March 2005
I'm just leafing through some old booklets of Autocar road tests from the early 1970's. The test data make an interesting comparison to present day figures.
Ford Escort 1300 2-door. 96 mph max, 28 mpg.
Hillman Avenger 1500 91 mph max, 28 mpg.
Renault 6-1100 79 mph max, 34 mpg.
Triumph Toledo 83 mph max, 32 mpg.
Austin Maxi 1750 89 mph max, 28 mpg.
Citroen GS Club 90 mph max, 26 mpg.
Morris Marina 1800 TC 100 mph max, 25 mpg.
I know road testers thrash the cars a bit, but these are quoted as 'typical consumption' figures. I can just about remember when 30 miles per gallon was considered economical. Now small/medium cars with diesel engines achieve double these mpg figures, are heavier and have brisker performance.
One wonders what car performance will be like in 30 years' time!
cheers, Sofa Spud Read more
Compare classic car insurance quotes and buy online. A friendly service offering access to a range of policies and benefits.
"They served us well for 3 decades, though, from Austin A30 to Austin Metro".
Maybe I was unlucky. My A30 was perhaps the most reliable and economical, the A40 was OK but fell apart through rot, the A55(Farina) always had something going wrong. It did 26mpg around town, and 33 on a run. Wow. I got towed off the M1 (by an artic !!!) once when the top end fell to bits. I had a complaint made against me because it made so much noise trying to start, in the police station yard after nights. I wonder why I tolerated it so long, as I certainly would not now.
In comparison, my old petrol Mondeo Mk1 2.0 had few problems, was always smooth and quick, with good economy.
The difference between a 1961 car and a 1999 car !