Austin Metro 1.3 HLE | Spotted
Now 40 years old (and therefore ULEZ exempt, too), a marvellous Metro is looking for a new home
There can’t be many cars in history with lives that began so auspiciously and ended as ignominiously as the Metro. Launched to widespread acclaim and commercial success, it was ultimately left to wither on the vine too long; another BL project that showed enormous promise and wasn’t given sufficient investment (or management) to properly shine. Though the Euro NCAP results for the Rover 100 sealed the little car’s fate, the writing had been on the wall for a long time - the Metro was seriously outdated come the '90s.
Back in the early '80s, however, it was a supermini from the home team to compete with the very best. There must be millions of us with Metro stories to hand, such was their popularity; it seemed there everyone had a parent or cousin or grandparent (or more than one) with a Metro. They looked smart, drove well, and didn’t cost very much. That the Princess of Wales was gifted one as a birthday present will have done the Metro’s popularity with the general public no harm at all, either.
Once upon a time (and seemingly not that ago), Metros remained everywhere. No longer in the first flushes of youth, sure, though ready to embark on a gentler pace of life as a cute old classic. Then they just seemed to vanish. As with so many cars that were reasonably plentiful and not very valuable at the time, the scrappage schemes will have played a part. So too, however, must have been the country’s undying love for the original Mini. Those that maybe had to choose between saving one or the other would likely plump for the Issigonis icon rather than the '80s supermini. Perhaps nobody wanted an old car they knew performed so badly in a crash (not that any are brilliant). Maybe the complexity Hydragas suspension put some potential suitors off.
Whatever the truth, you barely ever see Metros now, and near enough never in this sort of condition. It’s one of the fancier 1.3 HLEs, complete with Cinnabar Red paint and Savannah interior, which looks just as smart as it sounds. Somewhat amazingly, too, it’s covered just 14,000 miles since new, or just 350 a year since 1983. Less than a mile a day.
Encouragingly, it would seem that the driving has been in small and considered doses rather than being parked up for almost four decades. The ad suggests it’s been cherished by five previous owners, apparently all keen to keep it pristine: the paint, rubbers and glass are all original, and it’s been protected against rust. It surely won’t have been outside much in inclement weather.
The powertrain is said to be sweet, the brakes have been recently serviced and the Hydragas is functioning flawlessly. The asking price is £7,250, or surely a fraction of what a comparable Mini might cost - even contemporary Fiestas are thousands more. And you can bet on favourable attention wherever the Metro goes. Which might be worth the asking price all on its own.
SPECIFICATION | AUSTIN METRO 1.3 HLE
Engine: 1,275cc, four-cyl
Transmission: 4-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 63@5,300rpm
Torque (lb ft): 69@3,200rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
Year registered: 1983
Recorded mileage: 14,000
Price new: N/A
Yours for: £7,250
Overtaking sadistic lorry drivers could be painful if they accelerated once you were alongside them and left you hanging in lane 3 desperately trying to inch northwards of 65mph with a queue of Sierras and Cavaliers up your arse impatient to get going.
It was my first car and it gave me my freedom, for which I’ll always be grateful, but all the nostalgia in the world wouldn’t persuade me to have another now. Amazing that it’s survived this long though, mine succumbed to terminal tin worm in the floor pans at 11 years old.
Overtaking sadistic lorry drivers could be painful if they accelerated once you were alongside them and left you hanging in lane 3 desperately trying to inch northwards of 65mph with a queue of Sierras and Cavaliers up your arse impatient to get going.
It was my first car and it gave me my freedom, for which I’ll always be grateful, but all the nostalgia in the world wouldn’t persuade me to have another now. Amazing that it’s survived this long though, mine succumbed to terminal tin worm in the floor pans at 11 years old.
I went in the summer and don't recall seeing many Metros.
They weren't bad cars when introduced but could have done with an engine that didn't date back to 1951.
Actually, the engine was still surprisingly efficient and had a decent throttle response, even if it sounded rather rough. One of the reasons they never replaced it until the Kettle-series came along.
It was what was under it that made the car so awful to drive - putting the gears in the sump and never changing that was a bad idea.
Honda (and Nissan with the otherwise-forgettable 100A) at least followed motorcycle practice and put the cogs in a separate chamber and the results were a lot more palatable.
They otherwise had rather a lot to recommend about them, way back then. I (obviously) preferred the suddenly-ancient FIAT 127...
Surprising how these time-warp examples pop up. Usually because they were driven like a moving chicane by the aged.
t then and it’s sHmmmmmmmmmm
C'mon, this isn't for daily driving, B road blasting or occasional track days. Rightly or wrongly, this is a nostalgic purchase and will be used for festival of the unexceptional and that sort of thing
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