IDRIVEACLASSIC reviews: 1970s Austin Allegro 

You often hear the complaints about the styling of the Allegro, barrel sides, dumpy pudding, bonnet line far too high etc. But look at the newer German cars like the Audi A1 and Mercedes A class; they are exactly the same shape! They have big high bonnets and the A1 even has side windows the same as the Allegro. There is nothing wrong with the Allegro's shape as such, but the lack of a hatch and the frontal design, small inset headlights etc, did make it look like it had a chubby face. They are clearly well engineered and capable of long life, and the suspension is amazing. The main problem was the competition from the VW Golf which ushered in the era of very practical cars with sharp edged styling.

Nice to see there are some of these left being looked after and used!

Dear Steph, this video is really striking the inner chords of this very melancholic and nostalgic heart of mine... My grandad had three Allegros in a row through the years...first a series one in what I think was a very common BL azure/light blue, similar to the Rover P6 Corsica Blues, followed by a very brown 2-door series 2, and then by a series 3 HL in the same light blue (this one had by then the Austin-Rover blue badge). They were very nice, softly-sprung, spacious, comfortable cars; and they were certainly not worse than any of the competition. Ohhhh, the memories...… Thank you!!!!

Steph, I have never commented on one of your videos before, though have watched most of them, but I have to say that this one was thoroughly enjoyable and made me chuckle a lot, not because I find the Allegro hilarious (I have a VP 1750 auto) but the section with you and Josh discussing the virtues and otherwise of the Allegro and Marina was pure joy to watch. For me the star of the video was not the Allegro (which was great) but Josh himself. You really must feature him more often as he is so funny without intending to be. The irony of course is that you reverse the polarity of the discussion from the usual 'which was the worst' in Clarkson style (sorry for even typing that name!) to which do we like the best and that's so much more appropriate and nice to listen to. I enjoyed so much I watched it twice back to back. Lovely stuff indeed. All the best to you both and your chariots.

OOOH Steph! First Hubnut does the P76, now a couple of day later you do an Allegro. So much Leyland Fun, I'm like a kid with a belly full of red lollies. Whoopee!

7 years of daily driving? It's stood up very well, looks really tidy! There are plenty of modern cars in far worse shape! It's a real credit to Josh!

Not only is Steph very knowledgeable but she's very nice to look at as well. Cuteness overload!

Another great video, enjoy seeing these unique cars that never appeared this side of the Atlantic, and so enjoy seeing the British towns and countryside when you take us along for the drive! 🇨🇦👍

Had an Allegro as the 2nd car after I passed my test in the 1980's and loved it at the time, never let me down. First car was an 1800TC burgundy Marina 😁, that was awesome too.

Another great video review. My late mum-in-law had the estate model and was kind enough to let me drive it on many occasions. Wonderful memories😊😊xx

Thank you Steph and Josh for letting us see this lovely classic Allegro, Looking forward to seeing more of it in near future

I'm also imaging some sort of Smith & jones face-to-face video about the Marina Vs Allegro.....

I was a car crazy teenager when the Allegro was launched. I vividly remember first seeing the pictures and technical description in Autocar magazine. It looked a lot more modern than just about anything else in its class. It was underpowered and had fairly basic equipment levels but it was not much different from most other cars of the time. The quadratic steering wheel was a rather odd choice though. Of course, it suffered from all the usual BL issues which didn't help its case one little bit. Overall it was a perfectly adequate car but with "Marmite" styling. That was the biggest problem, it was adequate at best. The other problem was that it was never developed over its lifetime. By the time the Maestro came along it was woefully outdated. As a classic car it fairs somewhat better. Cheap, very simple, loads of parts still available, and a great talking point. Most people that criticise the car now would never have driven one. They are no worse to drive than any of it's contemporaries. Personally I would complain more about Vauxhall Vivas, or Ford escorts. But then, given the choice I would have bought a Citroën GS which probably says more about me than anything. Good reviewSteph. Looking forward to more in the future. Thanks.

Excellent series of videos Steph. You do an amazing job and I am amazed at your knowledge of these old English cars. Keep up the good work.

This is very enjoyable channel. I like this natural style of making. An interview gives an owners view and a test drive gives another.

I loved the Allegro back in the 1970s and I still love it now.

Love your very informative videos and your enthusiasm and passion for classics.

I've always had a soft spot for the Allegro. My dad briefly owned a chocolate brown one in the very early 80s. I remember I loved sitting in the front and loved the shape of it then. I think that's why I'm still fond now. I'd love to own one. Great video again Steph😁👍

Great video Steph! The Allegro should have left behind all the silly stories years ago. The styling is pretty smart and the suspension is very comfy. Plus you get the wonderful old BL gear whine. Really enjoyed watching this and you two are great together on screen!

Enjoyed that. Josh should not hold back either, his tech considerations and observations are very interesting. All the best.

Steph & Josh thank you both very much for sharing this nice car with us. The fun you too have on camera is a joy to watch. Have fun and stay healthy!

As a very young lad in the 70's I always fantasized about owning one of these cars. It looks in very good condition. Thanks, Steph for posting!

Managed to sneak in to a launch party for the Allegro at a local garage, all those years ago. Ah... the memories. Many thanks Steph and Josh.

Hi steph always look forward to your classic car reviews the allegro for its age is in really good shape a credit to josh take care both of you :)

Enjoyed the video as always ! I had an allegro for a short few weeks after I crashed my metro ! I once hit a bump mid corner and the noise it made I thought the wheel had fallen off !! I remember that the heater was excellent the seats comfy and the interior Very brown... Great to see any car that has survived this long . Keep up the good work. Thanks

Love seeing survivor cars in every day use. And if you're going to drive an Allegro, Harvest Gold is the only colour! Great review, a channel that's going from strength to strength.

Always enjoy your videos Steph. I had an Austin A40 Farina then progressed to a " modern " Montego which I kept for 18 years

Another great film Steph. I'm no Allegro fan but am a massive fan of your films. Josh is becoming a little bit of a hero too!

Very entertaining and informative video by two very charming hosts. I look forward to watching the rest of your videos.

Great video Steph, my Nan had an R Reg 1.3 Super Deluxe and a 1980 Allegro 3 1.3HL Auto, neither of which gave her any trouble. Great news about Josh adding some mechanical content too, really looking forward to that 😀

Hi there Steph and I’d like to say what a joy it is to watch your channel. You present each car with a certain amount of love and enthusiasm lacking in other channels. As far as the Allegro is concerned, I loved it and had one for a while, great little vehicle and a very much underrated car for its time. It should have had a better reception. Great video, as always I am a child of the 60’s and my parents didn’t have a vast income and as a result we were introduced to an eclectic array of cars. I remember the joy as a young child of sitting in the box behind the rear seats of one our many VW beetles, we also had a selection of Morris Minors, a Maxi 1750 (yellow), Austin 1300 (red), Mk 6 Jag (aubergine) Triumph 2000 Mk1 (aubergine) with a straight 6 engine (which I learnt to drive in). As a result of my dads eclectic but by en large British Leyland cars I followed suit and started a long and as bizarre car owning journey. My first car was a Austin 1300 GT (orange with a brown vinyl roof), this car was followed by a long gap in vehicle ownership as I moved to London. My next car was a Austin Allegro (dull orange) which I loved to pieces. Then I bought myself a non UK car, sorry Steph but it was equally quirky, a Yugo 313 (white) for £3000 brand new, it was 1989! (this was very cheap for a new car, trust me. British new car prices dropped dramatically in the late 1990’s). I drove the car for over 3 years without a single issue, oh and it was fast, this was before motorway speed cams, and car crash crumple zones !!! I’ll say no more. After this masterpiece of Italian/communist collusion I bought an Austin Maestro with talking dash (metallic green), whilst I loved driving this car and took it on many long distance trips the length and breadth of Britain I didn’t keep it for much longer than a year. My next car was the tiny polish built Fiat 126 BIS (orange), this was the hatchback version. Whilst incredible fun it just wasn’t reliable enough to hold on to, but oh how I loved this car, it was little go cart, and I think with perhaps with the exception of my current car it had the best road holding of any car I’ve ever had, period. Summer called and I bought myself the worst car I have ever owed, the dreadful Dacia Duster, soft top (Blue). This was not the modern reliable version built on Renault technology, no it was the original communist Romanian military inspired piece of rubbish with the Renault 12 engine. The engine and gearbox where the only good thing about it, a cloud hangs over my car ownership with this one, though it was a hot summer that year and it was fun to drive this completely un-nickable car in central LONDON (no one in their right mind would have wanted to steel this thing). Having said that I did manage to offload it onto to some equally unsuspecting person same as me within a few months. You might have thought I would have learnt my lesson, nope, not a hope. My next purchase was the fabulous Fiat 900 Amigo (pop roof camper, white). This was taken for a five week long holiday to Scotland and the islands (from London), what a holiday which wouldn’t have been possible without this amazing classic. Winter came and it was sold for a late 1980’s Kia Pride LX (metallic blue), not much good to say about this car except that it proved to be very very reliable. From anonymity to budget bland, I had a mortgage by this point I went for cheap but reliable again, the next car was a Skoda Favorite (Mk2) 1.9 (pre turbo) diesel, what a tank. Whist the car was reliable and very economical the vibration from the engine use to make me feel sick, so it had to go ASAP. Next was a Chrysler Neon Mk1 (dark green), my first automatic, I loved the car but it was very thirsty so it had to go after 6 months. Then came the completely soulless Seat Ibiza Mk2 (black), I ran that car for couple of years until I went sideways into another Skoda, this time the Favorite 1.2 HTP (black). Whilst this was not very much to write home about it was reliable, economical (58MPG) and easy to drive. Then came my time to go a little crazy and I bought a Smart ForTwo Passion Mk2 (Metallic frame with Blue body panels). The Smart was another favorite of mine but not my employer! I needed to transport clients and as this car was a two seater I was only able to hold onto this car for a year, SAD FACE:( Next came a jump up the car ownership ladder with a move into a Mercedes A140 (red) A great little car and I ran it for a couple of years until boredom hit with the need for quirky taking hold again. Hence came the next choice, a Peugeot 1007 (metallic green). This was a car that I loved and drove for nearly 9 years, pure joy. Despite the reputation they had for unreliability, especially the door not working, non of it was true. Unfortunately, the car was hit and written of by a lorry whilst it was parked, shame. Now l get to my current car, or should I say cars which are a Volvo C30 2ltr diesel auto (red) and a Citroen Berlingo Multispace Auto (Metallic blue). However, I think the green in me will push me towards my next car being electric once the charging network improves, sorry for that Steph. Keep the videos coming, when its safe to do so, don’t get to board. We’ll all look back on the spring/summer of 2020 as a strange time and hopefully not to many of will loose a loved on. Mike x

I always remember my grandad loving these things, and despite what the reputation of these things the one’s he had never let him down and always remember them being very comfy and warm in winter, as always the British media came into play probably without trying it out properly

Excellent video! My first (on the road) car was an Allegro, Russet Brown 1100 Deluxe 2-Dr R-Reg. Loved that car!

What a great car and fab road test. Thanks for running through the gears, love that traditional Austin wine noise.

Just found your videos Steph...love them! Can't wait to watch more

Tell your boyfriend to retrofit a flexi-pipe just after the bend under the manifold. Fairly cheap from parts suppliers, often just a clamp fit (cut out the section that won't be clamped, obviously) and this should pretty much take that torque strain off the manifold clamp. I had an orange estate version, 1.3 I think, many years ago. The three door estate was an exceptionally good car, a Morris Minor Traveller replacement in terms of usefulness and what is I believe, an iconic profile. As an apprentice mechanic when these were current models, I remember only too well the horror the styling received when first revealed. My own recollection of the rear wheel failures was that, unlike the previous model (ADO16?), this one had adjustable rear bearings and not tighten up tight ones. So, they were wanged up tight, got red hot and fell off! We had some very vivid colours in those days, to jush up fairly cost cutting trim levels. This little car was blessed with one of the less OTT schemes... there was bright orange, lime green, etc on later examples from memory.

Thank you, another brilliant review Steph, hope you do more filming with Josh, the pair of you work really well together, and as ever you are a breath of fresh-air in what can sometimes be a rather stale preservationist world.

Josh's knowledge and enthusiasm is great. I need some seat covers like those for my car

Great video, as always. Love seeing these cars that we did not get in Canada. Interesting review. Kudos to Josh for driving it regularly. Does make me wonder about real long term durability, as I drive nearly twice in one year the amount he has put on the Allegro in 7 years.

Josh is a lovely fella Steph and he’s got a lovely Allegro too, all the very best ❤️

I learnt to drive in a Marina in 1979 so I recognize that steering wheel only too well! And I owned a Maxi in 1982, and yes, it too had that wheel. Excellent video again, keep up the good work!!

I'd love to drive one. I remember seeing lots of these when I was a child in the mid 70's and 80's. Great video.

Great review, evoking many memories of my first car, a 1.3 in white, 1976 P reg.

i owned an Allegro in the 70s with a rectangular steering wheel, honestly one of my all time faves!

That was smashing steph, great content and very easy to watch. Stay safe.

Liked that! You are so lucky to have a Allegro and a Marina in your life 🤗 stay safe Steph!

Had a few rides in the Allegro back in the day.. The thing that sticks in my memory is how comfortable the seats were.... Basically like a new comfy sofa... In velour too!

My Dad bought one of these at the same time I had an Alfasud. The 'Sud was so much nicer to drive, but of course the rust was appalling. The Allegro wasn't as bad as people made out, just a bit dull as a new car. Today, it's great to see one at all. Love those seat covers!

I had an Allegro 1300 super. Had no complaints about it at all and really loved how comfortable it was. Reliable and lovely to drive.

Thats a 70s colour for sure! Love your videos Steph 🙂

Awesome 😎. Love the early dash and small instrument binnacle. Look forward to see more on the car. Say safe. 👍

Great video, as always. :-) my brother had an estate version in blue, borrowed it lots, never had any trouble with it. My brothers mate at the time had a scimitar gte in blue with silver stripe. My brother Tony said to him the allegro looked like a mini version of the scimitar, :-) he sold his scimitar the following week. :-) :-) I loved that allegro, full of character. I myself owned a Rover P5 reg number LNX 755E rare straight six engine with proper planetary overdrive. No synchro mesh on first gear, super smooth engine, at traffic lights I tended to blip the throttle it was so quiet i thought it had stalled. :-) 15mpg was scary, had twin fuel tanks, opened via a pull cable via the boot. Loved that car, best car I have ever driven to be honest. :-) thanks for vid, vinny.

Thank you both, another great video.

Fantastic video! Love the paint color!

I have believe it or not, owned Two Allegros in the States. Both imported from the UK by Me! Yes, I went through the effort Twice! My first was a 1979 Estate in sandglow and the second was a series 3 1.3HL in denim blue

Lovely video again Steph, a friend had an allegro in the 80's. All I remember about it was its fantastic heaters, compared to my mere minis excuse for heat. So the redesign to accommodate that was worth it 😋

Well I learned a lot about the Allegro so thank you both 👍

Great video, brings back memories of my dad's allegro. though my dad's was a 1500 cc. Thanks for the good memories...I love the shape of the hexagonal instrument panel, my dad's had the quartic steering wheel

Another great review Steph. Pity about the lighting on the dash dials there. Get yourself a breakfast cereal box, fold it flat so the cardboard is double thickness and it will act as a shade when the light or the sunshine is starting to obscure what you want us to see.

I love the reassuring sound of the A series engine and transmission. Great work Steph Pete 🇬🇧

What a lovely couple ☺️, I have an Austin Allegro 1100 DL , it's my every day drive , I love it

Got to love an allegro ! Our old neighbour had a bright orange one , good video steph ,you two look happy together 😊

Brilliant! Not only do I get to see your beautiful smile, you're in an Allegro! My first driving lessons were in an Allegro 1100, (in the same colour, Harvest Gold!) with the 'Quartic' steering wheel! I've driven several since then, and tried to write off a Volvo artic with a 1750, which didn't go well! But I'm still here! :-) BL, or BMC vehicles had no more or no less problems than any other manufacturer of that era, despite what all the rumours say! I did wonder why there was no five-door estate though, based on the four-door saloon. Lovely video though Steph, thank you! And I loved both my Marina's! :-)

Great video Steph! We had two of these when I was a kid. The engine failed on the first one after a couple of years. The exhaust fell off on the second!

My grandad drove one,same colour as that, drove it for yrs,had a small accident unfortunately and was off the road,it sat in a field for about 10 yrs,the amazing thing was the paintwork never faded one iota, it kept it's lustre and shine even though it's soul had went on to the scrapyard in the sky.......

Great video you two 😂. I do like this Allegro. It doesn't look too bad, and pleased you've got plans for it.

That A-series sounds so familiar. My gran had an A-reg Metro 1.3L. That first gear noise is heavenly to my ears. They also start so quickly when warm too!

Thanks guys for showing this little gem I love old cars and bl cars are no exception love the sound of that a series really enjoyed this video cheers and stay safe.

Another great classic car review, loved your laugh when Josh was telling the story about the wheels coming off, made me smile.

Had three allegros in the 70s(one from new).always found them reliable1 and rust free.i remember paying £25.00 for a full service in '75 so they weren't dear to run.always loved that colour in your video!

I had a Mk2 poo brown 1300 Allegro back in the late 80s and it was a great car and it was still as good as new as my auntie who gave it to me was the original owner and rarely used so was extremely low mileage when I got it and found it very reliable. I also had the 1300 Mk2 Escort which would of been the Ford equivalent and the good old allegro trounced it in every way apart from the gear change.

Oh same year as my first car.. Mini clubman 1100. Great vid. Was speaking to Pete C of cortina city. He is happy for you to review his cortinas once lockdown is over. You should do a lockdown interview? All this retro 70s car stuff is making me wish I had my first car back 😀👍

My 1978 bogey green Allegro 1300SDL (with 4 headlights taken from a more upmarket model) was my very first car in 1990, and I loved it.

Love the videos Steph, keep up the good work.

Great to see some survivors. I actually had the pleasure of being a passenger in two basic versions, but never a two-door or estate. I doubt rather whether people still mock them. The under 40s mostly don't remember these cars, so that's two generations, and generally there is respect out there for any classic regardless of condition. Thanks for posting.

Really enjoyed this review. Reminiscing of spending time as a kid in my Uncle's Rust coloured Allegro, which he then traded for a beige Ital (I'm sure it was the same colour combo as Jill) love to see an Ital vid.

Really good to see a daily driver that's been used and not abused thankyou Steph.

I was a kid in my Dad’s Allegro when a rear wheel fell off. Slow speed going round a roundabout so no-one hurt. Sadly there were deaths linked to this early fault and I think BL got sued. We are talking the really early cars - ours was one of the first, 1974. Great channel.

The All-agro. Classic. Quite innovative at the time. Lovely channel. New here. Well done. Good inspiration for my fledgling posts. Thank you!

Fantastic video, my favourite classic car!

Enjoyed the video, good to see people like yourself driving it and looking after it. I quite like that dumpy shape and the stylish front grille . Thumbs up 👍 from me . Enjoy it

Another great Film Steph, enjoyed this brought some memories back, passed my test in a 1300 allegro back in 1980, then a few years later bought a 1500 Super c/w the " square " steering wheel. It was a good car but went through ball joints for fun, leaked in the foot well, but overall enjoyed it, but fell out with BL and went to ford.

Lovely stuff, really enjoyed that. Took me back as I learned to drive on my dad's 1500 Super in delicious Sandglow, we loved the car (other than the boot which was pretty awful). Very reliable too, never let us down.

Another brilliant review Steph, thanks. Looking forward to seeing future videos during the lockdown here in Ireland. Also, as someone who owned 3 x BL Princesses (and foolishly didn't keep them!), I'd love to see a review of one at some stage in the future please.

My stepmother had a series of Allegros when I was a kid so I've always had a soft spot for them. They weren't the best cars but they did a job and I remember them fondly. That being said I'll take a 1750ss anyday now that's a great looking Allegro. Thanks for the vid Steph.....and Josh. As as I mentioned better than a Roller or an E type 😉👍

My dad had one in 70’s and early 80’s. Drove it many times including taking my first driving test in it(failed). Lovely little car with fond memories and Quartic steering wheel.

My friend had one of these. Seem to remember seeing estate versions around as well

Enjoyed the review, I had a metallic brown 1300 from 1978 to 82 and pulled a 5 birth Minster Huntsman caravan with it . Always thought it should have been a hatchback.

hi steph love this video keep em coming you are great you are a legend on classic carscene

Had a 1976 Allegro 1300 SDL Auto in Harvest Gold a few years ago. Always very reliable and never let me down. A neighbour had a BMW something or other at the time, and couldn't resist making fun of the Allegro's reputation for 'unreliability' at every opportunity. Right up to the point where his BMW's vanos failed and lunched his engine. I'm still laughing my socks off now.

Yes, I have to concur with all the other posters . . . love the video, and the Allegro! So 1970s especially in that mustard color. I was recently watching old episodes of "The Sandbaggers", and caught at least one driving around Malta. Love the BL cars!!!!

Why do i like the Austin Allegro so much ? Nice vid Steph..as usual.

Driven only a few of these. Decent enough in their day. Very tinny and rusted rather quickly. I think I remember driving a VP model which always seemed better made. I've driven, worked on and MOT'd just about all of the cars you've tested. Great videos. Keep up the good work.

Nice to see that this Allegro is locally-registered, and originally bought and sold in Blacklers in Paignton (now a second-hand car dealership)

Allegro was my first car, purchased from my grandfather. I think it was a 1500, but we managed to get it up to 105 mph on the M3 back in the mid eighties. Fond memories.

YYYYEEEESSSSS!!!!!!!!!! I've been waiting so long for this! Thank you ❤️ hope you're keeping well Steph 😁

I personally like the Allegro and have done since i was a kid and i'm in my 50s now. I have had 2 a 1.5 LE and latter a 1.3l Estate Allegro 3. I had the Estate for about about 5 years from 1989 to 1994. I did have quite a number of problems with it but to be honest it was rather long in the tooth by the time i bought it. It was my every day car and i used it for traveling too and from work, i went all over the country with it from scotland Lake District to South Whales. The main problem i had was excessive oil use i did change out the engine eventually and it was just the same. i did hear that they had issues with oil control ring on the pistons, or valve stem oil seals god knows Haha However i own a New i10 now and i love it but there are times when i wish i had my old Allegro 3 back. Your friends seems in great condition thanks for sharing guys. Stay Well. Darren (:

I want one. Love the three door estate version. Josh is a lucky man. And he has that Allegro as well! Nice Vid. ;-)

I love seeing the cars I only saw on TV in the 70's.

Nice video , My old man used to fit the windscreens in these in the 70's