Real Road Test: Reliant Kitten - 848cc economy estate! 

Wow. That equals my 2020 Panda!

I would say in many ways it is better than a Mini, my 850 Mini offered little performance. Wipers do not seem great, ( on the left ).

I always said Ian needs his own T.V channel,so much more interesting than the Clarkeson brigade

They are - Or at least the MkV Cortina is, it has been there at least 20 years. Fairly sure it was there over 15 years or so ago when I took my XR4x4 there to see if they could look at the fuel injection (an Italian tune-up sorted it). Their indifference was underwhelming so I never bothered them again. The Escorts have been there at least 10 years too. Not sure about the Range Rover, that one seems to come and go, so maybe it is the owner's occasional driver.

@@Zadster Shame they’re trapped up there

ooh, an electric Kitten, now that's a car would definitely want!

@@itchywitchy Personally, I prefer an Atomic Kitten... Can't think why.

If it was Wednesday, it could have been me.

@@HubNut If I had that a simple ev conversion would be on the to do list... using G-Wiz bits and lithium batteries for the range...

Mitsubishi Starion, now that is rare!

My uncle and his brothers had the reliant dealership at wednesbury near Walsall was Roy peplow and company they sold reliant motorbikes and were an original UK Hyundai agent

IIRC Mini vans had the same handle.

Yes, it's the whole peninsula

people still do this childish shit? wow...

@@danielmoukli4590 like trolling you mean?

Yup, I've done a 127 Sport. It was incredible.

@@HubNut I'll have to find it

Don't forget that back then 500 quid was a lot of money. That worked out to about 13% more, and for many, that 13% made the difference between buying a new car or buying a used one. I have no idea how the Reliant drove, but we did get the Pony here in Canada. The upper trim level with the larger engine was quite engaging to drive. Even the base car with the 4 speed manual was a bit of alright on the road. Taken for what they were, they were not bad cars at all

@@michaeltutty1540 Granted regarding the economics, although with hindsight I maybe should have added that a) I would have preferred a Mini over the Yugo and Pony if it came to that and b) (although I have not looked their prices up), I would have preferred the reliability of the Japanese vehicles over any of the others - even though they rotted faster.. As I mentioned, the Mini was 500 quid cheaper than the Reliant at it's launch but I couldnt find the price of the Kitten when she was near end of production to compare it again. I DO know that even though the Mini was still beloved by the masses in 1981/2, it was passé and had not reached the cult status it has today, so just another workhorse. I have a Mini and putting a weekly shop in it for four people is an absolute laugh....unless you are one of the passengers who has to get out and walk because there isnt enough room for you after the groceries are stacked on the back seat! I've owned both a 100A Cherry and a 1981 Charade and both were cheap and cheerful little vehicles despite their propensity for dissolving under you like a Disprin in water. Both were basic but reasonably well equipped as Japanese cars of the early 80s were apt to be - as well as very economical to run. I have driven a Yugo around 100 miles and that's enough for me. I drove a Pony back from up north for a mate of mine who had bought it and when he asked me how it went, he did not like my answer. I said two very short sentences - "I'm glad that's over" and "I'm glad it is your vehicle, not mine". It was simply the most miserable trip I had made in a vehicle to that point, although I had not driven the Yugo or a Lada at that time. All I can say is that if the Pony wasn't bad in Canada, then you blokes must have got a different shipment to us down here in New Zealand! The Pony had a lot of potential but was let down so much by poor quality of 1) workmanship, 2) attention to detail and 3) standard of fittings / finish. The one I drove was 5 years old, had 16,000 kilometres (10k miles) on the clock and although the vehicle looked as immaculate as you'd expect it to, it drove like 316,000. The amount of rattles it had was worrying, the dashboard plastic and its constant creaking made a lovely counterpoint to the rattle inside the gear knob, the sun visor kept swinging down into my line of sight, the handbrake button shot off under the dashboard after the first hill-start I did and it lacked any feel in the steering except you knew when you turned the wheel more than five degrees off centre, because the car rolled like a 30 foot boat with a narrow beam. It should have turned me off Korean vehicles for life, but I have owned a Daewoo Cielo that my wife and I bought new and then sold after 6 years (and 85,000km - 52k mikes). I could write up another whole page on that car - a lot good and a similar amount bad - but can sum it up in one line: If you buy cheap, you get cheap.....and I guess that's the same with the likes of the Pony / Yugp / Lada etc.

A Ford Essex v6 in a kitten.. That would've certainly been very lively!

@Lookup2Wakeup quite a few mates more like!

Bit of a handful when wet, and commodious in the rear, but that’s enough about your mates mum.

..she definitely had a scimitar, not sure about the kitten

Because we know our viewers are international...

@@HubNut surely by that logic than subtitles should be utilised for every non English speaking country that watches

..and it was the last truly independent motoring company in Britain before its demise around 2000/2001

Yes, it would calm her down at speed. But she's a bit heavier, so it would further blunt her hill-climbing ability. I think I'd rather keep her as she is.

@@HubNut I've 'talled up' a number of cars, always with results that pleased me. I've found that the extra time you can keep the car accelerating with the engine in it's peak power band outweighs the negative effects, such as a bit slower away from the lights, or on some hills having to drop to second where previously you lugged in third. There will after all be other hills where the different gearing is an improvement, and of course any commercial vehicle is designed to carry bags of cement in the back, and you and I don't do a whole lot of that.

A lot of Reliant's failures were influenced by terrible management. The best director they had was Ray Wiggins who hired Tom Karen for the Design of the Robin, the Kitten, the Scimitar and the Bond Bug. All his designs were very successful. However once Ray Wiggins left the company after the Robin's success, the new management denied Tom Karen's services and decided to stick to the same basics, as we all know the British motoring industry died because they never wanted to change. The Rialto from 1982, despite selling in big numbers was not as well received as the Robin, as it was essentially the same car underneath. Reliant did have the funding to make a more innovative 3 wheeler to keep up with competition, but they decided to not change anything.

@@mrjed6912 Φίλε, όντας ήδη ιδιοκτήτης ενός Austin Morris 1300, του 1969, ενός Rover 214 του 1991, ενός Reliant Riοbin του 1976 και προσφάτως ενός Austin Montego 1,3 του 1988 θα μπορούσα να σου γράφω επί ώρες πόσα αμέτρητα λάθη έχει κάνει η Αγγλική Αυτοκινητοβιομηχανία και αυτήν την στιγμή ομιλούμε μόνο για το παρελθόν! Το Reliant Kitten έπασχε κυρίως από ΠΟΙΟΤΗΤΑ. Παρακολούθησε τα συνομήλικα Γιαπωνέζικα Subaru 600, Suzuki Alto, Honda 360 κ.λπ. Η Reliant επέμεινε στην κατασκευή πλαστικών αμαξωμάτων χωρίς να κερδίζει από αυτά ούτε σε χαμηλότερο κόστος, ούτε σε καινοτόμο σχήμα, ούτε σε παθητική ασφάλεια, Το τρίκυκλο φορτηγάκι Ant, το οποίο είχε τόση επιτυχία στην Ελλάδα δεν είχε συνέχεια! Τα αυτοκίνητά της έμειναν χωρίς εξέλιξη και η κατάληξη ήταν αναμενόμενη, δυστυχώς...

The blue reliant van owner is still after him 😂

Great minds...

Foxanne is heavier, so I'm a little cautious as she already isn't a massive fan of hills...

@@HubNut I remember seeing an article in a kit car magazine year ago about the Tempest which was Fox based. One of the options was a kit with twin SU carbs and a tubular exhaust manifold which was said to give an extra 10hp over standard. That would help with the hills a bit.

It was dated against the competition when it was current was my point. It was trying to compete with cars like the Ford Fiesta and Peugeot 104.

It was a regal

@@Bodgemiester Or to be more precise, a Supervan II or III.