I'm an American who was stationed in England in the early 1990s. While there I had an E- reg, 1988 Metro City. Mine had the 1.0 liter A+ engine so was not as well equipped as the one in this video. No headrests, no rear wiper, and a manual choke. I remember that loud gear whine and mine had a very bouncy ride. It also went through a lot of tires. On the motorway the engine seemed like it was screaming above about 60 mph with that 4 speed. It was a cool and quirky little car! I was in Cambridgeshire so used it to drive down to London frequently and further afield as well. In the summer of 1994 I drove all the way down to Spain (and back) in it. An inappropriate car for the trip but I was young then and it was an adventure.
Daniel Reigada not as impressive but I drove my Rover 100 from Southend to Glasgow and back in a day only stopping for fuel!! As you say the worst car for the job but as you say young and stupid these things have to be done!
The thing is; the Metro was British Leyland's answer to the Ford Fiesta and the Renault 5 . That's like coming out with "6" when someone asks what's E= MC2
A woman friend of mine - a lady novelist, living in Central London - bought one of these twenty years ago and is still running it. Drove all the way to North Wales to see me in it. Still going strong.
@@andrewthompsonuk1 i had a fiesta it did drone but was much better to drive than the metro. Steering was much nicer and road over bumps better (not saying much metro's and bumps in the road did not get on well) also the fiesta's never seemed too burn any oil. All the metro's almost used a 50/50 fuel too oil ratio.
@@chrisredfield3240 I never drove a Fiesta from that period, people liked them. The BMC FWD cars were perhaps an acquired taste , I liked most of them.
Depends on which one the 1100 had a long stroke and liked to go bang if u revved it hard. My personal cheap A series favourite excluding the 970 and 1071 Cooper S was the 998.
Hayden 2nd gear was the weakest the synchro would give up. In the 60s and 70s BL did have a Special Tuning division who sold to the public you could get straight cut fears that were stronger but whined and we're best off road.
Learned to drive and passed my test in a Metro.used to get the back window cut out or smashed and back parcel shelf nicked complete with speakers . Another trip to Halfords for speakers and a trip to the scrap yard for a parcel shelf .
The metro does have a wonderful Sound when your driving takes me straight back to the wonderful amazing 80s thanks for putting the metro on lovely car my dad had a bright orange one back in the day
I had two Metros over a thirteen year period, the first was a 1980/1 (W) 1.3S, the second was a 1989 (G) 1.3L. A gulf of difference between them in terms of trim, build quality, etc. The G-reg had a nice light interior. Both however sounded like a Morris Minor when pulling away in first gear. I always felt there should have been a fifth gear, and often found myself trying to change into a gear I didn't have!! After borrowing my father-in-law's Escort I decided that I needed to look at something bigger, and part-exchanged the second one after seven-plus years for a Fiat Tipo.
Hi. I worked for Austin Rover when the Metro was in production they were great little cars .we loved road testing the MGs and turbo versions. The earlier ones had shocks they were deleated on later models . The factory didn't send out a memo and we thought the first one was a miss build. Great memories I had an 84 VDP loved it all electric ,leather steering wheel. Wood capping so ect. The one to find now would be the super rare VDP500 lovely black paint with Grey leather upholstery. 👍
HI from Canada.... the hubNut reporter for this segment is Ian, I think.... I love his segments... very calm, very methodical, and very respectful of the cars he reviews... he finds the positive things and puts a realistic perspective , that is balanced... many of the cars are , what some would call humble, but I would call interesting and entertaining in their own right. All cars have flaws, but a lot of auto journalists are too quick to fall into the “negativity pit”. (Yes, Jeremy Clarkson, I’m talking about you, LOL)... Ian shows that it is not all bad, even with many cars that are so maligned. Like the Skoda video, I watched several videos from owners in Czechoslovakia area, and thise owners go for family drives, picnics, keep them in garages, they get a lot of quality use. If we were to take all the negativity at 100% , we would pass over certain cars, when they are for sale, even at a great price. The car might not be a great rev machine, but it got lots of low end torque for cruising , maintains its speed in gear, zippy atound town, then for many of us, that is all we really need. Thank you Ian, for showing us another way 👍👍👍👍👍
at 7:21 "who doesn't love a characterful whine"............... you should have heard my former mother-in-law she had a (constant) characterful whine ;)
I was 17 in 1989 when I passed my test..and my friend had an MG Metro with..red seat belts, I was blown away! Look at the A pillars, so narrow.. you can hide a bus in some today..or motorbike.. My first girlfriend had a blue 1.0L Metro as her first car. I remember I spent a whole Saturday T cutting and polishing it! Lol Memories...
This is the first video I've ever seen of yours and I've subscribed. Informative and interesting. My uncle used to have one of these and it was great to hear the whine once again. I think you must be the closest TH-camr to me I've ever found as I'm in Cardiff. Looking forward to seeing what other cars you've reviewed. Keep up the good work. Neil.
I passed my driving test in a brand new 5 door metallic gold metro vanden Plas back in 1988 ,the brown plastic trim, the transmission whine, the joystick wing mirror adjustment all bring the memories back . My elderly instructor used to drop the " ELECTRIC" window , (very novel back then ) and flick his Nuttalls Mintoes wrappers out of it , amazing what you remember. !! I would love one now .
Lovely! 15 - 20 years ago there were still a considerable number of these knocking around, all be it on their last legs by that point. They'll only ever appreciate in value now!
The one I had was a rust bucket plus the hydro gas suspension was a nuisance and expensive when it went wrong usually they would leak and the car would drop down too low and you feel every tiny bump in the road
I remember in year 9 or 10 in school ('96 I think) my friend who I sat next to in French had a Austin garage in the family who was forever breaking Metros. I asked him to bring in two headrests in Brown and a Lucas ignition switch, we exchanged a tenner and my French teacher was bemused to see car parts on my desk in class. I went home and fitted the switch with my dads tools and got it going again. My first repair. Kids won't have that sense of satisfaction with modern bangers.
Wow! What a treat! Brings back fond memories of my F reg Austin Metro Mayfair....in white with tan interior. First camping trip away in it with friends! That gearbox musical noise! Got the wings changed on the front and gas suspension reset. She looked the beez kneez, till she went for an MoT. The dredded tin worm! She was a mover, well when she got going! Snow driving was another story! 👌
I remember seeing a Metro in the West End, the day they came out. It looked impossibly modern for a British car. Under the bonnet it's still a ration book motor.
I drove an Austin Metro once: it was a courtesy car. Fortunately, I only had it a few days as it was bloody awful: noisy and really unpleasant to drive. I was glad to get my Ford Fiesta back.
Another great vid. So frustrating when I see car development and engineering in this country. In Europe and Japan they where so innovative in their approach, while we were raiding the shelves for old parts. It's hardly surprising that the car industry collapsed in Britain. My mate had an identical one to the one you tested in, last time I saw it the front suspension was collapsed. Nice to see someone keeping one going.
Great to see this little car in such fine condition, especially the engine bay. I like your camera position too, with a good view of the road, the dash and yourself (in profile, showing your best side).
My parents had a 1.3 metro in the late 80's. Same colour as my Grandad's hearing aid at the time. A source of jokes and possible embarrassment. Great memories though.
The city version (automatic) was what the elderly all drove before Honda introduced the Jazz. Not sure what they drove in the late 90s, when their metro's had succumbed to rust, but the Jazz wasnt yet out. Rover 200's i guess. It was a terrible thing to be stuck behind a Austin Metro city in 1989, though, that I do remember.
The day I passed my test in a newer metro 1.3..my instructor drove us the back home hitting 105mph top speed. I had a pretty quick 1.3HLE had fantastic brake system especially once bled and Handbrake adjusted correctly.. problems were always SU carb tickover, leaking suspension. As stated the expensive tyres with the wheels that prevented catastrophic loss of tyre. Also gearbox sharing engine oil (I think) resulted in oil shear 10W40 and engine life around 100k before wear really started to be noticable. Hydragas suspension was a dealer job and 40/ 50quid a time.. hydragas was never good because every re inflation could mean the car handled completely different.
Ah so that that was the Metro driven by a driving instructor that tried in vain to not let me pass in my Kia Pride at 105mph. I did pass him in the end and he wasn't happy.
Hi Ian, just discovered your channel, this will keep me busy for ages 😀 what a wealth of videos! My first car was a 1982 beige model with go faster stripes. I had 3 metros, ripped the crap out of all of them. 😅. Even the 1.0 was spritely given a heavy right foot 🤪
I had a few metros in my time during the 80s. I really loved those cars. The split rear seat was brilliant. But I'm disappointed you didn't mention the factory fitted oil leak. EVERY metro I had developed an oil leak after 1 year. It was never very much, just a drop or two over 24 hours, but it was enough to ensure that my garage and drive always had a small oil slick!
What a smashing Sunday, 3 videos from hubnut. Now then the metro oh fond memories, my mum bought a 1.3 hls new in 82, a 1.0l new in 87 (which I learnt to drive in, though took my test in a fiesta) and then a 1.1s in 1990, which I wrote off.... all 💩by today’s standards but I liked them, my brother bought a city model in 89 almost new in ‘lapari’ blue! My mate had an MG metro and we thrashed it relentlessly god I loved that it refused to die btw this one you had has an MG tail pipe, no idea what difference it made but it make them sound a bit more throaty. Thanks for the memories ooooo chocolate brown......
The suspension issue relates to the decision by Spen King to not link the hydrogas suspension units to simplify things, he wanted to do it away with it all together but it was too late to change it. This was addressed on the Rover Metro, apart from the Gti, which they hobbled with some additional dampers, which quite simply buggered it up. Sorry you just said this.
You can individualise the hydrogas cans ;) very easy to do. There is also a small rod inside which you can shave a few mm off transforms the suspension on these. I did this on my rover 100 I also pulled the 1.4 litre engine out and fitted a 1.8 out of a mgf :). I used to love hanging on the back of imprezas lol. But mine succombed to Rot. But you can convert and do the suspension in well one day
Bodywork looked very good. Seemed to pick up well and was relatively quiet (nothing wrong with a bit of 80's transmission whine)! Also, looked to handle the bomb craters pretty well. All in all, yet another example of a decent British Leyland car; a company that many 'car enthusiasts'(?) seemingly love to have a dig at. Thanks for another entertaining test drive Ian.
A very tidy example. The suspension is perhaps not on top form though, I don't remember the ride being quite that crashy but that could be the passage of time.
Preferred the Nissan Micra, which were a lot zippier. Owned a Jet Black and it was gash: wheel bearing, clutch cable snapped, suspension arms, brake issues, tyre wear, gas repump every 6 months. Cost me at least 400 quid twice a year. Didn't get 90k miles out of it and you couldn't thrash them. My Civic has 120k on it and costs me half what the Metro did to maintain. It is no wonder the Japanese cars became so popular, with only Ford making anything decent from the UK manufacturers.
Just mentioning the Peugeot 205 makes me miss the one I had as a first car that I bought in 2004 for £110. J908 KNS. an 1124cc Style, 4 speed manual with a carb. I remember the cold mornings with that car, pulling the choke out only a smidge to get it started. The day I was going to fix the heater matrix in it, was the day that a woman in a Mazda 323F wrote it off by reversing into it. I was gutted to say the least. Got £350 back from the insurance though.
205 is my favourite car ... I still have a Peugeot antres ecosse body kit for one 😊 I owned X's 1.4 1.6git 1.9gti and a convertible cc at the same time 😁 I really had a pug bug in my youth ....Max Power!!a
A Mini Metro pulled out in front of my 1977 Cavalier many years ago. The Metro folded up like a cardboard box. My Cavalier suffered a twisted bumper and a slight dent in the front panel. I didn't even break a headlight.
That sound takes me back, my first car was a 1.0 Metro City in Gold. I liked it more than I would've normally due to the fact it was a first car, but it soon went after trying to jack it up and the jack went into the sill. Would four wheel drift around roundabouts and dump its fuel out of the filler on hard cornering.
I enjoyed that thanks! I grew up with BL too and learnt to drive in a metro. I still own a BL car (Triumph) TR7 drophead. People say they are s**t, I can't disagree, but say that's what I like about them. If it wasn't for these type of cars and the continual maintenance (corrective) required, then I wouldn't have learnt anything. Plus having to troubleshoot at an early stage in life bode me well for my later professional career, so thank you BL!!
it did, and the sound, and we all knew how to fix anything on them, but they should have pushed themselves for a 5 speed box, and to improve the engine sooner (the k? series was way too late and a bad design) as well as suspension and rust issues, the overall design i dont mind, they werent cutting edge but also went 'out of fashion' a lot slower
@@jusb1066 The K-Series was a sound design but it was poorly executed. The idea of sandwiching the engine in this way was not a new thing as it had been used in racing and motorcycles before. One thing that killed it was the stretch to 1.8 - It was designed as a small engine programme from the outset and when the government and/or BAE refused to give money for the large engine programme (to replace O-Series derived units) they had to push the K-Series to do what it was wasn't really designed for. If they had been able to test the engine more, they would have fixed the headgasket issues by strengthening the bottom end and reducing it's tendency to beam and twist.
The British analogue to the Chrysler K-car. Patriotically heralded at launch, lacking the single killer flaw that did in so many '70s cars, they both met customer expectations without moving them on a single iota which ultimately wasn't good enough, stayed in production far too long, and were absolutely everywhere until suddenly dropping off the face of the earth.
I loved the MG metro , my brother bought one brand new (In silver with grey front bucket seats with the MG emblem in red embossed into the back of the seats ) through the Leyland motors buying scheme and he got quite a bit of % of the new buying price too ,I was only a teenager when I drove it and it brought a massive smile to my face .
Thanks for another well done road test. Only been to the UK a few times but did drive the original Mini in NZ 41 years ago and have always wanted to have a chance to drive more UK built vehicles. In 1990 on my first trip to the UK I got to drive a Vauxhall Nova, which for me was fun. I should add I love the scenery for your road tests. Last year I got down to Cornwall and Devon in rented Ford Kuga (manual, diesel) and really enjoyed the experience. All the best from California! Keep the videos coming!
That looks and sounds like an MG exhaust (bassy rumble). MG engine too? I had an MG, did you know you could get a washing machine in the boot UPRIGHT if you fold the seats? Try THAT in a modern supermini.......
@@Allan9966 Although no sign (I think) of the anti-shunt tie rod or the anti-run-on valve in the vacuum line.....Was the standard 1.3 A+ engine painted red too?
I learnt in a 1.3 City X and loved it. Fond memories chucking it round Welsh country roads with the 'L' plates on and my dad quite relaxed in the passenger seat. Amazing how nippy and gutsy the 1.3's were!
I wouldn't go that far. British people ditched it in spades for the Fiat Uno, Citroen AX, Renault Clio, Ford Fiesta and Peugeot 205. And not forgetting the Japanese were making big inroads. The metro might be retroactively charming (I still have fond memories of it), but it wasn't competitive or well liked compared to the competition at the time.
In 1993 I probably could have bought any new one of the above at a stretch. In retrospect (or Metrospect) the Metro was the best built. I think build quality is actually very undervalued in reviews (especially when it is fashionable to BL bash). With a K series engine and 5 speed (3 door for me) I guess I could have lived with one. The huge drawbacks for me with the Metro were the driving position and heavy steering. I'm not too familiar with the K, but the A just wasn't as free-reving as offerings from it's European competitors. So, for the most you got a sit on driving position with half dead steering, handling reactions and a wheezy engine. The Renault 5 Campus would have been a good budget choice, or a last model Uno. Not sure about the 205. Was it gone by '93? The car I actually had at that time was a 1985 Fiat Regata. I done it's bottom end in and spent quite a lot it fixing it. Shortly after it's last repair sadly it caught fire. I strongly suspect foul play at the garage. The car may have lasted till 2000 - no particular reason to the contrary. One thing is for sure. Cars of the 80's to 90's didn't have huge amounts of trouble free years in them. With a budget car you could pay over 4 years (on a young person's salary), but by 6 it's all down hill.
Does anyone know what £7,500 would have got you at the dealer in 1993? - except laughed at. I think we missed the 106 and the Nova, Starlet, Ibiza, FSO 125p, Polonez, Lada Samara or Yugo Sana.
I had 4 of these! The Austin 1L City & 1.3 GTa, then the Rover 1.4 GTa & the 1.4GTi. I absolutely loved driving every one of them. The Austin's cornered like they were on rails in the dry, but in the wet they resembled a dog on an icy pond. The Rover's handled much better, and the GTi went like poo on a shiny shovel. An ex had the GTi MPi version, and that was fast! Great review and brought back alot of happy memories!
My Granddad had an 87 E reg 1.3 city Automatic. Very basic spec no stereo, no clock, no nearside mirror but had an "Automatic" badge on the boot, not sure why. As you said Ian it wasn't the best auto. His went through the gears upto third then stayed there. This made acceleration less than rapid out of junctions etc. His local Austin-Rover dealer just dismissed this as "normal."It would happily do 90 mph on the motorway though. Still a lovely little car with so much personality. Love the distinctive blocky interior of this era Austin-Rover too, so many happy memories :)
An '86 5 door 1.0 City was my first car. 52,000 miles, £300, bright red with brown cloth interior. The front wings had fist-sized rust holes (DIY replacements fitted), the interior had been eaten by UV but the rear bodywork was AOK :-) Drove it hard for 2 years - the only way you could drive it really! - and it never broke but leaned down on one side like a 70's Nascar by the end. Scrapped it for £150. Fond memories!
@@HubNut I seem to recall the rubber dash' mats were standard in the Metro van, but not all cars?? I certainly bought one from an AR dealer for my Metro. May not save Rubik's Cubes, but was just right for parking change.
I never realized the Austin name was still being used even in 1985. Love poverty spec cars really. Less to break down and simpler to work on. Why do people who save these all original cars always ruin the interior with aftermarket stereos and ridiculous speakers? 😟 Great video.
It had an awful mw/lw push button radio. This car was being used daily and I needed a Bluetooth stereo for making calls etc. The other benefit was that the stereo could take my USB for those longer journeys. I still have the original and pop it when I go to shows etc
Further more, the speakers on the shelf are 'period' and suit the car really well. It only had one speaker from the factory but now has a whopping 4! 😂
Yeah they took the name off the cars in 1997 and sold the weirdly "marqueless" for a few years before they made the Metro a Rover and stopped making the 2 bigger cars.
Dudley, in 1986 they ceased branding the cars as austin as this was when rover group became the norm. Strangely enough though the austin logo remained on the grill badge of some cars with 'metro' over the top. By 1987, the cars had ceased all austin branding and the new rover shield badges were used on the montego and metro with their names on respectively. The maestro never had the shield badge and stayed with the oblong variant. By 1990 the metro was then known as the rover metro and carried the rover shield badge right up until 1997 when the rover 100 ceased production.
I love metros , ive had 3. A W reg 1.0 l followed by a x reg 1.0 HLE and then several years later a Rover 1.4 si Auto . Really enjoyed this video it bought back memories
Why stop there? Morris Marinas with BMW running gear and power train - reinforced roof pillars so that pianos could land on it all day, and revised body shape that Ital design would go mad for
My mum had a 1.3 metro, which I also had after her. I always thought it was great to drive, particularly in town. I always liked the A series anyway, having had a couple of allegros too. Great to see these being appreciated.
I learnt to drive in (mostly) a 1300 Metro. A bit newer than that one as an F-reg, it was one of the run-out special editions so it had the 3-spoke steering wheel and the moulded plastic/rubber gear leaver with the square knob. But my driving instructor's father, also a driving instructor, had a red 1.0L 3-door, also a C-reg, which I did a few lessons in and that was just lovely to drive, by far the best of the three (my driving instructor's wife was also a driving instructor, also with a black 5-door F-reg Metro 1300 so it was a family affair.) So, although the red car had a grey interior rather than brown, that interior is incredibly familiar to me. Good times...
Brilliant, brings back good memories. Had 1.0 l 5 door when passed my test in 1993, had it for 2 years. Then my brother had it for a while when he passed his test, I was gutted when he wrote it off.
I had a ropey MG version for about a year which turned out to be ideal for the commute four junctions down the M6 and a bit of city driving at the end. The one thing that sticks in my mind about the Metro in general is the local media hype building up to the launch. This was in the Midlands so understandable. They showed sheet covered examples on the local news as a teaser and all that kind of thing. I was a child interested in cars too so remember it well. The week it was released I was with my parents at the then new Savacentre supermarket in Oldbury and there was one belonging to a customer in the carpark and people were standing around and rubber necking it because of the hype and newness. People probably would not do that for an exotic supercar nowadays.
This brings back so many memories!! My grandfather had a W reg, bright orange Mini Metro 1.0L, he forever mourned his Austin 1100!! The mini metro was replaced with a Rover Metro in later years! We had BL cars in our family too, mini van, Marina Coupe, an Ital and two montegos! I live in sunny (today) Ceredigion too. Great test drives, I enjoy watching the videos.
for some strange reason there seems to be a Halfords and a Mcdonalds always next to each other..same in Edinburgh..i must presume that once you have been ripped off by Halfrauds then you go into Mcdonalds to calm down and have comfort food and get ripped off again .... thank you for the video...love it
Nice to see an objective and informed review! Never had a Metro; started on an Allegro then 2 Dolomite 1850s - now they needed carb/points fiddling with almost every weekend!
Drove shed loads of these from first incarnation up to Rover 100. Not bad actually. You could chuck them around like nobodies business. My wife owned a 85 B reg 1.3, a 92 K reg and 97 R reg 100 Kensington. The B reg had the A series 1.3 whilst the later two had 1.3 K series and the head gaskets went on both at 90 to 100k. All our vehicles had the tdx tyres fitted and there’s wasnt such a good choice available, however a firm called challenger based over Wolverhampton way made them at a reasonable price.
Had a drive a few years back in an early Vanden Plas. Had more equipment on it than my newer e28 BMW 5 series including such luxuries as a leather-wrapped steering wheel, digital clock, AM/FM radio and of course, wood trim. Had the early switch placement you mention. The switches of course had been labeled by the original owner using a Dymo label maker. Brilliant.
I've restored my 1983 MG Metro. Thing to bear in mind about the Hydragas units are that they suffer from depletion of the nitrogen gas in the top of the unit. This makes the ride rock solid. If you get the nitrogen gas recharged it makes the ride 100 times better. Mine is so much nicer to drive compared to how it was
Nice review, pretty accurate. Sitting here is my late Father's 1986 Metro VDP 1300 automatic, 5 door. I bought it for him when it was about a year old. It still has the metric wheels and tyres on it. VDP has sunroof, electric front windows, central locking, rev counter, nicer trim etc etc.
I might add, even though a year old when I bought it, it had a replacement power unit fitted under the warranty. I suspect at it's first service the oil filter was not replaced properly, power unit then lost it's oil with nasty consequences. The replacement power unit was poorly assembled, ended up removing it, and fully rebuilding including the auto gearbox, not an easy task. However, after the rebuild car ran very well for the years that Dad used it, then I used it for some more years. Started the engine about a year ago, all seemed to be OK. The Auto has an oil cooler as standard. Perhaps in a year or two, might get the car back on the road.
This is instantly my favourite HubNut video of all time. Brings back very fond memories of A191WDM - my gran’s Primula Yellow 1.3L with brown interior. That first gear whine is heaven, I’d buy one for that noise alone. I will own another Metro one day.
My dad had 3 metros back in the day. A reg austin metro in gold, D reg mg in white and G reg rover clubman metro in dark blue. I just love the heater matrix controls, the chunky square switches, the massive gearbox rubber gator boot which looked like it was off a lorry, the exhaust tailpipe how the end is cut diagonal, the low down fuel filler and miss the manual choke and the illuminated choke on symbol on the dash. Bloody Great they were. Just a shame they were very popular for the joyriding community and my dad had both of his stolen. Happy days looking back.
I bought new an early Uno 45. OHV engine - 4 speed gearbox - beat my brother in laws Metro on performance, space, economy....it was just such a better car
I drove a 1 litre Metro hire car to the Lakes in the 'eighties during the Winter, and coming back decided to take the Kirkstone pass, just as it was starting to snow. We made it to within about 100 feet of the summit when it lost traction on the snow and wouldn't go any further. Ended up reversing back down! Good job there were no other cars on the road (they all had more sense) Seemed a decent enough little car if a little "tinny" with a few rattles and squeaks.
First new car I ever had was an A reg one of these in dark blue followed by a C reg in opalescent green. Both were perfect for my lifestyle at the time and both did me proud and never let me down.
Actually a much better car than you would expect. For a few years I worked with a guy who drove one. He used to pick me up in it most days and I was always impressed at how spacious the interior was and the engine seemed ok.
I had one of these one of these as a supervisor's car when I was a uniformed inspector in a police force. It was very reliable, probably as I checked the oil every now and again. It had a surprising turn of speed for a 1275cc car, and you could take it around corners with an abandon that would scare the driver of the rear-wheel drive cars we had as patrol cars. It seemed to need new tyres more often than petrol. The seats were surprisingly comfortable and the ride was smooth for the size of car. The interior was brown and it did the opposite of grow on me. I had a handcuffed prisoner pull the handbrake on at speed and the Metro behaved impeccably. It snowed one winter and there were inches of snow on the roads. My Metro took it all in its stride, unlike the Sierras, their front airdams shovelling snow into the air intakes. I discovered that it didn't take to off-road attempts too well and I had to be pushed out of a bridleway with deep ruts once. The gearchange was a bit of a lottery, with about the same chances of winning. It was put in for a service and when it returned it was never quite the same. It seems it thrived on being abused and the unaccustomed bit of care had startled it. It was great for observations as even experienced criminals ignored it. I had a prisoner refuse to get in the car as he felt it was beneath him. I pointed out that he'd been nicked by an inspector so he should really reconsider his career choice. It convinced him to get in but I had to remove his handcuffs in order for him to get out of the back seats at the nick. I liked it a lot but was never tempted to buy one.
I'm usually kind and nostalgic about cars from yesteryear, but here I will make an exception. My girlfriend at the time (1993) had an orange 1.1 Metro and it was absolutely terrible. It was rust prone and extremely unreliable and I spent more time pushing it than in the passenger seat.
Lovely to see a Metro still in decent nick and giving a good showing of itself. Passed my test in one back in 83 - KNO99Y. A neighbour had one as a hire car in 1980 - I remember being impressed by how big it was inside for a small car.
You don't see many Metros looking this good. TBH you hardly saw Metros looking this good, back when they were new. I have googled the 9X and the ADO74, and am looking forward to reading about them. Thanks for the heads up Ian :) ..oh and yeah.. That old A-series engine and gearbox.. LOVE the sound of those. This was a nice throwback :)
What happy memories this brings back to me. I had a very early 1980 miniMetro 1.3s, then an MG Metro, then another MG Metro and some time after that a Rover Metro 1.1S and I loved every one of them. The whine of the early cars is a joy and take me right back to my youth 👍
Kept patching mine up until the MOT man refused to test it on account of it being a patchwork quilt. Transfer gears box all packed in, radius arm bushes, but quite a good drive.
0:49 Here in Brazil all cars must have the last eight digits of the VIN etched on all windows from factory. It's mandatory by law since 1999, but car manufacturers have been doing this since late 1980s here. I thought this was "standard practice" on all cars around the world, but I found out that it isn't when I visited Europe for the second time in 2018 and notice that the car I rented didn't have the VIN etched on the windows.
Had a metallic blue Mini-Metro 1300s with the bizarre striped cotton cloth seats before they changed to the grey herringbone tweed. What a little goer she was. TRF 452X R.I.P I had it while my daily, A Triumph Dolomite 1850HL was having some major underbody welding. Replaced the Dolomite with and FSO 125p after water pump went (Engine out job was just too costly) and then replaced the FSO with a Maestro DLX. All good and CHEAP fun :) Basic mechanics that were easy to keep going. No chance of that now :(
Hi from Canada... how nice to kniw that the 4 cylinder engine , was the basic same engine as an Austin A40 ... my grandfather had the Austin A40 pickup, back in 1952 .... it was a good machine, that did a lot if work for his farm.... good times...
I'm an American who was stationed in England in the early 1990s. While there I had an E- reg, 1988 Metro City. Mine had the 1.0 liter A+ engine so was not as well equipped as the one in this video. No headrests, no rear wiper, and a manual choke. I remember that loud gear whine and mine had a very bouncy ride. It also went through a lot of tires. On the motorway the engine seemed like it was screaming above about 60 mph with that 4 speed. It was a cool and quirky little car! I was in Cambridgeshire so used it to drive down to London frequently and further afield as well. In the summer of 1994 I drove all the way down to Spain (and back) in it. An inappropriate car for the trip but I was young then and it was an adventure.
Daniel Reigada not as impressive but I drove my Rover 100 from Southend to Glasgow and back in a day only stopping for fuel!!
As you say the worst car for the job but as you say young and stupid these things have to be done!
Ha ha, good story thanks for sharing.
The thing is; the Metro was British Leyland's answer to the Ford Fiesta and the Renault 5 . That's like coming out with "6" when someone asks what's E= MC2
When you said "sorry Andrew" - I said "that's ok" 😁😁😁
Have you done a review of Roots group cars. I had a MK2 Humber Sceptre. - classy !
I wonder what score Doug DeMuro would give the metro 😂😂😂
A woman friend of mine - a lady novelist, living in Central London - bought one of these twenty years ago and is still running it. Drove all the way to North Wales to see me in it. Still going strong.
@The Passionate Ponce Yes. It completes the picture and broadens the scope of those perceived buying one.
@The Passionate Ponce Your view - enjoy it.
A true environmentalist keeps a car forever!
Nice to see someone not slagging off older british cars some of which are not at all bad despite what people like to say about them.
I never understood that. These cars were nicer to drive and ride in than most other competetors.
@@andrewthompsonuk1 do you mean the metro was nice to drive ?
@@chrisredfield3240 for its price and class it was.
@@andrewthompsonuk1 i had a fiesta it did drone but was much better to drive than the metro. Steering was much nicer and road over bumps better (not saying much metro's and bumps in the road did not get on well) also the fiesta's never seemed too burn any oil. All the metro's almost used a 50/50 fuel too oil ratio.
@@chrisredfield3240 I never drove a Fiesta from that period, people liked them. The BMC FWD cars were perhaps an acquired taste , I liked most of them.
I like seeing people using their indicators correctly.
Time machine. Takes me right back. The ‘Back To The Eighties’ sticker on the rear glass is very fitting......
The old A-Series engine is bullet proof. The gearbox whine in 1st brings back alot of memories.
Depends on which one the 1100 had a long stroke and liked to go bang if u revved it hard.
My personal cheap A series favourite excluding the 970 and 1071 Cooper S was the 998.
Gearbox is made of paper though
Hayden 2nd gear was the weakest the synchro would give up.
In the 60s and 70s BL did have a Special Tuning division who sold to the public you could get straight cut fears that were stronger but whined and we're best off road.
@@nigeh5326 I know lol, the synchro for second is going in mine currently and is a pain.
@@nigeh5326 The MG Metro Turbo and the Mini ERA Turbo had the gearboxes that had straight cut gears. It was probably made by BL's tuning division.
Oooh a non leaky sunroof. Nice change for you Ian.
We had an MG metro, handled like a go cart, real fun...
Learned to drive and passed my test in a Metro.used to get the back window cut out or smashed and back parcel shelf nicked complete with speakers . Another trip to Halfords for speakers and a trip to the scrap yard for a parcel shelf .
The metro does have a wonderful Sound when your driving takes me straight back to the wonderful amazing 80s thanks for putting the metro on lovely car my dad had a bright orange one back in the day
We used to get transported to school if we were lucky!! in an Orange (flame Red?) Metro Mk1
@@I-T-S-M-E lovely bright orange wonderful
@@I-T-S-M-E same here
I had two Metros over a thirteen year period, the first was a 1980/1 (W) 1.3S, the second was a 1989 (G) 1.3L. A gulf of difference between them in terms of trim, build quality, etc. The G-reg had a nice light interior. Both however sounded like a Morris Minor when pulling away in first gear. I always felt there should have been a fifth gear, and often found myself trying to change into a gear I didn't have!! After borrowing my father-in-law's Escort I decided that I needed to look at something bigger, and part-exchanged the second one after seven-plus years for a Fiat Tipo.
Hi. I worked for Austin Rover when the Metro was in production they were great little cars .we loved road testing the MGs and turbo versions. The earlier ones had shocks they were deleated on later models . The factory didn't send out a memo and we thought the first one was a miss build. Great memories I had an 84 VDP loved it all electric ,leather steering wheel. Wood capping so ect. The one to find now would be the super rare VDP500 lovely black paint with Grey leather upholstery. 👍
My Dad sold a Cortina mk5 estate to buy one of these, he wasn't well.
@@fenrichlee2867 I thought so, my mother used the word berk.
You didn't borrow it much then lol
For a C reg Metro its in amazing condition, a lot of owners just ran these into the ground or just let them rot away 😕
It was in good condition until Ian rallied it
@@forestdad Got a link or something? Doesn't sound good :(
HI from Canada.... the hubNut reporter for this segment is Ian, I think.... I love his segments... very calm, very methodical, and very respectful of the cars he reviews... he finds the positive things and puts a realistic perspective , that is balanced... many of the cars are , what some would call humble, but I would call interesting and entertaining in their own right. All cars have flaws, but a lot of auto journalists are too quick to fall into the “negativity pit”. (Yes, Jeremy Clarkson, I’m talking about you, LOL)... Ian shows that it is not all bad, even with many cars that are so maligned. Like the Skoda video, I watched several videos from owners in Czechoslovakia area, and thise owners go for family drives, picnics, keep them in garages, they get a lot of quality use. If we were to take all the negativity at 100% , we would pass over certain cars, when they are for sale, even at a great price. The car might not be a great rev machine, but it got lots of low end torque for cruising , maintains its speed in gear, zippy atound town, then for many of us, that is all we really need. Thank you Ian, for showing us another way 👍👍👍👍👍
at 7:21 "who doesn't love a characterful whine"............... you should have heard my former mother-in-law she had a (constant) characterful whine ;)
Even in 1st gear?
@@jaggass I don't think she ever got out of first gear
LOL!
No whines from our Metros, and almost none from MIL. 😉
I was 17 in 1989 when I passed my test..and my friend had an MG Metro with..red seat belts, I was blown away! Look at the A pillars, so narrow.. you can hide a bus in some today..or motorbike.. My first girlfriend had a blue 1.0L Metro as her first car. I remember I spent a whole Saturday T cutting and polishing it! Lol
Memories...
a polish for a polish eh ;)
This is the first video I've ever seen of yours and I've subscribed. Informative and interesting. My uncle used to have one of these and it was great to hear the whine once again. I think you must be the closest TH-camr to me I've ever found as I'm in Cardiff. Looking forward to seeing what other cars you've reviewed. Keep up the good work. Neil.
I passed my driving test in a brand new 5 door metallic gold metro vanden Plas back in 1988 ,the brown plastic trim, the transmission whine, the joystick wing mirror adjustment all bring the memories back . My elderly instructor used to drop the " ELECTRIC" window , (very novel back then ) and flick his Nuttalls Mintoes wrappers out of it , amazing what you remember. !! I would love one now .
Lovely! 15 - 20 years ago there were still a considerable number of these knocking around, all be it on their last legs by that point. They'll only ever appreciate in value now!
The one I had was a rust bucket plus the hydro gas suspension was a nuisance and expensive when it went wrong usually they would leak and the car would drop down too low and you feel every tiny bump in the road
And after watching it again, I chuckled at the sky man 😂 “makes me glad I’ve never spent a penny with sky” class!
I remember in year 9 or 10 in school ('96 I think) my friend who I sat next to in French had a Austin garage in the family who was forever breaking Metros. I asked him to bring in two headrests in Brown and a Lucas ignition switch, we exchanged a tenner and my French teacher was bemused to see car parts on my desk in class. I went home and fitted the switch with my dads tools and got it going again. My first repair. Kids won't have that sense of satisfaction with modern bangers.
Very light and airy interior on metros compared to there rivals! Love them! Good video as always ian! 👍
Yes! I remember the Metro being airy and quite fun to drive.
It is airy because the roof is rusted through.
Wow! What a treat! Brings back fond memories of my F reg Austin Metro Mayfair....in white with tan interior. First camping trip away in it with friends! That gearbox musical noise! Got the wings changed on the front and gas suspension reset. She looked the beez kneez, till she went for an MoT. The dredded tin worm! She was a mover, well when she got going! Snow driving was another story! 👌
I remember seeing a Metro in the West End, the day they came out. It looked impossibly modern for a British car. Under the bonnet it's still a ration book motor.
mini with square body, simple as
@Leonard Carr The OHV A-series is a 1951 design. Food rationing ended in July 1954.
A30 was the first car in 1952, closely followed by the Morris Minor Series 2.
I drove an Austin Metro once: it was a courtesy car. Fortunately, I only had it a few days as it was bloody awful: noisy and really unpleasant to drive. I was glad to get my Ford Fiesta back.
Another great vid. So frustrating when I see car development and engineering in this country. In Europe and Japan they where so innovative in their approach, while we were raiding the shelves for old parts. It's hardly surprising that the car industry collapsed in Britain. My mate had an identical one to the one you tested in, last time I saw it the front suspension was collapsed. Nice to see someone keeping one going.
Michelo D.I.Y. My rear suspension went and then the front suspension on my 1984 Mk.1. I replaced it with a Micra but wish I fixed it now....
Great to see this little car in such fine condition, especially the engine bay. I like your camera position too, with a good view of the road, the dash and yourself (in profile, showing your best side).
My parents had a 1.3 metro in the late 80's. Same colour as my Grandad's hearing aid at the time. A source of jokes and possible embarrassment. Great memories though.
Now that is funny, with the colours :)
Dad had a 1.3 HLE when I was a kid. I had a real moment of nostalgia when you were in the back, then folded the seat forward to get out!
This is a real review, you should be on top gear, I might watch it then 😊
That's what I was thinking...
The city version (automatic) was what the elderly all drove before Honda introduced the Jazz. Not sure what they drove in the late 90s, when their metro's had succumbed to rust, but the Jazz wasnt yet out. Rover 200's i guess.
It was a terrible thing to be stuck behind a Austin Metro city in 1989, though, that I do remember.
The day I passed my test in a newer metro 1.3..my instructor drove us the back home hitting 105mph top speed. I had a pretty quick 1.3HLE had fantastic brake system especially once bled and Handbrake adjusted correctly.. problems were always SU carb tickover, leaking suspension. As stated the expensive tyres with the wheels that prevented catastrophic loss of tyre. Also gearbox sharing engine oil (I think) resulted in oil shear 10W40 and engine life around 100k before wear really started to be noticable. Hydragas suspension was a dealer job and 40/ 50quid a time.. hydragas was never good because every re inflation could mean the car handled completely different.
Ah so that that was the Metro driven by a driving instructor that tried in vain to not let me pass in my Kia Pride at 105mph. I did pass him in the end and he wasn't happy.
Hi Ian, just discovered your channel, this will keep me busy for ages 😀 what a wealth of videos! My first car was a 1982 beige model with go faster stripes. I had 3 metros, ripped the crap out of all of them. 😅. Even the 1.0 was spritely given a heavy right foot 🤪
I had a few metros in my time during the 80s. I really loved those cars. The split rear seat was brilliant. But I'm disappointed you didn't mention the factory fitted oil leak. EVERY metro I had developed an oil leak after 1 year. It was never very much, just a drop or two over 24 hours, but it was enough to ensure that my garage and drive always had a small oil slick!
What a smashing Sunday, 3 videos from hubnut. Now then the metro oh fond memories, my mum bought a 1.3 hls new in 82, a 1.0l new in 87 (which I learnt to drive in, though took my test in a fiesta) and then a 1.1s in 1990, which I wrote off.... all 💩by today’s standards but I liked them, my brother bought a city model in 89 almost new in ‘lapari’ blue! My mate had an MG metro and we thrashed it relentlessly god I loved that it refused to die btw this one you had has an MG tail pipe, no idea what difference it made but it make them sound a bit more throaty. Thanks for the memories ooooo chocolate brown......
The suspension issue relates to the decision by Spen King to not link the hydrogas suspension units to simplify things, he wanted to do it away with it all together but it was too late to change it. This was addressed on the Rover Metro, apart from the Gti, which they hobbled with some additional dampers, which quite simply buggered it up. Sorry you just said this.
You can individualise the hydrogas cans ;) very easy to do. There is also a small rod inside which you can shave a few mm off transforms the suspension on these. I did this on my rover 100 I also pulled the 1.4 litre engine out and fitted a 1.8 out of a mgf :). I used to love hanging on the back of imprezas lol. But mine succombed to Rot. But you can convert and do the suspension in well one day
Bodywork looked very good. Seemed to pick up well and was relatively quiet (nothing wrong with a bit of 80's transmission whine)! Also, looked to handle the bomb craters pretty well. All in all, yet another example of a decent British Leyland car; a company that many 'car enthusiasts'(?) seemingly love to have a dig at. Thanks for another entertaining test drive Ian.
Nicely kept car for its age, very impressed. That would make for a nice city car, even today.
A very tidy example. The suspension is perhaps not on top form though, I don't remember the ride being quite that crashy but that could be the passage of time.
Preferred the Nissan Micra, which were a lot zippier. Owned a Jet Black and it was gash: wheel bearing, clutch cable snapped, suspension arms, brake issues, tyre wear, gas repump every 6 months. Cost me at least 400 quid twice a year. Didn't get 90k miles out of it and you couldn't thrash them. My Civic has 120k on it and costs me half what the Metro did to maintain. It is no wonder the Japanese cars became so popular, with only Ford making anything decent from the UK manufacturers.
Just mentioning the Peugeot 205 makes me miss the one I had as a first car that I bought in 2004 for £110. J908 KNS. an 1124cc Style, 4 speed manual with a carb. I remember the cold mornings with that car, pulling the choke out only a smidge to get it started. The day I was going to fix the heater matrix in it, was the day that a woman in a Mazda 323F wrote it off by reversing into it. I was gutted to say the least. Got £350 back from the insurance though.
205 is my favourite car ... I still have a Peugeot antres ecosse body kit for one 😊
I owned X's 1.4 1.6git 1.9gti and a convertible cc at the same time 😁 I really had a pug bug in my youth ....Max Power!!a
A Mini Metro pulled out in front of my 1977 Cavalier many years ago. The Metro folded up like a cardboard box. My Cavalier suffered a twisted bumper and a slight dent in the front panel. I didn't even break a headlight.
I think the metro's safety was based on a folded cereal box. The only structural part was the subframes.
Learnt to Drive in one of these, many driving schools had them in the 80's
That sound takes me back, my first car was a 1.0 Metro City in Gold. I liked it more than I would've normally due to the fact it was a first car, but it soon went after trying to jack it up and the jack went into the sill. Would four wheel drift around roundabouts and dump its fuel out of the filler on hard cornering.
I enjoyed that thanks! I grew up with BL too and learnt to drive in a metro. I still own a BL car (Triumph) TR7 drophead. People say they are s**t, I can't disagree, but say that's what I like about them. If it wasn't for these type of cars and the continual maintenance (corrective) required, then I wouldn't have learnt anything. Plus having to troubleshoot at an early stage in life bode me well for my later professional career, so thank you BL!!
Great stuff ian keep them coming as me my daughter lucy are glued to your videos you should make a TV series I would watch and so would many others
Passed my test in a BSM metro . Worked on many over the years good vid !
The good old A series unit powered the nation and commonwealth for decades.
it did, and the sound, and we all knew how to fix anything on them, but they should have pushed themselves for a 5 speed box, and to improve the engine sooner (the k? series was way too late and a bad design) as well as suspension and rust issues, the overall design i dont mind, they werent cutting edge but also went 'out of fashion' a lot slower
@@jusb1066 The K-Series was a sound design but it was poorly executed. The idea of sandwiching the engine in this way was not a new thing as it had been used in racing and motorcycles before.
One thing that killed it was the stretch to 1.8 - It was designed as a small engine programme from the outset and when the government and/or BAE refused to give money for the large engine programme (to replace O-Series derived units) they had to push the K-Series to do what it was wasn't really designed for. If they had been able to test the engine more, they would have fixed the headgasket issues by strengthening the bottom end and reducing it's tendency to beam and twist.
I took my driving test in an MG metro.
Loved it, it handled like a go kart
I dont know what looks more 80's.
You or the car?
The British analogue to the Chrysler K-car. Patriotically heralded at launch, lacking the single killer flaw that did in so many '70s cars, they both met customer expectations without moving them on a single iota which ultimately wasn't good enough, stayed in production far too long, and were absolutely everywhere until suddenly dropping off the face of the earth.
I toke a first & pass my driving test in a Metro in Garretts Green, Birmingham. I brought a Metro City with my dads company scheme, from Rover Group.
wow, great review!
Took me back to my January 1982 driving test, I remember there was quite a lot of snow on the roadsides..
In 2020 it will be 40 years since the Austin Metro was launched.
My god.
I loved the MG metro , my brother bought one brand new (In silver with grey front bucket seats with the MG emblem in red embossed into the back of the seats ) through the Leyland motors buying scheme and he got quite a bit of % of the new buying price too ,I was only a teenager when I drove it and it brought a massive smile to my face .
Must say i did like the Vanden Plas version of everyday Austin cars.
4 electric windows ?
Thanks for another well done road test. Only been to the UK a few times but did drive the original Mini in NZ 41 years ago and have always wanted to have a chance to drive more UK built vehicles. In 1990 on my first trip to the UK I got to drive a Vauxhall Nova, which for me was fun. I should add I love the scenery for your road tests. Last year I got down to Cornwall and Devon in rented Ford Kuga (manual, diesel) and really enjoyed the experience. All the best from California! Keep the videos coming!
I drive a Vauxhall Nova as a daily now. Great wee cars though a Metro handles a lot better.
That looks and sounds like an MG exhaust (bassy rumble). MG engine too? I had an MG, did you know you could get a washing machine in the boot UPRIGHT if you fold the seats? Try THAT in a modern supermini.......
Yes, the standard engine had a pressed steel rocker cover whereas the MG version had an alloy one like in this video.
@@Allan9966 Although no sign (I think) of the anti-shunt tie rod or the anti-run-on valve in the vacuum line.....Was the standard 1.3 A+ engine painted red too?
I am pretty sure that the only engines finished in red are the MG ones.
I learnt in a 1.3 City X and loved it. Fond memories chucking it round Welsh country roads with the 'L' plates on and my dad quite relaxed in the passenger seat. Amazing how nippy and gutsy the 1.3's were!
We should,as a nation be proud of the metro.
A British car British people wanted to buy.
Even if it's shit?
I wouldn't go that far. British people ditched it in spades for the Fiat Uno, Citroen AX, Renault Clio, Ford Fiesta and Peugeot 205. And not forgetting the Japanese were making big inroads. The metro might be retroactively charming (I still have fond memories of it), but it wasn't competitive or well liked compared to the competition at the time.
In 1993 I probably could have bought any new one of the above at a stretch. In retrospect (or Metrospect) the Metro was the best built. I think build quality is actually very undervalued in reviews (especially when it is fashionable to BL bash). With a K series engine and 5 speed (3 door for me) I guess I could have lived with one. The huge drawbacks for me with the Metro were the driving position and heavy steering. I'm not too familiar with the K, but the A just wasn't as free-reving as offerings from it's European competitors. So, for the most you got a sit on driving position with half dead steering, handling reactions and a wheezy engine. The Renault 5 Campus would have been a good budget choice, or a last model Uno. Not sure about the 205. Was it gone by '93? The car I actually had at that time was a 1985 Fiat Regata. I done it's bottom end in and spent quite a lot it fixing it. Shortly after it's last repair sadly it caught fire. I strongly suspect foul play at the garage. The car may have lasted till 2000 - no particular reason to the contrary. One thing is for sure. Cars of the 80's to 90's didn't have huge amounts of trouble free years in them. With a budget car you could pay over 4 years (on a young person's salary), but by 6 it's all down hill.
Does anyone know what £7,500 would have got you at the dealer in 1993? - except laughed at. I think we missed the 106 and the Nova, Starlet, Ibiza, FSO 125p, Polonez, Lada Samara or Yugo Sana.
The metro was competitive for most of its life. Also the Japanese did t get too far - Toyota’s market share is only 1-2%.
I had 4 of these! The Austin 1L City & 1.3 GTa, then the Rover 1.4 GTa & the 1.4GTi. I absolutely loved driving every one of them.
The Austin's cornered like they were on rails in the dry, but in the wet they resembled a dog on an icy pond.
The Rover's handled much better, and the GTi went like poo on a shiny shovel.
An ex had the GTi MPi version, and that was fast!
Great review and brought back alot of happy memories!
I'm not driving a Mini Metro, I'm not driving a Mini Metro, I'm not driving a Mini Metro!
They've re-badged it you fool!
Classic! I had one that needed a replacement starter motor, but drove to Scotland in it, keeping the motor running.
I remember these sounding like they were in reverse when going forward 😂
My Granddad had an 87 E reg 1.3 city Automatic. Very basic spec no stereo, no clock, no nearside mirror but had an "Automatic" badge on the boot, not sure why. As you said Ian it wasn't the best auto. His went through the gears upto third then stayed there. This made acceleration less than rapid out of junctions etc. His local Austin-Rover dealer just dismissed this as "normal."It would happily do 90 mph on the motorway though. Still a lovely little car with so much personality. Love the distinctive blocky interior of this era Austin-Rover too, so many happy memories :)
...I had a Metro that should have been sent to Coventry
I too had a metro, it should have been sent to Dresden.
An '86 5 door 1.0 City was my first car. 52,000 miles, £300, bright red with brown cloth interior. The front wings had fist-sized rust holes (DIY replacements fitted), the interior had been eaten by UV but the rear bodywork was AOK :-) Drove it hard for 2 years - the only way you could drive it really! - and it never broke but leaned down on one side like a 70's Nascar by the end. Scrapped it for £150. Fond memories!
Dashboard mat from a rover 100, unnecessary luxury! 😂
Couldn't save the Rubik's Cube!
@@HubNut I seem to recall the rubber dash' mats were standard in the Metro van, but not all cars?? I certainly bought one from an AR dealer for my Metro. May not save Rubik's Cubes, but was just right for parking change.
‘The car to take on Europe’ ! I seem to remember the glass rusted.....
I never realized the Austin name was still being used even in 1985. Love poverty spec cars really. Less to break down and simpler to work on. Why do people who save these all original cars always ruin the interior with aftermarket stereos and ridiculous speakers? 😟 Great video.
It had an awful mw/lw push button radio. This car was being used daily and I needed a Bluetooth stereo for making calls etc. The other benefit was that the stereo could take my USB for those longer journeys. I still have the original and pop it when I go to shows etc
Further more, the speakers on the shelf are 'period' and suit the car really well. It only had one speaker from the factory but now has a whopping 4! 😂
Yeah they took the name off the cars in 1997 and sold the weirdly "marqueless" for a few years before they made the Metro a Rover and stopped making the 2 bigger cars.
Dudley, in 1986 they ceased branding the cars as austin as this was when rover group became the norm. Strangely enough though the austin logo remained on the grill badge of some cars with 'metro' over the top. By 1987, the cars had ceased all austin branding and the new rover shield badges were used on the montego and metro with their names on respectively. The maestro never had the shield badge and stayed with the oblong variant. By 1990 the metro was then known as the rover metro and carried the rover shield badge right up until 1997 when the rover 100 ceased production.
I love metros , ive had 3. A W reg 1.0 l followed by a x reg 1.0 HLE and then several years later a Rover 1.4 si Auto . Really enjoyed this video it bought back memories
I would love to see Britain. Buy back all the tooling and machinery from India, and continue to build and produce the Morris Oxford - ambassador.😃
Why stop there? Morris Marinas with BMW running gear and power train - reinforced roof pillars so that pianos could land on it all day, and revised body shape that Ital design would go mad for
My mum had a 1.3 metro, which I also had after her. I always thought it was great to drive, particularly in town. I always liked the A series anyway, having had a couple of allegros too. Great to see these being appreciated.
I learnt to drive in (mostly) a 1300 Metro. A bit newer than that one as an F-reg, it was one of the run-out special editions so it had the 3-spoke steering wheel and the moulded plastic/rubber gear leaver with the square knob. But my driving instructor's father, also a driving instructor, had a red 1.0L 3-door, also a C-reg, which I did a few lessons in and that was just lovely to drive, by far the best of the three (my driving instructor's wife was also a driving instructor, also with a black 5-door F-reg Metro 1300 so it was a family affair.) So, although the red car had a grey interior rather than brown, that interior is incredibly familiar to me. Good times...
Brilliant, brings back good memories. Had 1.0 l 5 door when passed my test in 1993, had it for 2 years. Then my brother had it for a while when he passed his test, I was gutted when he wrote it off.
I had a ropey MG version for about a year which turned out to be ideal for the commute four junctions down the M6 and a bit of city driving at the end.
The one thing that sticks in my mind about the Metro in general is the local media hype building up to the launch. This was in the Midlands so understandable. They showed sheet covered examples on the local news as a teaser and all that kind of thing. I was a child interested in cars too so remember it well.
The week it was released I was with my parents at the then new Savacentre supermarket in Oldbury and there was one belonging to a customer in the carpark and people were standing around and rubber necking it because of the hype and newness.
People probably would not do that for an exotic supercar nowadays.
This brings back so many memories!! My grandfather had a W reg, bright orange Mini Metro 1.0L, he forever mourned his Austin 1100!! The mini metro was replaced with a Rover Metro in later years! We had BL cars in our family too, mini van, Marina Coupe, an Ital and two montegos! I live in sunny (today) Ceredigion too. Great test drives, I enjoy watching the videos.
No car review would be complete without a mention of 'the triangle of doom'. Brilliant. Better than anything on the TV.
for some strange reason there seems to be a Halfords and a Mcdonalds always next to each other..same in Edinburgh..i must presume that once you have been ripped off by Halfrauds then you go into Mcdonalds to calm down and have comfort food and get ripped off again .... thank you for the video...love it
That is true. It the same around Derby and Mansfield. Mc Donald's and Halfords are never far apart from one another..
Nice to see an objective and informed review! Never had a Metro; started on an Allegro then 2 Dolomite 1850s - now they needed carb/points fiddling with almost every weekend!
Drove shed loads of these from first incarnation up to Rover 100. Not bad actually. You could chuck them around like nobodies business. My wife owned a 85 B reg 1.3, a 92 K reg and 97 R reg 100 Kensington. The B reg had the A series 1.3 whilst the later two had 1.3 K series and the head gaskets went on both at 90 to 100k. All our vehicles had the tdx tyres fitted and there’s wasnt such a good choice available, however a firm called challenger based over Wolverhampton way made them at a reasonable price.
Had a drive a few years back in an early Vanden Plas. Had more equipment on it than my newer e28 BMW 5 series including such luxuries as a leather-wrapped steering wheel, digital clock, AM/FM radio and of course, wood trim.
Had the early switch placement you mention. The switches of course had been labeled by the original owner using a Dymo label maker.
Brilliant.
I've restored my 1983 MG Metro. Thing to bear in mind about the Hydragas units are that they suffer from depletion of the nitrogen gas in the top of the unit. This makes the ride rock solid. If you get the nitrogen gas recharged it makes the ride 100 times better. Mine is so much nicer to drive compared to how it was
Nice review, pretty accurate. Sitting here is my late Father's 1986 Metro VDP 1300 automatic, 5 door. I bought it for him when it was about a year old. It still has the metric wheels and tyres on it. VDP has sunroof, electric front windows, central locking, rev counter, nicer trim etc etc.
I might add, even though a year old when I bought it, it had a replacement power unit fitted under the warranty. I suspect at it's first service the oil filter was not replaced properly, power unit then lost it's oil with nasty consequences.
The replacement power unit was poorly assembled, ended up removing it, and fully rebuilding including the auto gearbox, not an easy task. However, after the rebuild car ran very well for the years that Dad used it, then I used it for some more years. Started the engine about a year ago, all seemed to be OK. The Auto has an oil cooler as standard. Perhaps in a year or two, might get the car back on the road.
Past my test in a Metro, have had 3 and loved all them. Amazing handling cars with an epic amount of space inside.
This is instantly my favourite HubNut video of all time. Brings back very fond memories of A191WDM - my gran’s Primula Yellow 1.3L with brown interior. That first gear whine is heaven, I’d buy one for that noise alone. I will own another Metro one day.
My dad had 3 metros back in the day. A reg austin metro in gold, D reg mg in white and G reg rover clubman metro in dark blue. I just love the heater matrix controls, the chunky square switches, the massive gearbox rubber gator boot which looked like it was off a lorry, the exhaust tailpipe how the end is cut diagonal, the low down fuel filler and miss the manual choke and the illuminated choke on symbol on the dash. Bloody Great they were. Just a shame they were very popular for the joyriding community and my dad had both of his stolen. Happy days looking back.
I bought new an early Uno 45. OHV engine - 4 speed gearbox - beat my brother in laws Metro on performance, space, economy....it was just such a better car
I drove a 1 litre Metro hire car to the Lakes in the 'eighties during the Winter, and coming back decided to take the Kirkstone pass, just as it was starting to snow. We made it to within about 100 feet of the summit when it lost traction on the snow and wouldn't go any further. Ended up reversing back down! Good job there were no other cars on the road (they all had more sense) Seemed a decent enough little car if a little "tinny" with a few rattles and squeaks.
First new car I ever had was an A reg one of these in dark blue followed by a C reg in opalescent green. Both were perfect for my lifestyle at the time and both did me proud and never let me down.
Actually a much better car than you would expect. For a few years I worked with a guy who drove one. He used to pick me up in it most days and I was always impressed at how spacious the interior was and the engine seemed ok.
I had one of these one of these as a supervisor's car when I was a uniformed inspector in a police force. It was very reliable, probably as I checked the oil every now and again. It had a surprising turn of speed for a 1275cc car, and you could take it around corners with an abandon that would scare the driver of the rear-wheel drive cars we had as patrol cars. It seemed to need new tyres more often than petrol. The seats were surprisingly comfortable and the ride was smooth for the size of car. The interior was brown and it did the opposite of grow on me. I had a handcuffed prisoner pull the handbrake on at speed and the Metro behaved impeccably. It snowed one winter and there were inches of snow on the roads. My Metro took it all in its stride, unlike the Sierras, their front airdams shovelling snow into the air intakes. I discovered that it didn't take to off-road attempts too well and I had to be pushed out of a bridleway with deep ruts once. The gearchange was a bit of a lottery, with about the same chances of winning. It was put in for a service and when it returned it was never quite the same. It seems it thrived on being abused and the unaccustomed bit of care had startled it. It was great for observations as even experienced criminals ignored it. I had a prisoner refuse to get in the car as he felt it was beneath him. I pointed out that he'd been nicked by an inspector so he should really reconsider his career choice. It convinced him to get in but I had to remove his handcuffs in order for him to get out of the back seats at the nick. I liked it a lot but was never tempted to buy one.
I'm glad your videos came up on my recommended, you've earned my sub, great reviews and a humble guy!
Jack Howell +1
I'm usually kind and nostalgic about cars from yesteryear, but here I will make an exception. My girlfriend at the time (1993) had an orange 1.1 Metro and it was absolutely terrible. It was rust prone and extremely unreliable and I spent more time pushing it than in the passenger seat.
Lovely to see a Metro still in decent nick and giving a good showing of itself.
Passed my test in one back in 83 - KNO99Y.
A neighbour had one as a hire car in 1980 - I remember being impressed by how big it was inside for a small car.
You don't see many Metros looking this good. TBH you hardly saw Metros looking this good, back when they were new. I have googled the 9X and the ADO74, and am looking forward to reading about them. Thanks for the heads up Ian :)
..oh and yeah.. That old A-series engine and gearbox.. LOVE the sound of those. This was a nice throwback :)
What happy memories this brings back to me. I had a very early 1980 miniMetro 1.3s, then an MG Metro, then another MG Metro and some time after that a Rover Metro 1.1S and I loved every one of them. The whine of the early cars is a joy and take me right back to my youth 👍
Kept patching mine up until the MOT man refused to test it on account of it being a patchwork quilt. Transfer gears box all packed in, radius arm bushes, but quite a good drive.
0:49 Here in Brazil all cars must have the last eight digits of the VIN etched on all windows from factory. It's mandatory by law since 1999, but car manufacturers have been doing this since late 1980s here. I thought this was "standard practice" on all cars around the world, but I found out that it isn't when I visited Europe for the second time in 2018 and notice that the car I rented didn't have the VIN etched on the windows.
Had a metallic blue Mini-Metro 1300s with the bizarre striped cotton cloth seats before they changed to the grey herringbone tweed. What a little goer she was. TRF 452X R.I.P I had it while my daily, A Triumph Dolomite 1850HL was having some major underbody welding. Replaced the Dolomite with and FSO 125p after water pump went (Engine out job was just too costly) and then replaced the FSO with a Maestro DLX. All good and CHEAP fun :) Basic mechanics that were easy to keep going. No chance of that now :(
Hi from Canada... how nice to kniw that the 4 cylinder engine , was the basic same engine as an Austin A40 ... my grandfather had the Austin A40 pickup, back in 1952 .... it was a good machine, that did a lot if work for his farm.... good times...