Driven: 1975 Austin Allegro 1100 Deluxe 'Worst Car' Naaaaah!
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- Опубликовано: 26 янв 2019
- I drive a 1975 Austin Allegro 1100 Deluxe - the base model. Question is, is it really as terrible as everyone reckons? In this Real Road Test, I attempt to find out as I put the British Motor Industry of the 1970s, British Leyland and Dr Alex Moulton's Hydragas suspension to the test. Also contains some very pretty views of Snowdonia.
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Do check our my road tests on other BL favourites - including the Austin Maxi, Morris Marina and Leyland National! 
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A mate of mine bought one of these in the 90s.... We all laughed at him. The fact of the matter is we soon preferred using his car for the comfort and ride quality, especially compared to our Ford escorts of the time. It wasn't just the trade unions, management and government of the time that destroyed British motor manufacturing.... It was the ignoranct, snobbish attitude of the people, especially the younger generation. In true British tradition we all got together to destroy a good thing.
The Allegro finally gets the balanced review that it deserves.
@Alfonso Jonas You're not a very nice friend
I almost owned British Leyland. After Rover was sold off in the late 90s I tried to register the name “British Leyland Motor Corporation” at Companies House. I had to get confirmation the name was dissolved. I phoned BMW UK who confirmed they didn’t hold the title. I phoned Rover who said they couldn’t open the filing cabinet containing the deed documents as the lock was faulty. BMW phoned me back half an hour later to say they registered the name in the half hour I was speaking to Rover. They were certain I was a motoring journalist up to no good, but I was actually a postgrad student and a fan of British Leyland cars.
In the late 1990s a work mate gave me a lift in his 1500 automatic series 2 Allegro. I was amazed at how refined it was. Smooth ride, smooth engine, quiet etc. Made me realize that despite the well documented problems it was actually a very advanced car. Light years ahead of rear wheel drive Escorts.
Good to see that SUV drivers in Britain also hold up traffic, then turn off without using indicators just like they do here in Australia.
Dad had 2 Allegros; an N Reg with the 1500 engine, which he liked, but the fuel consumption was too high and then there was that Quartic steering wheel, and a W Reg 1300 which I think he preferred, in fact. Though just before he sold it, Mum and Dad came to visit me and on the way the wiper stalk broke off. The local BL dealer was unable to supply a part to fix it, so I soldered a switch to the connectors so that he at least had a 1-speed wiper to get home with. His next car was a Peugeot...
Most people who slag them off! just copy Jeremy Clarkson’s opinion of them. My dad had one an (allegro super) in about 1980, and he swears it was a good car.
Hey, I had an Allegro back in the 80's. It was basically given to me (I think I paid 30 quid for it)
It had 6 months MOT and a bit of road tax, I just needed a hack to get and from work for a couple of months. I was told it was unlikely to pass another MOT.
Anyhoo, I had this car for best part of 2 years, no probs with renewal of the MOT's.
I thoroughly abused this car but actually loved it. Cost me nothing so didn't have to worry about it.
Who was going to steal an "Allegro" LOL
After the 2 years I sold it for £200, result!
The guy that bought it kept it for another 3 years, never having much of an issue with it.
The car I bought next? ... Well that's another story :-(
Tell it to us
When I was in the police force in Somerset we had an Allegro issued, it had the square steering wheel, the boot was so small our accident signs had to go in the back footwell. We used to fight and argue not to take it although it was brand new. It lasted a year before it was withdrawn. Thank you for this film, brought back memories.
I had a 1980 1100cc one. Second owner I took it to 170000 miles and only work was to replace the valve seals at 100000 miles. It sailed through every mot and was completely reliable and rust free. 50 mpg and 1000miles per pint right up to the end. Really comfortable for several long journeys to Scotland and Wales, no recovery breakdown service, didn't need it. Finally scrapped it because I had been given another newer car and no one would buy it!! Everyone else believed the bad hype. Very sad moment for me.
@marcus price Ugly is a matter of opinion. Poorly built? Not in the case of the one I had. As I said, completely reliable, economical and very comvortable. All panels fitted well and didn't show any rust. Perhaps I was lucky but I think they had sorted out a lot of problems by the time mine was built (1980 I think). The first owner was a commercial traveller so the care was used for long journeys and seviced regularly so that might have helped with the reliability. Also I was the A series which may or may not have been an advantage. I tend not to go by what "people say" if I have personal experience. I am also puzzled about the "late 80s" as production ceased in 82.
I used to sell Leyland spares in the 70s, business was good.
I am from Ohio, USA. We had our "Shit boxes" from the 1970s, ( notably the Pinto and Chevette, Pacer, and Gremlin ), but these types of cars, as well the Austin Allegro, have a certain charm to them
They are what they care, and in the case of my Uncle's 1979 Chevy Chevette with a GM 350 c.i. V8, Completely rebuilt , my mom's 1973 Ford Pinto with a 302 E.F.I from a Ford F150 from 1990 and a C6 Trans... These little cars were special from the factory, and even more special die to breed's versatility.. I am using the American examples/ equivalence. But, We would love to get out hands on an Allergro!
Love your car! I would love to just drive it! Much love from across the pond. Ohio, USA!
I fully get it. On this side of the pond in Finland, American cars were (and still are) imported only to a limited extent. In the 80's they were thirsty by European standards and insanely expensive, even the shitty ones. British cars were a closer match to our taste, but for some reason they were also rare. Our true shit-box-poverty-spec cars were the ones from behind the iron curtain (Lada, Moskvich from the USSR, Wartburg from east Germany and Skoda from Czechoslovakia). As much as the eastern cars are hated, I think they had simplicity and character and they were actually quite appealing, just like the Allegro in this video.
Mr.Williams! You have TASTE! A lot of things, not just cars have taken a lot of unfair criticism, since the 1970's.This is because a lot of people have developed quite an opinion of themselves, and things that are actually AFFORDABLE are what they can't stand! People who buy an expensive Range Rover, and then DON'T really use it.Except for shopping, and impressing! But YOU see things for what they really ARE! Some things, like the Allegro I owned, have character, because they look like exactly what they are designed to be used for! I liked mine because it looked solid, and round, and "cuddly"!
Absolutely gorgeous car. 44 years of age yet appeared to drive beautifully. What a shame that many people these days would rather see Numbnuts such as Clarkson & Co. destroying one; rather than Hub Nut actually test-driving one. Thanks for the superb broadcast Ian.
Good point about destroying them and all that nonsense.
Top Gear's treatment of British Leyland stuff was a real turning point for me. Just unnecessarily destroying old cars, then effectively encouraging others to do so. Disgraceful.
I've been in several Allegros and never found fault with them. They handled and drove well, were comfy, spacious and good value.
Great video!!! I had one for nearly eleven years and drove 180 000 miles without any major issues,he died because of corrossion,but his engine run still....It was 1500 Super with five speed gearbox,with Blaupunkt radio and finished in British Racing Green with two golden stripes on both sides !! People were laughing to me what a crap I have,but I was ,and still I am ,very satisfied !!Comfortable seats,low consumpton,easy to handle ,easily cranked up even in 22 negative degrees,easy to maintain (even Hydragas units )...Just two negative things : Weak heating and bad enter into lugagge room...I have my Fabia HTP now,has power steering and better heating or so,but still remember my good old Allegro....
Heater on this was snug as a bug, and it was bloomin' cold when we were filming.
My Dad had an Alegro when I was very young, I remember him stopping at a junction and I watched out the window as one of the wheels decided to carry on without the car.
The drive shaft ends wore away, both my driveshaft ends came out when you took the front hub caps off my MK1 Allegro.
Well done Ian. Excellent to see the Allegro beginning to gather a following, and at last a fair, unbiased review!
I really like the way you promote and champion the very boring and mundane. I think the problem is people forget just how much work has gone into every model and the years of research and development that has been used in a cars design. Everytime I turn the key in my vauxhall vectra I appreciate its perhaps 100 years of engineering achievement that we all benefit from. Cars are simply light years ahead of where they were 40 years ago. In this throw away society I love the idea of keeping something alive, running and in good condition. my Vectra is 15 years young now and has years of life left in it.
You mentioned the basic model's metal dashboard probably cost more to make than the better models' plastic dashboards. My mate's dad worked for various British Leyland companies and said the price is based on customer perception and not cost of manufacture. He cited examples where cloth seats and automatic gearboxes were expensive optional extras that actually cost less to make than the vinyl and manual alternatives on the basic model.
The reputations of most cars are usually nothing to do with the reality and more to do with what some bloke down the pub has heard someone say.
Or what the small knobbed gimps say on Top Gear.
I had one as a get to work vehicle. On my way home one evening a car was stopped in the road & a policeman stepped out holding his hand up for me to stop. There had been a motorcycle accident. I had to brake very hard. When I set off again the steering was all over the place. The structural member at the front of the car had snapped, the left front wheel trying to turn left & the right wheel trying to turn right. It had a long MOT but was a write off. Having said that I took my Scimitar in for some work to be done & I was given an Allegro courtesy car, which was delightful to drive. But felt a tad under powered after being used to a 3.1 litre Ford V6 engined car
My sister had two Austin Allegros which she bought second hand, having been ex company cars. I think one was a mark 2 and the other a mark 3, both being 1300 super (I believe). I had the pleasure, yes pleasure, of driving both extensively. I can concur with HubNut that not only was the Allegro easy to drive, in a general sense, but it had a very willing engine, adequately good gearbox excellent suspension and roadholding. I can honestly say that throughout the years of ownership nothing failed mechanical, electrical or otherwise. The Allegro was not the most pleasing car aesthetically, that I am sure, we can agree on but it was not the worst car ever made, by any means. I, on the other hand, had two Morris Marinas from new, as company cars and they were truly much worse than the Allegro, both to drive and from a reliability perspective. Persistent problems with the Marinas were gearbox and electrical failures. An honest review HubNut.
RUclips recommended this video to me for some reason, so I watched out of curiosity. I found it surprisingly informative and enjoyable. The 'Plughole of Despair' is one of the best descriptions I've ever had the pleasure of hearing.
I always loved the Princess, personally, just for its shape and styling.
My first car was a tan-coloured R-reg Allegro 1500cc DeLuxe. It's the only car I've ever owned whose engine caught on fire! And that was one day after a service (ha). I only found out why the driver behind me was flashing his lights big time for 2 miles when I stopped at a red light and dashboard died... I pulled over, realised there was a funny smell coming from the car, got out and 10 seconds later - BOOM. Car exploded.
This was pre-mobile phone so when the firefighters finally turned up the car had magically turned very VERY black. They asked me if I was ok, I said yes, and cleared off leaving me on my own. Found a phone box, rang the garage; they turned up and fell about laughing at what was left of my pride and joy. a-holes.
Couldn't get in a car for 6 months after that - the realisation being if I went straight on rather than pulling over I wouldn't be around to tell the tale.
Yours had normal build quality ( normal for BL, SHIT build quality )
Wow!
@@barryphillips7327 you are TALKING s-h-i-t. The Ssangyong Korando caught fire several times, and that had a MERCEDES engine. This car's engine is a one-off! But number one in the "Burning Car Charts", was early DIESEL BMW Minis. A girl had an 18th birthday party, and came indoors after using it.A short time after, party guests wondered what that "bright light through the curtains" was. It was that girl's 18th birthday present Mini in flames! Another situation was when a mother and her daughter got out of their BMW Mini, when it promptly caught fire! They got out in the nick of time! They too had the diesel Mini, and the problem was that when the engine got turned off , fuel leaked out on to a hot engine, and caught light! That horrible , but much-revered company, B.M.W., knew this happened, but played dumb about the problem for a long time, instead of putting customers safety first!
Hmm, a day after a service. How many people have had a car recently serviced by a 'proper' garage only to have a fault soon after. I know I have. I developed an early interest in DIY for this reason.
Brilliant. An excellent road test. You didn’t mock the car like others would have and you know your history. Thank you. M.
Thank you this was a real treat. I love the Allegro and over the years owned 2 a 1500 LE and latter a 1.3l Est. You are totally right i think these cars got such a bad press, perpetuated into more recent times by the likes of Jeremy Clarkson. My1500 LE was Blue with a beautiful sporty interia and a five speed box. Latter i owned the 1980 1.3L Estate which by this time was the Allegro 3 with the Metro A+ engine. over the 4 years i owned this car which was in the early 90s idrove from Scotland to South wales and several times through the lake district negotiating the Kirkstone Pass (A bit Hairy with the Alegros brakes) I cant say it was all trouble free being an old car but it was comfortable and handled well for a car of the period. My sister took part in Equine events which necessitated taking the Allegro off road shall we say and wile frequently other more modern cars got stuck not the old Allegro. So it really boils my pi$$ when people do it down . It was in some respects far more advanced than its competitors that chose rear wheel drive and conventional suspension.
As a kid i always wanted the Allegro Equipe Ahhh man.
Thank you for a great video.
A friend of mine bought one in 1995 when we were in college. It was a two door, hand painted black with brush marks! It couldn't half shift though. Outside our college was a level crossing with a bit of a hump, he went a bit too fast over it one day and crashed it in to a pub on the corner! He still drove it for months after that, even with the front all caved in. Great car, great memories.
My Grandad had one of these, I loved it. I remember it being really smooth and comfy.
I had the 1500 Super, in white with chrome bumpers and velour seats. My friends laughed, but bugger em I loved my Allegro. Sitting on the motorway at 80 was easy, I had it up to 95 once! Me and the misses did long cross-country trips along with getting me to work every day. It had its quirks; the heater could melt your feet off. The fuel gauge didn't work that just adds an air of excitement to driving. For a car that was a stopgap, something to get me to work when we couldn't afford any better, I was sad to see it go in the end.
Stephen morrish, I had a bog standard 1300, it got me to work and back, 30 miles each way, for about 2 years and never missed a beat. Most boring car ever? Certainly a contender but worst? No way not even in the top 100. I also had a couple of marinas ( which are pretty much the same car) and I would say the same about them.
Glad it had a good heater since the newly designed heater was one of the reasons the original Harris Mann wedge shape had to be compromised apparently (to fit it in).
I never ever thought I'd think these things look cool but they're reaching an age where actually it's looking quite refreshing up against all the modern rubbish that's on the road today
My Dad had a bright orange 1300, with the quartic wheel. He was able to maintain it by himself even in his 70s and it never let him down on the road once.
Only because he did less than 500 miles per year
My sister had one in the early 1980's. It was locally assembled and everything worked well. It was a 1500 with five speed, easy to drive, supremely comfortable, utterly reliably, with astounding visibility and very good economy. Somethings that could not be said for my father's Toyota's. After having two in a row seriously fail on him he went to Datsuns, but the Allegro was still a superior car. The only problem my sister had with it was: it overheated once, which was caused by a failed thermostat. I might be wrong, but I think it may have had electronic ignition as standard.
In my country we have demanding roads and people preferred to travel in the Allegro, particularly those prone to car-sickness. On hillier and windier roads the allegro travellers would have to wait for those in my brother-in-law's Chrysler V8.
In short, from experience, I cannot understand why they were so disliked.
An ex-girlfriend had the 1500cc with a five speed gearbox. It had been treated with some hard tarry substance on the underside and engine bay, which had prevented the cursed rust getting to the chassis. Nice to drive and quite comfy.
I absolutely do not believe you. My dad’s Toyotas literally never broke down once.
Whilst the Japanese cars of the era did indeed 'just work' they certainly weren't any better for longevity. My Dad's Mk1 Civic didn't even last 10 years by which time it was rusty and had a smoky engine at a mere 50k miles. My point is, it's easy to mock the Allegro but in reality it's barely any worse than it's contemporaries - I agree with the Escort comment for a start!
A MkII Escort Ghia is a lovely machine. Especially with the optional 2 litre.
Japanese cars range enormously in quality and design. It's impossible to generalise about them. Corollas were well built but only just capable of being cars. At 60mph the engine is about to burst and the car get thrown around by side winds. How many of those little terrors are left?
I had a 1500 back in the mid 1980s and apart from the looks it was a great little car. I paid next to nothing for it and so I didn't bother maintaining it but it just kept on going... And going... And going. After three years I swapped it for a motorbike which was one of my worse decisions.
ETA: It's Vanden Plah except when talking about an Allegro. Then it's Vanden Plass.
Even a camera is trying to look away
Definitely not the worst car, i'm loving owning one.
So many people believe everything that Clarkson and top smear told them. A wonderful car in its own way and one that is every bit worthy of revisiting in the 21st century. Fabulous wipers too!
Very enjoyable video. Thanks Ian
My dad brought home a '74 Austin Marina back in 1980. "Runs like a little sewing machine", he bragged.
Oh....my.....God. What a nightmare. Only my mother could make it go. Bailing wire, duct tape and "talking nice to it." She honestly believed that it could hear you talk shit about it.
My kid brother's first full spoken phrase was "Aussin-marina-piece-a-junk"
And yes, I learned to drive a stick in that car. In Utah, of all places.
Also known as the Austin Peanut. The front wheel hub assemblies used to seize and fall off. Great visibility. My first car was.....a Morris Marina. I would rather have had an Allegro. Keep the thing greased and oiled and they weren’t that bad. People forget that these were very modern looking in 1974. Poor things, they weren’t *that* bad. Nice suspension. Good review, thank you for this 👍
After watching this video , I am now a very proud owner of an Allegro 1100DL , and I can state here and now , you don't get the triangle of Doom 😂
JSN332N where are you now? My first car was an Allegro and it was a great car. It was a 1.3 and felt fantastic. I feel the need to defend them,they were a much better car than the people who have never even driven one would have you believe. The ride quality was a lot less tooth rattling than a modern Audi or BMW. Now getting a bit misty eyed thinking about our adventures together and Margret from Aviemore, oh that was a very special night in my Allegro......18, own car,king of the road!
That comes up as a Golf, last taxed in 87!
Mark you are right, my bad! That was my Lofoten green golf mk1! It should of read YXA 602M! Think it was a 1973 or 74 Allegro but probably wrong on that too! The Golf was one of the very first made as they were only introduced in 1974? Had to scrap it due to terminal rust but wish still had it
Yes that was registered in 74 but last taxed in 85.
We take it for granted now that cars don't rust, back then you could expect signs of rust to show within a year or two!
My first company car was an Allegro 1100 and was initially a disappointment as I had asked for the 1300. However as my own car at the time was a modified Mini with the hydrolastic suspension, I knew how to drive to get the best out of the Allegro. It after all was just a bigger bodied version of the Mini. It proved to be a better buy than the bosses MK 2 Capri in almost every way. Never broke down, Cheap to run, and great fun to drive & quick on the twisty rural roads compared to the Capri's boat like ride. The only down side was the noise level inside. I covered over 60K in two years in it without a single problem.
I suspect that most peoples negative emotion is as a consequence of Ford's brilliant PR, general disappointment that someone didn't get a Ford (because of the PR). Build quality may well have been an issue but tell that to the Escort mk2 owner who had 3 sets of sills welded to his car.
I am one of those people that learnt to drive in pretty much that exact model of Allegro. This video has really brought back some great memories, thank you.
This was up against the Mk1 Golf, available as a 5 door hatchback.
The Allegro didn't stand a chance.
yeah but the golf didn't have a square steering wheel
@@zinkzoyd
This Allegro didn't either, so I was comparing like-with-like.
Austin fought back well though, albeit in its dying breath. The Maestro was genuinely an excellent car, even the likes of Clarkson admitted that. It faired much better as a competitor to the Mk2 Golf.
Worked for an Austin Rover garage from 1968 to 1991 in the body shop as a panel beater. Ran two Allegro's in the early 80's which were very good cars and never let me down. The hatred for these cars is built on ignorance in my opinion. I have always thought that Austin/BL cars were good and well built and having worked on and owned many makes of cars, I think they were as good and in some respects better than their competitors. The main thing with mass produced cars regardless of make, if you don't look after them, they will wear out and break down.
Well put PK. I owned a 1500cc Allegro back in the early 80's and it never let me down once, even though I was a late teen 'thrash it' driver. As you say, ignorance is at play with these cars...
Our friend is right! The Austin Allegro was a good car, I learned to drive in a MkII 1300, NTU984V, Lovely motor!
When we got the first Allegro in for service we where delighted with the room in the engine bay. The problem came when we tried to jack it up at the front. Leyland subsequently provided us with brackets that went onto a trolley jack. I always thought that it was a great range of cars. They where fun to drive, but never gained street credibility with younger drivers, (they all wanted Escorts). If I remember correctly this first car has a bazaar square steering wheel, of have I been too much mind altering sherry again?
It was called a "quartic" because even BL realised "square wheel" sounded silly.
Loving the sound of this engine and transmission. It’s a lot better than I gave this allegro credit for. Your a great bloke HubNut who makes special videos. Pete UK
Oh my goodness, that transmission whine takes me back to my Nan's Gen 2 1300 SDL, later to be replaced by a Gen 3 1300 Automatic 😀. I did a 0-60 in the Automatic and it was 22 secs left to its own devices, but down to 18 secs doing it manually. I really don't think they deserved the stick they got in the press. Great little car and neither of them gave a moments trouble 🚙
Below comment is dreadful. What an affectionate review. I liked the styling of the Allegro. The reviews from What Car etc, were very positive, especially on the later models ( 2, estate etc ). It would be interesting to drive it alongside GS’s, Alfasuds, Renaults of the period, interesting but probably impossible, as they will have corroded away, long before now.
Hub nut may not be conventional. The Allegro was not conventional. Who wants to be conventional.
A Renault 20 was conventional. A Seat Ibiza is conventional. A VW Fox was conventional.
Radical AM, below is probably conventional. Enough said.
Keep em coming Hub Nut.
Can`t say how much this video means to me Tywyn was where my mum was born and her mum had a B&B on the High St opposite the leisure centre, I remember it fondly in the 70`s and 80`s, the road to Tonfanau where the first part of the video was shot was where I had my first driving lessons courtesy of my dad in an S reg yellow Vauxhall Cavalier which I later inherited. I owned an Allegro as a 2nd family car around 1990 and can truly say it was a surprisingly great car to drive, the video has rekindled my apreciation for at least a couple of things from my past, a masive thank you for bringing them back to life for me on video, they are now more than just a distant memory!
I was a blue ovals only man in my youth. I'd be happy to own one of those now.
another great video, a nice change to hear the allegro getting the praise it deserves instead of the usual ignorant nonsense and cliches that we hear, not the greatest car ever but certainly not the worst, another case of what might have been
That is a very ambitious looking speedometer!
I'm getting old. And the older i get, the more i appreciate those cars.
Mr Hub
That brought back a few memories the ALL AGGRO was not particularly a well loved car as you pointed out,but a friend of mine had one and he travelled many miles in it back in the 1980s and he soo loved it.Thank you for the video
atb Mike
Honestly, I quite like the Allegro for the precise reason that everyone else hates it. I'd absolutely like to buy myself a Vanden Plas version.
Very good. I think those door handles made several guest appearances in other vehicles if I remember correctly.
Love it! The more BL the better :-))))) Princess 2200 HLS bronce metallic with hand shifted transmission is my all time favourite!
It’s great to see cars like this reviewed. When I was a kid in the 80s my dad was a self-employed mechanic at the time and would be fixing cars like this while I’d be sitting in the passenger seat. Brings back great memories
My first car was an Allegro and I loved it. you just don't seem to see them anymore. Mine was a a 1975.
A car that conveyed people from A to B. Easy to drive. Comfortable. Did the job. Yeah not a looker but most people back then were less image obsessed. Build quality was hit and miss but my mum thought hers was great. And it never went wrong. A friend's family had a first incarnation Honda Civic, which rusted whilst you watched. Thanks as ever for an honest review of another car with an ill deserved reputation. By the way nice to see the remains of (presumably) RAF Towyn at the beginning of the journey.
I miss the A series gearbox whine on the road it is something i will always love!
I have a mate who bought a run out model Defender ( still worth what he paid for it ) - part of the deal was a trip to the factory. He said the new LR Disco's and Freelanders etc were put together by robots with a few people who wore white coats who monitored the machines then the Defender line that was populated by an army of people joggling and jiggling stuff - sounds like Allegro assembly was like the latter
Had an 1100 DL in antique gold, just like this one as my first 'legal' car back in '93.
Currently have a '79 1500 VDP in Tara green with 126 thou on the clock.
I'm starting to miss the uncluttered dashboards and simple instrument displays of old cars. Very few distractions - unlike today's products that insist on putting TV sized display screen surrounded by disco 'mood lighting' in the middle of the dash.
My neighbour has just bought a Peugeot 308 and the dash would drive me nuts. The gauges do a little dance when the key is turned and there is a choice of gauge style. Every switch is accessed via touch screen. Good luck with that when a problem arises ... and being a Peugeot, I do mean "when" ... not "if".
Yes, it's just unnecessary stuff to go wrong.
You're not alone, I like the looks of the Allegro, too.
I always thought that the estate version looked quite good as well, my grandfather swore by them, the engines were bulletproof
I took my test in one of these in February 1975. Up until just 3 hours before my test though I'd been learning to drive in a 1972 Austin 1100, same beige colour as this...or should I say, 'Harvest Gold' as it was called. I was well used to the 1100, a nice 'soft' an easy car to drive, particularly good for learners.
After my last lesson, on the day of my test, the instructor went back to the driving school for his lunch having dropped me home; "I'll pick you up in 3 hours. 20 minutes before your test. Nothing to worry about" being his parting words.
However he turned up 30 minutes before in a brand new black Allegro 1100...with a 'square' (quartic) steering wheel. "I'm really sorry about this, they changed the car to this thing while I wasn't looking. We need to get familiar with it." I had all of 10 minutes to do so. It even still had the clear plastic delivery covers on the vinyl seats.
And just 87 miles on the clock.
I looked at the steering wheel which actually was no problem at all to use, albeit not nice.
The car seemed like a real step backwards though. Harsh with excessive road noise compared to the old 1100, grabby brakes - the steering pulled alarmingly to the left even at town speeds when using them. Plus an astonishingly sharp clutch and a really stiff gear change, even worse than the 1100's which was a bit like stirring porridge when searching for a gear.
Worst of all.....my instructor's cunningly adhered Green Shield stamp (younger viewers consult Google) at the left base of the rear window, was missing! Keep it in line of sight on the kerb when reversing round the corner and the manoeuvre was completed perfectly, worked a treat😄
I don't think the Examiner liked it either, initially because the passenger seat would not slide back for him, stuck fast on its runner, and then the window would not close fully on his side either; it was pouring with rain too.
I managed to pass. Sympathy probably.
I do love old, derided cars though, just not this one. I've had several cars that most would probably call 'horrible'. I have a 1970 FIAT 500 - not as a daily driver mind - which is more basic than even this Allegro. Fabulous machine, warts 'n all.
Many thanks for the excellent review and video, as always. I think I still prefer a 2CV or a Dyane! Cheers.
I have no axe to grind with the Allegro myself. I think you either liked them or loathed them. Me myself, well I never owned one. I did however have a white "S" reg Austin Princess 1800 with remarkable similarities to your allegro especially in the sound Dep't I noted as you drove along. Similar switchgear, engine bay, they all have that seventies look. No wonder Datsun did so well when they came along with all their standard features compared to what british cars offered at that time. My only other memory of the allegro was my neighbours car. He had one for a short time and with his commuting to B'ham everyday from Walsall his exhaust tailpipe was always chocolate brown / white in appearance, something that only ever happened if the engine was running right or you'd just come off a long motorway journey. Most other cars were always black and sooty looking. Another strange fact, they too moved to Towyn and still reside there to this day...
Bevin, THE TOWYN EFFECT!
like with so many BL products, with just a minimum of " tweeks " the whole perception of the car could have been different. Take the Allegro 3 with 4 round headlights, sportyish wheel trims
revised rear light cluster and different boot lid. Had they launched the car having these improvements , with perhaps a different name and the whole perception could have been of a small sporty compact saloon. Also Rover painted their 200 series with the bottom half of the car grey and junxtaposed that with the various colours chosen for the top half. Had they introduced a similar scheme for the Allegro it would have given the car a much slimmer appearance. Opportunities missed.
The sound from the transmission is a sound I will always remember from my fathers Allegro, always got us to our holiday destinations each year and back without any problems and he owned that car for over eight years.
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I owned two in the 90's. Loved em both.
I owned an Allegro which is one of the few cars I ever made money off. I bought it cheap as it wasn't running properly but having worked on A series engine for years simply replaced the exhaust valves on cylinders 2&3 at a total cost of £9 ran the car for two completely reliable and enjoyable years and traded it in for more than I paid for it. The car was comfortable handled extremely well but never got round the the planned modifications Oselli short block Slark head Weber carb lowered stiffened suspension. Oh happy memories
my wife had an allegro and let her brother take it to spain and back through france with 4 on board and he could not stop praising it,,,,,, brian d.
My Granddad had two of these consecutively. An orange one then a blue one.
I have fond memories of trips out with Granny and Granddad in the back of it.
To me it was a really special car.
Luv and Peace.
Friend of mine had an Allegro and hit a deer with it (or vice versa maybe - wretched creatures) but it totalled the deer and left the car and driver unharmed. A little shaken but unharmed, and you can die from deer impacts very easily. Robustness is underrated.
Impessive. The Allegro was sold in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries in the day -could this have been one of the reasons for the sales? (aka The Elk Test).
All the car most families needed (or could afford) back in the day. If only the build quality had been better ?
I had a brown 1275cc Allegro 1979 plate as my first car, it drank oil but was easy to drive and servicing was easy.
My friend in the early eighties had an all- agro as they were called, it actually had a square steering wheel (round corners of course). My first car was a 69 Austin Maxi 1500, it was huge inside. It had a 5 speed transmission, cable operated. It had so much play you punched the radio when you changed gear. Loved it though!
My dad worked at the Chrysler plant outside Glasgow - he made Avengers and Sunbeams and was responsible for lifting the chassis onto the production line and other stuff. He told me about the unions and what they were up to and he DID NOT trust them. One time he told us the union guy in the canteen said to him after he was going back to work after lunch: "sit down robert - none of us are going back." My dad was always his own man and replied: "I came here today to work." and went back to work.
Unions and management actually worked together we learned. There would be a bad apple in management who would meet with the shop stewards and "liaise" about how to disrupt production schedules.
Still don't understand how people could undermine their own jobs and livelihoods of thousands of people. I think Britain *even in the 70s - was being taken down by masonic/jesuit interests that didn't and don't like the British people.
What it meant - is that ordinary people who didn't follow the crowd and just wanted to work for a living - were always being made "redundant" but the "redundancy" was by design by UK politicians. Now everywhere else makes ships and cruise liners - Germany - France - Italy - Norway......
Those formerly busy towns in the north - the busiest places are now the health centres and the chemist. Strange indeed.
Glad I held onto my christian faith; but even the ministers seem to be doing now - what the shop stewards did in the 70s to the church. And I believe without Jesus Christ at the heart of British culture - we will end up without the best parts of who and what we were. Although our faults and failings are many. So - I now look to the next world and not this one for the hope of those I love and care about. Thousands of surveillance cameras everywhere and a growing network of dangerous microwave towers don't bode well for future of people in Britain. The enemy has indeed run riot but he can only claim victory over time and the limited places of this world. And how could anyone say or see it as a victory? But the wicked and corrupt.?
The period that the Allegro was from was the same period that the UK joined the EEC. Germany sought dominance along with France. Killing off the UK car industry along with British Steel and British Coal, scaling down the UK shipbuilding industry and giving away Britain's fishing rights. This all seems in hindsight to coincide with what appears to have been an agenda to shift power towards Germany and to break the EEC members down to serf states, each with a role to support the centralist core, but sacrificing the skills and invested expertise in competing economies and industries of countries that joined later, such as the UK. Marxists had certainly entered the British unions by the late 1960s and were entrenched by the early-to- mid-1970s. In the 1950s to 1960s, Britain's car-manufacturing and aerospace industry was the envy of Europe and a lot of the World, yet within one decade they became a laughing stock and the UK was labeled "The Sick Man of Europe". The Rootes Group who manufactured Hillman cars were ruined by belligerent unions and underinvestment to such an extent that they failed to exist. Meanwhile BMW grew from making "bubble cars" and austerity 650cc sedans to medium and luxury cars. Volkswagen produced huge amounts of a car ripped-off from Czechoslavakia's Tatra design during that country's Nazi-dominated era. It is no coincidence that the UK's major manufacturing industries began failing at the very time the UK became part of the EEC, and later the EU - it seems it was always designed to happen that way.
It's sod all to do with the EEC. The problem was the usual British attitude and arrogance. Once protectionist import rules were relaxed, people just flocked to foreign manufacturers because their cars were better. The Morris Oxford was still being produced in the early 1970s. That shows you how bad things were.
@@HubNut Why.....what's so bad about the british people and their attitude? Who has taught us that there is something inherently wrong about who we are? I wonder who that could be..........
I still see hundreds of great machines being used that were built in britain. Are were to believe that there is something wrong with us - in comparison to people abroad? I was raised to treat others with respect - clean up after myself etc... I'm not blaming other people for our problems - but when people can't even identify the enemy that is taking it down. It's hardly a fair fight. And if you can't fight a fair fight - you bring your enemy down from the inside. A strong people - need to be divided and conquered - subdued and sickened. And that's what I see all around me.
Honda was never interested in any more than a partnership with Rover. BAe never wanted to own Rover and was chuffed to bits when Rover came sniffing around. Rover wasn't Major's to sell.
My girlfriend had one of these from 1982 -1998 and as myself being a very skilled car technician I was able to iron out long term the niggles with it and it had a long happy life until somebody crashed into the rear of it and wrote it off.
That 0-60 Test was quite a journey, with plenty of time to tell anecdotes along the way 😃
My dad had a mark 2 Allegro estate as a company car in the early 80’s
I did indeed learn to drive in one. Not official lessons, which were in a Corolla, but in my dad's and also one belonging to a friend.
I hand painted my dad's black from beige. We did miles in it for little money spent and it was well past it's first flush of youth when dad bought it.
No real complaints. Adequate affordable transport which is what my dad wanted.
He did own a couple of ropey Austin 11 and 1300s before this including a nice dark green MG version. As a kid I did prefer those in fairness but the Allegro still maintains a place in my heart.
I had an Allegro 1300, loved it, loads of room and cheap to run
Lots of cars back then weren't good. British or Foreign. I remember these when new. Most cars were also 4 speed. The Maxi was 5 speed. Drove, worked on and MOTd so many cars of all types from the sixties to the nineties.
Warm feelings I get from this Austin from the 70s when I was born. Great time travel video!
The Allegro was also built at the BL Seneffe plant in Belgium. The Belgian built cars had good rust proofing and were generally reliable. Some were exported to Scandinavian countries -daily driver examples are even now still to be found in Sweden and Finland. The Allegro got some good press reviews in Europe -one French newspaper exhorted its readers to buy one with the awful pun "Allez rouler Britannia". Some did. Your video shows that not all was bad -the handling was actually rather good and together with the gear noise it had some character. Reliability could be good -a friend of mine had 2. Bought in the 80s for peanuts with low miles and kept to 140k and 150k without any major problems. Your positivity makes a nice change. A road test on an Allegro Equipe could be a fun one.
The other name for the BL roundel was "The Flying Arseholes".
All the negative comments the land crab received were mostly from people who had never owned one,I owned several in Australia and had no major problems with them.
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Thanks for another Great review Ian , Love your RUclips videos I'm from New Zealand and grew up with a lot of the old English cars. Dad was a Loyal Austin buyer and he owned many 1100 & 1300's , 2x Maxi's and also 2x Austin Allegro's.
Love your reviews are so honest and not just making fun of the cars , I know the Allegro wasn't perfect but it was actually quite a good little car. Dad had a great run out of both his Allegro's first he brought brand new in 1979 a series 2 1300LE metallic brown with gold pin stripes and a beige Vinyl roof seemed so modern after the Austin 1100 Mk3. The second Allegro he brought second hand 8 years old a one owner 1976 1300 Super only 49 000 km still had some plastic around the back seat from new. No salt used on New Zealand roads and although we get cold wintery conditions they use grit on the roads so the cars last much better. In the 70's the British cars like the Allegro seem to have better bodies than the Japanese opposition like the Datsun 120Y which even without the presence of salt on the roads rusted so quickly , also the Allegro had more room than the Japanese opposition and nice big comfortable cloth trimmed seats on NZ models. Actually when they started to assemble them in New Zealand in 1975 they were the first locally assembled cars with the heated rear window and Standard factory fitted in the window. They also won the New Zealand 1976 Mobil Economy Run for their class in a 1300 Super beating the Datsun 120Y , Toyota Corolla, Hillman Avenger, Ford Escort etc so against the cars of its day it performed quite well.
Also learn to drive in the 1976 1300 Super so good memories, Thanks again for the Road Test Enjoyed it so much 👍.
I had a blue quartic steering wheeled saloon (crap and worn out). I have to tell you when I took the front hub caps off that one, the ends of both driveshafts (complete with castellated nuts) both fell out due to wear !!!!! I saw a lot of Allegros with collapsed front wheels in the late 80, early 90's........that would be why....... Your friend might want to keep an eye on that :)
I also had a beige mk II saloon (also worn out) and A garage full of spares including an engine assembly to support it. On That one the earth strap to the engine worked lose and I eventually worked out the engine was earthing to the body via the worn accelerator cable assembly....... But not before the throttle cable had welded itself in the open position a couple of times inside the internal sheath, whilst I was driving :0 I did a full engine/box replacement on that one from a scrappy acquaintance.
I also had a late model beige estate 1500 (I imported it from a guy in the BAOR and on army plates for a while) which was the best as it was only a couple of years old, the oil seal behind the clutch and into the crank case still failed though!!
Sold it to buy a TR7 :@ another story......
A solar farm in Wales, now that is optimism! 😂
Those panel gaps are so wide you could walk through it and not even notice there was a car there.
Also notice, even going back several decades, that despite thousands of people building these, no one ever admitted to it. Where are these people?
The combination of Ansells and Woodbines finished them.
Great channel HubNut, really enjoy your video's. My first car was the infamous Austin Allegro but I had the 1500, which I thought was a huge engine for just passing my test but boy did it love failing on the the M5. in the end I had to carry more tools than a recovery truck as it always failed, burnt out valves, oil leaking from the clutch housing. In the end the AA said I wasn't entitled to this many breakdowns in a year. I did love the way you could replace the clutch though in under an hour, access was so easy back in those days. Fond memories in deed. I see your near the Elan Valley as well. I think we are lucky to have such beauty on our doorstep. Good luck with your future travels and hope they go well.
Hi Hubnut. Just LOVE your videos. It's so refreshing, to find that cars can be described and discussed, without resorting to infantile stupidity and, in the case of British cars, automatic slagging-off, purely because they're British. Your reports are simply unbiased.
Yes, very little knee room in the back of the Allegro, but years ago, someone I knew told me that his dad worked in design at Longbridge, and he said that the Allegro was designed to be a couple of inches longer but, in the prototype stage, the body shells were found to bend in the middle! So they shortened it. Do you know whether this is true, or a myth? It certainly ties up with your comment in the video about bodies having to be adjusted (bent?), to enable the doors to be fitted!
I hope you will make a video about the Hillman Imp. I'd be interested to hear your views of this, to me, great little car, only ruined, (in my humble opinion) by militant workforce and incompetent management. (Forgive me, if you HAVE made such a video, but I haven't found it)
A friend I worked with in Zambia in 1973 imported a Maxi. The engine mounts broke after a couple of months. What really pissed him off was when an elderly African in a pork pie hat overtook him on a dirt road driving a beaten up Peogeot 404!
dont really understand the hatred of the design, i personally liked a lot of the cars that looked like this.
Same here, if I squint I can almost imagine the Allegro (and also the Skoda Estelle/Rapid) as mini-muscle cars from their front 3/4 view.
One good feature was the way the wiring looms were made. The wires were all laid flat and covered in transparent plastic. It was so easy to trace the wiring. Not like today.
I always liked the look of the Allegro. I often drove one in the 1970s and loved it.