The Hyundai Stellar.was South Korea’s literal answer to the Ford Cortina. It was a new design, which owed its chassis to the Cortina, with a Giugiaro-designed body. Priced close to an Escort but offering a package comparable to the Sierra, the Stellar appealed to those who still wanted a three-box saloon design and was still available in the UK as a new car as late as 1991.
Ford did figure out that the Cortina was very much missed by the public and partially catered for them with the release of the Ford Orion, an upmarket version of the Escort. Never offered in anything but a 4-door sedan, it lacked any form of sporting pretension but the Orion managed respectable sales throughout the decade and always had a spot in the top 10 best sellers of the year.
The new Audi 200 was launched in the year with the intent of moving the brand further upmarket. Similar to the 100 models, it was available with the same sedan and avant body shapes. The 200, particularly in turbocharged form was a very competent car but a low market presence suggests that VAG’s attempts to persuade BMW or Mercedes owners were in vain.
The 1980s proved to be a fertile period for Honda, with not only Formula One success but their ever-increasingly sophisticated series of cars were considered the best the Japanese could offer. The Honda CRX is a perfect example of how favourably the driver-orientated Honda company was compared to their domestic rivals. High-reviving and technically advanced, the CRX was the first of many super-Civics.
Very late to the game, was GM with their first FWD supermini. Badged as the Vauxhall Nova in the UK, the wide variety of body shells, including the outdated 2-door sedan format, the car did fall short of expectations. Built in Spain, Import tariffs and its conservative styling held it back somewhat, but GM did gain ground with later incarnations.