Morris 850 and Volkswagen

No two cars ever to come on to the Australian scene have caused more interest and speculation than the Volkswagen and the Morris 850. They were introduced years apart and while the former was a comparatively slow starter on a market conditioned to other things, the 850 was a spontaneous success.

They are two cars of tremendous technical interest. They were designed almost a quarter of a century apart by men in two countries of the Northern Hemisphere. The only thing the two men had in common (they never met) was engineering brilliance.

The VW was a massive, although probably accidental, deception of the German people by the Nazi government under Adolf Hitler. The 850 was designed to help make money for the ponderous British Motor Corporation in England.

Australia was never in the minds of Ferdinand Porsche and Alec Issigonis when they put pencils to drawing boards and commenced their designs.

When the VW first appeared locally it was regarded with suspicion by even those whose job it was to sell the vehicle. Quickly its virtues became obvious and the road ahead was assured. Those first VWs were fully imported jobs, but import restriction eventually made it necessary to assemble the German cars here with a relatively high locally-found content.

The Morris 850 probably would never have come to Australia if it had not been for the comparative lack of success of most of the other BMC products. When it became obvious to the directors of BMC that the £18 million invested in Australia needed a stimulant, they decided to bring the littlest Morris to Australia and assemble it in the NSW plant.

Top brass estimates of how many could be sold here ranged from 1200 to 5000 a year. Fingers had been burnt in the past, so everyone played it cool. The first month or so of selling proved that an estimate of 10,000 cars per annum would not have been excessive.

The interesting thing about these two cars is that they represent two totally different schools of thought on the one subject. Porsche saw the VW as a rear-engined car with air cooling to minimise difficulties in cold countries. The rear engine puts all the running gear in one unit in the tail of the car, simplifying servicing problems and providing good traction on poor roads.

The revolutionary English design does pretty much the same thing, except that all the mechanicals go in the front. To keep casts to a minimum the engine is actually a slightly revamped version of the one litre BMC A-series motor which powers the Morris Minor 1000. Issigonis probably would have liked to have designed an engine specially for the car. However…

Before going ahead with this comparison test it is essential to remember that there is a large price difference between the two cars. The Volkswagen is £970 and the Morris is £775.

On this basis perhaps the comparison could be unfair in many respects, but in its advertisements BMC makes it quite obvious it is selling against VW.

Looking at the Mini and the VW side by side they have at least one thing in common-a lack of good looks. But studied eye appeal never came into the calculations of the designers. They are purely engineers' cars.

An external examination of the VW revealed several things. First the standard of finish, paint work and hardware were all of the highest order. Pushbutton door handles were strong in contrast to the pull-down type of the Mini. Progressive development has given the VW a kind of after-thought appearance in some ways - the winker lights, for instance.

Both the bonnet and luggage compartment of the VW can be locked, while the Morris' bonnet can be undone from the outside.

The external seams which so greatly simplify construction of the Morris strike a jarring note when you realise that they are not really rain gutters after all. Likewise, the hinges protrude, but so do the VW's, to a lesser extent.

Whilst the VW's wheels look large, those of the Morris look small compared with the body.

However enthusiastic owners are about the cars, I think everyone must face up to the fact that these two are just about the ugliest new vehicles to sit on the showroom floor. Practical, yes, but ugly, too.

Appearance is a superficial thing. Far more important are the comfort, handling, performance and economy.

Let's look how these other aspects - the most important aspects - shape up.

Interior and driving comforts

Finish

We must not fool ourselves with this. The VW is much better. The bulkheads are covered with good quality carpet and the rubber floor matting fits well. The paintwork, to match the interior, is good and everything fits neatly. Seat coverings fit well and don't look jazzy.

The 850 lacks the refinement of the VW and we just have to face up to this. The rubber flooring has been ill-fitting in every model I have seen, but it may come good as production progresses. Seat coverings were of a rough-finish vinyl material with a flecky color scheme.

Comfort

Getting in behind the wheel of the VW is a simple task. The car is high, the doors open wide. By no means a bucket type, the front seats have contoured backrests and the bench part comes far enough forward to give support for the legs. The seats themselves are firm to sit on, but neither comfortable nor uncomfortable over a long distance. A heater, with its control on the floor and drawing warm air from the engine compartment, provides some measure of comfort during winter. However, it is by no means a perfect system, since the warmth of the air depends on how fast the car is being driven. In conditions of extreme wet the heater is more inclined to blow steam than anything else. Headroom for large back seat passengers is limited, although the leg and knee room is satisfactory provided those people in the front do not push their seats too far back.

For the driver there is an armrest on his door and the front ashtray is easy to reach. Air entering the car can be regulated by the ventilation panes on the door windows even if the main windows are wound up. Without being sensational in any way the VW is comfortable enough to ride in so far as human requirements are concerned.

The Morris 850 is a low car, but access to the interior is simple enough provided you sit in first, then bring your legs around. My immediate impression was of soft rubbery, comfortable seats. In the cause of simplicity of manufacture they are virtually lumps of foam rubber moulded into shape. Personally, I think they are more comfortable to ride in than that of the VW, although the support for the driver and front passenger do not match that of the German car.

Headroom is greater in the back of be 850, but you sit lower, with good leg and knee room.

There is no heater, nor armrests, but the rear windows hinge outwards and it is possible to get a very pleasant breeze through the car on a hot day. The door windows slide, not wind, and although they are much more efficient than we have come to expect from this system, they still do not match the wind-up type.

Like the VW, the 850 has only one dial, but it is in the middle of the dashboard. It corporates a fuel gauge (which the VW sadly lacks) and the switch gear is directly underneath, making it necessary for the driver to lean forward to get at things.

I don't consider that there is any valid criticism I can level at the steering wheel angle. Strange at first, you very quickly get used to it.