Cars every Aussie P-plater wanted – and the ones they had to settle for

Let the hazy nostalgia wash over you as you picture that thrilling moment where, after weeks of uncertainty, you finally had official recognition of your status as a provisional licence holder.

You didn’t have a laminated card in your wallet just yet (that’ll be posted out in a couple of weeks), but you did have a shopping list of desirable cars.

If you wanted to be the envy of other year 12 student, or your fellow apprentices, then one of these cars was probably high on your list.

There may have been a few regulatory hurdles in your way, and your budget may not have always aligned, but every dream had its alternative, so the realistic option is included as well. Just in case.

Mazda RX-7

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The impact Japanese sports cars had on impressionable P-plate drivers was unmissable. It was the allure of something mechanically precise, coupled with the endless amount of aftermarket tuning options, and the steady flow of underground drift VHS tapes and DVDs that fueled the fire.

You may not have fully understood what was so special about the RX-7, but the allure of a compact coupe with a screaming rotary engine spoke to the enthusiast inside you. The RX-7 came with problems, though.

Later models were prohibitively expensive and turbocharged, ruling them out for most. Older RX-7s didn’t have a stellar reputation for reliability, and often got snapped up for big engine builds and motorsport use

The alternative: A decent-ish MX-5

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Easier to get your hands on, cheaper to buy, easy to work on, and free from restrictions, the MX-5 offered a solution that meant you kept a lightweight rear-wheel drive chassis and didn’t always need to feel bad about the backyard mods you subjected it to.

Suzuki Swift GTI

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Oversized chrome rims and ground-scraping stance on a Suzuki Swift GTI? Almost inevitable.

The Swift GTI offered the kind of ‘if you know, you know’ performance of a lightweight hatchback with serious firepower from its rev-happy 1.3-litre engine. Often underappreciated, once they hit the used car market, they made excellent P-plater shuttles.

Best of all, nothing about the Swift GTI challenged restrictions for new drivers, so you didn’t have to settle for less. If you wanted a Swift GTI, you got one.

Toyota Supra

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While nostalgia for the fourth-generation Supra reached a fever pitch right as the fifth-gen revival was revealed, rewind a couple of decades, and the Supra already had a grasp on the minds of impressionable new drivers.

In 2001, the arrival of a particular car culture movie sealed the deal. If you couldn’t get an orange Supra (and let’s face it, you could not), then you could build your own close-enough tribute car.

But Supras weren’t particularly common, although Japanese imports helped, and unless you got one without a turbo, you probably couldn’t drive it on your Ps.

The alternative: A Celica is close enough

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Thankfully, Toyota had a two-door backup plan for you. More common, more on-budget, but ultimately a little further down the street cred pecking order. The Supra was king, but the Celica was surprisingly good fun if you could survive the jokes from your mates. 

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution

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The rise of gaming consoles exposed the already popular realm of World Rally Championship racing to a younger, more impressionable crowd. The high-powered Lancer Evolution would have always been a cult classic, but being able to drive one in Gran Turismo and Need for Speed: Underground 2 accelerated its infamy.

Of course, if you lived in a state where turbos were banned, you’d have to temper your expectations. That didn’t stop everyone, of course, and some earlier Evos proved smart buying if you could find one secondhand.

The alternative: A dressed-up Lancer coupe

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The popularity of the Evo also gave way to a sea of ‘tributes’. Look-alike bodykits were common, and the Lancer’s almost throw-away pricing meant a basic Lancer wouldn’t break the bank, leaving enough room in the budget for a set of Altezza-style taillights, some replica JDM wheels, and a fibreglass Evo bumper.

Nissan Silvia

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The Silvia represented a fantastic opportunity, just like the R32 and R33 Syklines before it. You could dodge the high insurance or outright turbo bans on high-end versions and opt for an atmo model.

You could also find yourself with a tidy sleeper to minimise the amount of unwarranted police attention you received, but there was a good chance you wouldn’t. A healthy supply of affordable and desirable aftermarket modifications was simply too good to ignore.

At its core, the Silvia balanced impressive handling, some edgy JDM tech, and enthusiastic engines, and was a real highlight of import culture in the 1990s

The alternative: A ‘sensible’ Pulsar SSS

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The shortcut to a Silvia was its hot hatch sibling, the Pulsar SSS. The two shared the Nissan’s SR20 engine, but the Pulsar was front-wheel drive. It also managed to be a lot more practical, and you could more or less sleep in the back of one for camping weekends and music festivals.

Honda Integra Type R

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Honda’s red-badged Type R cars all held a certain appeal, but the ultimate was the Integra Type R. While it sounds tame today, pushing 141kW from a naturally aspirated 1.8-litre engine with a 7900tpm power peak was no mean feat.

The third-generation Integra of the late ‘90s felt like a scaled-down supercar. It had an edge that later models couldn’t live up to, getting softer and heavier. The fourth-gen Integra Type R for Australia actually being Japan’s Type S rebadged. Still, by that stage, the 162kW JDM Type R held the same fascination, albeit much harder to reach.

The alternative: As much Civic hatch as your budget allowed

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For most Aussie teens, stretching the budget to a new Integra Type R was a leap too far, but with a few choice modifications, repurposing an older Civic hatch into your own vision of the Type R ethos was just as good. Almost. 

Subaru WRX

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The rally-bred Subaru WRX quickly proved that it could do things no other small car could. Its turbocharged performance and all-wheel drive saw it quickly earn a wild reputation.

Outside of motorsports, it became the getaway vehicle of choice with capital city underbellies. Cops couldn’t catch the damn things, and the seedy reputation only added to the appeal. Compact, light, but above all, quick. The WRX was everything a young driving enthusiast could ask for.

The Alternative: The less naughty Impreza RS

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All that infamy meant that insurance spiralled out of control, and the chances of a first-time driver even getting coverage behind the wheel of a WRX were almost impossible. Subaru wasn’t blind to this, so in the early 2000s launched the WRX-styled Impreza RS, which got close to the visual appeal of a WRX, but with the reduced insurance risk of a 2.5-litre engine without a turbo.

Ford Falcon XR6 Turbo

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Ford left no stone unturned when it came to performance Falcons. In the ‘90s, V8S returned. Meanwhile, Tickford fine-tuned the 4.0-litre six into a performance star of its own. By the early 2000s, a new hero arrived, and the BA Falcon blindsided the Holden Commodore with the XR6 Turbo.

Immediately, one Falcon united big-displacement Aussie car fans and turbocharged JDM enthusiasts. The price was right, and the potential was just begging to be exploited.

The alternative: Dad’s hand-me-down Falcon XT with a body kit

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The XR6 Turbo was the goal, but if dad’s company lease on his work Falcon XT was close to ending, you were probably in line to have it passed on to you. That’s okay though, it still had moderate potential, and swapping on XR6 rims and maybe a rear spoiler helped ease the pain a little.

Holden VL Commodore Turbo

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Although they weren’t entirely overlooked when they launched, the VL Commodore turbo range wasn’t an immediate P-plate hit. Over the decades that followed, the VL turbo built up a reputation for being loud, fast, and anything but subtle in the right (or should that be wrong) hands.

As their notoriety grew, their numbers dwindled. Some were scrapped before their potential was recognised, others met more grisly ends, and the market decided that the car you wanted should be priced beyond your means.

The alternative: A VN Commodore seems more realistic

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Browsing through the classifieds presented a tough choice. Pay over the odds for the VL of your dreams, or opt for something newer and ultimately a bit safer for less money, by putting yourself into a VN Commodore V6 instead.