XR3 - no excuse. thought it was cool at the time.
205 was the 1.9 and had an awesome exhaust and stereo - again for the time. Proper pocket rocket and noisy!! was just a target to car theifs in basingstoke essentially..
The 2.2 was a great car. Best VTec they did, crazy revs and an S2000 style power band around 4500 - 5000 rpm
the steering too some getting used to but like you say worked flawlessly and was good for parking. It was an Auto as you mention if I recall

Oh and missed a Rover coupe 'targa top' aswell. That thing drove on rails and had a great engine.. just no cred!