Canada
TRACK&TRAFFTC Canada's only economy and sports car magazine
BIJYI]{G A |JSED CAR
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CT&T ROAD TE.ST MORRIS OXFORD VI New Looks, New PoLoer For A Farl'iliar Bri,txsll ged,an
THE
CAR
Despite a severe recession in export sales of British cars over the past year, British Motor Corporation remains a strong contender on the Canadian market with a fleet of sports and Jamlly models in virtually every price range. One of the staples in BMC'S sales diet here is the medium sized Jamily-type car, offering equal room and better economy at a price far lower than American compacts. Latest of these is the Morris Oxford Series VI, not a new car butla revamped edition of the Farina-styled model introduced in 1959.
MEGHANICAL Engine capacity in the Series VI is boosted about 200 cc's to 1622 cc's, v/ith a bore of 3.0 in. and stroke 24
of 3.5 in. This puts horsepower at 61 @ 4600 rpm for the four-cylinder powerplant. Otherwise things are pretty much what they used to be. An anti-roll bar has been fltted to the front, seating capacity and wheelbase are fractionally increased, and the rear suspension is claimed to be slighUy more supple. Buy-
ers have a choice of either Borg-Warner automatic transmission or a floor-mounted. four-speed manual installation. STYLING
Pininfarina's well-known styling of the BMC passenger car line has been criticized as well-worn, ap-
pearing as it does with few important variations on Morris, Austin, MG Magnette, Wolseley and Riley.
But ta-ken on its own merits, rather than compared to its intramural counterparts, the Oxford stands as a sound, successful design, The Series VI greafly benefits from some judicious facelifting which has lopped
off tlnse awkward little tailfins and simpliffed the grille treatment. The difference bet\yeen the old and the new, especially from the rear, is considerable and all to the gooil. INTERIOR Surprising in view of the Oxford's price of around $2100 is the rich atmosphere of its interior. Carpeting covers the floor; the dashboard
is weU padded with
sponge rubber; instrumentation is complete, including
an electric clock and window washers; and leathercovered bench seats afford excellent accommodation
for up to nve passengers. To allow full travel for the manual gearshift lever, the leading edge of the front seat is notched and this precludes seating of more than two up front, Folding armrests are built into front and rear seat-backs and an easily actuated knob adjusts fore and aft tmvel of the front seat. No armrests are provided on front doors, and though the seating position in the OxJord is comfortable and flrm we Iound ourselves looking for someplace to put our left elbow. Included on the metal dashboard are a locking glove compartment, speedometer, fuel gauge, oi1 pressure gauge, engine temperature gauge and heater controls two dials, as on a TV set. General trim was of a high standard in this car. The makers seem to use metal where a good many domestic makers are satisffed with plasuc. Yet there
were a few reasonably minor shortcomings; side window cranks located a long reach down nbar tl:e driver's feet; a flip-up door handle requiring a clumsy motion to open; and an ashtray hidden in the door wherâ‚Ź it's hard to reach while driving without taking your eyes Irom the road, and too small to be of much use anJ^lray. Cq,nqde Track
&
T?afr.c / EebnnrA, 1962
'
DRIVING
HEATING
On flrst impression the Oxford seems a heavier car than its specifications show. This may be due to the soundprooflng that seems to remove the driver from contact with mechanical workings, or an over-all lack of tinniness. The floor shift provided on our test model
English-built cars once carried the liability of having inadequate heating capacity for Canadian conditions. This misgiving can be put to rest with the Oxford, which with little effort and pleasingly little noise biasts out warm air for defrosting or heating.
in operation. Gear ratios are rather close, requiring a fair amount oi manipulation in heavy traffic, but this lever is so handy and obedient that one doesn't particularly mind. We would have liked to see synchromesh on first gear, a feature British makers have been slow to adopt, The shift to reverse was easy too easy, in fact, and more than once while making downshifts from third to second gear we ran into toothgrinding (ours and the car's) noises Jrom inadvertently pulling toward reverse, Warm-up was fast and quiet in cold weather. Little if any choke was necessary to keep the engine idling smoothly. Visibility forward anal to the rcar through slightly curved glass area is good; the rear fender blades provide excellent sighting points for close was smooth and direct
parking.
Third-gear driving is comfortable in city traffic little gear whine can be heard. At highway speeds the OxJord rolls along with a minimum of engine noise, although wind blast around the front side windows is obtrusive over 65 mph. The Oxford, even with its added pep, isn't lively enough to win many stoplight drags unless the other driver is asleep or out of gas, and even utmost use of the gearbox won't wring wheel-spinning power out of this engine. Terming power "adequate" may seem like damning with faint praise, but the word fits precisely. And really, performance isn't a very crucial factor in judging cars of the Oxford's ilk beyond establishing that there is enough to meet modern requirements. The Oxford definitely is adequate. More to the point is its comfort, room and economy, and on these points it scores highly. no major Handling matches the rest of the car to vices while hardly tempting the throttle-happy deeds of derring-do, yet more than merely phlegmatic. Over rough surfaces the ride is free of choppiness, rattles are at a minimum and little road shock though some road noise comes through to the driver. The fashion today is to fit disc brakes to almost everything with wheels, and for fade rcsistance under repeatedly harsh usage discs no doubt have a clear advantage. But there's nothing wrong with the Oxford's hydraulic stoppers either, and very
ECONOMY
On regular gasoline, the Oxford came through with a figure of 32 mpg in a test covering 300 highway miles and 100 miles in dense downtown city tramc. STORAGE
With 19 cubic feet of trunk space laid out in a useIul box shape, and with the spare wheel tucked away in a well beneath the trunk floor, the Oxford matches passenger capacity with room for baggage too. A small parcet shelf runs beneath the dashboard, but since most of it is taken up by plumbing for the heating system, odd small packages are better stowed in the rear seat. 26
LAST WORO In its Series V form the Oxford r./as a successful entrant in the Canadian market. A close second look produced the Series VI and eliminated most of the Iormer's serious faults, both in appearance and performance. The car could do with more power if only to satisfy the traditional North American urge to be flrst away from the traffic light, and some of its small flaws can be irritating. But as a family car ve feel the Oxford Series VI offers outstanding quality and value for the money.