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Austin Metro / MG Metro
In the autumn of 1980, British Leyland introduced the Austin Metro. It was intended as a replacement for the Austin Mini, but used a larger design which was more modern and practical. Yet some of the Mini's underpinnings were carried over into the Metro, namely the 998 cc and 1275 cc A-Series engines and much of the front-wheel drivetrain and four-speed manual gearbox. The Metro used the Hydragas suspension system found on the Austin Allegro. The hatchback body shell was one of the most spacious of its time and this was a significant factor in its popularity. Initially, the Metro was sold as a three-door hatchback.
At the time of its launch, the Metro was hailed as British Leyland's saviour, as the company was facing a serious financial crisis at the time and there were fears that it could go out of business. British Leyland's troubles were largely attributed to out-of-date technology and design of most of its model range. The Mini, for example, had been in production for 21 years by the time of the Metro's launch.
The Metro quickly proved popular with buyers, and during the early part of its production life it was the best selling mini-car in the UK before being eclipsed by the updated Ford Fiesta!. Its clever interior design made it spacious considering its dimensions, and hydrogas compensation gave surprisingly good ride and handling. Its 1.0 and 1.3 engines hardly represented the cutting edge in performance, but they were strong on economy.
The Metro range was expanded during 1982 to include the Vanden Plas and MG versions. The Vanden Plas version featured higher levels of luxury and equipment, while the slightly more powerful MG Metro 1.3 sold as a sports model. In its day, the luxury of the Metro Vanden Plas took the form of a radio-cassette player, electric front windows, an improved instrument panel which included a tachometer, and a variety of optional extras such as trip computer, remote boot release, and front fog lamps.
The changes between the MG engine and the standard 1.3 engine were relatively minor, with modified cylinder head and altered cam profile being the major contributors to a modest increase in BHP. Soon afterwards, the MG Metro Turbo variant was released with a quoted BHP of 93 and with a top speed of 112 mph. This model had a great many modifications over the normally aspirated MG model. Aside from the turbocharger and exhaust system itself, and what was, at the time, a relatively sophisticated boost delivery and control system, the MG Turbo variant incorporated stiffer suspension (purportedly with engineering input from Lotus) including a rear anti-rollbar plus uprated crankshaft and uprated gearbox.
Both MG variants were given a 'sporty' interior with red seat belts, red carpets, and a sports-style steering wheel. The later MG variants were emblazoned with the MG logo both inside and outside, which only served to fuel claims of 'badge engineering' from some of the more steadfast MG enthusiasts. Others believed that this sentiment was unfounded, particularly in the case of the turbo variant, due to the undeniably increased performance and handling when compared to the non-MG variants. Indeed, at the time of its release, the MG Metro was the first in a succession of modern cars which heralded a spirited return of the MG marque after several years' absence of new MGs.
A mild facelift during 1985 saw some minor styling modifications to the Metro's front end, along with a new dashboard design and the long-awaited 5-door version. A rear spoiler reduced drag coefficient to increase the Metro's already economical MPG, and the hydraulic clutch (often berated as the cause of the Metro's particularly harsh gearchange) was replaced by a cable-operated mechanism. The lack of a 5-speed transmission would become a major handicap as time went on - the BMC sump-mounted gearbox was never developed to accommodate an extra gear ratio, which was a severe handicap against the opposition. The Hydragas suspension also gave the car a harsh, bouncy ride despite pleas from the system's inventor, Dr. Alex Moulton, that it should be interconnected front-to-rear as opposed to side-to-side as was found on the production version.
While the Metro was a huge seller in the UK, it gained a reputation for unreliability and lacklustre build quality early in its career which dented its appeal in foreign markets, where the likes of the Volkswagen Polo, Fiat Uno and Peugeot 205 were firmly established favourites.
Engines:
* 1980–1990 - 998 cc A-Series I4, 41 hp (31 kW) at 5400 rpm and 51 ft·lbf (69 Nm) at 2700 rpm
* 1980–1990 - 1275 cc A-Series I4, 63 hp (47 kW) at 5650 rpm and 72 ft·lbf (98 Nm) at 3100 rpm
* 1982–1989 - 1275 cc A-Series I4, 72 hp (54 kW) at 6000 rpm and 73 ft·lbf (99 Nm) at 4000 rpm (MG Metro)
* 1983–1989 - 1275 cc A-Series turbo I4, 93 hp (69 kW) at 6130 rpm and 85 ft·lbf (115 Nm) at 2650 rpm (MG Metro Turbo)
* 1989–1990 - 1275 cc A-Series I4, 73 hp (54 kW) at 6000 rpm and 73 ft·lbf (99 Nm) at 4000 rpm (Metro GTa)
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