1990s

The one British classic here that has doubled in real terms since 2014. Lotus Esprit values from 507 recorded auction sales, why the S4 V8 leads the table and the Stevens-era X180 sits at the bottom, what a Giugiaro S1 makes against an S2 and an S3 Turbo, and what the JPS, the Final Edition and the Bond cars have done.

The Lotus Elise put a glassfibre body on a bonded aluminium chassis that weighed 68 kilograms, gave it 118 bhp and 725 kilograms, and saved the company for twenty-five years. A guide to the S1, S2 and S3, the 111S and the Cup cars, what an Elise is like to live with, what to check, and what the sale rooms pay now that the first cars are classics.

The Rover 800 was the Cowley-built executive car developed with Honda that replaced the SD1 in 1986, was reskinned as the R17 in 1991 and ran until the Rover 75 took over in 1999. A guide to the 820, 825 and 827, the Sterling and the Vitesse, the fastback and the coupé, the American Sterling disaster, what to check, and what the survivors are worth.

The Vauxhall Carlton was the marque's big saloon and estate for sixteen years, the Luton-assembled Mk1 of 1978 and the Rüsselsheim-built Mk2 of 1986 that won European Car of the Year and gave Britain the GSi 3000 24v and the Lotus Carlton. A guide to both generations, the engines, the Diplomat and CDX trims, what to check, and what the few survivors are worth.

The Austin Metro carried British Leyland's survival on its back in 1980 and delivered, selling past two million across Austin, MG and Rover eras, with the Group B 6R4 as its unhinged rally cousin. A guide to the Metro's generations, the MG versions, the 6R4, why survivors vanished, buying checks and values.

The first Land Rover Freelander was a monocoque, transverse-engined soft-roader built at Solihull from 1997 to 2006, and for five years Europe's best-selling 4x4. A guide to the 1.8 K-series, the L-series and Td4 diesels and the KV6, the three-door Softback and the five-door, the 2003 facelift, the famous faults, and what a survivor is worth now that the first ones are classics.

The median is a 1990s Rover Cooper price, not a 1960s car. Classic Mini Cooper values from 1,101 recorded auction sales, what a genuine 1960s Cooper S makes, the Mk I premium, what a replica sells for against the real thing, and why provenance matters more here than on any other small British car.

The Ford Escort RS Cosworth was a rally homologation special wearing an Escort suit over Sierra Cosworth four-wheel-drive bones, its whale-tail wing the defining fast-Ford image of the 1990s. A guide to big-turbo and small-turbo cars, the rally record, the replica problem, buying checks and values.

The Ford Mondeo ST220 put a 223 bhp 3.0 V6, a six-speed gearbox and Recaro seats into the Mk3 Mondeo and turned a rep's saloon into a car worth keeping. A guide to the ST220 and the Mk2 ST200 that preceded it, the saloon, hatchback and estate, the ST TDCi, what goes wrong, and what they are worth.

The Ford Sierra replaced the best-selling Cortina with aerodynamic styling Britain nicknamed the jellymould, and slowly won the country over across 1.3 million UK sales. A guide to the ordinary Sierras, the XR4i and XR4x4, the Sapphire saloons, why survivors are so rare, buying checks and values.

The Land Rover Discovery of 1989 put Range Rover engineering under a family-priced body and invented the everyday Land Rover, and the original Discovery 1 is now a classic in its own right. A guide to the 200Tdi and 300Tdi eras, the V8s, the Camel Trophy years, what rusts, and what to check before buying one.

The Lotus Carlton was a Vauxhall saloon rebuilt by Lotus around a twin-turbo straight-six, 377bhp, 176mph, faster than contemporary Ferraris with five seats, and so quick the press and Parliament called for it to be banned. A guide to how it was built, the ban campaign, the famous crime spree, what to check, and what one costs now.

The Land Rover Defender ran from 1983 to 2016, the coil-sprung successor to the Series that became one of the most recognisable shapes on earth. A guide to the One Ten, Ninety and 130, the engines from the Tdi to the Td5 and Puma, and what to look for when buying, including chassis rot and theft.

Robin Hood built the cheapest Lotus-Seven-style kit cars in Britain, famously a car on the road from one budget kit and a single scrap Ford donor, with an unusual folded stainless-steel construction. A guide to the models, the stainless monocoque story, the GBS succession, and the things to check before buying one.

The front-drive Escort Mk5 of 1990 launched to some of the harshest reviews Ford had ever received, and the company spent the next two years putting it right. At the top of the range, the rally-homologation Escort RS Cosworth turned the unloved Escort into an icon. The development story and the survivors.

The third-generation Granada of 1985 was Ford's most advanced car yet, a smooth aerodynamic hatchback that brought executive-class technology like standard anti-lock brakes to the mainstream and was named European Car of the Year. Known as the Ford Scorpio abroad, it was Ford's big British saloon for a decade. The development story and the survivors.

Supercars, hot saloons, and the slow end of an industry, the British cars of the 1990s spanning the McLaren F1 and the Escort Cosworth, the Lotus Elise, the TVR boom under Peter Wheeler, and the long decline of Rover Group.