They tried hard to please us – they really did – but with some British cars we just never seemed to ‘get’ what the manufacturers came up with for us. Meet nine British-built classics that proved hard to love in their day and yet had a quite a lot to offer in exchange for a little forgiveness. Hurrah for the humdrum – from the bland that time forgot.
Austin Montego
The 1984 Montego was at its most handsome in estate guise, where those purposeful contours made it almost as versatile as Volvo’s legendary 240. Yet while the saloon version could never be considered eye candy, here was a British range every bit as good as the Vauxhall Cavalier. Like the Cavalier, it was front-wheel drive, and unlike most of the lamentable heaps to emanate from Austin-Morris during the 1970s, the suspension consisted of conventional coil springs and was none the worse for the lack of rubber and fluids. In its creation, the Montego had received the full focus of engineer Spen King and designer David Bache, the dynamic Rover duo behind the Range Rover and SD1. It was a good, solid car. Just such a shame the patriotic fervour that had made the rather second-rate Austin Metro a hit four years earlier had run out of steam.
Ford Consul Classic
This jagged wonder was the compact crossover of its day in 1961 – that is, a car where the imperative to be ultra-trendy somewhat overwhelmed its place in the world. It was meant to be a big brother to the Anglia 105E – with the same reverse-slope back window – but the project got waylaid inside Ford and when it was finally launched in 1961 all the flashy styling touches that were so futuristic back in the mid 1950s suddenly seemed to grate. Almost as soon as it was in showrooms, Ford started work on the Cortina to replace it. However, the Cortina was tinny where the Classic was solid, and anyone who bought one of these cars got a sackload of good stuff – from front disc brakes and a four-speed floor-mounted gearchange to decent roadholding and – yes, a novelty then – a flasher mode for those four headlamps. With a concours version costing little more than £10,000 today, this is an everyman classic that looks of an era.
Jaguar Mk X
It’s hard to underestimate what a phenomenal machine this was at its launch in 1961. Here was a sumptuously appointed British saloon that could touch 120mph with the 3.8-litre twin-cam straight-six, and thanks to the independent rear suspension set-up of an E-type it handled like a sports car. There would be none of the creaks and sighs of older Jag saloons because the structure was a brand new monocoque giving impressive refinement – a lot of what made the XJ6 so brilliant was first seen in this car – while the occupants travelled in unprecedented splendour, swathed in Connolly hide and walnut cabinet work. It was anything but a handful to drive but people found its huge length and width (aimed at the US) off-putting, and it was always somewhat unloved. Even company founder William Lyons later admitted that the Mk X was just too big! Today a good condition Mk X could be yours for about £15,000.
Morris 1800
A big, fine-handling car that exuded common sense – there was simply so much thoughtful rationale in the 1800, which also came in Austin and Wolseley versions. It was the ultimate statement of the Mini’s front-wheel drive, transverse-engine concept created by engineer Alec Issigonis, with Hydrolastic suspension for an excellent ride and an enormous amount of passenger space front and back. There was even a rudimentary ABS system using a special valve to automatically distribute braking force between front and rear. The fact this was an engineer’s car was reflected, though, in the plain, minimalist interior and ungainly looks that gained it the unflattering nickname ‘The Landcrab’. Customers weren’t drawn to it, preferring the ever-changing tinsel of Fords and Vauxhalls that were vastly inferior dynamically. At around £3000 for a good condition example, this is a wonderfully affordable route to owning an unexceptional classic car.
Nissan Micra C+C
Do you like fresh air, gadgets, bulletproof reliability, and miserly running costs? But not that bothered about the traffic lights grand prix? And don’t give a hoot what anyone else thinks? This was probably the car for you back in 2005. Nissan got Karmann in to build its open-air Micra at the Sunderland plant; the design was from Nissan’s London studios and the engineering looked after at its tech centre in Cranfield. So quite surprisingly British, then. The electrically-operated folding steel roof packed away into the boot at the touch of a button, giving convertible zest with all the trouble-free running that your granny loved in her Micra. Scorned by petrolheads but, hey, would you have cared?
Reliant Kitten
It would be entirely understandable that you wouldn’t elect to drive a Reliant Robin, what with there being a wheel missing and having to have the rowdy engine as good as inside the cockpit with you. But the attributes of a thrifty 850cc all-aluminium power unit and corrosion-free glassfibre bodywork were compelling in the mega-inflation, fuel crisis-bedevilled mid-1970s, and so the Kitten came to life in 1975 as an alternative to the Mini and Fiat 126. There wasn’t much to go wrong and this rear-drive plastic baby drove pretty well considering its men-in-sheds genesis. Best of all was the potential for 60mpg, which might sound unimpressive in today’s terms but back then was grist to the penny-pincher’s mill. Still, it took a certain kind of eccentric to even enter a Reliant dealer’s humble premises, and it wasn’t that cheap.
Rover Streetwise
For anyone who admires the work of Peter Stevens, such as the McLaren F1, then here is a chance for you to own a PS original at a fraction of the usual cost. And what a sensible choice: an SUV with none of the unnecessary complexity of four-wheel drive but jacked up suspension, big 16in wheels, roof bars, and lots of chunky black plastic on the nose and tail and along the sides to ward off the bumps and scrapes that soon take the box-fresh aura off other new cars. True, the 25’s cabin was a bit small, but in 2003 it was already a good car that was fun to drive and well proven. Rover was in its death throes, so the Streetwise never made much impact, yet actually it was in the vanguard of the similarly conceived Citroen C4 Cactus and countless other crossover-type cars.
Talbot Alpine
Do you know anyone that is a fan of the Alpine, the Anglo-French five-door hatchback first seen in 1975? Even the fact it was independently chosen as European Car Of The Year that year seemed to add not one gemstone of desirability to it, and yet it rubbed shoulders with such hopelessly dated fayre as the Imp, Avenger and Hunter in the Chrysler showrooms which would shortly be rebranded as Talbot outlets. The least appetising aspect of the car was probably its rather coarse Simca 1.3-, 1.5 and 1.6-litre engines, held back by the lack of a five-speed gearbox until 1980. But they were spacious and fun to drive, and for quite a while the very few rivals included the ancient Renault 16 and the far more pricey Volkswagen Passat. The Alpine might have lacked charisma but possibly its biggest drawback was it was simply ahead of its time…
Jaguar X-Type
The armchair view from Jaguar diehards was the 2001 X-Type was an appalling travesty. This was because it was based on the Ford Mondeo, with the marque’s normally sleek contours compressed to fit. The muddled design thinking had come from Detroit, where they’ll seemingly glue any badge on absolutely any car if it results in a quick buck. In fact, with its standard four-wheel drive and 2.5-litre V6 engine the X-type was a fine machine, its unseen hardware benefitting from thorough, big-budget development while the interior – albeit a tad pinched for a Jag – seemed to get the double wood-and-leather treatment to compensate. Okay, so Jaguar was slow to adopt diesel and later on the front-drive 2-litre one was indeed a bit of a nothing but the Sportwagon, the first ever Jag estate, was an attractive overall package.
Hurrah for the humdrum: the highlights of the Festival of the Unexceptional (2014 to 2019)
Starting at the top. We had quite a few 1800s when I worked at Dunlop, these we good cars..all that room, pity about the gearbox.
Classic, Ford found them expensive to build, quite a heavy car for the 1300 (3 bearing engine), far better with the 1500. Capri quite a stunner for the period. They were all prone to the rust worm, badly even for the era.
Lastly the X type. My daughters is in my drive. Well built, 10 years old, ..no rust at all. The leather makes anything from Germania look like a cheap three piece suite
The Mark 10 was the underpinning of the Daimler Limo, the favourite of undertaker for years.
I owned an Austin 1800 for a few years. it was a great comfortable car wilth loads of room inside and built like a tank. It would go anywhere in the snow with the weigh of it and being front wheel drive.
Jaguar X-Type. Lovely drive with the 3.0 engine not mentioned here. But spectacularly unreliable: I ditched mine the week it came off Warranty!
Didn’t have an 1800, but had two of the closely related Maxi’s (1750 version), which were also spacious, comfortable and nicely trimmed for the era. Also had an Alpine (1440 engine), and totally agree with comment above. Needed a 5the gear and PAS, otherwise a very solid and practical car.
the 1800 might not have been a big seller but it was far ahead of its time,ive 2 wolseleys on the drive now and both are a pleasure to drive and solid not bad for a 50 year old design that still keeps up with modern traffic
Jag MKX won’t be such a big car on today’s roads, the only car on this page i’d consider real money on. Though if there’s still a solid Montego left…
I owned a Wolseley 18/85 back in the day for about 4 years and loved it. Solid,roomy, reliable and built like a tank. Got hit up the arse by a Cortina, that fell apart and mine was straightened out and back on the road in under a week.
I owned a maxi and a Montego. The Maxi being a derivative of the Austin 1800 was roomy and as a first car was cheep to insure. It had no street cred and was a bit of a joke for my mates. It wasn’t much fun to drive either. However once the gear change and bus driver steering were mastered; any other car was a cinch to drive.
The Montego proved to be a lot better and more reliable car than its reputation suggested. however after 7 years, corrosion meant it was almost worthless as a trade in. At least my Max was 15 years old before rust killed it off.
My brother had a Morris 1800. He loaned it to me for a weekend when my car had broken down and I desperately needed a car. It was so spacious, comfortable and a joy to drive. A few years later I nearly bought one which was in very good condition and cheap. I had a good look at it and informed the owner of my intention to buy it, but didn’t have quite enough money. He was pleased because I was the only person who had expressed interest. I rustled the money together in a couple of weeks, but alas he had sold it.
I had a Montego 1.6L for just over two years as a company car. I knocked up 108,000 miles in that time. It was very comfortable , never broke down, had a huge boot and was, for its day, very economical. All in all, an outstanding car and very much maligned.
I learned to drive in a 180o lovely car – lots of leg room – lovely to drive
I owned a ‘Wolseley 6’ which I thought was a dream car, beautiful leather seats, wood trim interior and the six cylinder engine was a nice smooth power unit. The only problem was the amount of oil used at least a pint every time I filled the tank. Still loved it though.
I love my X-Type 2.0D. Lovely “traditional Jag” styling, powerful, economical, & refined. No way is it a “Mondeo in drag!”
Dad had one of the old Westminster it was mahoosive as a child I rattled inside the car and it even had cardboard in the floors to cover the holes in the floor pan…!
We used to use the 1800,s as staff cars in the RAF lovely cars to drive. Painted them either matt green or gloss black and stuck a pendent holder on the bonnet. First time I hit 100mph in a car was driving one of these down the M4.
i passed my test in a maxi 1750. fantastic versatile car, rear seats transformed it from saloon, to van, and spacious to sleep in, and over 40mpg on a run. loved it, but it rotted.
also had montego 20 hl really comfy on a long run
this was at a time when everything British was rubbish . Dixons group were aware of this and their cheap audio and Tv’s given Japanese sounding names but in reality were poorer quality but sold . Strikes in the car industry and workers sleeping on the night shift all part of the myth and british was not as it was in the 60’s when Truimph motorbikes and the mini were iconic British quality under priced world beaters in their class
Reliant Kitten economy (60mpg) unimpressive by todays standards! Really? There aren’t that many cars even diesels and hybrids nearly 50 years on that could manage 60mpg in the real world.
My Dad had 2 Austin 1800’s; same engine as MGB – pretty gutsy. Then moved to 2200 which he said lacked power. Loads of space in them. I particularly remember the plastic leather like seats that got pretty hot in the sun
You seem to have lighted upon a group of cars that offended everyone by their blandness, except for the Jaguars, of which the Mark Ten was too big and the X-Type too small and country pub-quaint; and like all the others, worthless as a trade-in. I’m not a trader, but you still have to understand that the motor trade has a keen nose, and can smell a stinker a mile away. And except for the Jaguars, mechanically, these were all absolute stinkers!
I had an 1800 as a taxi, great car not fast but comfortable, roomy and economical, also had a montego and a Mk10 no complaints with any of them.
I had two Montego Estates, a 1600 & then a 2lit. The 2lit especially was a joy to drive, easy to maintain, and was very well equipped for the time. Unfortunately it was a victim of the poor build quality that so many cars were. If you got five years out of it before the rust with took over, you were doing pretty well.
My father had an Austin 1800 from new it was a great car
We would drive from Birmingham to Market Rasen twice a month without issue,great times
I had an Austin Maxi back in the early 80s, it was the twin carb model and it went really well !!
The car was very comfy, had lots of room, was well appointed inside but looked dull on the outside,
unfortunately It was written off by a driver not stopping at a roundabout and hitting us in the rear door and quarter panel, it spun us around in the mouth of the exit from the roundabout, we were all ok and the car styed on its wheels, this proved how stable the car was, it stayed on the road and did not flip over.
A good car but never loved by the public.
Had a Talbot Alpine as my first company car, yellowy colour, but still loved it. A very
versatile car which replaced my well beloved second Maxi.
I liked the Talbot Alpine and its later brethren, the booted Solara. They were designed in Britain using Simca engines and built in France and at Ryton near Coventry. The problems were the engines rattled and the bodywork was extremely rustprone.
The story with the Ford Classic was that this was the only car that Ford UK made a loss on. Apparently, the boot lid was so difficult to make, given it’s double curvature, that this one panel cost as much as all the rest of the external panels put together, as most pressings had to be discarded.
I had two “land crabs’ from new, a Wolseley 1885 S in wild moss and a Wolseley six in white with navy velour interior. I loved both. However both suffered from various issues and the six was changed for a Triumph Dolomite, which proved to be much more reliable, even if a tad smaller.
However, let’s not forget some of the continental howlers. I bought a Lancia Beta 1600 saloon in 1978. It was a fabulous car new. Price wise, the British competition was the dull Maxi. It had great performance and road holding. The paint finish was fantastic. Lancia (Fiat) were using base coat and lacquer for metallic paints, whilst auto GB were still using straight metallic paints. Panel fit was also great, but as we all know, the dreaded tin worm consumed them and I was left with a car that I couldn’t sell. It finally went to the scrap yard in 1985 at only 7 years old.
My wife has had a 2010 Ford Fiesta from new, which has zero rust on it. That’s what I call progress!
I can remember being a guest at BL’s Sudeley Castle engineering HQ (I was invited by future heritage director Peter Mitchell to view stored cars later to form the Gaydon collection) the day the Maestro was launched (early 82?). It looked like a breath of fresh air but the Montego I believe was a booted version that didn’t sit quite so elegantly. However when the fuel injected MG version was launched I had a test drive – bonkers in a straight line but I opted for the Audi 80 Sport instead.
I had a Talbot Alpine 1.5 in the mid eighties. I did 60000 miles in it and, apart from a broken clutch, it never let me down. It was roomy, comfortable and economical. I loved it but boy did it rust! Mine was a french built one though. It was always said that the Ryton built ones were better
Well you left out the Allegro which was a pleasant surprise as it usually gets unjustly panned – I loved mine, very reliable and light an airy. I had to sell it to get a Midget to uphold my image as a young RAF aviator. Wolseley 18/85S is a wonderful car my father had when I was a kid it felt and smelt of luxury back in the early 70s and I loved its styling. Finally the Montego – I had two, a strange damson/purple coloured one I had as company car when I was just grateful to have one but I remember it feeling nice and long legged on the motorways of the late 80s. Later an MG Montego which was a lot of fun to drive but got nicked in Bradford and was found burned out in a reservoir which my colleagues pithily renamed Montego Bay. Would I have any as a classic? Maybe the Wolseley.
Montego Bay!
Had an Austin 2200 for 2 years,never let me down and always started first time. As someone else has commented they were brilliant snow cars. I do recall it used a bit of oil though
My first car was the 1800 and what a car. Great in snow huge inside very reliable and economical. Built like a tank. I’d have another tomorrow
The montego wasn’t a bad car either
Just a shame that British attitudes to work in the 70’s cost so much
The Ford Classic and Capri versions were good cars but just too dear for what they were … over £8oo but you could buy a Mk2 Zephyr for not much more so they were a non starter
1800 range good cars worked ,on many much under rated. X type Jaguar one of the best cars I have owned no problems even if people called it a Ford.
My Dad was an old friend of Sir William as they grew old together, and always supported him buying Swallow Swift cars and then Jaguars throughout his life. His favourite car was always his beloved Mk.X , which he even preferred to his last XJ6. In his mind the Mk.X perfectly epitomized Sir William’s claim of ‘Grace, Pace & Space’, and in its day was superior to almost all similar Mercedes models.
I had a a Sunbeam Alpine as a company car. After having had Ford 1.6 Cortinas for numerous years, the comparative performance felt noticeably different. It was a great family car too when the children were small with room for all our luggage and a Golden retriever in the boot. Proved to be thoroughly reliable. I acquired it for my father and it went on well into over a 100K miles. Rust got it in the end.
I have been very pleased with my Jaguar X type Sovereign 2.2 diesel estate, 08 plate. It drives very well, has been very reliable and still looks very good inside and out. It gets a regular high quality valeting which keeps it together very well. It is also a good load carrier to go with my MX5 and TR4.
I have also had two other maligned cars but which I found excellent – Singer Chamois and Rover SD1 2600.
Phew, what a relief – I only owned one and a half from the list: a Rover 200 TDi, nice shape and big enough for two in comfort, good turn of speed and economical to run. The red paintwork started peeling but after a battle it was part resprayed.
The Jag was a handsome 2,2D Estate, so most would consider it to be a distant relative of the marque; we loved it for its looks, equipment, performance and economy so I really missed it when it went. A much underestimated machine. Besides when I turned the key it reminded me that it was a ‘Jaguar’ before we got underway; I never thought I’d ever have one !
Although I never owned an Alpine I always thought it looked like a low rent Lancia Beta, but although it rusted the Beta had it beat, unfortunately.
The X-Type Jaguar was launched before the Mondeo and I always think Ford missed a trick by not spinning the fact that the new Mondeo was based on the Jaguar platform. Journalists of the day lauded the Jaguar/Mondeo platform as one of the best handling cars in its segment at the time
We bought an X-type 2.0d estate in 2005, use it nearly every day and I still enjoy driving it. The seats are some of the most comfortable of all our cars and even after 135,000 miles the engine is tourquey and frugal. The interior has worn very well and the cream leather and wood finish is in great shape. We’ll never sell it!
Back around 1980 I had the opportunity to check out the engine bay of a Rolls Royce. I noted Lucas electrics, same as my Triumph, SU carburettors, ditto, Champion spark plugs, ditto. I have no doubt that, if I had been so able, I would have found many more common parts. So how come the Rolls Royce legendary reliability compared to, say, BLs poor one? The answer, I determined was in quality control; RR had it, BL didn’t. BL threw in the parts without checking quality, probably including what RR had rejected. The law of averages dictates that some BL cars would be assembled using a high proportion of duff parts, giving the marque a reputation for unreliability. Most would receive a mix of good and bad parts, doing nothing to reverse a bad reputation. Some would receive a high proportion of good parts; these are the cars we now see at shows.
Contrary to most peoples perception, The 1800, Montego, Maxi etc were wonderful machines.
I owned or drove regularly all of them, as my father was a garage owner and all manner of cars were at my disposal for ‘test drives’ after being in for service or repair.
I owned 2 Maxi’s, one used as a wedding car being very dark plum colour with white ribbons, looked the biz. The other one took my family to the Isle of Wight for a holiday, no mean trip, for we lived in the north, near Sheffield.
The 2 Montego’s we had were very good cars, no breakdowns, anywhere we went, we got home again. Unlike the Vauxhall Viva, got us everywhere and always broke down on the way home.
The 1800 was a great tow car, once we had bump stop extenders fitted. I took my wife with the Sprite Muskateer to South Devon, amongst other shorter trips.
I could go on about my cars Ford Pop 100E, Anglia, quite a few Mini’s, Hillman Hunter etc.
I am now in my 70’s and have settled on a lovely Citroen C4 Picasso Automatic, I do like oddball cars you see..
I am always suspicious of motoring journalists who mimmick Clarkson and his gang by making derogatory comments about Reliant. I inherited my fathers Robin and it served me in early years of married life very well. As a motorcyclist, I understood what driving something within its limits meant. I went on to own 2 Kittens and they faithfully served my wife & I for many years. Those were the days when you could change your own clutch on the driveway in a Sunday and be ready for work again by Monday. Superb little car in every respect – and I make the comparison after a career driving company cars of many high-end brands and specs.
Apart from its ‘ahead of the game’ economy, the little 850 Kitten engine was unburstable and running costs were extremely low .
Great memories.
I had an X Type Jaguar sportwagon and it was a fine machine, handsome, reliable and comfortable. It was also excellent in rain and snow. The Ford DNA added a level of reliability that was appreciated.
My father had three 1800’s in succession. Once the poor quality assembly problems were sorted (the first was the best, and the subsequent cars were progressively worse!) they proved excellent cars. Reliable, economic, vast amounts of space and could two well, despite being front wheel drive. Capable of long distance cruising in comfort, they proved ideal for our family of four. Journeys included towing a caravan to Italy when the road network was very different to today’s. Then it was mostly single carriage way roads across France!
“The Mark 10 was the underpinning of the Daimler Limo, the favourite of undertaker for years.”
I believe that it was the 420 which was the basis for the Daimler limousine, although many of the parts were shared with the MK10 and later 420G’s. The confusion occurs as the later MK10’s were badged as 420G’s. I had a Daimler 420 in the mid 80’s. Mine was well worn by that time, but what a great car it must have been when new for the late 60’s.
Montego. I owned its smaller Maestro sister from new and it served a young family brilliantly for many years. My Alpine was very spacious, comfortable and driveable, but the gutsy engine was so noisy, and then finally through a big end on the M1. Had a 2.5AWD X-Type from new and sold it many years later having covered over 120k mileage – absolutely brilliant car.
I was gratified to see a number of the cars I owned and drove in my earlier years in your list. My employer was a supplier to Rover and I was often invited to jollys at Silverstone where, after a lecture and meal we could grab a key from the cabin to one of the many cars we could have a play with. I was lucky to get the MG Montego Turbo. I’m still shaken. The circuit was in its original form apart from a chicane in the middle of Woodcote. I only got it because it had one of the Jim Russell Driving school instructors on board. He was French! I set off on, I thought a good lap, happy to not get a “Wrong Line” board at entry and exit and delighted to get a “Too fast” one at the apex. On the next lap, getting cocky, began to explore my limits, courage that is. All was going well, mild scream from the tyres through Copse, braking through Maggots, down to second for Becketts, accelerate up to third for Chapel and then as the corner opened out for Hanger straight, floored it. Nothing for a moment then all hell broke loose as the turbo cut in. I had been warned of the slight turbo lag! It went across the track like a scalded cat, me hanginging grimly onto the steering wheel pointed vaguely left, frightened to lift off, watching the nose coming around, lots of noise, the exit line cone getting perilously closer. I imagined the aggro from collegues as I became the first to visit the infield and possibly the barriers. But suddenly it all calmed down and I was headed off down Hanger straight. In the middle of the mayhem I thought I saw the exit board marshall’s back as he ran for his life but I might have been mistaken. Once I’d got it straight there was a short pause and then the Instructor leaned over and slapped me on the knee, exclaiming “Bon! Bon!” then shouting “En Y Va!” pointing down to Stowe. I think he honestly thought I had been in control of the whole process, my lack of panic giving this impression whereas the truth was I was frozen with fear and the car did the rest for me! I even got a pat on the back from him as we parked, getting another “Bon! Bon!” as I climbed out, inhaling the delicious smell of hot rubber! It was one of many great days with Rover, Ford and Vauxhall.
I bought my wife a Maxi which she never stopped complaining about, using it myself occasionally. Comfortable and roomy. Great for overnight stays on the cheap and quite capable of carrying a completely dismantled TR4 engine around. My X-Type went well and looked good but duff springs, plugs, coil packs, rear brakes rather took the shine off it. The jack went through the sills of both of them along with the front chassis legs of the Jag going down with the same malady. They were both bought pre-owned quite cheaply and provided about 3-4 years cheap motoring. My brother in law had a Land crab which I helped him maintain. For him it was perfect. Most of his clients lived at the top of steep Welsh hills, reached only by narrow crumbling tracks. It never let him down. It came to a sad end beached on a traffic island over which he had attempted to take a short cut. At that point it was still okay but the rescue truck dropped it! Fini! We had a couple of Montegos at the works which I and others drove and they got us comfortably wherever we wantd to go whether it was Heathrow or down to the chippy to fetch a working lunch. The one you haven’t mentioned was the most maligned of all, the Morris Marina. It was for my wife and was a ’71 TC 1800. The complaints came mainly from press on launch days who in abusing them exposed the problems with the Morris Minor style front suspension and the canted rear shock absorbers. Ford had exactly the same problem with the Escort, the strength of both cars resting on the extremely stiff central tunnel to which the top ends of the dampers were located. Special tuning resolved the problems and also supplied a kit to owners who wanted more spirited driving out of the car. The car though suited its customer base perfectly. Reps car, family saloon, town car etc. It sold extremely well, out selling Ford on occasions and winning major rallies in the 1300 version and Touring car races in the 1800 TC variant. The Top Gear Team should be ashamed of themselves.
Well give me a BMW, Volkswagen or Skoda than that rubbish, there is no mention of fuel economy although the German and Czech cars have great km to gallon distance, well after brex**it will we see the revival of the Singer Gazelle or Hillman Hunter?
I have had two X-types. The first a 3.0 Auto. Great styling inside and out. Only the floor-plan and some parts were like the Mondeo so it was not a dressed-up Mondeo. It did benefit from Ford’s understanding of reliability. The only down side was the very bad match between the engine and auto-box; you had to have the engine screaming at times to overtake. My second X-Type was the 2.0 litre diesel. A superb car with super toque and a real match between the engine and gearbox.
I absolutely adore the Jag mk. X and the following 420G. Such underestimated classics…
A few other somewhat exotics that could rightfully have been on this list spring to mind:
– Triumph Stag
– Reliant Scimitar
Yes, the Stag had reliability issues when new, but it’s a stunningly handsome GT and that 3-litre V8 has a soundtrack to die for – in my humble opinion, much more pleasing than the often favoured Rover V8.
And the Scimitar… well, I’ll confess that as the owner of a ’78 Scimitar GTE SE6a, I’m of course biased. Or maybe, I’m simply better qualified to express my opinion on this car than the general masses are? Having used mine both as a year-round driver and not least toured much of western Europe in it, I can assure every on elf you that it is a hugely comfortable, competent and enjoyable GT. As a bonus, they can still be bought – in good nick I might add – for mere pocketmoney…
Great to hear that, Anders. It sounds as though you’re in agreement with Sam Skelton, who wrote our Buying Guide for the Triumph Stag. You can see that here: https://www.hagerty.co.uk/articles/buying-guide-triumph-stag-1970-1977/
having been in the motortrade,cars of their time remember,most were fine when looked after,fine the 1800 was a landcrab,fine the talbot 1.3/1.5 engine was a rattler,there were some good ones,try the jaguar/mondeo around 2001 not mentioned with an 8 valve 2.0 litre diesel peugeot engine which was labelled rhz without dpf,it appeard in peugeot expert vans,
with regular oil changes and cambelts 406 taxis would run to 500k without anything going wrong…. there are some better than others,authors of theese articles know very little about getting their hands dirty for 40 years every day either,i can tell quite alot about the motor trade,and generally cars are how they are looked after and driven,and not whats wrong that needs putting right…… its called maintenance!
Montego: “… the suspension consisted of conventional coil springs and was none the worse for the lack of rubber and fluids.”
Austin 1800: “… with Hydrolastic suspension for an excellent ride …”
Make your mind up! Hydrolastic; objectively better; subjectively Marmite.
Giles’ first line praises Hydrolastic systems. Which suggests his mind is made up.
Learned to drive on my dads 1800. Solid motor. Then had a maxi. My wife had 3 montegos in the 1980s, 1300, 1600 and 2 lt versions. Gave great service. Very reliable.
I had a Montego 1.6l estate in the 1980s – great car that could take a family of seven plus a dog on outings and still do 100mph when less full. Yes it was a bit cheap and cheerful but could hold about as much as a Volvo estate. Never broke down. As a Co car, only had it three years so did not experience the rust problems. The British car industry had some great innovators in its day but sadly very poor management and workforce problems.
My partner had a Rover Streetwise, super little car with decent build quality. No complaints at all but due to it’s emissions the road tax was very high. It was changed for a Fiat Panda, just £30 a year road tax!
One of my employers had Montegos as a company car for the lowly (engineers like me!) as BL couldn’t sell them and they bought a job lot cheap. Most had been sitting in stock yards for several months – one of my colleagues, as a result, had a very unusual warranty fault to report on his car’s first service. He couldn’t remove the dipstick as it was rusted in!
I bought a ‘67 Austin 1800 for £20 in ‘83. I was courting my girlfriend (still my wife today) and the front bench seat and floor mounted high beam switch meant I could drive for miles at night with my arm around her.
The article says it was called the Land Crab for how it looked. That is not correct – it was because of how the hydrolastic suspension behaved. I took a corner at speed on a standard road but the car was bouncing a bit. With the centripetal forces it built up the oscillation and bounced sideways like a land crab (which I have seen in Belize, Central America). It was necessary to ease off the speed without braking, and let the suspension settle. I’m thankful that nothing was coming the other way.
I also had a 1500 Maxi which, to this day, is the most economical car I ever had. One day I overloaded the boot with heavy boxes and the front raised up so high that the steering was ineffective so I had to unload it again to a usable quantity. You could say that I learned a lot about driving in my early years from Austin’s!
I had a 1985 1.6L Montego saloon in metallic turquoise and grey interior.It produced 85bhp giving it reasonable performance for the time but handling wasn’t confidence inspiring and build quality was poor.It was roomy inside with a good sized boot easily swallowing the golf clubs and prams etc.I ran it for a couple of years and had no issues with it.I am surprised there are one or two omissions from the list,notably the Allegro(and the famous Quartic steering wheel) which surely ranks as the worst car ever produced,and the Morris Marina which ran it a close second.
I note the comment from the former RAF gentleman who allegedly extracted 100mph from an Austin 1800 and suggest this was due to a combination of an over optimistic speedometer and that he must have been drafting a Lightning MK6 down the runway at the time.Lucky if it could crack 90mph downhill with a tailwind.
It is difficult to think of cars from the fifties on until proper treatment was given to the bodywork of cars that didn’t rust. Some better, I had three Maxis that seemed good (so did my Minis) but a disaster with a Renault 16 which even had a door fall off. The most rotten car I ever experienced and certainly not better than the 1750 Maxi in almost every respect. We all listen to complaints about British cars, but what about those lovely Italian products. The Alfa Sud, wonderful to drive but rot everywhere, and my lovely Fulvia – heartbrraking. So I, too, now drive a Citroen Picasso, my third, all have been excellent, this is the best. Fast, economical 1.6 litre turbo diesel, very comfortable. I bought it in 2016 and pay no road tax, thank-you, and it isn’t frighteningly expensive for main agent servicing and this is carried out well. I’ve had two recalls, neither for high-risk faults, but it would be impossible to service myself the way I did all those years ago, just look in the service book, it told everything that had to be done and didn’t take the whole of a Sunday morning to complete – at least four times a year. Do you remember BA screws? On the original Mini, there were quite a lot of them. Sorry, I remember many cars with great fondness, but wouldn’t go back to them, looking at models in my cabinet is quite sufficient, all the cars going back to a 1946 Rover P2 and up to the 2000s. Yes, better as memories including all the untimely breakdowns!
Your comments on most of the British cars from the mid 60s to the 80s are valid in terms of design, reliability and lack of rust proofing.
However the comments on the Jaguar Xtype are completely unjustified – total rubbish. I owned 2 Xtype estates, which were ultra reliable and in my opinion were well designed, comfortable and a dream to drive. This model was the start of Jaguar’s revival and it converted me to the mark.
I have since owned a further 4 XF types.
Perhaps instead of hating all things British you should direct your comments to the British Government and business for their total lack of support and investment in our car industry.
Agree with other owners of the fabulous Land Crab (a mobile Tardis), its Maxi daughter and the roomy (in both versions) nippy and great handling Montego. Couldn’t afford an X type but laughed at its snobby beraters (so what’s the problem with a 4wd Jag with Ford reliability?).
The car you missed? The Hillman Avenger! Sharp handling, neat looks and nippy enough in 1500 form. Released at a time people were still driving Morris Minors! Reliability without trinkets.
I remember replacing the clutch on a Wolseley 2200 on a cold winters night in the late 70’s in a farm barn on the edge of the Pennines. I’d slung the block and tackle over one of the wooden roof beams in the barn (engine and gearbox had to be removed as a unit) and with every pull of the chain the beam would increasingly creak. How I got away without the barn roof coming in, I’ll never know.
With reference to Skoda Cars ,they were pure Rust Buckets. I bought one in 1971 brand new from the dealers in Nechells, Birmingham.
after only 3 months both windscreen wipers were rusty, I returned to the dealers to report this fault.
the response was the whole lot will be rusty in less than 12 months.
The dealer was right.
Because finances were tight I was forced to keep the car 4 years.
After 3 years, when the car was being MOTd, the Mechanic said, the whole breaking system was under designed.
The car did however pass.
after 4 years only I was forced to scrap the car.
So Much For SCRAPPY SKODA.
I was well and truly robbed .
I was one of the lucky ones. I bought a second-hand Montego estate automatic, and it was probably the best car I had for towing my caravan. The “lock-up” box meant that it was a direct drive in top gear, thus it was very responsive.
I also had, as tow-cars, two Vauxhall Carltons, and, biggest of the lot, a Nissan QX. I bought it at 18 months old, for £9000 (basically half-price), and it gave me 100,000 miles of completely trouble-free motoring!
I worked for Chysler when the Alpine was being launched, spending much time in Newhaven importing the first models into the UK. Back then, the performance was impressive for such a small engine (1442 version) and the handling was most impressive (particularly on the long sweeping bends A259 between Newhaven and Seaford!). Sadly, they were let down by the rubbery gear change from Simca 1100 and the lack of oil supply to the camshaft making older cars very rattley .
Surprised that the Hillman Avenger didn’t made your list probably the worts car I ever had with a leaky petrol tank and corrosion everywhere. Cheap but definitely not cheerful.
i don’t hate any of these. not a massive fan of the x-type but even that had a cool 4-wheel drive version. i run an “Old British Cars” group on facebook, come and see some great british cars there 🙂
i had two 18 hundreds and a austin 22 hundred. al wonderful cars. used to travel from east cornwall to north essex every six weeks in the 2200 put it in top gear at plymout and left it thereuntill leaving the m25. could do the 300 miles in 5 hours then now it takes 6 plus if your lucky.
happy days
The nickname ‘Landcrab’ was earned because the 1800 and 1800S were used as support cars during rallies when the Cooper S was sweeping the board. It was and still is a compliment
I drove the 1800 and the 2200 and the Wolseley 6 as a driving instructor in the police.
The Montego was not quite as good performance as the Cavalier i of the day, also restricted to tyre choice because of the TDX wheels and tyre combination which, being a fully metric wheel, diameter in mm not inches, made the only available tyres, Michelin, very expensive. We tested the MG efi but got the downmarket basic model instead with the fuel injected engine.
My first two cars were an Austin 1800 (mum’s cast off) and then a Talbot Solara (Alpine with a boot). Both were perfectly usable and innocuous. After the Talbot in 1989 I bought a Mk1 Golf GTI and drove that for years.
My parents had a sequence of Metro, Maestro, Montego, Rover 214 and they were perfectly OK cars.
It’s a real shame people like Clarkson had to disparage anything not quite as good as the latest BMW costing 2-3 times the price.
The closest I can get to any of the cars on the list is a 1600 Maestro and an Avenger. I had these in the late 80’s. Maestro was great to drive and comfortable but looked like a Grandad’s car. Avenger was terrible and had a brown paintjob and vinyl roof. It was like being on a pirate ship the Hispaniola. Best car I had for laughs was a Fiat Panda which I drove all way across France to the Pyrenees and Provence at 50mph with two friends and a tent on top of the roof rack. The worst car was a VW Passat saloon old style. Absolute crap. I would never buy German or VW again. Sithee.
I had an Austin maxi .did some. Courting in it brill car.
I was into bikes really but have a few observations about the subject. My brother had a Maxi company car in the 70s and i remember it was like a Tardis, all the family in with loads of room. My first car was a XJ6, absolutely fantastic to drive, very uneconomical and had to scrap it as the welding required to get through the mot would have cost more than it was worth, shame, wish I’d had the money at the time and kept it! I had a Montego in the early noughties, a cheap runaround, it was reliable and spacious but i bought it off a massive smoker and it was like driving round in a ashtray!
In its time the 1800 was the strongest body shell in the world, by a factor of about three! I tested the darn things back then and they always asked us to do them again as no-one believed the figures.
On the other hand the Mk 1 Cortina was the weakest, and no-one believed THOSE figures either….
X type, superb car. Owned mine for over 9 years. 4 wheel drive 6 cyl engine great to drive. My first Jag, but not the last.
Bit of information for David, he says his partner had a Rover Streetwise and paid £30 a year Road Tax, doesn’t say what year though, I currently pay £30 a year for my 2016 2ltr Diesel Ford Mondeo and have since I bought it. things don’t change much.
My late father had a 420G in the early 1970’s, fabulous car it was too, but the best Jaguar of all around that time was the 3.8 S-type he had before the 420G
I still own and drive on a daily basis a 1973 Morris 1800
Gent’s, just wonderful to read all your comments.
As far as the present situation is going, it’s almost like being at a classic car show. Remember those?
Leyland produced too many models and varieties to get it right, but such wonderful cars from our past to both recognise and have an experience with.
Watching footage now from the 60’s and 70’s of Britain it’s hard to spot a german car.
We had the market, and we bought them.
There were so many models to choose from. Where was the Imp?
BL was strangled by unions and greed, we could have been world leaders. Shame on you.
The maxi was the first fwd transverse engined multi geared 5 door hatchback. Copied over and over again by other companies. They should have patented that one.
The future is certainly electric, can you imagine in 50 years our grandchildren talking about an early Tesla?
Brian, thank you for the comment. We remember car shows all too well – and miss them greatly, like everyone. Happily we have some exciting new developments planned for the Hagerty site, so that the community can keep in touch. Watch this space folks…
What about the Rover 600, wasn’t that the BMW based model. Also no mention of 18/22’s, Princess’s, and the Italian Marina, the too late Ital!
Rover 600 was Honda based, my ital was a Marina with ital nose and tail tweaks!
I owned a new 1750 with a sunroof, factory fitted. Problem being, if it was raining my wife used to have a shower if I stopped on a slope. Six times back to the dealer to try to cure it before they cured it by sealing it shut and refunded me a small amount. Imagine that now! I loved it and drove everywhere on holidays and to football matches until the wife wanted a change. Great days though.
My first 8 cars were all British and good. 1950 Morris Minor side valve engine as a student, Triumph Herald as ‘Just Married’, Morris Traveller ( K -reg – one of the last) for the space , Maxi 1750 for even more space, Maestro, 2 Montegoes and a Rover 400. The Herald took four of us to Vienna and then Yugoslavia, 29 days’ camping holiday. The Traveller (which could carry half a Junior football team plus kit) did a similar trip two years later. The Maxi carried two, again to Yugoslavia. Spacious, economic and flexible seating. The double bed it could make was great. Then it became a family car with all the stuff for kids and great for towing a small caravan. The Maestro took two adults and two children in the caravan to Yugoslavia and back via Austria and Switzerland. The Montegoes did the same with a larger caravan and the 400 towed to southern Italy and then many times to the coast near Bordeaux. This is not meant to be a boastful travelogue, just a record of over 30 years of trouble-free camping and caravaning holidays using British made cars when it seems to be fashionable to denigrate almost all British cars from the 70s and 80s.
1800 was quite popular amongst farmers. Front wheel drive gave traction in the mud and enough space in the back for a couple of sheep! Cost effective alternative to a Land Rover if bought second hand.
Excellent article, my wife learnt to drive in her father’s Classic, we had 2 Maxis which we loved on one occassion with the back seat down we had 13 primary school kids on board to a birthday party. We also had a Montego as family we loved it too – The VP Montego with the 2. litre honda engine was great, pity about the buillt in rust. The nostalgia is great, some wonderful peices of British engineering, but it’s sad to reflect that what was a dominant British industry has all but disppeared. On the plus side the Japanese have shown us that we can still build good cars.
Jaguar Mk X – superb motorway cruiser
Great reading!! First car, a 1970 Austin 1300, great little car but, alas, rust proved her downfall. Next up, a Ford Escort 1100L (J plate) in powder blue surprisingly very little rust, (probably worth £10 grand plus now if you go by Derek Mathewson’s comments on Bangers and Cash!) and a Ford Escort 1300E (M plate). Both Escorts a real fun drive. Up next a Hillman Avenger Tiger (Luckily my best mate was a copper who knew someone in the trade otherwise it wouldn’t have passed an MOT due to shall we say “rust” issues). Great drivers car. A Triumph Dolomite Sprint was next up! M plate again, where do I start?! Timing chain (at least 3 times), clutch, exhaust manifold, Overdrive oil seals front and rear all within the space of 12 months. Morris Traveller 1969, Ford Cortina’s (many from Mk I to Mk. V’s), various Ford Fiesta’s, Escorts, Focus’s, Austin Mini’s and MG’s. Rust issues excepted, all enjoyable cars to drive unlike the ordinary and mundane drives today (the electronics take the driver out of driving). That said, the only car I have ever regretted having……a 1989 BMW 318i (yes, I’m a guttersnipe!). My current “pleasure” car is a 1999 MB SL 320, that has just passed another MOT with no advisories. Happy driving and stay safe.
The Ford Classic pictured is exactly like my first car. I was 22 years old and knew nothing about cars, but it caused quite a stir in the conservative type neighbourhood where I lived. The reverse rear window, fins and whitewall tyres raised some eyebrows, but I Loved it! It came with no handbook and the first time it needed petrol I was unable to locate the filler cap! Turned out to be under the hinged number plate! Drove from Scotland to France on my honeymoon and in 1962, with no speed limits on major roads it proved to have a high top speed (eventually) probably due to its aerodynamics.
I had a Montego estate for a few years back in the 1990’s and it was a very good car (until it was stolen). I don’t remember ever having a problem with it. Plenty of room in the back when you’ve got a young family. Fold the back seats down and the storage was massive. A good solid car.
The Austin 1800 was one of the best cars I had until I bought my present Audi A6 Allroad. I did almost 250,00miles in the car which was extremely comfortable and very roomy a similar size to my fathers Bentley. I don’t think a car as roomy has been made since.
I have owned a Montego 2.0HL for 2 years, and overall it was a good car which gave me little trouble. The ride was quite comfortable with acceptable road holding, and good braking.
Fuel consumption was not too bad ( I cannot remember the exact figures now), and the performance was about average for a 2 litre car at the time. The biggest drawback with this car was the overall build quality; interior panels, and other fittings that rattled, eventually came loose and fell off; water ingress; and worst of all – body rust.
I bought this car for a real knock down price at a car auction, and it looked really nice at the time, but within the the time I owned it, the tin worm really took hold, and i sold it for spares.
I also owned a dreaded Maestro, which was very cheap, at the same car auction after I disposed of the Montego ( money was tight at the time), and had this car for almost 3 years, The Maestro I had was the 2.0 litre Diesel, which had very good performance, fuel consumption, and braking, The ride and handling were quite good, but the overall build was no improvement on the Maestro, with increasing rattles, and creaks increasing as my ownership progressed, When I bought the car at the Auction, the bodywork was unmarked, however, in just over 12 months, the dreaded tin worm took it toll on the car, and it appeared as if it got worse overnight, every night, so much so that in the end, the engine remained bulletproof, but the body was shot.
The 1800 series was Issigionis’s favourite car – and rightly so. It was excellent, apart from the finish. Ours was a family car – new in 1969 – but the paint did come off it quickly. The factory used to transport bare metal bodyshells from one assembly site to the paint shop on transporter lorries (as the the sealed tunnel connecting the various assembly and finish units wasn’t wide enough to take the 1800)! In winter – rust started to develop before they were even primed (same with the SD1!
I had an sd200 rover 54 mpg diesel went fast 110 mph let down by Lucas electronics I had to sell mine when trouble came in 3 s
Yes, same as Mr Couling, I owned two Reliants back in the early 1980’s, the economy car of the time. My first one was a a 1973 Supervan, passable, but my next one was one of the last 750’s built, a 1975 Robin van model. The trick I found was fit Mini Cooper S tyres, the difference was very noticeable in road holding and cornering, and a bit quicker, as gearing lowered, though a bit less MPG (40 instead of 45 😄). Also, Supervan bit bigger in the back than Robin van. All in all Robins good, though I’ve always fancied a Kitten or Fox
Had 2006 2.2d xtype estate excellent car loads of torque good economy and very roomy and loads of luggage space wish I still had it
Wolseley 6 was a great car. One of my favourites and I have had over 30 cars.
Montego was my first company car and the worst car I ever had by a mile. Mine needed to go to the garage at 2000 mile intervals just to get it to start. Front seats didn’t match the back seats.
I nearly kicked the door in one morning
I loved the Montego. It had a talking dash and was very comfortable.
I had a 1994 Montego Countryman 2.0D as my company car. Did the university trips with ease. Always 50 mpg. I towed a caravan as it had the self levelling suspension with no problems. Did 98K miles before being traded in and never broke down. A complete work horse especially with the large rear space.
My “cars of the decade” that I have owned and some more than once :-
1960’s Riley 1.5 (3)
1970’s Ford Escort Mexico Mk1 (5)
1980’s Ford Escort RS1600i (3)
1990’s Ford Sapphire Cosworth 4×4 (3)
I have owned a Marina 1.3 Coupe, my second car which was a bit tail happy in the wet but very reliable until rust killed it. Had a Ford Escort RS Turbo Series 1, brilliant car but attracted the low life. After several attempted thefts I sold it and bought a Montego 1.6HL. This car was utterly reliable for a couple of years until I went back to fast Fords.
Today I would love to own another Riley 1.5, a Jubilee Marina TC or an MG Montego.
I am lucky to have owned over 70 cars and feel I am well judged to comment. Incidentally I would NEVER own an Audi, BMW or Mercedes but do like Ford, Jaguar and Skoda Octavia VRS.
Thanks for some of the stories, the best one being the MG Montego Turbo at Silverstone. Priceless!
I had three Montego Estates ending with the Countryman, in British racing green, which I especially enjoyed and sold after it had done over 100000miles. Lovely car, reliable and with a family the two rear facing seats in the boot were handy. When I sold it and bought a Skoda Octavia Estate it was like a revelation – I hadn’t fully appreciated how much engineering and build quality had moved on…
I had a black 1800 which never let me down . In harsh weather it always started on the first turn of the key and it would plough through deep snow that we have on the Derbyshire hills . Modern cars at the time would not cope with a Derbyshire winter but the 1800 never failed me . I also had a 1750 Maxi which was very reliable but not as much room inside but it was more economical than the 1800 . One of the company cars I had was a diesel Montego estate and I did 120,000 miles in just one year in this car , no problems at all , very comfortable and I was guilty of overloading the car with product samples , I was selling steel profiles , a great car for the job I was doing .
I took one of the first Austin Maxis to Zambia in 1970. It did over 50,000 miles in 3 years over mainly earth roads. Very good traction in mud and at speed over corrugated surfaces. The hammering on broken surfaces meant that the floor of the boot gradually opened with two long parallel cracks but a body shop in Nairobi pushed it back together and it continued to do the job. Perhaps somewhere out there it is still going like the wonderful cars in Cuba.
The Austin/Morris 1800 got its nickname “Landcrab” not for its looks but from rally drivers who used the term to describe its excellent handling.
The Consul Classic and Jaguar Mk10 look ok, the rest of these car were not great. I showed an American friend a picture of a “Landcrab”, there are a couple in the list, early mid 70’s UK cars (Leyland and its predecessors) looked outdated against contemporary UK Fords and against anything from the US.
Because of his job my dad had a new car each year and after 5 Austin Maxi’s in a row the relief when he got a Chrysler Alpine was heaven! OK, so the headlamp washing brushes didn’t even touch the headlamps, the ride was rubbish but hey – it had electric front windows. Bragging rights for a 14 year old 😉
As a student I had a part-time job at an old-fashioned non-franchised garage. Several of our customers ran 1800s and they gave excellent service and were well liked by our mechanics to work on, there being more accessibility than on Minis and 1100/1300s. A great family car. I ran an 1100 followed by a Mini Cooper and both gave great service. We also looked after a Mark X Jaguar, which was not in the first flush of youth, but its owner really loved it. I only drove it for short distances and not that often, but I always say that it was the best car that I ever drove until I owned an Alfa Romeo 166, although the Jaguar was much more luxurious. As an aside, I had a Montego as a company car in the mid-1980 which I rashly chose over the Sierra and Cavalier opposition, and I can say without hesitation that it was the worst and most unreliable car I ever had. It gave the impression of being both underdeveloped and unfinished. For instance in the gentlest of breezes the open door would blow shut as you were loading your child/shopping into the back, but worse was that it had a really sharp edge on the window frame which would hit you and could cause injury, especially to a child. it was plainly under-developed. I was relieved when it was replaced by a reliable and well-appointed Vauxhall Carlton. The Montego should have been a really good car. I quite liked the styling for a family saloon, and it had some good features, as well as being roomy and comfortable, it was so nearly there! Maybe I was just unlucky with mine, but it was Austin Rover’s last chance so far as I was concerned.
Another BL model which is unfairly dissed was the Austin Princess. Radical wedge design made offerings from other British manufacturers at the time look stoneage. I had the 6 cylinder 2200 version and it was a great car – spacious, handled well and fairly quick. Although the Princess supposedly let down by poor quality control I never had any issues with the one I had. The only things that let it down were the ageing engine options, a 5 speed gearbox (mine was 4-speed with overdrive I seem to remember) and it should have had a hatchback, not a boot. The last item was a real trick missed IMO. (It was felt this would steal sales from the Maxi it seems!).
The other British car that deserves more appreciation is the Hillman Imp and its variants – Singer Chamois (Chamois? Must have been an off day in the Rootes marketing department), Sunbeam Imp etc. My Imp was quicker & roomier than a Mini Cooper and came with fold down rear seats and an opening rear window that turned it into a van practically. The SOHC, Coventry Climax-derived all-alloy engine was seriously advanced for its time and linked to a short stubby gear stick. Compare & contrast the ancient A-series iron lump in the mini and the elongated wand it had to change gear!
I could also bang on about the Rover 2000 P6 – great styling, great ergonomics, de Dion tube suspension at the rear, four-wheel disc brakes (inboard on the rear), fully synchromesh transmission, aluminium body panels and all alloy OHC engine. Never owned one but always wanted one!
I always liked the B M C /Leyland cars for there engines has they would run for ever or it seem’d to but now it takes alot of looking to find a good runner like the old B M C cars did
I was toying with the idea of a sixties British “classic” but ended up buying a bugeye Impreza turbo!
Crazy grip and go from just over 210 brake, riflebolt gearchange and it stopped like you’d hit a wall.
Monstrous insurance / fuel bills meant it had to go after 3 years but it was sooo much fun and it lost £200 in all that time…. now pondering whether or not to go down the classic route again, the Austin 1800 would be my first choice.
Sad to see the usual lazy stereotype remarks about British workers and Unions. If they’re so lazy and feckless, how come Nissan, Toyota, Honda and BMW have managed to build some of the best plants in the world here in the UK?
Truth is, British managers in the 60s and 70s were arrogant, complacent and incompetent. That didn’t just go for the automotive industry either, it went for pretty much all UK manufacturing. Many of the cars featured in this article were no doubt ground-breaking in their designs, but reliability was rubbish because, whilst German and Japanese manufacturers had learned the value of things such as manufacturing quality and exhaustive design development and testing, British managers thought their cars would sell just because they were British. And they were right – but it means that looking back, only a microscopically small proportion of cars from the era are still on the road. An example of British management arrogance was the choice of engine for the Triumph Stag. Rover had an excellent 3.5 litre V8 already in production, but such were the managers at Triumph that they were too proud to collaborate with Rover (who until recently had been a rival manufacturer) an decided to bodge two (bloody awful) Triumph 1854 cc engines together instead.
My first car was an Alpine. I paid £299 for it in 1989 when it was 7 years old. 2 years later it got scrapped as the garage said it needed £400 welding to get it through the MOT!
I also had a Montego saloon which was a great car and never let us down. I preferred it to the 2nd hand Sierra and Cavaliers that I was looking at.
Loved reading all these comments. Learnt to drive in Minis, owned loads of Fords, a Maxi 1750 which was a great car. My father in-law had an 1800 which he absolutely swore by until enticed by the super tool kit of the Lada 1500! Chalk and chees or what? Had a Lancia Beta HPE which had a major repair after rear suspension collapse. Brilliant car but rusty. Owned an Avenger estate which I had to have a piece of wood in the back to hold the tailgate open. My wife had several Metros, and Rover 214’s. The best was the Metro GTi. My son called it the louder you scream the faster you go car! I returned to a Mini with the reintroduction of the Cooper, the best being the MPi version. Still regret selling that one. Now run a MINI Cooper S 5dr and my wife has a Seat Ateca. The MINI is great but whilst it handles and goes well, it lacks the charm of the original mini. We have talked about having a Jag before we get too old and like both the Xtype and later XF. I echo the comments about how things might have been having gone round the museum at Gaydon and seen so many innovative British cars that were stopped due to finances and lack of board / management backing.
My first car was a maroon with grey top classic.it was a 61 model and I bought it at aged 18 in 1968. First thing I had to do was repair all the rust around the front side lights. I was forever patching rust. The 3 bearing crankshaft snapped at 1.0 clock in the morning and my girlfriend( now wife of 50 years) and I pushed it for a mile because it broke by a load of travellers. Put a 1500 engine with a twin choke Weber carb on and wide wheels( no alloys then!) And needless to say dispite all the problems I loved it. Always wanted the Capri. My dad had a new 1800 firms car and after two corsairs it seemed like an unwieldy tank. Not long before he loved it for the room. Didn’t like getting it in the garage though.
The Montego estate looked great in dark green. They would have sold loads more if they had launched in that colour
I had a plate x type 2.1 V6. lovely motor, never had a problem. loved it
I have owned my Morris 1800 for 24 years and had power steering fitted as an optional extra from the factory.
The power steering pump is driven off the back of the dynamo.
I had Austin Maxi when my kids were little. It was automatic, unreliable but you in those days could fill it with kids. Neighbours called it Maxi Taxl. Also had MG metro, Austin Montego, all the cortinas and Vauxhall Cavalier SRI,s Granadas, both models, Audi 100, Audi 80..etc etc… Now 83 and drive Volvo XC60. How times have changed.
The 2008 -2009 X Type Jaguar had 500 updates & it is 90% Jaguar ,
the none spilt grill makes it a superb looking car & the 2.2 D Turbo engine
gives you lots of power and a smooth ride .
The Alpine was a far more advanced car than its stable mate the Avenger. But boy the Avenger is a hoot to drive. I’ve driven both, I would rather be in the Avenger unless I needed to do some motorway cruising in a 5-speed.
Someone mentioned motorway cruising in a Mk X Jag. ….Not too many M ways about those days…
We had a Maxi. It was a wonderful idea: transverse engine, seats that folded flat for sleeping overnight or on a long journey, and a five speed rod-changing gearbox. The car went well once it got moving. Sadly the innovative design was never fully resolved. The seats only folded flat if all the doors were opened at once. The handbook should have highlighted out the folly of trying to change gear.
I bought a maxi for a tenna once. It had no exhaust system whatsoever. Drove it home and scrapped it the next day for £30.. 😂👍
I’m on my 3rd jaaaaag xtype AWD. I dont mind people not liking it because it keeps the price low. You get an awful lot of car for your money because of it. Its a fantastic car, beautiful shape, lovely all leather interior, 2.5 ltr engine pulley 1300k caravan easily. My next car will be another xtype. One of the best cars on the road.
My Dad had 2 of the Morris 1800 one was 1967 and other 1974 brilliant build cars very solid very plain dashboards but massive room inside I had the opportunity to drive the 74 model only being 14 at time looking back I’d love to own one now .
Montego diesel estates were brilliant, 48 mpg wherever you went, recall photographing the speedo at 100mph, clicking over 100,000 miles in the second lane of autobahn near Frankfurt am Main.
As an owner of the fabulous Rover 75 Connisseure, it was hilarious to hear how often it was though to be a Jaguar X type. The Rover was a better car and voted the most beautiful car by the discerning Italians.
Good to know Ford can still make mistakes. I bought a Ford Fiesta new shape 1990. The new engine that Ford spent big money on had 1 very slight floor. It blew at 30,000 miles, I know I blew 2. I spoke to a company who worked for Ford, they said after the first batch came back they knew they had to change. Hence the Ztec.
I learnt to drive in a Montego, the instructor got rid of the car after 6 months.
I purchased a 1971 Austin 1300 new after waiting six weeks for delivery. A week after taking delivery it rained and I switched on the wipers which failed to work. I took the car to my local Leyland dealer about 100 yards from my office and he found that the wiper motor had not been fitted. Apparently there had been a strike at Lucas and the motors were not available on the BL assembly line. Nobody had checked. The dealer fitted a new motor from his stock but wanted me to pay the labour costs and would not release the car until I paid up. Six moths later on a Saturday afternoon with the children sitting in the back I changed down to overtake a bus picking up passengers. The gear stick came right out of the floor and I was stuck in third gear. I drove over to my local Datsun dealer and swopped the wretched thing for a 1200 Sunny. Result – a reliable car.
In 1978 my dad swapped a much loved but unreliable 74 FE VX490 for a 1976 Alpine GLS it was a great car quick economical and roomy he loved it. Always garages waxed regularly resulting in no issues with the bodywork he kept it for 3 years and apart from needing a new carburettor was absolutely fine