Today's video is the last of 2020 and is the humble Austin Metro. Once driven by Princess Diana, the iconic 80s super mini is now rarely spotted but appears today on IDRIVEACLASSIC
Today's video is sponsored by Adrian Flux.
if you're hard of hearing like me, the walkaround text is below:
When it was launched, the Austin Metro was said to be the British Car to beat the world - arriving in a new world where competitors not only came from mainland Europe, but Japanese manufacturers who seemed to be far more organised and advanced when it came to making cars which people not only wanted to buy, but found to be consistent in a way they’d not been used to.
But the Austin Metro came out fighting, with a £300 million pound investment of new car manufacturing processes which included a new assembly plant and micro-processor controlled robots to give precise and constant quality at all stages of the build.
The process was said to be so slick and refined, that every Metro leaving Longbridge met the most critical quality standards ever developed for a high volume production car.
There were 27 processes involved in the painting and finishing of the car including undersealing and wax injection - which was incredible for the time, especially on a budget motor.
There were 5 models available at launch including your base spec, the L with additional comfort including the split action rear seat - which we will demo later -, the HLE as we are testing today which was said to be the fuel economy specialist with additional features on top of what the L offered, the 1.3S which boasted a more sporty interior and top of the range was the 1.3HLS which had every bell and whistle and velour upholstery.
What a time to be alive.
To delve deeper into the specs, the HLE as we’re testing here today came with extras on top of what the L model had. These were the styled halogen headlamps with bright surrounds and integral sidelamps and indicators, side rubbing strip, glow ring cigar lighter, clock, push-button radio and economy engine.
The steering on these is rack and pinion with a 33 and a half foot turning circle, 3.3 turns lock to lock.
The brakes are a dual circuit hydraulic system with circuit failure monitor. Discs to the front and drums to the back coupled with the 998cc engine give us really sharp braking and make it far safer to use in modern traffic than some of the other older classics.
As you’ll have seen under the bonnet, it’s single SU carb on these with mechanical fuel pump and a decent 6.6 gallon tank hidden away under the floor pan.
When we go out driving, I’ll demo it, but we are running on hydragas displacers for our suspension. These have been replaced by the current owner and when running correctly they are said to be akin to riding on a magic carpet.
If you are watching this video with the intention to buy a Metro, if you’re doing these units yourself, you will be looking at the best part of £1000 to have the system overhauled.
However, when the car was sold it was said to only need servicing every 12,000 miles…so perhaps you can put those few pennies saved towards the new hydragas units.
For those of you watching from abroad and thinking, gosh, what is this tiny, tinny little car with an NCAP safety rating of zero and was it really that popular?!
Well it was so popular that even Princess Diana owned one, which they do reference in the latest series of the Crown, albeit with completely the wrong model…
Anyway, I’ll hand over to Ryan, the owner of this fantastic car. He’s had Timmy quite awhile now and shared his thoughts on ownership, adventures and all the bits in-between.
#austinmetro #metro #metrohle #austinrover
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