Plymouth Laser. All 3 cars were developed by Mitsubishi and built by them. They're called DSM.

I'm curious though. Did you just dismiss the Talon and the Laser because they're American and since they have the same platform as the GSX, that makes the GSX a piece of crap too? If you did do that you should really reconsider. The Turbo AWD and the Turbo FWD versions of the cars had a Mitsubishi developed engine and drive train and maybe even the transmission.

The naturally aspirated versions had a 4cyl engine developed by Chrysler which still wasn't a particularly bad engine, just a bit underpowered. They were all FWD. My personal suggestion would actually be an Eagle Talon TSi AWD or a Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX. You could also get a 3000GT VR4 if you really like Mitsubishi but I wouldn't recommend it for a daily car. The back seats are useless and the car is aging so reliability might become a problem if you're not mechanically inclined.

[QUOTE=Type17;802559]
I'm curious though. Did you just dismiss the Talon and the Laser because they're American and since they have the same platform as the GSX, that makes the GSX a piece of crap too? If you did do that you should really reconsider. The Turbo AWD and the Turbo FWD versions of the cars had a Mitsubishi developed engine and drive train and maybe even the transmission.[/QUOTE]

ya, i did take that into account.... but mainly i was never really a big fan of the eclipse, i liked the look of it, but that was as far as i went with that car. Anything that you can introduce to me about this car regarding the suspension.