CHASING CARS
ENGINE 1597cc/4-cyl/OHC POWER 108bhp@6000rpm TORQUE 104lb ft@4800rpm MAXIMUM SPEED 118mph 0-60MPH 9.6sec FUEL CONSUMPTION 30.8mpg TRANSMISSION FWD, five-speed man MoT 12 months on sale ODOMETER 34,509 miles
WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?
Fun, lightweight and whizzy. It has a slight driveline shunt when coming on or off the throttle but it might just need a new engine or gearbox mount. It pulls hard, steers nicely and stops firmly. It starts and idles obediently and while we detected a bit of smoke under acceleration once it wouldn’t repeat this, so it seems to be in decent health.
BODYWORK CHECK
This car’s bodywork has been restored so we we did wonder if the low odometer reading was true. In fact, the history folder reveals a new (secondhand) speedometer at 92,000 miles, then showing roughly 30,000, so the total mileage is now around 96,000. Look closely and you can see some new paint but it’s a very decent job. There is new paint inside the wheel arches, too, and black underseal underneath, with any repairs done professionally and hard to tell from original. It’s very solid. The fresh red strip in the front bumper needs securing and the refinished alloy wheels show a few paint pock-marks but the upside is that they’re shod with new tyres.
HOW’S THE INTERIOR?
You’d think that those Recaro-ish bucket seats’ high side-bolsters would be easy to damage but perhaps the seats have been re-covered because there’s no wear here, only smooth grey velour on the sides and centre panels of more velour with video-game black check populated with red and blue dots. Very Eighties! The dash is in great condition, with no cracks or fades, and it’s super-clean. The manual sunroof works perfectly and the only really old or patinated bits are the diagonal pull-handles on each door where the plastic has reacted to sunlight over time. The immobiliser works fine and is deactivated by a stud/socke
