Not a lot of people have the luxury to own, or even get to drive high-performance sports cars like the Ferraris, Lamborghinis, and McLarens of the automotive world, as their astronomical price tags and expensive running costs can be found a bit too much for an average salaryman. However, the good thing is, great driving experiences doesn't always come at a huge cost, and that's where the hot hatch comes into play.

These cute little hatchbacks have been around ever since the world realized it needed affordable transport that was also entertaining to drive. Furthermore, the hot hatch segment has grown over the years in terms of popularity, and especially in performance, to the point where they could now take the fight against more expensive sports cars. With that being said, it's always fun to look back and remember some of the definitive hot hatch examples of the past era that people might have forgotten, so let's check out some cool classic cars.

10 Honda Civic SiR EF9

Looking back at the year 1988, it was the height of Honda and Ayrton Senna's dominant combination in Formula One. And what that means is, F1 technology trickled down even to the Japanese auto giant's road cars.

At the same time, the fourth-generation Civic was born that year, and featured a radical double-wishbone front suspension — a setup that's usually reserved for sports cars. Together with the high-revving 1.6-liter B16A with Honda's DOHC VTEC engine technology, the Civic SiR basically set the course for future performance variants of the popular Civic nameplate, which we all love and enjoy.

RELATED: Honda's VTEC System Explained

9 Renault Clio Williams

Here's another hot hatch with F1 ties written all over it — the Renault Clio Williams. It was built to celebrate the successful partnership of Renault to Williams F1, and featured a 2.0-liter four-pot with 145 hp.

The car was intended to have a limited-edition run of only 3,800 cars, but it was such a huge hit that Renault ended up building more than a thousand more, and all of them came in 449 Metallic Sports Blue and Gold, which was inspired by Alain Prost's title-winning Williams FW15C.

RELATED: Here's What Made The Renault Clio Williams A ’90s Hot Hatch Icon

8 Nissan March Super Turbo

The Nissan March, or Micra in other countries, is one of those entry-level cars that do nothing but take you from point A to point B on a regular basis. However, there was one time when the car sparked serious performance, thanks to a twin-charged engine. That's right, the Nissan March Super Turbo had a 930cc eight-valve four-cylinder engine that had its power boosted by a turbocharger and a supercharger.

More than 30 years later, the Super Turbo is still the fastest production March that Nissan has ever made, which could run a quarter mile in 15.5 seconds. While there's not much to write about its exterior styling, all that thought is completely gone once the car manages to leave you in the dust.

RELATED: Most Gearheads Have Never Heard Of These Rare JDM Cars

7 Alfa Romeo 147 GTA

We all know that Alfa Romeo knows how to stir emotions with the way they design their cars, but what if we told you they could do that through their engines? Behold the Alfa Romeo 147 GTA, the Italian brand's lightweight grand tourer with a not-so-little secret underneath its skin.

This thing was, and still is, an absolute weapon because of its engine — a high-revving 3.2-liter Busso V6 powerplant with 250 hp. It made the car accelerate from 0 to 60 mph in under 6 seconds, which is enough to keep up with the present-day Civic Type Rs and Golf GTIs. Considering this was a car made almost 20 years ago, that's highly impressive.

6 Toyota Corolla FX GT

Toyota revealed the two-door FX series back in 1984 to join the hot hatch category, and they certainly did it right the first time by putting the famed 4AGE engine into the FX-GT variant, giving the car the kind of serious performance that made the AE86 a JDM icon.

The most powerful 16-valve version of the 4AGE engine, called the "Red Top" by enthusiasts, found its way in the AE92 FX-GT hatchback, and provided plenty of grunt considering the car only weighs 2,050 lbs.

5 Lancia Delta Integrale

The Group A era definitely was such a blessing to car enthusiasts, as they were able to experience what it's like to have a car designed with motorsports in mind. Right here is the road-going version of one of the most successful rally cars ever made, the Lancia Delta Integrale. Despite having a design that was conceived in the late 70s, the final version that came out in 1992 still had plenty of reasons to impress, as the all-wheel-drive hatchback had a 2.0-liter turbocharged engine with 210 hp.

Furthermore, the car would prove to be the ultimate swansong for the most successful WRC manufacturer in history, as Fiat eventually pulled the plug on Lancia's rally program in 1992, and the legendary Italian marque was never able to make a car as good as the Delta.

4 Nissan Pulsar GTi-R

The Nissan Pulsar GTi-R quite simply impressed the people who got the chance to drive the rare Group A rally-era homologation special, that it was even nicknamed as the "Baby Godzilla".

It featured a 227 hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine called the SR20DET, and had the same ATTESA E-TS all-wheel-drive system that's found on the iconic Nissan Skyline GT-R.

3 Mazda 323 GTX

Mazda was another manufacturer who took advantage of rallying's Group A rules back in the early 90s, and in turn, created their very own turbocharged, all-wheel-drive hot hatch called the 323 GTX.

Long before the Subaru Imprezas and Mitsubishi Lancer Evos set foot on the rally stages, the 323 GTX was already up there, duking it out with the best of them.

2 Ford Focus RS Mk1

Quite simply, the Ford Focus RS kickstarted the new modern era of Fast Fords, as it was the first car brought into the 2000s wearing the iconic RS or "RallyeSport" badge, succeeding the Ford Escort RS Cosworth which was last made in 1996.

Unlike the rally version which had four-wheel-drive, the Focus RS Mk1 utilized a "torque-biasing" differential in its front-wheel-drive system to compensate for torque steer, and only had 212 hp from its 2.0-liter turbo engine compared to the WRC version that had 300.

1 Citroën Saxo VTS

First revealed in 1997, the Citroën Saxo VTS shares the same components, particularly the engine, with the Peugeot 106 GTi, as they belong in the same PSA Group. It's one of those fun little hatchbacks with a pep in its step, and has a nice place in history in the world of rallying, as this was one of the first cars driven by a certain French rally legend known as Sebastien Loeb.

According to DriveTribe, there are very few examples of the Saxo VTS plying the streets of Europe today, so seeing one would definitely turn heads, especially for people who like fun pocket rockets.