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.....supple suspension yet impeccable roadholding - a very "chuckable" car - those spirited twin-cam Milanese engines with the exciting rasp, and an air of being sports saloons clothed in luxury. The new Giulietta has all this, and is a very fine way of putting the miles behind, if its excellent five-speed gearbox is used in a manner complementary to that powerful power-unit, which is safe to 6,500 r.p.m. or more. The barrel-type oil, heat and petrol gauges are uncalibrated, you get used to the push-in exterior door-handles, Alfa Romeo don't bother about door "keeps", and choke and hand-throttle are now awkward plastic pull-outs. The Giulietta's appearance is now more purposeful than good-looking, with that longish nose and small ugly air-dam on its boot-lid. For a car of such zest and character with disc brakes all round, inboard-mounted at the back, the rear-end having a transaxle, this Alfa Romeo Giulietta is a sound bargain at £5,165 for connoisseurs. I was sorry to return the car to Barry Needham, but when its speedometer ceased to work, the heater was ridiculously insensitive, the screen-washers remained frozen for long periods and the barrel-type boot-lid-lock remained frozen all day, trapping the contents of the boot, I began to wonder how well the car (mileage 10,000) had been serviced. The instruction book says less than it used to about warming-up before driving off, to preserve the second gear synchromesh.
That's about it, apart from our Fiat 126, now in its seventh year, with 17,450 miles on its odometer, which was thrifty fun on short runs, at some 48 m.p.g. of 3-star. When it mysteriously developed chronic clutch-slip immediately after it had passed its DoE test, the Builth Wells' Fiat Dealer lent me a later 126 in which to return home, from which it became evident that there have been progressive improvements made to even this basic car. All that remains to be done now, is to ask MOTOR SPORT's Photographic Department to provide some of their very best portraits of some of these 1979 road-test cars.
During the year I had both my restored vintage light-cars, the 1924 12/20 Calthorpe (which has the audacity to possess exactly the same engine-dimensions as an Anzani Frazer Nash but gives nothing like the performance) and the 1922 8 h.p. Talbot-Darracq, back on the road, the latter making the STD Register's Wolverhampton Rally and, for the sake of the run, not the cup, the vintage-car gathering at the Royal Welsh Show. I was also able to drive Bill Lake's delectable 1922 Grand Prix Sunbeam, and a 1923 23/60 Vauxhall "Kingston", that so-desirable vintage touring car kept in fine fettle by Vauxhall Motors Ltd. at Luton. Later on the Brighton Run was done in the 1904 20 h.p. Thornycroft of BL Heritage Ltd., whose very impressive veteran this is and who looked after me very hospitably during that November week-end. From the same stable came the big and venerable early poppet-valve Daimler that I drove up Shelsley Walsh, and these old-car occasions ended with trying a 1931 Star "Comet" saloon belonging to Jeremy Collins.
A satisfactory, if not outstanding, year, and I am quite happy contemplating my clean driving licence at the end of it - clean more by luck than circumstance, though, as for us all in the new Radar-Age, although last year did go by without an accident, parking-tickets, or police-interest. Incidentally, I see from my Waterloo Desk Diary that of the road-test cars I drove in 1979 ten were on Michelin, three on Dunlop, two each on Goodyear and Bridgestone, and one each on Continental, Japanese-Dunlop, Firestone and Pirelli tyres. - W.B.
Petrol and Oil Consumption of Cars Tested by the Editor in 1979
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Car
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Petrol Consumption
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Oil Thirst
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Ford 2.8i GLS Estate
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22.7 m.p.g.
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None, in 850 miles
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Volkswagen Golf LD
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Over 50 m.p.g. *
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-
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Audi 100GL 5S
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27 m.p.g.
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-
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Ford Fiesta 1.1S (1100S)
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36.0 m.p.g.
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None, in 700 miles
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|
Vauxhall Royale A
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20.8 m.p.g.
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Approx. 900 m.p.p.
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|
Alfasud 1.5 Super
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34.2 m.p.g.
|
-
|
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Renault 5 GTL
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46.0 m.p.g. t
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None, in 800 miles
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Mazda Montrose GLS coupe
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34.0 m.p.g. t
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None, in 600 miles
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|
Ford Cortina 2.0 Ghia
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31.9 m.p.g.
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None, in 600 miles
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Fiat Strada 1.3 65CL
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37.1 m.p.g.
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-
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Renault 5 Gordini
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37.4 m.p.g.
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None, in 1,000 miles
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Citroen Dyane 6
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50.3 m.p.g.
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None, in 400 miles
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Morris Mini Minor 1100 Special
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Approx. 40 m.p.g.
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None, in 600 miles
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Austin Allegro Equipe
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32.0 m.p.g.
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Approx. 350 m.p.p.
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Citroen Visa Club
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46.4 m.p.g.
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-
|
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Honda Prelude coupe
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33.7 m.p.g. t
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None, in 500 miles
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Daihatsu Charade XTE
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42.5 m.p.g. t
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None, in 600 miles
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Opel Kadett 1.3S
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35.0 m.p.g.
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None, in 650 miles
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Rover 3500A
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21.6 m.p.g.
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Negligible
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Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.8
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27.2 m.p.g.
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None, in 800 miles
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N.B.: All saloons, unless specified otherwise. t 2-star petrol. tt 3-star petrol. * Derv.
Captions -
Top-Right - A car of zest and character, the so-enjoyable Alfa Romeo Giulietta 1.8 which served the Editor over the Christmas period.
Bottom-Left - The Coventry Museum/Leyland Heritage Edwardian poppet-valve Daimler look the Editor up Shelsley Walsh.
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