The Vanden Plas Was MORE Than A Posh Allegro... (1980 1750 Automatic Road Test)

[@MrNegativecreep07]

Given how many modern cars have square steering wheels, the Allegro was somewhat ahead of its time.

[@timhancock6626]

The quartic wheel in the Allegro was a skinny cheap plastic moulding and awful to the touch. I occasionally drove an early Allegro 1500 and I was always relieved to return to my Peugeot 204. I think the quartic might have stuck if it had a broader and possibly softer feel to it. There was no reason to even try and like it and I think that's why journalists never gave it a chance. It was probably an ill advised choice anyway and bound to be "Marmite" with customers....you either loved it of hated it.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

The quartic wheel fitted to the SD1 never gets a mention either!

[@paulillingworth1242]

Exactly what I say about modern cars , so many now would go ooow look at wheel if it’s on a Peugeot or some other car from the continent, back then people laughed, bizarre how the world alters 😝

[@johnj3577]

I have fond memories of the 1500 my Mum had. It was a lovely maroon colour with sand leather. Drove great with its 5 speed box and was ziebarted from new so never had any rust problems at all. It was utterly reliable and had done well over 100,000 miles when she traded it for a Rover 213SE. It was taxed up until 1994 and for a 1974 - N reg'd car to last 20 years and 100k+ miles is pretty amazing really.

[@jonathanmorgan1882]

We had one of these, it was truly the most comfortable car to wait for the RAC to arrive in. I tested this on many occasions.

[@gsmdo8836]

🤣😂🤣

[@raymondhambleton9452]

I owned a Maestro Vanden Plas. It was a superb car with digital instrumentation , a talking computer, electric front windows and a tilt and slide sunroof. It had real wood capping s on the doors and everything was colour co-ordinated. It had a performance almost as good a the MG version, and would give XR3 driviers a run for their money. Even they guys in the Vanden Plas owners club loved it.

[@chrisgoostry9932]

My mum had one of these and I used to drive it about as a teenager. Felt quite grand inside, with plenty of room. Unfortunately I also remember it had no 3rd gear so had to rev hard in second and ram it into 4th. Happy days!

[@johnbrereton5229]

I had a 1300 Allegro with the A series engine same as the mini, and it was a great little car, economical, reliable and fun to drive. All the crap stories about them were written by people who never even drove one, let alone owned one.

[@gsmdo8836]

Sorry, John - "fun to drive"? You really need to get out more 😂

[@johnbrereton5229]

@@gsmdo8836 Oh dear ! Another armchair critic who probably doesnt even have a driving licence !👈🤣🤣🤣

[@timhancock6626]

I used to drive a friend's Allegro 1500. It had it's good points but overall it disappointed. I think the 1300 was the best of the range.

[@tinplategeektoo]

I quite like the Allegro especially the 1750 SS model which I drove extensively in the early 80's. It moved well and compared to the cars of a similar age, wasn't out of place. And the rust resistance was a damn sight better than people make out. Given the car I drove was 5 years old at the time, it had less rust than the Escorts or Sunny's around it. And let's not forget that rust caused Lancia to stop selling into the UK and killed the brand in many other countries!

[@gc7820]

The aggro having rust issues was apparently a myth anyway - rust proofing was pretty good overall on them and they were no worse than anything else of the day. There shouldn’t be any aggro on a VDP version as they used to strip them down and pretty much rebuild them anyway.

[@berwhaletheavenger]

The Allegro was oner of the most rot resistant cars of its era - along with Volvo 240's I don't think I ever failed one on rust during an MOT. The Princess was good as well, Marinas average, Minis and Maxis fairly terrible. Jag XJ's were the worst BL car for rot by miles. I don't recall Allegros being particularly bad for anything really. They were quite robust.

[@richardrichard5409]

The cars were delivered at Kingsbury completely built complete with a mule drivers seat, dashboard (!) etc. These seats were returned on the transporter. The soft interior fittings were then installed at Kingsbury and the car returned to BL for delivery to dealers....totally insane financially. All this could obviously have done on the production line but, and its another example of 'only BL' because unions refused to work on Vandan Plas trim, as it wasn't recognised in previous labour agreements, whereby everything had to be agreed upfront. They demanded an unviable bonus scheme applied to the trimming. There was no Vandan Plas in the Allegro pre production marketing.....

[@mrd64]

A beautiful car from the period when luxury meant wood and leather, rather than electronics.

[@michaelmontagu3979]

Absolutely agree with you. Electronics are convenience, not luxury.

[@marshalllucky]

My uncle has a brand new Allegro VP in his barn , he ran a BL dealership that closed in 1981 and kept some unregistered cars which are still there to this day :-)

[@johnclements6852]

Another example of the quality Leyland could produce when circumstances allowed. I'm really pleased to see all these Leyland cars you review and note they're not the rubbish that some would attribute to Leyland. Good old British engineering and lets not forget the Leyland P76 that (might have) been a big success if company finances had been better. And the Force 7 coupe (never released but could have been successful).

[@mariog4707]

Sometimes cars hold up better as a “classic” than they did when new, and I believe this is a case in point. The Allegro range were poor even by contemporary standards of the time. They were no match for a VW Golf, Vauxhall Chevette, Ford Escort, Alfa Sud, Honda Civic or various Toyotas and Datsuns. Nice to own now maybe as a “classic” but not back in the day when you were spending your hard earned cash on a prime vehicle.

[@minimaxi802]

The Vanden Plas version of the Allegro replaced the VP1300 based on the Austin and Morris 1100. In the 1970s BL built a handful of Vanden Plas prototypes based on the 1800, Marina and Princess but came to nothing. There was also one based on the Mini a cut above the Riley Elf and Wolseley Hornet models.

[@nigelbond4056]

I can remember, as a kid, loving the opulence of this Van den Plas. I guess it was my guilty secret 😄

[@2200hls]

I know someone who has 2 of these Vanden Plas'. One of his is (i think) a 1978 one in blue, (Very similar to the one seen in this clip) the man brought it a couple of years ago as it was about to be scrapped it was reversed through a garage wall and the rear was quite damaged. Very comfortable seats it had.

[@markportwood4045]

Straight away I was going to comment on the pronunciation, but you adequately explained how Vanden Plas is correctly pronounced, so I’ll shut up now. A great fun and interesting video.

[@trevhib]

What an absolute heap. Love to see these reviews. Both things are true 😄

[@stevejelly3161]

They are all "dreamy" inside !!! . And when you look out the window while driving the world looks a better place !!! . When a roundabout approaches the car shows it's age... but they are so comfortable with that wonderful dash ect !!!

[@mrbennetts]

You’ve probably all noticed that the layout of the dashboard is remarkably similar to that of the Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow II. I think the similarity ends there.

[@See_more....]

You've clearly never driven one. Or at least a good one.

[@mrbennetts]

@@See_more.... Ha ! I have owned two. Also the two cars I sold at a good profit.

[@See_more....]

@@mrbennetts I could tell you I'm king of Spain but doesn't make it true.

[@clivewhalley4008]

This is a very good review, I think this car was finished at MG Abingdon looking at the plastic mirrors and the flat boot lid, I wish I could afford one of these

[@alunhoskins4513]

I took my driving test in an Allegro in February 1975. I’d been having lessons in an Austin 1100. On the day of my test the driving school replaced the 1100 with a brand new Allegro (not a VDP but a basic Austin badged version)….just 1 hour before my test! 27 miles on the clock and incredibly ‘harsh’ and unrefined compared with the older car. My first time driving it was going the 4 miles from my home to the test centre. Fortunately I passed. My next experience of the Allegro was in the early 80’s, the firm I worked for having a fleet of new ones - square steering wheel no longer on these. There was a sticker on the dashboard placed by the fleet manager. “Under no circumstances will this vehicle be raised with the factory supplied jack unless all doors are firmly closed first. Failure to do so leads to body flexing which will subsequently prevent doors being shut.” Even had to sign a book in the car to acknowledge having read the notice! They were always dreadful cars and, at the time, considered a step backwards compared to the previous 1100. Really poorly conceived and built. Such a shame. The VDP was considered an ugly duckling at the time and to be pushing BL’s notorious badge engineering just too far. Time’s a great healer though. There is a certain charm.

[@ljhm6816]

I remember tearing around Runcorn in an Allegro vandenplas, Prodigy turned up on my Halfords car stereo 👍🏾

[@louiseday9916]

Thanks, drove my dads when I passed my test in 1989. Loved it and hated it at the same time.

[@adampowell5376]

Van den Plas is a Dutch name meaning "from the puddle" and yes, the s is pronounced.

[@robertngreen6]

I just love this little car!

[@vinnyOdea878]

Silent S on plas, I'm 60 years old and it's always been said like that,gen z 😆

[@stewartshackleton7825]

Saw this car at WB and Sons earlier in the year. I was interested, but not at the price it achieved. I now know who bought it. Thanks for the video.

[@stevehill4615]

Always liked Allegro's (and it's derivatives), I bought my girlfriend one (she had a car license as I was into motorcycles) it was a 1300 so not very fast but we liked the interior room and the ride quality also very easy to work on, always wondered though if Harris Mann's design had been more closely followed and the "saloon" had been made as a hatchback instead could it have been a great car.

[@highlandmalt6368]

Friend bought one at auction (he's a dealer, mainly Jags, E-types etc, but occasionally speculates on something he knows he can flip) and, amazingly, it turned out to be a ringer. He ended up suing the seller. The question was, why would anyone go to the trouble of ringing a vanden plas Allegro!

[@alanbrown2175]

I had an allegro 1750 which I toured the south of france with , it was comfortable and never missed a beat. the only thing that I would have liked was for it to have been a hatchback I Later owned an estate version and that was very roomy .I find most modern cars look big outside but lack room inside

[@robertcook2572]

Modern cars are big outside and small inside mainly because they have so much crash protection. Their performance in this regard is so far beyond cars of the 1970s as to be almost beyond measuring.

[@starsailor49]

The phrase ‘Putting Lipstick on a Pig’ springs to mind.

[@johnsampey344]

Finally, someone who Gets It.

[@johnwright3075]

Love all the classics.great memories thanks

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Thanks John!

[@Yorkshiremadmick]

Great Cars Vanden Plas and the maligned Allegro.

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Agreed!

[@WelshyM]

Trouble with the VDP1500....was it really a step forward from the VDP 1100 first seen in 1962? And as stated its sales were dramatically lower than the Ado16 VP 1100/1300 although its production run lasted longer. My first car was a '72 manual (twin carb) VDP 1300, I know which model I'd prefer today...or even back then as a 17 year old!

[@6643bear]

Great video I had an ambassador v plas nice car except for the gearbox and lack of a 5th speed . When I worked for the met police they bought up all the sd1 and public complained that they had the v plas model and the met workshops had to remove the badge ! . Regards mark

[@EA-58]

I love this car, i"m getting old. Thx for sharing.

[@markrl75]

I was under the impression that the Allegro VDP for some reason only ever came out the factory with the 1500 engine? This really was one of the most absurdly ridiculous cars of the 1970's which is of course why its now become something of a desirable and collectable curiosity. A monument to British Leyland's muddled ineptness.

[@berwhaletheavenger]

It's pronounced 'Plass' as in 'mass'. Almost all were 1500 with the final 1980 models launched in December 1979 having the 1750 as an automatic only. All manuals were 1500 which is a pity as it was thirsty but not much better than a 1275. The single carburettor 1750 was a far better engine. The reason the Allegro was so dumpy was the use of the very tall Marina heater unit although the E Series didn't help.

[@davidhayes4814]

The biggest problem for the Vanden Plas was its price when new. It was up to 70% more expensive than the base Allegro.

[@davidhayes4814]

In 1974 the base Allegro was £1159. The Vanden Plas 1500 version was £1951

[@Car_and_classic_lover]

@@davidhayes4814 Not only that, the Vanden Plas were slower because of the added weight from the interior and extra parts that were put on them. I still would love one though haha👍

[@WelshyM]

And maybe in-house rivals such as the Triumph 1500TC or Dolomite (1850)

[@iconicshrubbery]

If you're into white leather (seats).. 'Champagne' (white carpets) Walnut, chrome and... Picnics (those trays with chrome glass-holders, the VP Princess was just the ticket. I had one 3rd-hand brown example as a recent 'L' driver (the Austin/Morris 1300), pater acquired it for me, and I whizzed around as a student on fun hydragas suspension accompanied by the purr of twin carbs. Until one's transmission called it a day. I'm pretty certain the interior was replicated whatever the base model ,be it an Allegro, Metro etc. Well maybe not. Coachworked in Kingsbury, near my stomping ground. One enjoyed one's 'video'. 🍾

[@tomthompson7400]

The grill is straight off Thunderbirds ,, Lady P would look so well in a pink Allegro well Vanden Plas.

[@MrPlownds26]

I remember these on church car parks.

[@jordyderidder8485]

van den Plas is just a spec name, just as Ghia for Ford's, Bertone for Italian cars or Karmann for convertible cars, so it is still an Allegro but a van den Plas version

[@herseem]

That's not quite true, the VDP models were partially assembled at the Kingsbury works - things like the doors were re-hung, for example, with extra precision (nowadays of course the main factory would get it right in the first place) and extra sound insulation was added as well as other bits.

[@stevetaylor8698]

In its all vehicle index, one of the big motoring magazines of the day used to describe this car as, "a British Leyland joke".

[@ofmanynicknames]

It's funny, I see that Vanden Plas front end and immediately think Jaguar XJ40.

[@richardjeffery517]

I bought a burgundy one with a vinyl roof and chrome 8 spoke wheels .cream leather trim of a neighbour .Nice car for what was about in those days .Didn't co.pare to my Ford escort 1.3e .

[@iancross4631]

Great review and an interesting part of our motoring heritage. Shame they never made the VP based on the wedge Princess.

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Imagine an even posher Princess!

[@grayfool]

@@ClassicsWorldUK Wouldn't hat be the Queen?

[@simonhodgetts6530]

There was one planned - looked quite nice, and was meant to replace the Wolseley version of the 18-22 series.

[@See_more....]

Any news on the car? I'm interested to see where this project goes :)

[@Phiyedough]

They did offer an estate version for those who needed a hatchback type car. I had the bottom of the range Allegro 1100 and I was happy enough with it. I made the mistake of trading it in for a Mini 1275GT which really was a pile of junk.

[@insertnamehere5146]

My dirty secret is I always liked the looks of the allegro. The vanden plas version is a very pretty car.

[@DJ-Brownie-UK]

Someone told me when I asked what Vanden Plas meant and I was told "means theres bits of posh looking wood on the dashboard and interior and I was satisfied I assumed Vanden meant wood and plas meant plus =+ 🤣🤣

[@rob5944]

The VP grilles dominate the front-end of all the cars pictured in this video, but it's the Allegro that gets it in the neck...

[@1nomadxyz]

Nice video. Please note that Flemish isn't a language, in both the Netherlands and Belgium, the language is called Dutch

[@michael1968-m9b]

I still say that the cars from the past are better than the ones of today

[@richardrichard5409]

In what way?

[@richardrichard5409]

No mention of market rivals from Vauxhall, Renault, FIAT, Datsun, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Simca, Volvo, et al.....there was vast choice and competition for the Allegro

[@colvinator1611]

Very interesting. Thanks a lot.

[@evo5dave]

I know it's becoming popular to defend cars like the Allegro and the Marina but I still think this is awful. Having said that, I actually have a grudging fondness for the stupid grille.

[@john1703]

The ADO16 VdP is prettier than the ADO 67 one. Dumpy is correct. I had a colleague in 1973 who swapped his Mini 1275 GT for a new Allegro 1500. He regretted it immediately.

[@darrensmith6999]

Always liked the allegro had a 1.5 &1.3 3 Est for a while in the 80s went all over in it . Recognise the roads you did your test on just a few miles from me Haha

[@richardrichard5409]

The Austin Allegro original front styling was more successful, than the Vandan Plas to my eyes.

[@Martindyna]

Yes the grille is out of proportion, they should have used a small grille like the Wolsely Six wedge had.

[@paullacey2999]

It looks cool nowadays in a way.Real Wood and leather always lifts a car.

[@Tobore]

Classic 😊

[@nannejandejong7112]

Why do cars have headrests? To prevent injuries? When the head is over the headrest ...

[@jimmyjones9780]

I bought an 1980 Allegro Equipe in 82, and after I had finished modifying it, it would lose both the XR2/3 and the Golf, but couldn't quite match the rapidity of the Alfa Romeo, Alfa-Sud in the Cloverleaf guise ....

[@richardrichard5409]

🤣🤣🤣😎

[@herseem]

We had one as my Dad's company car. It was supremely torquey, and in my view it was actually good looking with the wide wheels and flash down the side. I guess I'm pretty alone in that opinion. I also had a few driving lessons in it, and really loved driving it. But the stupid gear shift rod that entered the gearbox below the oil level and with a sliding seal was a liability, and it used to get through oil fairly fast. After my highly-modified 1.3 estate (that could outpull a 2.0 capri) I eventually got a 1500 manual as a spare car. I just love the ride and the handling was also pretty good

[@jimmyjones9780]

Yeah, thanks for your reply .... I kept the Equipe up until 87, when I part exchanged it for a nearly new Montego Turbo .... A good reliable, fast car ..... And kept this one up until 92, where I found myself in Pingshan County, Shijiazhuang, China .... Never, ever returning to Blighty .... Cheers N.

[@aaroncanniford9237]

Love it great review 👏

[@PhantomMark]

So you spent 75% of the vid talking about Vanden Plas rather than this car itself which is a shame. 1750 was quick back in the day compared to the cars around it, that auto box is probably not helping you feel that tho :)

[@tpbrcombo]

…rear window does WHAT when you jack it up??

[@alexandrecouture2462]

I'd like some new cars with a wood dashboard. I love it in my XJ40.

[@Skoda130]

Yeah, not beïng a hatchback really was a missed opportunity, I think. Even the Citroën GS, which began as a sedan, was converted into the GSA hatchback later on.

[@simonhodgetts6530]

As was the Alfasud

[@logtothebase2]

They sold a lot to retirees and older gents who grew grew up in 20-30's who would buy it because it was British and they remember heyday of British motoring, its was never as good as japanese rivals, Ford had RS2000, VW the GTI, BMW 6 cylinder 3 series, all appealing to a younger generation of buyers who would get wealthy in the 80's , The Vanden Plas was Hopeless, im sorry but it was, selling to people buying there last ever car, it might be cutesy to revise its reputation now, but it was at the time a joke with negative curb apeal.

[@garethhanna9173]

I'm afraid the words turd and polished spring to mind, although I suppose it has a certain curio value.

[@jazzhands7771]

Much like yourself, where the words "ignorant" and "gobshite" spring to mind.

[@garethhanna9173]

@@jazzhands7771 it was said in jest, lighten up.

[@richardrichard5409]

Spot on😎

[@robertcook2572]

The panel fit is quite astonishingly bad. How could this possibly be deemed acceptable?

[@barryrathbone]

I loved my VDP 1500 auto. The Great British Car Journey has a beauty but it did point out that it was not a Austin 1500 VDP as they said on the fact sheet

[@keithjackson8076]

If James Corden was a car, the Allegro VP would be the one.

[@PS-hv7on]

I always wondered that if someone could afford one of these, they could afford to buy a better car.

[@davidhayes4814]

Indeed, unlike mere “badge engineered” variants, this Vanden Plas was very pricey when new.

[@jimmyquinn9639]

Another good video 🚘🚙🚗⭐️⭐️⭐️👍👍👍

[@timhancock6626]

The nose was comical. If they had made the VP a top trim level of the standard Allegro front end ( and not the hideous four headlight version) it would have sold more and cost less to make. The thing is...there was a point to making an up spec Allegro, but with only 11,000 sales this car clearly missed the point quite badly. The grille turned the car into a caricature, but the interior was really quite nice and inviting, plus the extra sound deadening I believe they added. I've always thought the Allegro had many good points undermined by cost constraints on materials and finish. The VP just added to these strategic errors as the VP bonnet / grille was well past its sell by date. It just stamped the car with "old bloke or lady". Nobody else wanted to be seen driving one. A nice relatively refined Allegro ( as opposed to VP shape) would have been much more aspirational. Ford were never going to change metalwork with Ghia versions.....that was far too costly.

[@danmayberry1185]

Reminds me of Beetles with a fake Rolls grille.

[@Bod8998]

My pal had a vanden plas w reg mini metro gold coloured

[@seamuscarroll2779]

Give me the Citroën GS any day!

[@trenomanis]

Πολύ καλό! Η BL θα έπρεπε να το λανσάρει και στις άλλες εκδόσεις (1100, 1300 και 1500 ) ως Vanden Plas κερδίζοντας το χαμένο έδαφος στις πωλήσεις από το κάπως παρωχημένο σχέδιο του Allegro! Μεγάλο λάθος που δεν το έπραξε!

[@DoubleDeckerAnton]

That grille is from a R.R. 🤣

[@roderickcozens5371]

I had one. Biggest piece of xxxx ever

[@rororp]

Allegro came out in 73, not 74. Also the VDP name was used on the XJ in the US until 2009.

[@Akabei01]

Jeez, tbh this is the most ugly version of an Allegro you think of.

[@darrenwilson8042]

These were ok - when I was a kid and we were skint my Dad had a couple that were on life support when he got them but they got us about as a family OK - much better than a Cortina estate he had. Allegro's that is. We were too poor for the VDP treatment ha ha ha

[@herseem]

Oh, and apparentlly the AVERAGE age of these VDP buyers was 70 years old. That's the average age.

[@glynluff2595]

Yes what you say has veracity but, but the Allegro series had more warranty claims than any other BL model which is quite a halo to wear! It is probably fair to say that much of the difficulty at the time was the insistence of merger by Government and the belief of the workforce it would never allow the flagship to capsize. Perhaps workers today might take a look at that model! Why should we live through such stupidity twice in one lifetime!

[@richardrichard5409]

100%.....the warranty claims per model made for interesting reading....back in the day we are talking as short as 90 days....when an US built AMC would be 5 years on power train in 1971, impressive even now. Mini was always woeful too, even after such a lengthy production run, it hit albeit temporary peak with the Hydrolastic model, and that came out in late 60s, crazy 🤔 From memory, Marina was best with more niggles than breakdown/VOR vehicle off road..... bar gearboxes. ....they couldn't ever get a 1st motion shaft to live a decent life in a hard driven one but they would whine for ever..... to be fair I think the box started life behind a Standard 8 lump😉

[@garypeatling7927]

An alright car except poor performance and fuel consumption , front hubs stripping out spines , rear wheels falling off because people tightened rear hub retaining nut instead of adjusting its end float

[@keithpearson8355]

Mine rotted faster like an old cardboard box

[@mikecawood]

It's still an Allegro.

[@nigelwest3430]

It's pronounced Vanden Pla not Plas, The name is of Dutch origin, in Dutch the "S" should be pronounced, however the Company was as you say from Belgium and the "S" was treated as silent, I can say this with some authority as my father was Manager of design and engineering development at Vanden Plas and he was there for 25 years, right up until the factory shut. The 1100 and 1300 were also built at Kingsbury, they certainly were not "Badge engineering" they were built to the same quality as the 1500, better paintwork, handcrafted interiors etc, the name was never used as a trim level before the closure of Kingsbury works.

[@richardrichard5409]

They were painted at BL

[@stamfordmeetup]

lol its an all agro with a different name.

[@MrBobchat]

Less history and more car.

[@spitfires1979]

I enjoy classic cars of all kinds, especially British cars, but the Allegro in all its forms was simply hideous and just hasn’t improved with age. I don’t care how it drives - the very least one could have expected of any car of this era was basic competence on the road - but the design is an embarrassing stain on the British car industry’s record, even worse than the other miserable BL lash-ups of the decade. With that ridiculous pretentious tacked-on Vanden Plas grille, it really is a clown car, an unfunny joke. I’d rather have driven a 1970’s Lada or Skoda, let alone any of the mainstream competition.

[@nickwillobey2205]

No! No! No!

[@tommysmith5479]

Yes, it was more than just a posh allegro - it was surprisingly uglier.

[@michaeljames1468]

You can't say this doesn't have a quartic steering wheel or a rear window that doesn't pop out, like saying the Ford Pinto doesn't have an exploding fuel tank. Manager at work had an Austin VP, getting in it one, my thought was.....what are you thinking? the wood, folding tables and the grill made what was a pretty ugly car (even in the mid-eighties) worse.

[@richardrichard5409]

Pintos were no worse and in many cases better than equivalent sector cars, Beetle and Corrola being some of the worst.....proved years later though, early 90s report.....made a few quid for some lawyers and headlines in the 70s....2000 killed, 10000 injured when number was something like 28 fatalities, albeit tragic in every sense.

[@gsmdo8836]

Clock with an extremely loud tick😁. I love how anything old automatically becomes a "classic". BL cars of this era were *awful* - gearboxes that changed like sludge; terrible handling and dire styling. Putting leather upholstery and a wooden dash on a piece of dog poo doesn't save it from being dog poo - it just makes it more expensive. You can look back at this era of car production with rose-tinted specs all you like, but inside you *know* that it's just nostalgia that's driving it. This is the sort of car that reminds me why the British car industry failed - they made bad cars and deserved to.

[@herseem]

You're completely wrong about the handling. One of the great things about Hydragas is that there was very little body roll in comparison with the ride quality. And the double-wishbone up front and trailing arms at the rear does handle well. I ventured into Kent to go to work one day in the winter of 1986 / 87 when the snow was so thick many cars on the way home became stranded on the motorway. I had no problem with the handling in such tricky conditions and it was always easy to get it to go where I wanted it.