MOTORING UPDATE : Christmas special

On Test with Ted Wilkinson of The Guild of Motoring Writers

Vauxhall Victor Super

Times have changed in nearly 50 years

There is little doubt that modern day motorists have it very easy.

A brief encounter with a near immaculate example of a 1965 Vauxhall 101 Victor Super saloon kindly loaned by the Vauxhall Heritage collection at Luton, showed that life in those days was far less cosseted.

The 1.6-litre engine provided a top speed of 81 mph and at 70 mph the noise levels were somewhat high. 

The narrow tyres showed that the car was challenged on motorway slipway corners, road grip not to be taken for granted, tyre squeal evident. 60 mph took 17.1 seconds and fuel consumption just about made 26 mpg although I gather it can get worse.

Front seating was by a 3-seat bench with no safety belts, the wipers only one speed, the headlamp foot dipped with no flash facility, no trip meter, no exterior mirrors and a heating and demisting system almost non-existent.

Interior space and boot capacity more generous than modern main-stream saloons.  They were prone to rust as well!

Its modern day equivalent is the Insignia, a very comfortable air conditioned quality product available in a variety of bodies with a 0-60 in just over 11 seconds and up to 50 miles per gallon even on the basic saloon. http://media.vauxhall.co.uk/media/gb/en/vauxhall/heritage.html

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