This article is reproduced from the June 14 1975 issue of Autocar. You can download it as a PDF and view it in it's original form.

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Smalest British Leyland sports car given much more punch by bigger engine. Quick, accurate steering but handling throttle-sensitive and inclined to oversteer. Harsh ride, excessive wind noise with bood up. Undergeared. Limited range

THERE was an outburst of lamentation from MG enthusiasts when the Midget 1500 was announced, apparently because the A-series engine had been replaced by a Trumph-designed unit. From an engineering point of view the change was almost inevitable. The Midget needed a bigger engine to counteract the effect of safety and antipollution equipment in America, where it sells in its greatest numbers; and at 1,275 c.c. the A-series unit was at the end of its "stretch potential". The answer was to instal the Triumph engine which. while of similar design and vintage, had long ago been given a longer stroke to bring its capacity to 1,493 c.c. its first application being the nowdefunct front-drive Triumph 1500 .

The purists may decry the move. but T riumph is a name long respected in th e sport s car busin ess and the re is no reason to suppose the Spitfire engine should be unsuitable for the Midget. II might be more in order to complain that a considerable increase in swept volume has resulted in a negligible increase in quoted power . from 64bhp (net) to 66 bhp (OIN). On the other hand torque a more important part of a sports cars character than most people realize, is increased by a greater margin. Against a ll this has to be balanced the greater weight of the new car. with a kerb weight (our measure ment ) of 15.3cwt compared with the 13.5cwt of the last 1.275 c.c . Midget we tested .

Performance and Economy

The proof of the Midget 1500 is in the stopwatch. and there is no doubt it is substantially quicker than the late-series 1,275 c.c. car. Comparisons are valid because the final drive ratio reomains unch anged at 3.9 to 1; the adoption of the single-rail "corporate" gearbox has meant some change in internal ratios, which are wider than before. Tyre size likewise remains the same.

The Midget 1500 is a genuine 100 mph car. and this represents a great advance on the 1275 which managed only 94 mph mean when te sted in 197 1. Unfortunately maximum speed takes the car over the red line on its rev counter. which over-read by a modest 100 rpm at maximum speed: clearly therefore the Midget is substantially undergear ed to make best use of its peak power. which falls at 5.500 rpm . Higher gearing would not only improve economy, but also permit higher speeds in the intermediate gears.

Although we ran the Midget beyond the 6.000 rpm red line to attain its ultimate maximum speed we stuck to the limit in the lower gears with the result that first gear would not quite take the car to 30 mph, and third stopped just short of 70 mph. Our figures point up the considerable gap between second (47 mph maximum) and third. which is felt on the road to some extent but is disguised by the spread of useful torque.

Open sports cars a lways suffer in performance a t the top end when they are run with the hood down. and the Midget was no exception. Lowering the hood took the maximum speed down to 94 mph - a part from making life very uncomfortable at that speed . We took no acceleration figures with the hood down. but there is no doubt they would be, inferior to those obtained with the hood in place.

The Midget rolls considerably when cornered hard and the outside front wheel becomes heavily loaded us seen here. If at this point the steering wheel is held steady the car increasingly oversteers as the corner continues: lifting off the accelerator causes the tail to twitch sharply outwards

All the Midget 1500 acceleration figures are far superior to those of the 1275. whether from a standing start or in any parricular gear. Standing starts are best accomplished without a surfeit of revs and sudden engagement of the clutch. which lends to produce strong and un comfortable axle tramp. A more gentle procedure, feeding in the clutch fairly fast from a 2.000 rpm starting point, trims half a second off the 1275 time to 30 mph, giving a respectable 3.75ec to this speed. The 1500 proceeds to 60 mph in 12.3sec (a 1.8sec improvement) . and to 90 mph in 35.3 sec a better time by no less than 16sec. In like fashion the standing quarter-mile now lakes 18.5 sec compared with 19.6 before.

In the gears, every single feature claimed by the 1275 is bettered by a substantial margin. Not only is the torque curve flatter ; the 1500 does not run out of breath so quickly at the top end, while flexibility is improved to the extent of being able to pull away from 10 mph in top, which the 1275 would not tolerate.

Where economy is concerned, one might expect the 1500 to be less economical because of its la rger engine . On the other hand its economy should at least be comparable because the car rema ins the same size and there is no reason why any more power should be needed to push it along. Two factors upset this tidy calculation. One is that the Midget in its new form is a good deal heavier; the other is its extra performance, which is used some if not all of the time . As a result, our overall fuel c nsumption emerged as 27.9 mpg compared with 29.6 mpg for the srnaller-engined car. This is not a particularly good figure - worse than the Spitfire 1500 for instance, but then the Spitfire has higher gearing and, for our test, overdrive as well. It was noticeable, though,·that the Midget's consumption stayed almost constant whoever the driver and whatever the journey, and at no time did it record a brim-to-brim figure of better than 30 mpg.

This is not to say that 30 mpg is unattain able. Our steady speed figures show that cruising at a constant 60 mph (with the hood up !) enables the driver 10 better that figure with ease. If this limit were observed and fierce acceleration avoided, the Midget would prove quite economical: but it is not inherently so, still less the way it is likely to be driven.

Handling and Brakes

The Midget sticks to its simple suspension arrangement with double wishbones at the front and a live rear axle located by semi-elliptic leaf springs with no other form of assistance. It worked well enough in the past, given the Midget's very limited wheel travel, but there are signs that the latest car needs something more sophisticated to cope with its greater torque and performance.

Part of the trouble lies in the fact that the Midget, like the MGB. has been given increased ride height ar the back to compensate for the greater weight of its "5 mph" bumpers and associated structure. As a result, roll stiffness at the back end has been reduced and there is much more tendency to over steer. This is despite the heavier engine which means the front wheels bear a greater part of the total weight .

The best feature of the Midget, as always, is its very quick and accurate steering. With less than three turns of the wheel between extremes of an average 32ft turning circle, the driver never has to tie his arms in knots to turn a corner or rescue a situation. Inevitably there is some kick -back on rough surfaces, but this is by no means the most tiring feature of the car.

Massive front bumper makes the whole car look bigger than before: inset lights are well protected by lipped extensions. Door mirrors are part of standard equipment. Headlamps are sealed-beam units, not halogen Standard number plate is mounted beneath the new' "5 mph" bumper, rather than below the boot lid as in previous Midgets. Reversing lights are standard and boot lid can be left unlocked if the driver wishes

Straight-line stability is no better than average, except on ultra-smooth surfaces. Normally, the Midget feels willing enough to keep to a straight course but if the wheel is released for a moment it soon reveals its willingness to wander off-line. The feeling of stability is actually due to the driver being barely conscious of the tiny but constant corrections he is applying.

The handling, as we have already said, holds the promise of oversteer. It is not evident at first, for in gentle driving the Midget stays very close to neutral. When driven harder into a corner, if the driver holds the wheel and accelerator steady, the tail will come out steadily until some of the lock has to be paid off before the car gets too sideways. In itself this is no bad thing, for it enables the Midget to be driven in distinctly sporting fashion by someone who knows what he is doing. At the same time it holds the seeds of danger for anyone less clever.

The real snag to the Midget's handling in 1500 form lies in its sensitivity to the throttle. Given the previous situation where the car has been wound hard in to a long, tight bend, any sudden release of the accelerator will bring the tail out very smartly, calling for opposite lock to pin it down. Again, this is a situation beloved of some drivers but it means the Midget is much less predictable, and certainly calls for more skill, than many small saloons of equal performance and cornering ability. The drawback is compounded by limited roadholding, which can leave the car well-balanced fore and aft, but skittering sideways onto a wider line than desired. Despite the increased weight and torque, the tyre section remains the same at 145-13in., and it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the 1500 is somewhat under-tyred.

In the wet , the roadholding is considerably reduced and the Midget tends to skate around on smooth-surfaced corners. In thi s case, however, it is much more forgiving and the quick ste e ring re ally comes into its own.

The brakes need moderate effort and generally work well, giving a well-controlled ultimate stop of 0.95g for a pedal effort of 80lb - well within reasonable limits . The brakes have good "feel" , with no sign of sponginess, and no tendency to snatch when cold. Their fade performance is less reassuring with a near-doubling of effort for a 0.5g stop during our ten-stop test, and some smell of linings towards the end ; but even then there is no increase in pedal travel.

The handbrake works well, our test car recording a 0.33g stop when the handbrake was used alone on the level. It also held the car well facing either way on the 1-in-3 test hill, on which a restart was easily achieved thanks to the low first gear - but not without a smell of clutch lining.

Bigger Triumph 1500TC engine does not look unduly large under Midget bonnet with plenty of length to spare and room for the massive heater trunking, Access to some items is good, but others (such as battery behind healer blower unit are difficult to reach.

Comfort and Convenience

The Midget could hardly be described as anything but cramped, with difficult entry and exit. It has always been so, and buyers have accepted it. But the statistics tell us that Britons are getting bigger - not to say Americans - and we are surely approach ing the point where it may be too small for its own good. In fact our largest staff members (the largest of all scaling 16 1/2 stone and 6ft 2in.) found the interior space just sufficient with the driver' s seat moved to its back stop, but complained of their inability to shift position to relieve numb spots. More serious were the contortions involved in getting in and out even with the hood down.

The. seats do not look especially invitng, reminding one of the shapeless BMC equipment of a few years ago. This is doing them less than justice. Together with the generally tight confines of the interior they locate driver and passenger well, and they do their best to damp out the effects of the generally mediocre ride. The ride itself will not disappoint Midget enthusiasts and could only be described euphemisticall y as "good for the liver". The limited wheel travel and high spring rates give the Midget no chance of offering a comfortable ride and the result is misery when the car is driven quickly on any uneven surface, let alone a really rough one. On the credit side it is very rare for the suspension actually to bottom, and the 1500 is notably free of the crashes and bangs which afflicted some earlier Midgets, especially when their dampers were past the first flush of youth. Nor is the handling very much affected by suspension movement, so a driver fit enough to withstand the battering can make rapid progress

The controls are not well laid out, but at least they are easy to understand and are clearly labelled. There are signs of pennypinching in the single (too slow) speed wipers, the manual plunger washer, the primitive heater control. Of the major controls, the steering wheel is larger than one might expect and close to the chest by modern standards: the pedals are understandably close together in their narrow tunnel. Clutch effort is high but pedal movement limited, though the clutch takes up sweetly enough. In the test car, however. the accelerator linkage was rather "sudden" and no help to gentle driving. The gearchange is precise but

A major drawback of the Midget is its high interior noise level. For the most part it is made up of wind noise, which drowns the other components to the extent where one is unsure how much contribution the engine is making until one switches off and coasts at high speed. The wind noise itself comes from the hood, and while this may seem inevitable there are other soft-top cars which do not suffer in the same way (or at least , not to the same extent). In the Midget's case it is noticeable that the car is much quieter with the hood down, and the radio easier to hear, at speeds as high as 70 mph. Indeed, with the hood up the radio is almost inaudible above this speed. The engine actually makes a lot of noise at higher speeds- it simply can' t compete with the wind roar. Induction and exhaust noise is high when the car is accelerating hard, at anything over 5,000 rpm; but when the car is driven more gently the 1500 unit is quiet and refined. Noisy or not , it is very smooth right up to the red line and beyond, in a way that may surprise MG diehards.

Above: Black cracle-finished facia panel gives slightly vintage air to the interior. Rev counter and speedometer are widely separated but can still be seen inside rim of large steering wheel. Minor dials are less easily read Left: Midget seats look rather stylized but not very well shaped; in fact they are quite comfortable, damping out the worst effects of the ride, while the small size of the interior ensures good location. Note the awkwardly-placed door handle by the occupant's shoulder Left: Boot lid is supported by a single self locking strut. Capacity is strictly limited and there is a low sill over which luggage must be lifted. Spare wheel and fuel tank lie flat on the boot floor and beneath it respectively

Even with the hood up, visibility is not bad. At first sight the windscreen is shallow but it seems to provide sufficient view for short and tall drivers; the hinged quarter-lights obstruct the front-quarter view a little, but the "over-the-shoulder" blind spot is cleared by two extra windows let into the hood. Two door mirrors are standard, but on the test car they continually flopped down to a useless position. The wipers clear only a small area of screen and are too slow to cope with heavy rain. Sealed-beam headlights give good illumination at night but the driver's low eyeline prevents him making the most of it. Reversing lights are standard. The heater is a primitive affair with a single push-pull control for temperature, and a singlespeed fan which can only be switched on when full heat is selected. There is no means of selecting airflow to screen or floor, the output being shared arbitrarily . However, the fan is quiet and the healer clears the screen quickly even in humid conditions. There is no directflow ventilation other than via the quarter-lights.

Living with the Midget 1500

By comparison with Midget hoods of a few yea rs ago that of the 1500 is easy to contend with. It is not yet a simple one-handed operation either to stow or erect it, though, and in particular it is much easier to fit its leading edge to the windscreen rail if four hands a re available. With the hood down one does not get too battered by the airflow, even at high speed, but one driver found that when driving open in light rain the inside of the windscreen soon became covered in droplets and the occupants of the car dampened. A basic appeal of the Midget is its simplicity, and this is still so with the 1500 which is no more difficult to work on than its predecessors. The most awkward servicing point is the need to reach the battery at the very rear of the engine compartment under the hinge line of the bonnet; the dip stick is not easy to find, especially in the dark. A link with tradition is the need to attend to eight grease points during the 6.000-mile service - but there are no intermediate service intervals. so an average car requires only twice-a-year attention.

A main drawback of the car is its small (7-gallon) tank. which gives a safe range of less than 200 miles. It is filled via a simple cap in the rear panel. and unlike many modern tanks can be filled quickly to the brim with no danger of blow-back.

There are few accessories to be added to the Midget from the MG option list. A hardtop is expensive but might prove an investment in terms of reduced wind noise and long-journey comfort: wire wheels are available for those who can face the chore of cleaning them: and head restraints may be specified. There is no overdrive option, far less an automatic. Static seat belts are standard apparently there is no room for inertia-reel units .

In Conclusion

There is no doubt that the performance of the Midget has been greatly improved by its change of engi ne. and there is now a spread of torque which allows the car to be driven sportingly or to be lugged along all the way in top gear by a lazy or tiredd river. At the same time the hand ling has suffered in some respects and the car is no longer as predictable or forgiving as it was.

People are bound to differ on how badly cramped they find the interior (though few will argue with the infuriating difficulty of reaching the interior door handles), but few would quarrel with the conclusion that the ride is harsh and the noise level over-high.

Now that the Midget-and the Spitfire share the same engine, the question of their joint survival must arise . For our money and there is scant-price difference between the two - the Spitfire is much more practical and civilized. There will always be those who will scorn it for precisely those reasons, but if further rationalization comes to pass it will be difficult to make out a case for the Midget vis-a-vis its stablemate.