I happened to see this old 1982 MotorWeek comparison test somewhere online, or maybe I found it on a VHS tape that was tossed into my usual pornography ravine in the forests on the outskirts of town; I can’t quite recall. But it hardly matters, because the subject is interesting enough, regardless. This was the venerable Maryland Public Television show’s very first multi-car road test comparison episode! And it’s comparing one of my absolute favorite categories of cars ever, the shitbox! Okay, fine, small economy cars, whatever.
The comparison test includes four quite popular small economy front-wheel drive hatchbacks sold in America at the time: the Westmoreland, Pennsylvania-built Volkswagen Rabbit; the captive Mitsubishi-import Dodge Colt; the Nissan Sentra (which is not a hatchback, but a trunk’d notchback); and the Renault LeCar. There are some pretty notable absences here: where’s the Toyota Tercel? Or the Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon? Or the Ford Escort? Or, hell, a Honda Civic! Why isn’t that one in the mix?
The Mazda GLC was still RWD at this time, as was the Chevrolet Chevette, so I’m not surprised those two weren’t here. Still, I guess these were the four cars they happened to have on hand at once, probably.
It’s still a pretty good roundup, though. Here, tell your valet to hold your calls and solicitors for 30 minutes and watch for yourself!
What I found most interesting while watching this was just how many opinions and feelings I had about these cars! I knew exactly which one I’d pick as my own car, and, unsurprisingly, it was the one that ranked the worst. Maybe you guessed it already. I’d have picked the Renault LeCar.
Sure, it’s the smallest and least powerful at 51 hp and has only three-lug wheels, but I’m an absolute sucker for idiosyncratic French car designs. It has different length wheelbases on each side! What more do you want from a car? I’m fond of all the cars in this roundup, but knowing which one I’d want to drive home was very easy for me.
I also think the best-looking of the crew is the Colt; it’s such a clean, pleasing design (I’ve written about my fondness for it before), and for once, MotorWeek seemed to agree with me:
I’m also fond of the VW Rabbit; I remember being a kid in 1980 after my dad’s ’68 Beetle caught on fire and looking for new cars, and the Rabbit was my favorite of what we saw. Of course, some of that may have been my VW loyalty (plus there was a convertible Beetle in the showroom that I was still hoping to steer my parents towards), and maybe my overall opinions were suspect, because my other favorite was the AMC Pacer. My parents, seemingly unafflicted by whatever the hell is wrong with me, ended up with a Honda Accord.
The Rabbit always just seemed like a really competent and rational take on the small hatchback. It’s also the only one of these I’ve actually owned, albeit in convertible form, but it was a 1982 car. I really liked it! They’re surprisingly fun and, of course, quite useful little cars.
The Sentra, on the other hand, I find the most boring of all of these. It’s just the one I feel like I’d enjoy the least if I had one today. It’s absolutely competent and well-built and scored the best in MotorWeek’s tests:
These results are pretty much the exact opposite of my personal preferences, though maybe I could swap the middle two? The fact that my list is reversed maybe should be a warning to everyone next time you read one of my reviews. Clearly, I may be operating under some rules that don’t exactly coincide with reality. Oh well.
But hey – I want to know what you think! I’m going to have two polls here today, one for your first choice, one for your last! For the middle, well, who cares, right?
First, your winner:
Now, the loser:
I mean… my vote’s kinda predictable in this one, right? But I won’t lie, the Colt is pretty damn nice.
The Le Car has the exact same wheels and steering wheel as my Renault 4 btw. The only downside for me is the downright excessive 1.4L engine. The 1L C1C and 1.1L C1E engines would pair a lot better with that 4-speed transmission and get better mileage with a negligible loss in performace (since there isn’t much of it to begin with). But I guess an even smaller engine wouldn’t exactly make it more appealing to American car buyers.
I am also afflicted and picked the Renault 1st and Mitsubishi 2nd. You don’t want a Westmoreland VW, quality was not included.
I owned an ’87 Colt and it was the bee’s knees even without the optional AC as most teenagers will dutifully fog the interior windows on late nights anyway. I test drove a LeCar back then and it was the most Yugoesque of all of these vehicles. The Sentra was the most adult so no way and the Rabbit was just silly.
I’ve owned a Sentra, a Rabbit and several Colts.
The Mitsubishi is by far, the gem of this group.
I never got to drive a LeCar, but I’ve ridden in one that was driven like a maniac.
The Sentra bored me.
The Rabbit put me off Volkwagen for a very long time after.
We have been watching a lot of classic game shows lately and I find myself having very strong opinions when they get to the “win a car” round of Classic Concentration. I have been stirred the most by Comanche that was on the other day even though Alex Trebek was bragging about having a Cadillac on the show. Somehow I couldn’t duplicate his enthusiasm over a Cimmaron.
My Renault 5 was orange. I loved it. Most comfortable seats ever. It was French chic and I still want to get a used one from France. The 3 lug alloys were very cool. So Jason, kindred spirit and MOTT great minds think alike.
PS. I also want a 2CV and if I could find a mechanic I’d buy a DS 21 tomorrow. Viva la France
Until my vast investments in manatee milk farms start paying dividends and I’m able to afford an A110, I’m permanently at a loss for what to aspire to. I could go Maximum Baguette and get a DS, GS or CX, but I could also chase a more similar, sporty experience in a 205 or Clio. Decisions, decisions…
All of the above seems sensible to me.
French cars are very cool.
The Mazda GLC switched to FWD for 1981 so it could have been included; I loved my ’81 GLC Sport (!)… until it threw a rod. Ah college, good times 🙂
I’m biased, having owned more than one Renault 5 back in the day. Drove all the others, liked driving the Renault most. As others have said, the Sentra was dull, dull, dull.
Later model LeCars (like the one in the video) were not so swell, as the French seemed to have no idea how to deal with emissions controls. As a result, what little horsepower the first-year R5s had vanished. This was easily — if not at all legally — remedied.
The R5 was a comfortable, practical car. If it wasn’t for the pathetic dealers (99% of them, anyway) and the Unobtanium parts, I think I’d still own one.
The Renault is too small to be in this test really: It’s more comparable to a VW Polo or a Nissan Micra.
Anything smaller than a compact was just lumped together as a subcompact, since there really weren’t any other city cars being sold in the US at the time
Can we just remind ourselves how the Renault 5 looked like for the rest of world where it wasn’t also saddled with the silliest parody name to grace a car?
https://s.auto.drom.ru/i24235/c/photos/fullsize/renault/r5/renault_r5_904416.jpg
Why did they add totals after all the scores? It’s meaningless unless you want to know how good all 4 cars are as a group…
Damn all you LeCar haters. Uncultured swines. 😀
Heathens and Neanderthals
The LeCar had three lugs?! “Oui, she is – howyousay? – good enough”. Thirty-five miles later: “Merde”
The Sentra is the penalty box in this group. The VW is in it’s dorky Malibu phase, the Colt is a great DD, but,like the LeBox was let down by the dealer network. The Renault is such a pain to work on and find parts for and so much fun with a small turbo.
The Colt would be the coolest if it were available with the twin-stick. That’s the one I voted to be top.
The LeCar was just crap.
My heart would want the LeCar, but my head would probably gravitate to the Colt
Of course, in 1982, I’d most likely be looking at a mildly equipped Concord for around $7k – possibly a Cutlass Supreme, but good like finding any deals on those, if the Oldsmobile dealer even had one available that wasn’t sold before it rolled off the car carrier