Is this what your dad drove? Ten family car favourites from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s to celebrate Father's Day

Everyone remembers the cars their parents had when they were kids. Many still recall the numberplate characters, so ingrained in the memory are the motors from their childhood.

So, as men around the country celebrate Father’s Day today, what better way to mark the occasion than to celebrate what dads in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s commonly drove.

Even some of the most mundane models from these eras felt like something special and the appearance of a new one on the driveway – or even better, a trip out to the local dealership for a poke around – was something to be savoured.

This is Money has teamed up with classic car insurer Hagerty to cover some of the archetypal ‘dad’s cars’ spanning three decades that anyone roughly between the ages of 30 and 50 will recall riding in the back of as toddlers and teens.

Of course, not all dads are the same and some cooler parents drove something a little different from the norm, be it a sports car, hot hatch or a hulking MPV.

Be sure to let us know in the comments if you have memories of any of these 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s motors – and let us know what your own dad drove back in the day if it wasn’t one of these family wagons.

Value in 2025: £1,200 (Allegro 1.0 saloon) to £7,600 (Allegro Equipe, concours condition)

The Allegro’s contemporary maladies are today well-known, but back in the day this was a popular choice among family car buyers and those benefitting from a company vehicle through employers - though anyone lumbered with an Allegro as the latter had likely upset their boss at one time or another to end up with this on the drive.

Survivors are now being cherished by nostalgic types desperate to keep its infamous name among the ranks of the classic car world. But there’s plenty to argue that they’re worthwhile collector’s items, not least to celebrate the Austin brand, the car’s oddball styling and its unique Hydragas suspension.

Of course, it’s not a proper Allegro unless it was finished in a typically seventies shades of Russet Brown and Applejack Green.

John Mayhead, editor of the Hagerty Price Guide in the UK, who painstaking monitors the value of classic cars via policyholder values and auction prices, says time has been kind to this model and values of all variants have been steadily rising over the past ten years.

‘That’s quite a feat,’ John tells us. ‘Last year, only 7 per cent of all models in the Hagerty Price Guide rose in value.’

Value in 2025: £600 (Mk 4 Escort L) to £93,600 (Escort Mk 2 RS1800, concours)

The Escort was the default British family car throughout its 1968 to 2002 run, and more than a few MailOnline and This is Money readers likely rode in the back of Ford’s best-seller over those years and beyond.

For children born in the 1980s, your dad most likely had one of three generations: an old Mk2 hanging on from the previous decade, the fresh new front-driver Mk3 of 1980, or the tidily-styled fourth-generation Escort launched in 1986.

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The Mk2 would’ve still been riding high on rallying kudos even in its lower trim levels, while generations three and four maximised passenger space and utility, thanks to the transverse engine layout, and the hatchback rather than saloon design.

That, and Ford really expanded the Mk3 and Mk4’s model variants, from three and five-door hatches and estates, to a cabrio – plus the sporty XR3, later XR3i, and RS1600i versions. If your dad didn’t drive one, your best friend’s dad probably did.

Fast forward to 2025 and there’s a huge amount of affection for the Escort – though predominantly the Fast Ford racing/performance versions are highly collectable. Later, base model cars are still extremely cheap and even XR3 models are available from around £3,000, plus there’s a thriving club scene.

Value in 2025: £3,300 (fair) to £9,000 (concours), GTE SE5a

Not everyone’s dad drove a regular saloon or estate; some managed to wangle their way into something a lot more exciting to spice up his commute.

With practicality a necessary factor, a Reliant Scimitar GTE was a tempting option. Think of it as the motivation for Aston Martin to produce the Rapide and Porsche its Panamera - performance motors offering four-seat layouts so that wives around the country could be tricked into thinking they are genuine family cars.

The GTE’s actually a model of the late 1960s, but spiritually it resides in the 1970s. As sports cars go, it’s admirably practical, from that 2+2 layout to its glass hatchback and proper boot, well-proven Ford mechanicals, and a fibreglass body that you’d not be treating for rust in two or three years.

At around £2,300 in 1973, it was a viable alternative, price-wise, to an upscale saloon like an Audi 100 or 3.0-litre Granada GXL, too.

Today, Scimitar GTE values have taken something of a slight dip, but until 12 months ago had remained relative flat since 2016, John tells us. Despite this, some have been restored to a very high standard and have been advertised for prices above Hagerty’s top value.

‘Lots of very cheap restoration cases available, but not for the faint hearted,’ he says.

Value in 2025: £800 (Montego 1.3 saloon) to £11,000 (MG Montego Turbo, concours)

When you think of bland, boring family motors of a forgotten era, the Montego should top the list of anyone who is reminded of its existance.

Hagerty recently claimed it to be the ‘most ordinary’ vehicle of all time – specifically, a saloon, in blue, built in 1989 which, if you can think back to your youth, would have been parked on your driveway or a neighbour's.

This is because Montegos were seemingly everywhere in the ‘80s, albeit just about extinct by the 1990s.

They weren’t fast, fun, exciting, or pretty (though the MG version were genuine ‘warm’ performance cars) but they were the kind of solid family choice that Austin had built its reputation on for decades - and it sold well as a result.

‘The Montego is another model that has increased in value in 2025 following a period when prices remained flat,’ John says. That said, £800 will buy you a half-decent base-spec car today.

Value in 2025: £900 (S1 1.4 hatchback) to £10,100 (BX Sport, concours)

Plenty of kids of the 1980s and ‘90s would have ridden in the back of a dad’s Citroen BX. And that means they were blessed/traumatised by its floaty hydropneumatic ride. Let us know if this is you and whether your recall it as enjoyable or vomit-inducing on long journeys.

But that’s not the only highlights of the French saloon that spanned 1982 to 1994.

Marcello Gandini’s fantastic geometric styling was a major success, with the kudos by association that comes with his name's association with the Lamborghini Countach, among other far more exciting models. And if your dad was particularly light footed, then there weren’t many frugal diesels in the eighties better than the BX’s lineup of XUD four-cylinders.

UK demand for exceptional quality examples of the Citroen BX today haven’t quite reached the heights seen in France, where a well-preserved 1992 BX 16S sold for over €47,000 in 2021.

That said, good-quality, later cars, especially Sport models, have been rising in value here, too, Hagerty’s valuations guru explains.

Value in 2025: £1,100 to £12,400 (Turbo D)

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If you were a sprog of the 1990s then you may very well have spent some of your formative years in one of the (several) back seats of Renault’s seminal people-mover.

The Espace famously flopped in its first year on sale in 1984, but Europe’s parents quickly realised its value, making it easier than almost any car that had come before to load kids into the back.

It also gave those kids a nearly unmatched view out through the enormous glasshouse rather than forcing them to peer at the sky.

The early Espace has become a bit of a cult classic and is a design classic thanks to its bold box-shaped styling.

It’s still more car-like to drive than you’d credit too – MPVs might have gained a reputation for being beasts of burden, a vehicle for those with overactive loins, but the average Espace driver wasn’t losing out much to their counterparts in a more conventional Renault 21 of the era.

‘Early versions of this groundbreaking vehicle are beginning to become very collectable,’ John told us.

‘Now rare in any configuration, they are not expensive cars and if you can find one, a fair runner could be under £2,000.’

Value in 2025: £900 (Driver) to £23,800 (GTI 16v)

If dad was a bit of a petrolhead then the Golf GTI would’ve been high up on his shopping list (or, if he was lucky, the company car list). For kids of the 1980s and ‘90s, this was most likely the second-generation VW hot hatch.

Unlike its Mk1 Golf GTI predecessor, the Mk2 was available as a five door, making it a much more viable practical car, while Volkswagen’s reliability reputation made it an easy sell too to mums asking if the family really needed a motor capable of more than 130mph.

While it might have lost some of the original’s hooligan edge, there was no question that the Mk2 was a more grown-up car with improved comfort, better fuel economy and more space – yet still quick enough to embarrass a few sports cars on the school run.

If you were thinking one might make a good investment today, you might have already missed the boat. ‘For a long time, Mk 2 Golf values lagged far behind their Mk 1 predecessors, especially in the iconic GTI configuration, but in the last couple of years, they have gained ground,’ John says.

‘There’s a lot of love for this model, and although prices are down a little from their 2023 high, the general trend has been growth for the past 12 years.’

Value in 2025: £800 (first-generation 1.6) to £8,500 (ST220)

After debuting in 1993, Mondeos were absolutely everywhere. It became such a common sight on mid-nineties roads with owners so characteristic of a certain demographic that appealing to ‘Mondeo Man’ became a key tenet of Labour’s 1997 election strategy.

Mondeos served as private motors, company vehicles, police cars, trade workhorses, and even traded blows in the British Touring Car Championship.

What made it such a success both on and off the track was the humble Mondeo’s composed ride and handling, fuzzy velour seating, and the fitment of a standard driver’s airbag. Their road-furniture status in the ‘90s and 2000s means that Mondeo nostalgia will surely hit hard in the near future.

‘Excluding motorsport variants, the Mondeo is a very affordable classic with even performance versions being available for under £5,000,’ says John.

‘First generation cars are becoming very rare, especially in base spec, and will undoubtedly become increasingly collectable.’

Value in 2025: £900 (2.0 CDTi) to £16,100 (MG ZT, concours)

If your dad wanted something different to the default choice Vectra and Mondeo in the late '90s, and a flash European BMW 3 Series or Alfa 156 was considered too exotic, then Rover had just the car to tick the ‘best of British’ checkbox he was looking for.

Debuted in 1999, the 75 had retro design inside and out, and majored on class and comfort rather than a thrusting image or rock-hard suspension.

The styling managed to attract more granddads than dads, and it didn't see a dramatic footfall of customers desperate to put down a deposit. In fact, BMW sold more E46 3 Series cabriolets than Rover did 75s in total. Rover’s tie-up with MG to produce the ‘hot’ ZT did bring some life to the party, but it was still rather niche.

Fat forwards to today and Britain’s pothole-riddled roads, and the 75 is a car that makes sense with its cushiony ride that won’t rattle a single Werther’s Original out of place in its packet.

John says trying to find a good one today is very tough, though, with examples a rarity. However, those that have survived are holding their value at a time when many other classics are dropping in price.

Value in 2025: £550 (1.6 Base) to £7000 (1.8 Elegance, concours)

Vauxhall wasn’t first to the party with a shrunken MPV, nor was the Zafira the most interesting mini-MPV of the late 1990s - step forward the oddball Fiat Multipla to take that crown.

But despite being about as exciting as a crossword puzzle on a Friday night, it sold like hot cakes - and you’d have struggled to walk down a single residential street at the turn of the millennium without spotting one.

Fitting seven seats (even if the rear pair were very small) into a hatchback footprint was very clever, and being based on the Astra G platform was also smart given the Vauxhall hatch’s fine driving characteristics.

Many fathers, sons and daughters will still fondly remember the Zafira from its ‘Little Dads’ advert, and that seems to be helping maintain values, John reckons.

However, he warns they’re very rare to find in good condition today.