Time to stretch the old grey matter....
1985 - Parents white XR3i, then my own 998cc Mini Clubman Estate (in banana yellow with brown trim)
1988 ish - Red 998cc Mini Chelsea in red with straight through exhaust (might have been a bit of scaffold tube actually)
1991 - Racing Green 998cc Mini Racing hence my avatar
1997 - Took over the wife's 1.1 Rover 100 (yawn) while she got a brand new Polo 1.6. My Mini was about to have something expensive fall off.
1999 - Ha ! P-x the Rover for a MkIV Golf GTi 1.8T - much better, but mysteriously could only keep up with the Polo on two-way roads. I blame me for running it in too carefully
[2002 - wife swaps her Polo for a Beetle 1.8T - she runs this in properly and it feels more like 180PS rather than factory 150PS]
2007 - Sell the Golf for a Touran 140PS diesel - family demands there. Didn't run it in too gently and therefore can surprise tourists in their sports cars. Favourite moment was overtaking an AMG 55 Merc on a twisty bit and him not being able to catch up......
2010 - Get the Scirocco GT 170 diesel. Not a gentle running here either, but getting good mpg when I feel like it, and plenty of mph when I don't.
Definitely like the bruise-coloured cars in my life. Also, the four seaters have been much more fun than the five seaters. Would love to have the time and money to track down and restore the G-reg Racing Green but it would be a hobby not a regularly-used car. I would heartily agree with comments that structural strength is not their best feature.