All The Fives - 1979 Austin Maxi 1750 HL 

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Someone give this young man a TV show. He does a great job. Forget Clarkson and many others.

This Lad is Really Good , excellent videos .Should Have His Own TV. Show no doubt , have subscribed of course.

Great channel you have here love looking back at the old cars. It's great someone so young knows his stuff about the old classics. Keep up the good work.

This is my mate ben's car,, it is one of four old classics he has lovingly restored to its former glory. He has spent a lot of time and expense over the last year's restoring these old cars and it's thanks to people like him we can still appreciate these smashing old cars,, keep up the good work Ben

I always loved the Maxi back in the day. I thought it looked fantastic, was practical, roomy and is definitely one of the unsung greats of its era.

Oh god the Maxi. Memories of my dad driving us to Dover then Brittany ferry. My grandma in the front passing back endless boiled sweets , four of us in the back, luggage in the boot. Wasn’t that bad but I think these days you could drive to Singapore in the same amount of time!

The Maxi was actually a very useful car.

60 yr old UK guy here. It's refreshing to see someone so young, yet so knowledgeable enthusing about cars of this era. I never drove a Maxi, yet remember vividly the polarisation of opinion of drivers / owners. A sales rep who worked for the company I was employed by described it as ' A toilet on wheels'. However, a freelance contractor who worked for us, thrashed one mercilessly round the UK, never had a moment of trouble with it, and sang its praises. Excellent video young man. You have a new subscriber.

They were a great car and very underrated but did everything you asked of it

This is the best maxi review on RU-vid! The maxi one of my favourite underrated classic cars!

The mk1 maxi (1500cc only) had a cable operated gear change linkage which was its Achilles heel. This was done away with when the mk2 came out with a rod linkage that was 100% better. Definitely a car ahead of its time, I’ve literally worked on hundreds of these as a rectification mechanic at the Cowley plant where they were produced.

Love it. Like all the Issigonis' design it's brilliant. Such a shame that these cars never were a big success, they should have been. A car showing the vision of one man, excellent!

I bought a 1971 Austin Maxi 1750 in 1973. It served as our super reliable family transport for 13 years. I sold it, still a runner, with 203,000 miles on the clock. Named 'Monty the Maxi' by my four kids (now grown up), It is still fondly remembered by all of them! Thank you for putting the record right about a classic car design.

Great review for a young lad like yourself to be so passionate about classic cars. I spent most of my childhood sat in the back of one. When my mum owned one in the 70s. I have been in the motor trade from a young age I will soon be turning 50 and I'm still restoring classics. at the moment a rover p6. Keep up the good work you are doing well 👍👍👍

My first Maxi was a 1500 gear cable change loved this car toured Scotland 3years running never let me down snow berry white unfortunately it was written of in a bad accident. Second maxi was a 1750 the gear change was rod wasn't so positive as the cable but still very reliable when I sold it had 22000 on the clock and apart from some rust still ran like a watch. Third was the 1750 HL a good car but the hydroelastic was failing a lot but still very comfortable and the SU carbs on all of them were easy to set up. Clutch was very easy to change as long as you didn't follow the Hayes manual.

ash trays for the kids , they sure were the good old days

Hi from New Zealand! My parents bought a new Maxi in 1971 that was White with a black interior and later replaced it with another one that was green with brown interior. At the time Dad was in the police force and through the Public Service Garage there was a group discount and payment system that facilitated the purchase. The Maxi was a revelation especially compared to the rusty Austin Westminster station wagon that it replaced. (i remember this car being collided with by another vehicle when parked on the street and there being piles of rust left on the ground as a result). The gearchange wasn't wonderfull ( a bit like stirring a pot of molasses with a 2 foot long spoon, but no worse than my mates Alfetta GTV) but the car itself was great, comfy and roomy.I remember Dad trying to argue with a Traffic Officer that he had come to a complete halt at at compulsory stop and it was the hydrolastic suspension that gave the impression that it hadn't.. nedless to say he didn't win that one!

I owned a 76 'P' reg Maxi 1750 back in 85 when I was 17. It was with me through college and it was and is one of the best cars i've ever owned. As a student the double bed seats were fantastic and coupled with a great heater, came in very useful. Not only was it quite quick, it also regularly returned 37-38 mpg, and was really reliable and cheap motoring. I miss my Maxi and despite having since been mainly a BMW & Mercedes owner, I would love to own another.

Totally agree about this car. I owned both a Morris 1500 and a Morris Nomad (sort of a little Maxi) in Aus and I always wished the Maxi had been sold here. What a brilliant, spacious, practical car. My cars had the early cable operated gear change and worked absolutely fine as long as they were adjusted correctly. Poor BMC (at that time) had to do product development on fly due to lack of money and they were sold to hapless customers before some of the bugs were ironed out such as the gearbox interlock to prevent 2 gears being selected at the same time. I hope there are still some left in the land of savage corrosion. I would have one now for sure. Cheers.

The best car I ever had. In four years 220,000 km. Never any problem, only four new tires and a new exhaust. Still miss it. I loved it!

Your talk to camera work is coming on really well. Lovely car. I never looked at them but you are right they were ahead of their time.

when I passed my driving test in 77 this was my first car never let me down

My first car - a K reg in harvest gold Maxi. Magnificent for transporting all my crap to university in the early 80s including a fashionably over the top large drumkit. Once after the brakes seized and I couldn't get them free I did just about the stupidest thing I have ever done in a car... I was so desperate to see my girlfriend for our 21st birthdays (one day apart) that I took the front pads out and drove from Enfield to Reading on the handbrake and thence to Poole where I confessed to my dad who got the local garage to fix them. The hairiest moment was the penultimate T junction from a downward slope side road where heaving on the handbrake barely stopped it. I lived to tell the tale obviously (as did everybody else thank God) and went on to change both the clutch (self) and the head gasket (with friend) so learnt some good mechanical stuff. Hank finally died from terminal sill rust after 4 of my most formative years. I agree with all who cite it as an ahead of its time practical classic. One fact I used to quote to my friends at the time which was greeted with wet themselves laughter was that my "Car" road test data had my 1750 beating a contemporary Porsche 911 from 30-50 in fourth!! and that wasn't even the HL.

I had a Morris 1800 landcrab.................great useful reliable and fun massive slab of a motor

Im 62 now (hell, where did that go? In my head Im still your age) and my brother had a Maxi in 1970/71 . It was a superb car and yes, reliable. It was in 'Harvest Gold', the colour of the HL in that brochure. You're absolutely right in your sum up of this car, a great and intelligent review. As for that gearbox, no problem at all; you very quickly got used to its 'stirring porridge' manner and it was never an issue. Again, you're right about that. Thanks for this video, really watchable - you have a great presentation style - and really enjoyable. Happy memories of what was indeed a very reliable car.

Superb car, Ford had nothing to compare, it was all about image.

I worked in a BL dealership. The Maxi was by far the best car in the range, it wast head and shoulders above the rest of the junk they churned out. It was much beloved by Welsh farmers, they loved it's practicality, and yes the reliability was second to non. It was really great to work on too, with roads of room around the engine.

I think your passion for Bmc and Leyland cars for a young enthusiastic is great all credit to you.I passed my test in a 1974 Maxi 1750 Hl my Dad's car which was bought as an X demonstrater, it was passed on to me later and I loved it, stupidly I sold it to get a Mk5 Cortina, big mistake! 6 years ago I managed to get a maxi 1750 which is totally original in Teal blue, 1975,will never part with this one, hope to meet you at a show one day, all the best with your videos.

I had a Maxi (VHC 368T) during the 80s, it was the same year and colour as this one. It was an extremely versatile car- I was a semi-pro musician and getting all my gear into the Maxi was no problem at all. I also slept in the car many times on trips around the country. One day, there was a knock on the door- it was a chap from a TV production company who was interested in borrowing my Maxi for a TV programme- Never the twain, starring Windsor Davies and Donald Sinden. They had one car already but needed a second one that they could slightly crash, and mine was an exact match. They hired it for 3 days and gave me a Renault to drive, took my Maxi away, serviced it and after filming it with a crumpled front wing they repaired the damage and returned it in better condition than it had been in before they borrowed it, plus £80 per day. I recorded the episode featuring my car- I didn't think much of the programme itself, but at least my car got its few minutes of fame, but the recording hasn't survived. Sadly, my Maxi was written off after some fool pulled out from a side road into my path. I loved driving and using the Maxi as it had acres of space inside, especially in the back and could do anything I asked of it. A great and very underrated car.

This is a very well presented film. I loved every minute of it.

Great review as always! My Dad owned two Maxi 1750 HL's, both bought from new. I drove both of them several times back in the day. The first was a 1973 M plate in white with a beige interior, the second a 1977 R plate in metallic blue with a dark blue interior. The white one had a sloppy gear change and drank oil, the second had a tight gear change, a super smooth engine, but both were quick. I recall CAR magazine getting a 10 second 0-60 time out of a 1750 HL which was good going for the mid 70s. They were super practical, super comfortable cars that handled well and in HL form, had plenty of performance for the time. I loved them!

Probably a bit before its time, compare it to the market leader at the time and see which one is closer to a modern car, 5 gears, 5 doors, 5 seats, independent suspension, overhead cam.

The policy of rebranding Austin/Morris cars in the 1970's as Leyland Cars, I think was a mistake, with cars like the Leyland Princess, Maxi and Mini. Luckily it did not last, because by the 1980's the Princess had became the Austin Ambassador, and the Austin/MG Metro, Maestro and Montego were launched.

This same model entered Buenos Aires back in 1979. Beautiful car for the time. Even now good car! Few entered with the UK import. Greetings from Buenos Aires! Good report!

I ran a maxi taxi back in the mid 70s and one of the most reliable cars i ever had . Comfortable and passengers loved it . Bring back the good old British made cars , all theses cars of today are so boring and look the same !!

I had a HL in 1973 which I liked except for wheel vibration at cruising speed which they could/would not cure. I always thought that they should have hatchbacked the 1100, which would have been a killer car.

My first car, Austin Maxi 1750HL. Loved the food down bed seats, great when I went diving and camping, no camp tent. Cracking car, well presented review.

Oh wow, memory lane. My dad traded a 77 Chrysler Alpine for a T plate 1750 Maxi in a metallic bronze colour. As a yoof I devoured the brochure and to my dismay only the HL had twin SUs and an electric screen wash. On the 1750 it was a push pump button on the dash! Come 1982 I learned to drive in it and I think back then the only other British car to have a 5 speed box was the Rover SD1. My old man was a South of Scotland Power Engineer and he got that car to almost every power line breakdown in the borders in winter conditions. He put it down to the front wheel drive and torque response of the motor as well as his experience. The family went camping to France and Spain in 1982 and the maxi was my bed for 2 weeks. great memories and another top video from Twincam

Well researched, detailed content and presented like a pro !! - Very impressive video.. Thanks lad. Well done indeed :-)

Magnificent review! I totally agree on how you consider this car and on what you think about it! And indeed, nothing is perfect. I LOVE the front end and the front Maxi 1750 badge.

I ran two Maxis, both of which were bought second-hand with fairly low mileages. The only major problem that I recall having with the first was that the distributor drive sheared, the timing went wrong and there was a monumental 'bang' in the exhaust system. This blew up and expanded the silencer box of a recently-installed stainless steel exhaust system that I'd fitted myself. Amazingly, the supplier replaced the rear section of the exhaust for free. Oh yes, and the gear selector shaft seal retracted out of its recess, resulting in a bad oil leak, which fortunately was obvious and quickly rectified. The second, FRW 281T, and I remember its registration for good reason, was a 1750HL and I had problems. It needed a recon engine and a recon gearbox after I'd had it for only a couple of years. The recon engine was heavy on oil and had to have the pistons replaced under warranty. With the family on board, the recon gearbox failed on the M5 and I was very luck in being able to coast safely onto the hard shoulder. A simple locking tabwasher had failed and this allowed a retaining nut to unscrew. This, in turn, allowed, as I recall, the output gear to come out of engagement, causing substantial damage. After some argument with BL, the damaged internals were replaced, despite the fact that the gearbox was just out of warranty. What assisted me was the fact that I was able to get the tabwasher investigated as a "foreigner" by the metallurgy lab at R-R Bristol. It was proven to be excessively hard, so that when the it was bent onto the flats of the nut, it cracked. Oh yes, and i did have the Hydragas suspension fail on me, so that I had to drive the family home with the car listing heavily. Having described my problems, I did like the functionality of the Maxi.

Ooh... I loved Maxi's.... had a couple- including an HL like the one here... Great ride/comfort and loved the sweet quiet engines....

The double bed on wheels!! Which was revolutionary for 1969 Gt Britain.

You've convinced me. I want a Maxi...

my first car, fitted twin su's to it. Great for camping with the bed and in the snow. Only problem I had in 4 years owning it was the gear stick coming off in my hand whilst overtaking on the M1. There was me trying to overtake a lorry with no power (came off mid gear change) and holding the gear stick in my left hand wondering what was going to happen next.

GRN751S - my first car, and I loved it - absolutely loved it. Full load, including a wheelchair, and just trotted up Honister Pass in the Lake District, whilst newer cars simply shuddered in its' wake - still miss my old faithful - wonderful car.

Great video young man, looks like we will see a lot more of you! If the motoring press does not pick you up then they are fools. Great to see someone interested in the car rather than their own ego. My dad had a 1973 Maxi 1500 in Harvest Gold a Ford Cortina preceded it and the Maxi seemed more luxurious and better quality. The only problem with that car was the engine got damp in wet weather even though it had the plastic engine cover at the front. He kept it a number of years and then changed it for a 1979 model in Metalic Bronze. But that was a very different car unreliable is not a big enough word to describe that car. The gear was awful in comparison to the previous car and it rusted, only a couple of years on and it was peppered with rust, it looked like someone had machine-gunned the side. The Maxi was a great car for lugging stuff around and you would probably have to move to a van to better this aspect.

This car is immaculate!

Loved both my Maxis - so nearly a great car. Yes the bed is a bit lumpy but what other car can you go out for the night and sleep properly. The 5th gear ate the miles at a prodigious rate and in such comfort. That's the good bits. My first 74 1500 was mechanically perfect but suffered badly from tin worm when I bought it in 84. The second was an 1980 1750 with NO RUST, but was not great mechanically - I blew the engine at 75,000 and fitted one from a 78. Yes it was a work of genius - if only it wasn't built by BL.

I recall when the new (BMW) Mini Clubman came out, I found it was larger in all dimensions than the Maxi, hard to believe! My dad had a 1750HL, N Reg in white. Fantastic car and super cheap to run and maintain. They are pretty strong bodyshells too - remember a monster truck meeting at Detling, Kent, and they were using old cars as tug-o-war. Essentially showing off the power of the trucks by tearing cars in half! Until they used a Maxi. They gave up after quite a few pulls, it was mangled, but didn't pull apart :-)

The seating which can be made into a double bed is a wonderful idea. But I doubt if it is very comfortable. Curiously, the French attempt at the same concept, (including the bed) was the Renault 16.The Renault 16 (an inferior, and rather ugly car in my opinion) was a runaway success. Of course Renault cars were not put together by a bunch of trotskyists intent on destroying the industry. There was no "Robbo Rouge" in France. That helped.

Again.Ahead of it's time.Very practical great car. Unfortunately being practical did not seem to go down well. Looks and style with uncomplicated engineering did though. Ford knew this. Capri says it all. Shame really I liked the Maxi. However ask my wife and she would run a mile.Old mans car she used to say.

Had 3 Maxis. They were very practical cars with a young family. No. 1 was white (ex Drs car). After buying it I soon moved to Denmark and took the car with us but after a year had to return it to the UK to sell it to avoid the very high Danish car tax. No. 2 was sand colour and was LHD. I bought it on a scheme where I could pay the Danish car tax in monthly payments. But after 2 years the remainder (50% I think or was it 75%) was due as a lump sum. We decided at that point to return to the UK but it was hard to sell the Maxi. Eventually I went cap in had to the dealer I bought it from, hoping I would get enough to pay the tax outstanding. He offer to take it if I bought a new red Maxi and as I was buying it tax free to export in he fact *paid me* the difference - enough to almost pay the balance of the loan. (I have the feeling British Leyland were about to pull out of Denmark so he may of been glad to clear stock) I returned to the UK with the no. 3 LHD red Maxi and drove it for about 2 to 3 years before deciding to convert it to RHD. Over a weekend I changed the steering rod and dashboard (2nd hand) and moved the pedals and steering wheel over. Luckily the wiring loom came from the right hand A pillar so I simply had to fold it back from the left side to the right. New speedo and brake pipes completed the job. Looked perfect except the hole in the carpet were the steering column was but car mats hid that!). Eventually sold it after many more years. I was quite open with the buyer. Nice to see a young person enthusiastic for these cars.

A very good Maxi review,and refreshing to see a video where the good points of a BL car is highlighted.Well done.

The good old maxi I'd hate to imagine how many I banger raced over the years when worthless

Oo, the HL, very flash! My dad had a W reg 1500 in chocolate brown with a beige basket-weave vinyl interior. It would never have been described as rapid and with a CI Sprite 4-berth caravan swinging off the back progress was snail-like. Something went dreadfully wrong with one of the rear struts on the Severn Bridge once en route to a camping holiday in Wales, and rather than get fined for breaking down on the bridge my brother and I in the back rode the bump stop at a stately 30mph to the nearest garage. It's funny what you remember of cars from your childhood, for me with the Maxi it's the little shiny inverted metal insert in the window winder, the door handles and the imprint of the burning hot basket weave on the back of your legs in summer shorts. Love the vids, thanks for the memories!

"Gearbox just a little vague" I had one of these and I couldn't get a smooth gearchange to save my life. It got to me in such a way that I actually felt depressed at the prospect of having to drive it. I did have a windscreen shatter for no apparent reason, which I believe wasn't uncommon. Apart from that it was a perfect car, easy to drive (once you found a gear), good on the motorways with the 5-speed box, great at carrying loads. On one motorway trip I kept the throttle constant for miles and when I lifted off on the off-slip the throttle cable had jammed. It took me 30 minutes to change the clutch and you didn't even have to get underneath the car, the most difficult bit was removing the battery box. The sills did succumb to the rust-bug though.

To add more meat to the bone, the Austin Maxi was a BMC designed car, the concept was put down by chairman George Harriman who wanted a smaller car but using the 1800 doors. BMC had a styling studio and its designers Sid Goble and Fred Boubier were given a width and the 1800 doors and worked around it. The initial design in 1965 was like the Mini with a boot lid, but because of the sloping roof they decided to join the boot and backlight to create the tailgate to get the proportions right at the rear and it got approval! Issigonis was in overall charge of design with his usual concept of smallest exterior package which was also the reason in using the E series engine.

The rear wheels were placed there for towing...caravans..easy reversing..bullet proof engi e ..great in the snow....great seats hatch back as good as a van..comfortable ride... Built like a tank... A freind was hit by a transit van...destroyed the van..fire men said if he had been in a ford he'd be dead... It's not all about looks. I loved my maxi 1750... Ps cam chain not belt...lasted the life of the engine.

I’m with you totally about that blue oval hype, which I never bought into. I once had a mk4 cortina, and a mk6 escort van. Both of which were utter rubbish! My favourite Leyland car is the series 2 marina, with rubber bumpers....

The turnsignal handle is on the wrong side. And your steeringwheel and pedals also. Nice car my grandfather had maxi 1750 hl but that was 40 years ago. In that days a lot of cars from great brittan drove around in the netherlands. Like vauxhall and austin and ofcourse the Nice mini.

Very good review I worked as a apprentice at a Austin/Daimler dealership in 1970 the first 1500 model had a issue with leaking gear change cables we had many a owner complaining about oil leaking onto there garage floors and we were having to keep replacing them under warranty the later models have a rod change Linkage

Back in the day I needed car to take 3 children and twin babies. I couldn't afford a Renault space which would have been ideal so I bought a 1750 HL Maxi. The twins went in a moses basket on the rear of the car with my 3 other children on the back seat. We had 2 sets of twins and a single child hence the need for a car to take us all. That car served us very well for a number of years. It would use oil a bit but apart from that and not having the best of gearboxes it was a very good car for us at the time.

My Dad had two of these, they were great cars.I remember one of the British car magazines called it "The answer to the question nobody asked": how can you be that wrong about anything? This was the basis for so many modern family cars

I like underrated cars. This one's beautiful. My friend had one in blue, really spacious and good to drive. Good and informative videos,well done.

I owned two Maxi's the first was a standard 1750 that I must admit was a dog of a car. The second one was a 1750HL that my brothering law gave me. That HL was a really good car. Not only was it quick, but it stuck to the road like glue. And because of the front wheel drive It would pull you out of everything. I remember one snowy winter morning going to work and everyone was outside trying to get there cars out of the snow. I just turned the key the car was straight off running, and it pulled me out of the snow like it wasn't even there. The maxi was indeed a very underrated car. I would own an other one now.

Maxi Hack : When making it into a bed, lift the rear seat cushion forward to find the under seat storage space. You will find what looks to be a small metal box at the rear in the centre. Reach in, and holding it by the bottom, swing it up on the hinges. This little seat raiser now allows the bed to be completely flat.

I had three one 1500cc witch towed a caravan all its life with two adults three kids and died at one hundred and 50 thousand miles. Then I had another two both the same orange 1750cc both ended up in my mates scrapyard. Bits where taken of the rest crushed.

You are so right about the Maxi. It does everything well and answers all the criticisms of modern family cars. Namely space, visibility, practically, and comfort. I think it was a good decade or two ahead of it's time and you are absolutely right in blaming the dumb customers of the time. How can a prehistoric Cortina be a more sensible alternative? Well said.

Thanks that Maxi brings back some great memories! My dad hah a couple one I later inherited and drove her like a 17 year mad man, in its day that Maxi was a brilliant handling car a good 10mph faster than a 1.6 Viva HB around the Clatterbridge roundabout on the Wirral! Thanks and great videos.

I have to agree, the Maxi is quite small compared to today's cars, even The Humber Hawk that I owned back in the '90's looks lost compared to a modern 'MINI' Countryman, which should have been called a Maxi or even a Traveller, but that's BMW for you. Always liked the Maxi, my Uncle had an early one in baby poo (Harvest Gold), whilst a family friend had a new one every three years replaced by assorted Maestros (even a VDP with talking dash!), followed by a dull Rover 45, Honda thingy, she still thrashed the poor thing by redlining the engine in each gear!

I had one of these and as a first car. It leaked oil but otherwise was bullet proof. The oil filter was vulnerable stuck low on the front and the suspension need pumping=but the best car I ever had.

Remember growing up, we had three 1750 maxis, my dad loved how they convert from a family car to a load carrier, holidays,days out,shopping, to and from work, Sun,Rain Snow The Maxi never stopped, Brilliant car.

The thing I really remember about the Maxi was the possible bed in the back - oh and the 5th gear!

My grandad had a vermilion Austin Maxi just like this. This is like being 5 again - just for a moment

Wow...I'm so glad this video popped up on my feed...I'm subscribing straight away! You've a future in TV I reckon mate...brilliant, interesting, informative - and for someone of my age, reminiscent! 😂 Can't wait to watch your other videos

.A great review of this great car. I'm the proud owner of a 1980 1750 HLS in similar condition to the one in the video. You're right, they were massively underrated. Keep up the good work. Your reviews are eloquently delivered and you obviously research your facts well. Well done!

That’s a lovely looking Maxi - looks great in bright orange!

I had one of these, same colour as the video. Once did a trip from Northampton to John 'O' Groats - 630 miles. The engine used a lot of oil, needed topping up every morning. I was with a mate and we did try out the sleeping arrangements. It was okay, but we were a lot younger then, and could have slept anywhere.

Hi mate been following your channel for some time now with great interest this is a good indepth review of a really good car one of the best to come out of Leyland in the seventies.. Keep them reviews coming 👍👍

I had a beige 1500 for a while, great workhorse 👌🏻

Fantastic car and fantastic review. Lucky enough to own one, also a Princess and Allegro.

Wow, that's service for you, thanks for the Maxi review. I agree completely with your sentiments and heartily hate the British for not buying this car in vast quantities instead of American crap with a blue oval. Had they done so, Leyland could have afforded to iron out the last quality problems (and would have done so). The British killed their own car industry and the unions were a result, not the cause of that.

A great review of a great car, my first car was a Maxi and second was a new Maxi 2 HLS, never economical but really comfortable and roomy.

Great review. I had four Maxis from 1969 through to the 1980s . I loved them all doing a quite high annual mileage. Problems apart from that gearchange (though I was lucky enough to have one automatic ) were common to that motoring era .........poor paintwork , rattling trim and dodgy undersealing . One unique problem was a voracious appetite for destroying water pumps ....the bearing was rubbish . Happy days . Thanks for review .

Renault 16 didn’t feature a 5 speed box until 1973 , 4 years after Maxi launch

The early gear change was cable driven and terrible. Later, they fixed it

Another good video. I had a '73 one in 1984 for about 12 months. It was a 1750 4 Speed auto and in truth accelerated and cornered better than my late Rover 2000 sc. The shame was it was so ugly. Totally agree that the Maxi was so advanced in concept when it first arrived. Ruined by management decisions and Alex Iss that came to plague BMC. The car probably arrived slightly too early for the Brit public but their other cars available at the time were either antiquated owing design to the 50s or equally ugly like the 1800 and 3L. Such a shame the Maxi should have been a winner.

Well researched and delivered with some good opinions from a Young 'Un. Well done! I worked on the 1750 TC carburetter tuning as a BL Apprentice. We used the A38 from Rednal to Lydiate Ash on the M5 as a test-track. We kept putting in different main jets until it would pull cleanly up the hill to Rubery. then off to Gaydon for the final sign-off. The 1750 OHC engine was good for its day and never seemed to me to get the recognition it deserved. Issigonis should have put the gearbox on the end though as the Golf had done by mid-1974.... There was enough room under that bonnet and even in the Allegro, but he seemed to cling on to the gears-in-the-sump idea for too long. It made it compact, and clutch changes simple, but servicing the box meant the engine had to come out and the gear change always too bothersome. Very good interior packaging though and I wish my modern cars had this much visibility.

At my age? yes i love the Austin Maxi.

Great review. A 5 speed hydraulic suspended OHC hatchback. I never realised the original MINI clubman front end is the same theme as the MAXI. Someone must line two of these cars up as a comparison. Hit the nail on the head about replacing the 'plughole of doom' with a blue oval....

It seems strange having a young man telling me about the cars i drove when i was a young man.However ,he does such a good job of it i have subbed.Keep up the good work.

I have only very recently discovered (and subscribed to) your channel. A lovely review of a cracking motor car. I had two Maxis in the 80s. A 1978 blue 1750 Maxi 1 with brown vinyl interior and a red 1750 Maxi 2 with tan velour interior. Both cars were lovely although the seating on the later Maxi was even more comfortable that the earlier model. I must confess, however, to preferring the Maxi 1 steering wheel and general look of the dashboard with the chrome rims round the dials. The Maxi 2 lost the chrome rims and gained the corporate Leyland steering wheel as on the Metro. I sometimes took the Maxi 2 onto the Army training area. It was a great load carrier and not bad on the rough tracks. It even got camouflaged on several occasions! I really wish I still had one of them. They are spacious, comfortable and still good for modern motoring and yet retain a wonderful classic charm. Maybe something I might look for at some stage?

I had two Maxi's harvest gold and pageant blue both great for the time brilliant ride

I was at my local Morrisons petrol station last week and i seen this beautiful cream colour Austin Maxi and i complemented the guy that the car was beautiful for its age! ❤️🙏🏽 lovely car. Im 26 but i wish this was my first car!

Thank you for this, I always thought that there was something wrong with me because I actually liked the Maxi. I had 2, the first was an older, and to be fair, very tired, one, but the second one, a 1750 HL, was newer and I ran it for a few years. As you say there is loads of space in them, and they were an incredibly comfortable car to travel in. The 5th gear was an overdrive, which helped with the economy on long drives, as well as reducing the engine noise at motorway speeds. It's main attraction for me was the versatility of it's space, it had a good sized boot, and with the seats folded down you could move large items, although I must confess that I never tried sleeping in it (neither have I heard of anyone who tried the bed out). Surprised that it's actually smaller than the current Fiesta, it just goes to show how much bigger cars are nowadays.

My dad had an automatic version, it was one of my favourite cars we owned due to its size and comfort. He also had an Avenger. Good British cars, designed by humans not a computer/wind tunnel. Cars used to have character!

Check out the classic forgotten film 'Deadly Strangers' with Hailey Mills and Simon Ward, on RU-vid, with plenty of Maxi action with added Cord action. Why didn't I buy that original 1750 HL back in 2012. Bum…

Another very good video the maxi was an odd but very good car, at motor cycling events at club level the 2 most popular vehicles in the paddock were ford Transits and Austin Maxi's you could carry your race bikes in the van and sleep in it if need be But with the Maxi you could tow your bikes on a trailer with your tent, racing gear and camping gear in the boot if you have to sleep in the car it was so much more comfortable and cleaner in the Maxi a very good and reliable car