157bhp in the rare early non-cat version
Proper fast little engine and quite pretty to (did I just say that? )
I'm embarrassed to say it was the looks of the MkII GTE that appealed. I really liked the way it looked, and the power to weight was astonishing (for what it was). Newest car I'd ever had at the time, 2yrs old when I got it, and paid £5.2k IIRC (£15k new). Being Vauxhall, rust was already coming through.
2 downsides, aside from being a girls car,
1) Absolutely hopeless at getting any power down, and in corner handling was an unpredictable toss-up between under and oversteer (yet very controllable), any attempt to correct speed in a corner was always "exciting"
2) Attracted too much attention, from both Police and scrotes. I've always tried to avoid such "obvious" cars since, as not worth the hassle.
Only had it a year, what a hoot it was, but the constant worry of not knowing it would be where you left it was overwhelming (as was the insurance renewal!)