Austin Montego
| Austin Montego | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Manufacturer | Austin Rover Group |
| Also called | MG Montego Rover Montego |
| Production | 1984–1995 (Austin Montego) 1985-1991 (MG Montego) |
| Designer | Ian Beech David Bache Roger Tucker Roy Axe |
| Body and chassis | |
| Class | Mid-size saloon/sedan |
| Body style | 4-door saloon 5-door estate |
| Layout | FF layout |
| Related | Austin Maestro |
| Powertrain | |
| Engine | 1.3 L A-Plus I4 1.6 L S-SeriesI4 2.0 L Perkins Prima / Rover MDI I4 2.0 L O-Series I4 |
| Dimensions | |
| Wheelbase | Template:Auto mm |
| Length | Template:Auto mm |
| Width | Template:Auto mm |
| Height | Template:Auto mm |
| Chronology | |
| Predecessor | Morris Ital Austin Ambassador MG Magnette (MG model) |
| Successor | Rover 600 MG ZT |
The Austin Montego is a British mid-size saloon car that was produced by the Austin Rover subsidiary of British Leyland (BL), and its successors, from 1984 until 1994. The Montego was the replacement for the Morris Ital, to give British Leyland a modern competitor for the Ford Sierra and Vauxhall Cavalier.
Design and development
The Montego started life as a four-door notchback variant of project LC10. The Austin Maestro emerged as the five-door hatchback variant. When the designs diverged, the Montego became project LM11 (the Maestro being LM10), and remained based on a lengthened version of the LC10 floorpan. The Montego received very different front and rear styling following the replacement of designer David Bache with Roy Axe. It also featured body-coloured bumpers (as did the Maestro), and front wipers which hid themselves under the bonnet when parked.[1]
The Montego offered many improvements over the Maestro, many of which were later incorporated into the latter, such as a new SOHC engine (the S-Series), and a more robust dashboard. As with the Maestro, there was a high-performance MG version which again used the solid-state instrument cluster, trip computer, and the synthesised voice of Nicolette MacKenzie for the information and warning systems. The dashboard fitted to the Montego was superior to that originally designed for the Maestro and featured a rally-style tachometer, a service indicator and a representation of the car showing open doors, lights left on, etc.
An estate variant, with larger luggage capacity than its competitors,[2] two additional rear-facing child seats and self-levelling suspension, also styled by Roy Axe, followed shortly and received instant acclaim, winning the company a Design Council award.[3]
[1] Development of the concept that finally evolved into the Montego dated back to 1977, when new British Leyland chairman Sir Michael Edwardes (recruited from South Africa) set about planning to create a new generation of family cars to succeed the ageing Austin Allegro, Morris Marina and Austin Maxi. At this stage, BL's veteran product range was falling behind in the sales charts and two years earlier Ford had overtaken BL as the strongest selling carmaker in Britain. The Ford Cortina was achieving runaway sales success which the Marina and Maxi couldn't compete with, while the Allegro was being consistently outsold by the Ford Escort. Rival products from Vauxhall and Chrysler Europe were also a thorn in the side of BL's range.
The Maestro had first appeared in March 1983 to replace the Allegro, and 13 months later, on 25 April 1984, the Montego was revealed to the motoring public.
At this stage, there were just two other major players in Britain's large family car market - Ford and Vauxhall. The Sierra was selling strongly, though not as strongly as the Cortina that it replaced, and Vauxhall's second generation Cavalier was going from strength to strength in the sales charts. The Montego was still the only real threat to the two market leaders, and was clearly a far more viable contender that the outmoded Morris Ital that it was replacing.
To market
The Montego was launched on April 25, 1984. The estate variant was launched at the British International Motor Show in October of that year. The Template:Auto bhp MG turbocharged variant took the market by storm in early 1985 as the fastest production MG ever with a 0-60 mph time of 7.3 seconds, and a top speed of 203 km/h (126 mph).[3]
Like the Maestro, the Montego suffered from its overly long development phase, which had been begun in 1975 and which was hampered throughout by the industrial turmoil that plagued both British Leyland and Austin Rover Group during this period. In some ways, the technology was ahead of its time, notably the solid-state instrumentation. However, early examples suffered from build quality and reliability issues. The talking dashboard fitted to high-end models (and initially used to promote the Montego as an advanced high-tech offering) was prone to irritating faults and came to be regarded as something of an embarrassment by BL and the British press. This feature was discontinued after a short period. It is unknown how many, if any, MG Montego EFi models featuring the LED dashboard remain.
Later developments
However, despite all this, the Montego matured into a really competent car. A minor facelift in 1989 enhanced its appeal, which was buoyed up by both the Perkins-engined Diesel model, and the seven-seater version of the "Countryman" estate. The diesel saloon even won a CAR magazine 'giant test' against the Citroën BX (1.7 XUDT), the then new Peugeot 405 (1.7 XUDT) and Audi 80 (1.6) turbo diesels. They rated the 405 the best car, followed by the BX and then the Montego, with the Audi coming in last. "But if people buy diesels, and turbo diesel for their economy, the winner has to be the Montego. ...its engine is - even when roundly thrashed - more than 10% more economical than the rest. For those isolated moments when cost control is not of the essence, the Montego is a car you can enjoy too. The steering and driving position are quite excellent. They described the suspension as 'impressively refined'. It is silent over rough bumps, poised and well damped."
The turbo diesel became a favourite of the RAF for officer transport. Car Mechanics magazine ran an RAF officer transport demobbed Montego bought from a Ministry of Defence auction in 1996.[citation needed]
The facelift also saw the phasing out of the Austin name. These late-1980s models had a badge resembling the Rover Viking longship, but it was not identical, nor did the word "Rover" ever appear on the cars.
By the early 1990s, the Montego was terminally aged, and production effectively ceased when the replacement car, the Rover 600, was launched in 1993, (special fleet orders were almost handbuilt until 1994, while estates continued until 1995). In its final year, What Car? magazine said "(Austin) Rover's once 'great white hope', Montego matured into a very decent car — but nobody noticed". The chassis development for the Montego and Maestro's rear suspension was used as a basis for later Rover cars, and was well regarded. [citation needed]
Montegos continued to be built in small numbers in CKD form at the Cowley plant in Oxford until 1994, when production finally ended. The last car was signed by all those that worked on it, and is now on display at the British Heritage Motor Centre in Gaydon, Warwickshire, UK. A total of 546,000 Austin/Rover Montegos and 23,000 MG Montegos were produced, with Britain by far being the biggest market for the car.
In all, 436,000 Montegos were sold in the UK between 1984 and 1995. In August 2006, a survey by Auto Express magazine revealed that the Montego was Britain's eighth most scrapped car, with just 8,988 still in working order. Contributing to this, areas of the bodywork that were to be covered by plastic trim (such as door rubbing stips) were left unpainted and thus unprotected. In addition, pre-1989 models cannot run on unleaded petrol without the cylinder head being converted or needing fuel additives. Sadly, many people are unaware that the FHBVC (Federation of Historic British Vehicle Clubs) tested and approved lead replacement fuel additives do exist. These work out at only a couple of pence a litre.
International Markets
New Zealand
In New Zealand, the Austin Montego was launched in 1984. The only models available were the manual 2.0-litre HLS or Mayfair versions (in estate form). A sedan version was not offered in New Zealand due to concerns that it would compete directly with the Honda Accord.
These early carburettor Montegos developed a reputation for catching fire[citation needed] as a fuel hose would dislodge and spray petrol over the hot exhaust manifold; a trait the Austin shared with some older Ford Cortina models.
From about 1989 onwards, a wider range of models were imported by a new company, Rover New Zealand; this included sedan versions for the first time. Also new were the MG 2.0 range (identical to the MG Montego sold in the UK), and all wore the official MG badge. The main Auckland dealer developed an air conditioning system as an option for these models in conjunction with local specialists. However, the estate version was never sold in the UK with the MG badging.
India
The Montego was sold in India as the Rover Montego in collaboration with Sipani Motors - (the company that tried and failed to market the Reliant Kitten - a version of the Robin with 4 wheels and Triumph-inspired front suspension - as the Sipani Dolphin). The car was not a success, selling in limited numbers before being discontinued.
China
A version of the Austin Maestro with a Montego front end is built in China under the Etsong Lande nameplate.
Engines
- 1984–1989 - 1275 cc A-Plus I4, 68 hp (51 kW) at 5600 rpm and 75 ft·lbf (102 Nm) at 3500 rpm
- 1988–1994 - 1994 cc Austin/Rover MDi - Perkins Prima TD I4, Template:Auto hp and Template:Auto ft.lbf
References
- Adams, Keith. "The Unofficial Austin Rover Web Resource".
Notes
- ^ Neil Turner. "The MG Montego & Maestro".
- ^ "Family Cars: Car Facts table". Which?: 463. 1986.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ a b "Story of the Montego". Maestro & Montego Owners Club.
External links
- Maestro and Montego Owners Club
- MG 'M' Group (Owner's Club)
- Triple M (Maestro, Montego and Metro enthusiasts group including all Austin and MG models)
The AA Montego Review PDFs