Austin Allegro
Austin Allegro
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The Allegro is a much-maligned small family car produced by British Leyland under the Austin name from 1973 until 1983. The car was a popular model at the time, although its angular looks and the fact it was designed with a boot as opposed to being a hatchback worked against it. Early models came with a rectangular steering wheel – which was soon dropped – while there was three incarnations of the car, although the last was outdated by its launch against rivals like the Escort and Astra.
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Austin Allegro 3 1.1
1981 (X)
Guaranteed to turn heads, the Austin allegro 3 represents the finest instalment in the range. You'll feel like you're gliding on air on the hydrogas suspension, just be careful to keep an eye on the levels or you'll end up cruising lop sided. The 1.1 engine produced about 48bhp when new, but thirty odd years of burning more oil than petrol mean you won't be going much over 70mph, not that you're allowed to obviously. Unless you're a German, in which case you're probably not driving one of these....
The boot is huge and offer plenty of space to keep all the tools and spares you'll need (a lot), and the incredibly comfortable, if not overly supportive seats fold back flat and provide for a good night's sleep should you ever find yourself broken down by the side of a French motorway at 0300.
Petrol costs are low, running as it does mainly on oil. However, oil costs are high.
Bear in mind a decent one with some MoT will set you back about £500 and you'll start to see the appeal of these chubby little head turners. Add a set of martini racing decals and some alloy wheels and you'll soon find yourself the toast of Le Mans, Monaco or Ipswich.
Mr W Minge
| Economy: | | 3/5 |
| Comfort: |  | 4/5 |
| Reliability: |  | 1/5 |
| Value: | | 4/5 |
| Performance: |  | 2/5 |
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