| Product: |
Austin/MG Montego |
| Date: |
08.02.02 (889 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: cheap to buy and run, lasts forever if looked after, spacious
Disadvantages: Poor motorway Performance, Rust Magnet, poor build quality.
I was a very happy owner of a 1985 Austin Montego until it clapped out on me during winter 2 years back. It lived a good long life. I had very little trouble with my Montego in the 3 years I owned it for. During the time I had my Montego I bought another spares or repairs so I was able to swap any parts over.
What is an Austin Montego?
An Austin Montego was produced to rival the likes of the Vauxhall Cavalier and the Ford Sierra. The Montego can be bought in Saloon and Estate form. The Montego is mainly aimed for a family, as it’s a very spacious car.
Equipment.
Radio Cassette
Solid Paint.
Sunroof.
Cigarette lighter
Rear seat belts
This is all I can think of for now, but as this car was the basic model equipment was very very low. I would truly recommend you spend a few hundred extra for the Vanden Plas, which has all the extras available in its time.
Value.
I bought mine for around £1000 almost 4 years ago. I thin I got a real bargain with my Montego because I had covered over 70,000 miles since I bought it. These cars can be bought for much less than this now about £400 for one in good condition on a G registration. I had almost trouble free motoring in all the years of owning mine, which may come as a surprise to many.
Reliability.
I have heard that some Austin Montego’s have been an absolute nightmare. I think it all depends they have been previously looked after. My Montego in the 70,00 miles needed 4 new tyres at the front and 2 new ones at the back. Other problems I had with my Montego were the clutch and cable, battery, radiator and some welding to the rear wheel arch which is quite expensive, about £100.
Interior.
The interior of the old Montego’s can’t stand up to much wear and tear especially the seats. I had the lower spec model the standard 1.6 engine (bottom of the range). I thought the higher class the bet
ter the interior but looking at my old spares or repairs Montego things were worse. The interior was all very cheap looking and it was all quite plastic.
Exterior.
My Montego was not the most of attractive of cars neither on the road nor in its class. Metallic paint was not standard on my entry model so I had to make so with white. The car comes with full size wheel trims, which on mine had fell off! The build quality of the exterior trim is quite poor for example the plastic door handles. Whenever frost arrives the handles go brittle and often snap off which makes the car a M.O.T failure.
Performance.
A 1600 engine is not the biggest of engines but produces adequate performance for all road driving. When new the 1.6 would have reached to 60 mph in 10.9 seconds, which I can’t believe, and a claimed top speed of only 102! The Montego has a very willing engine but very noisy especially on the motorway. I have reached 80 with not too many problems but when you try to exceed that you would be quite disappointed. The 1600 pick up speed quite easily in the lower gears but when accelerating at high speeds of 80mph the car dies.
Brakes.
The brakes on the Montego are reasonable and were quite affective in there day. I had no Abs but they were still adequate performers.
Steering/ Road holding.
The steering is quite heavy when paring so I would recommend that PAS is standard. The road holding wasn’t bad but in 1980’s you couldn’t find much better. The Montego did handle quite well but there was quite a bit of body roll when it was pushed hard around corners.
Build Quality.
The build quality of the old Montego’s is very poor. Everything is very cheap and easily breakable. The exterior of the Montego is also built to a poor standard. I had a bash to the front of the car, which was claimed on the insurance. The 1990 golf I bashed into came of a lot bet
ter than me. Numerous panels had to be replaced such as wings, bonnet, and bumper. Luckily there was no mechanical damage.
Servicing.
Servicing is very important if you can’t afford to buy another car. Servicing is cheap at little private garages. A service needs to be done every 8,000 miles to keep your car healthy. With a car this old don’t go to a Rover garage and assume they will do a better job, they wont and you will pay through the nose for it.
Engines.
Montego’s are good workhorses if they are looked after well a Montego, which has had regular servicing all its life and has been kept garaged shall live a long age approximately 16 years+.
Rust.
Garaging this car is so very important because these cars are rust magnets. Rust is there worst enemie and is a problem, which happens to all poor treated Montego’s. Rust mainly appears under the wheel arches and underneath so WATCH OUT!
Model range.
The prices now don’t vary much whether you go for the standard 1300 or the 1600 Van den Plas. There are plenty of models to choose from such as:
Miles Per Gallon.
Like all cars this performs best on the motorway for m.p.g. If you stick to a steady 60-65mph you can get around 40-45 mpg on a long run. Around town you get around 33 mpg. Not bad for a car of this size.
· Standard 1300
· Standard 1600
· 1600 L
· 1600 HL
· 1600 Mayfair
· Vanden Plas Efi.
· 1600 Est.
· L Est.
· HL Est
· 2000 HL Est.
· Vanden Plas Estate.
· Mg Turbo.
Overall.
If it’s a cheap family run around your after you cant go wrong with the Montego because there so cheap. Watch out for rust and maintenance records. Avoid high milers with little or no service record. It’s a good idea like me to have another spares or repairs. A Montego spares or repairs can be bought for as little as £40 Eng
lish Pounds. Thanks.
If there is anything I can add let me know. Sam Williams ©
P.S I can’t believe imp the first to write about the 1.6 Montego, or is every one ashamed they ever owned one!?
Summary:
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Last comment:
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sidneygee - 11.02.02 Agree Good Opinion, written from the heart. Wasn't it an Allegro that talked to you ? The Maestro/Montego were another Leyland attempt at 'back to basics' motoring, as the Marina was before them.
Hardly see a Montego in Scotland - but you can see the occasional rust stains where they once were. |
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