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Fleet prefel

COMPANIES seem to be a patriotic bunch when it comes to buying fleet cars, in the main preferring British to imported vehicles. But these days when manufacturers build the same cars in several countries within Europe, it's debatable what is home produced and what imported.

Ford, for example, manufactures the Cortina in Britain and Belgium, while some cars, like the Fiesta, are assembled in Britain and Germany with components from Spain and other countries.

Nevertheless, fleet buyers go for nominally British cars as they believe spare parts will be more easily obtainable, probably cheaper and that the number of service outlets are correspondingly higher.

Another point that fleet buyers seem keen on is ease of maintenance. They tend to want conventional engineering and a basically simple formula. In addition, there is a need to provide different-looking variants of the same vehicle to suit varying status within a company.

Ford is probably the manufacturer most adept at making cars to suit all levels within an organisation. Indeed, its sales reflect its suc cesses in this field, as the Cortina and Escort are consistently number one and two in the best-seller list.

To see what Ford and other manufacturers have to

offer, CM has been trying a

number of models. We chose cars from the four major British makers, because although Peugeot, Renault, VW-Audi and others are trying to win a slice of the action, their penetration is fairly small, for the reasons already given.

The first car I tried, writes Steve Gray, was a two-litre

manual Ford Cortina Ghia, fin

ished in a nice metallic blue. It really was a pleasure to drive and had such luxuries as a steel sunroof and rear seat-belts. The Ghia is top of the Cortina range — a 2.3-litre is available too — and it is clearly distinguishable from the next down the line, the GL.

In fact, Ford has been very clever with the whole Cortina range, making minor differences on each model from the basic 1.3 version which has black-painted window surrounds, no coach lines on the side and plain vinyl seats, through to the Ghia, with nylon

cloth seats, door trims and even wood cappings on the doors. The trim is colour co-ordinated to the exterior and in the case of "my" Ghia was in.blue.

I think the point to make about the Ford philosophy is

that there needs to be a notice

able difference between vehicles in the same range. Thus the sales director with his Ghia Cortina feels superior to the sales manager with his GL, and he in turn looks down on the salesman with his 'L' version. All good, clean psychology, but it certainly works.

The Ghia, I found, performed well both in town and on the open road. It had good, if not startling acceleration and would cruise comfortably on the motorway at the legal limit.

Mixed driving, including a fast run to Frome, brought in 24.4mpg overall — not bad for quite a heavy motor car with two litres of '"go'', Ford has done its homework well with the Cortina. For example, its market researchers reckon that safety is a low selling point, so Ford does not spend too much money in that direction. Of course, that is not to say that primary or indeed secondary safety are neglected, only that Ford doesn't go to the extremes that, say, Leyland has with the Rover 3500, 2600 and 2300.

It was a 2600 Rover in fact that came up next, It was an automatic, and when I first got in it I felt rather claustrophobic, as the roof lining is low, and heavily padded glove box lids below the dash give one a feeling of being trapped. Rover engineers have obviously placed a great deal of emphasis on safety, and these are just two aspects of it. Rear fog warning lights, seat belt warning lights and recessed door handles are just a few more of the safety fitments.

However, I think that the designer of the 3500 / 2600 2300 must be a pygmy, as it was impossible for me to put the seat far enough back so that I could comfortably operate the pedals. As I had to keep my legs bent to a high angle, driving was uncomfortable as the front edge of the seat was some way from the back of my legs.

Otherwise the Rover was a joy to drive. Power steering made light of parking and the automatic; changed up and down smoothly and effortlessly.

Fuel consumption figures were spoiled by a flooding carburetter, but driven normally, around 20mpg or so looks in order.

My next car was a two-litre

Princess with the new 0-Series power unit. It, too, had power steering and was nice to drive, with its four-speed allsynchromesh box. The Princess has indeed come a long way since its introduction and the new power unit equips it to do better in the fiercely competitive two-litre market. The 0 engine used for this model has an overhead cam head but the same block as before.

One area which didn't look good was the maintenance of the power unit. There is plenty of room around the engine, but as the cam cover also serves as a camshaft bearing housing, adjusting the tappets looks as if it could be complicated and thus time-consuming.

From a performance point of view, the Princess was impress ive, giving good cruising speed and a low overall consumption of 27mpg. I didn't like the suspension too much as it seemed to pitch rather.

Inside the car it was wellequipped, with nice black nylon cloth seats and a generally high standard of trim and instrumentation, including a clock.

There's just one thing that may detract from the Princess sales and that is its front-wheel-drive layout, which may put off prospective fleet buyers.

VAUXHALL CHEVETTE E Our next car tested was the Vauxhall Chevette, which was light and pleasant to drive, writes Noel Millier. It was quiet and lively. The interior finish, for an economy version. seemed fairly lavish. The car was fitted with matching red upholstery and full red carpets. which looked good when clean but would probably show the dirt quickly. The seats were fairly thin and made of pvc, which would probably become uncomfortable during a long run and when driving in heavy traffic.

The headlights were good and bright, the side lights were in separate units with the front indicators and were below the line of the front bumper I missed not having a heated rear window and found that there was nowhere to put my clutch foot except under the pedal, which was more than a little uncomfortable.

Even though a hatch-back, the luggage space of the Chevette was a little disappointing due to the high floor level. The rear seat back could be folded flat, but unfortunately when in the normal upright position, the fastening catches squeaked continuously. CHRYSLER AVENGER 1600 ESTATE AUTOMATIC GL I was pleasantly surprised by the top-of-the-range Hillman Avenger, which I found a wellfinished and comfortable machine.

The automatic gear change was smooth and could be locked into second and third gears. The controls were well set out, with the wipers and indicators on a steering column. Instrumentation was comprehensive and included a water temperature gauge, oil pressure gauge and a tachometer. The grey upholstery blended well with the blue exterior of the car.

Heated rear window and a rear wash/wipe were fitted. I noticed that the rear wiper was chrome-plated and did not match the front ones, which were matt black.

To fold the rear seat flat on the Avenger, the rear side doors both had to be opened to avoid the arm rests fouling the seat swabs.

I found the fuel consumption creditable for a 1„600cc automatic, and the performance was more than adequate.

Handling was surprisingly good with radial tyres on this particularly civilised version of the Avenger.

FORD ESCORT 1300 GL The most disappointing of the four cars I tested was the Ford Escort which I found noisy and difficult to drive, due to a jerky throttle control. The car had a surprisingly harsh ride and was a mass of squeaks and rattles.

But in the 1300 version it performed well and was well equipped, with head rests on the front seats, cloth seats and carpeting, a heated rear window and a pause and wipe windscreen wiper facility.

The car did not match up to the Chevette or Avenger for comfort, due to its poor sound insulation and harsh ride. Interior room was adequate and boot space was good.

Fuel consumption was not particularly good at under 30mpg in heavy London traffic.

The Ford Fiesta L by contrast was a pleasure to drive. It was light, held the road like a limpet and was fast. I found the Fiesta more comfortable and quieter than the more expensive Escort. I liked the patterned cloth seats and the large rear luggage door.

The Fiesta was fitted with a rear windscreen wiper and washer as well as a heated rear window. Inside, the simple facia arrangement left plenty of room for papers and maps, as did map pockets on the side doors.

The side doors themselves were wide and allowed easy access for passengers to get to the rear seat.

I found the Fiesta a very civilised small car and one in which, I am sure, I could remain comfortable for long periods.

With Ford's wide vehicle range and extensive dealer network, the Fiesta must form a basis for a basic fleet car with more to offer from the user point of view than its more usual stable companion.

CAVALIER

The Vauxhall Cavalier 1.6 GL is a car that is built for motorway work rather than the stop-start fuss of town or lane driving, writes Steve Geary.

While it was content to cruise at the legal limit on dual carriageways, it seemed a little breathless during lane and town driving and needed frequent gear changes to keep it in tune with conditions.

On our brief test, it recorded a more than creditable 34.6mpg in all conditions, making it a very economical as well as comfortable fleet car.

But the Cavalier is definitely a driver's car. All controls are sited so that the driver can reach them without taking his hands from the steering wheel — even the heater on the right-hand side of the instrument console.

Back-seat passengers found leg room a little restricted, but for the front riders room was more than adequate, with plenty of adjustment in the position of the front seats.

Our test vehicle came fully equipped and seemed to have everything that the driver needed, with information clearly displayed on the easily read instruments. For the driver carrying suitcases or samples, the boot is on the small side, and for the executive it would take little more than his golf clubs.

Ride and handling on this model, as well as others in the Cavalier range was excellent, and probably the best feature of the car, making it a pleasure to corner.

Driving the car in rain with three passengers gave the heating/demisting system a lot of work but it coped admirably. The heated rear window and through-flow ventilation did their jobs quickly and there was little noise from the two-speed blower.

But as a stranger to the car, driving it at night for the first time I found it difficult to locate the headlamp dip-switch — even after reading the comprehensive driver's handbook.

The gearbox on the car was a delight. Easy and short movements of the rather long gearstick quickly produced the desired result — but the larger 1.9-litre engine would have given the car the flexibility that it lacked in traffic and cured that breathless feel.

CHRYSLER ALPINE

As someone with more sporty aspirations, writes Bill Brock, performance and the way the vehicle handled rated high on the list of my requirements. Fitting like a glove is perhaps an exaggeration for many models and the Chrysler Alpine certainly did not fit me.

The relationship of the steering-wheel to the driving seat determined a sitting position with legs splayed apart so that I could reach the pedals. Although not particularly uncomfortable, it is likely to raise the greatest comment from lady drivers. For long journeys, the seat squab offered little support to the lower part of the thigh.

Perhaps because I am more used to driving rear-wheel-drive cars, the steering seemed unnecessarily heavy. The steering column itself is canted away at an angle below the facia towards the centre, passing through the floorpan at a point too close to the clutch pedal. Every time the clutch pedal was fully depressed, my shoe made contact. I did not like the gearstick, which had an indefinite feel. French-made instruments were clearly visible through a single-spoke steering wheel.

Ventilation vents spread across a large portion of the dashboard provided a welcome cooling blast after a hot sticky day in the office.

The overall style is pleasing and the rear opening door an asset. The body-shell shape, however, is impractical. From the driving seat it is difficult, if not impossible, to see the perimeter of the bodywork., making driving in restricted areas and parking both difficult.

For fleet use where ease of maintenance is a consideration, the front-wheel drive is an unnecessary complication.

On a mixture of in town and open country roads, an overall fuel consumption of 9.8 lit /100 km (28.6mpg) was returned, which must be rated as heavy for a car of this size with a 1,400cc engine.

If aesthetic appearance is all important, the Chrysler Alpine will fit the bill, but for the mar who drives 20,000 miles-pluE each year, a vehicle needs to be more than just good-looking.