Leyland Marina

Introduction

We have covered the Marina in serveral articles here on Unique Cars and Parts, but we felt it appropriate to share what the motoring press thought back in 1972. The following article is a condensed version of what appeared in Modern Motor - and this when the car was brand new and, in theory at least, had not had time to develop any substantial faults. But in reading the article, it seems unbelievable that the road-testers discovered the left wiper arm was fitted to the right side - and visa-versa. Even when correcting the fault, they spent more time bending the arms to provide a proper "sweep" so they could remain safe. That such measures were required on a brand new car, and one given to the press no less, spoke volumes for British build quality in the 1970s. To discover what went wrong with the British Car Industry, you do not need to look much further than the Marina.

The Future of Leyland Australia

The future of Leyland Australia rests with two models - the Marina and the still-secret V8. The V8 is still at least 12 months away, but on the Marina alone, the company must be rated back in the active market and ready for a long, hard fight. A stark contrast to BL products to date, the Marina is strictly conventional. And this is the very format it needs for success on the Australian market. In concept, the Marina parallels the Light Medium offerings of The Big Three and the Japanese cars - both locally assembled and fully imported. This group holds the entire four-cylinder Light Medium market.

The Marina is powered by a four-cylinder engine mounted conventionally for front-engine rear-wheel-drive on a 96 in. wheelbase and 52 in. tracks. The overall body is 13ft 10in by 5ft 4.3in and 4ft 7in high. You know the Marina's opposition well - Torana 1600 OHC, Cortina 1600, Hillman Hunter and Valiant Galant, Datsun 1600, Toyota Corona, Mazda Capella - and a couple of outsiders - Renault 12TK and VW 1600 fastback. All these cars are built on wheelbases between 95 and 97 in. - except the Cortina which is stretched to 101 in. All of them are within inches on track widths, and overall body dimensions are also quite similar. All except the Hillman Hunter and Renault 12 use 1600cc engines, and they all locate them in a conventional drive-line layout. Which means the Marina conforms - unlike the Morris 1500 which it replaces.

Conformity has evened the score for Marina in vital areas of comparison with its competitors. Handling, ride and general comfort fit the pattern of the big volume sellers in this area, the interior is visually similar and important areas like steering and transmission feel the same. This is important in a market area built on conformity - people just don't like the "funny car" feeling of a bus-driver wheel that steers a heavy cumbersome front-end with a big turn-circle, and lots of feedback and reaction, and they don't like nasty, notchy gearboxes. The car is also competitive on performance and fuel economy.

And price-wise, it's right in there and fighting too. The Super Deluxe four-door sedan costs $2590 basic and $2650 with the 1750 engine. Here's how its competitors shape up: Hunter $2533, Datsun $2484, Torana $2525, Mazda $2525, Corona $2299, Cortina $2570, and Renault $2598. The VW 1600 Fastback ($2730) compares with the Super Deluxe Coupe at $2490 or $2550 with the 1750 engine. The official release date for the Marinas is April 7, but Leyland Australia gave us pre-release access to cars so we could rush you early tests. This was particularly significant to us  because in one simple step the company had achieved what the Big Three have failed to do for years. As a result, we drove the entire range. We ran a full test with plenty of mileage covering all conditions on the four-door Super Deluxe sedan with 1 750 engine and automatic transmission - the car Leyland Australia expects to be the volume seller at $2910 (or $2650 in manual form).

But we also drove the "price leader" of the range - the basic Marina Coupe Deluxe with both 1500 engine ($2350) and 1750 engine ($2410). This car represents good value-f or-money in terms of performance, although the interior is rather Spartan. Finally, we drove the topliner - the Super Deluxe Coupe with twin carbs (TC) which runs out to $2775. It proved to be the charmer of the range with the same specifications as the luxurious sedan but more performance. The 1750 sedan wasn't quite as sparkling - as the performance times in our comprehensive test chart show. But it was up to par with its competitors who turned in 0-50 acceleration times between 9.4 sees and 12.9 in manual form. The auto 1750 sedan scored a 12.6 and knocked 1.8 seconds off that in manual form. And 10.8 is quite respectable.

Irrespective of performance, both cars look the goods. The Marina sedan is typically British conservative - clean, crisp modern lines with no gimmicks, no dress-up pizzazz. The Coupe shows flair - not the trendy, market-leading type, but a restrained stylishness that clearly identifies its youth-image identifications. The whole thing works. The cockpit is roomy, comfortable, well laid out and modern. It is relaxingly functional without being dreary. And the visibility standards are excellent. Seating position is high with good road view and no serious blind spots despite the inclusion of quarter vents. The rear vision mirrors exploit the big glass areas very satisfactorily (although the exterior mirror is prone to vibration). The rear three-quarter panel which is a big slab on the sedan and bigger on the coupe does not cause serious vision problems in traffic.

First impressions of the through-flow ventilation are very favourable. The car has a higher volume of air admission than any other system we can think of, and is controlled by the dated, but thankfully simple and functional swivel vents. And British Leyland has retained quarter vents to ensure airflow is adequate for hot conditions - which is after all the experience of most Australians. The through-flow vents are included in the latest safety dashboard which runs straight across the front with an instrument binnacle jutting straight up in front of the driver. This places the instruments just below the line of sight - allowing quick and easy readings.

The basic models have only two circular instrument holes - one for a speedo and the other for fuel and temperature gauges. On the Super versions, a third hole for an electric clock is slotted to the right of the other two. On the TC Coupe, this place is taken by a tachometer. All major controls are well-placed with the pedals in good positions for heel-and-toeing. On the automatic model, the brake pedal is too small and too far to the right for easy left foot operation. There is only one switch on the dashboard for a major driving function - the lights (a second switch turns on dash and gear quadrant lights - there is no rheostat).

Dipping is controlled with the indicator stalk on the right. This is also a horn. The turn signal function of the stalk has four positions - a light pressure for lane change signals and a heavier pressure for locking the signals on. They automatically cancel. It is a pity no headlight flasher is provided on this stalk. Headlight reach and spread on high and low beam is satisfactory. On the left side of the steering column is a stalk which controls the washers and wipers. Push down and you get one single sweep of the wipers. Push-up one position for a slow wipe and push-up two positions for a fast sweep.

Press the stalk inwards for the electric washers. Unfortunately, this excellent system controls one of the most badly-designed wiping mechanisms we have ever encountered. When we picked up the test car the wipers were leaving an 8in wide unswept strip right down the right hand pillar - or in the most critical area of driver vision. After a quick look at the wiper arms, it was obvious some gremlin in the factory had bolted the wrong arm on the wrong side. Swapping the arms improved the situation - but by no means cured it. We subsequently spent a half-hour with clamps, vices and tools modifying the angles on the wiper aims and eventually had the top of the wiper arm sweeping clean to the pillar and the bottom missing by only an inch-and-a-half.

This situation should have been dealt with by British Leyland engineers - not us - and in any case, the screen design really demands an articulated-type wiper blade which is readily available from local suppliers. Back to the driving position. The steering wheel is small (15 in. diameter) and unnecessarily smooth. Simple serrations as used by most of the local manufacturers would give the driver more grip. But it is certainly pleasant to get in a Leyland vehicle and not have to hunch-over and steer truckie-style. All our test drivers were able to get into an arms-straight and nearly legs-straight position. The seats themselves were quite good. Although not highly shaped, they were soft enough to be like true buckets when you sank into them.

One driver noted the upper cross member in the seat back was right on his shoulder blades and could annoy him on a long trip. All seat coverings were vinyl and proved hot even in normal city use. British Leyland provides location and safety for the Marina driver with an adaptation of their excellent Mini-type centre-lock one-piece seat belt system. The could just be the best one-piece system of all manufacturers for ease of use and adjustment, but the company unfortunately boo-booed on the specification of the webbing lengths on two test cars and it was impossible to tighten the belts fully with the seat right back. Presumably this is an early-run production problem that has been cured.

Even with the front seats well back there is enough leg room in the back for a 6ft 2in. man. Head room was sufficient for him in both the sedan and Coupe versions. Leyland provide three seat belts in the back. You couldn't get three big adults in the back and still be comfortable although three teenage children would be quite comfortable. Examining several of the vehicles brought mixed reactions on the concept of the overall range. Certainly the most expensive Super Deluxe Coupe TC was impressive in performance, specification and price.

But at the bottom end, the Coupe is just a little too naked to be appealing - even at its very attractive price ($2350). You don't get carpets or opening rear windows, the parcels tray is missing, instrumentation is reduced to two dials (speedo and ancillaries), cheaper seat trim and chrome-less door trims are fitted, and (rather sadly) the face level eyeball through-flow vents are missing. This is all designed to create a competitive "price leader" - this is, the figure you will see quoted in the advertisements as "Marina, from ..." While a study of cost-cutting could be a little bit disappointing - driving impressions produced the opposite reaction. Our test crew was impressed with the complete consistency of the range - and that means consistently good.

On The Road

The car handles as neutrally as any family sedan could - in even quite hard cornering neither the nose nor the tail tends to take over. The car just drives around the corner under perfect control with the driver always the master behind the light, smooth steering. Pushed really hard, the front tends to kneel down a bit without vicious plough, and using power on exit will bring the tail around (at least on the 1750cc cars). On dirt, the car is fast and stimulating. It is relatively free from axle hop, and wheel tramp and it stays firmly on line when committed.

The steering shows some deficiencies on gravel surfaces because of the unnecessarily low gearing - four turns lock to lock. This rules-out fast corrections. But it is beautifully isolated from the road surface - completely free of any reaction, and almost lacking in "feel" at times. Even on wide tyres, the car was finger-light to park, indicating the steering could easily be geared-up. You can't say the same for the suspension. It bottoms-out easily enough on very rough surfaces and it transfers a good bit of shock and noise to the passenger compartment. On rough surfaces the ride could best be described as noisy and a little harsh. But it is not uncomfortable. On smooth surfaces, it is up with the best - cornering is free of tyre squeal, and there is minimum transference of tyre, engine and exhaust noise.

The answer to the compromise in ride is probably the road equipment on our test car - it wore radials which upped the handling, but dropped the ride standard and introduced the noise factor. Owners not seeking performance would do well to specify the cross-plies. There are two other areas of noise that we feel deserve comment. The first is the starter motor - which turns over with an unreal grinding of metallic surfaces. Leyland should add silence plates or some sound-proofing because this is a most undignified noise. The second area largely concerns personal preference - but all our test staff commented on it. The exhaust note is completely characterless - a tinny blurt that doesn't reflect either a sporty or pukka image. Surely there's a local supplier who can come up with a quiet, dignified exhaust note.

Transmissions are an area of significant gain for Leyland. Both manual and auto gearboxes are excellent. The manual has longish throws of the four-on-the-floor lever, but it has very exact and clearly defined gates. Reverse is well isolated from accidental selection with a lift-out mechanism. The ratios give 33, 53, 74 and 88 mph maximums. We really got to like the auto during our test. It is the Borg Warner Type 35 - which we've long criticised as one of the most inadequate gearboxes in the world. But BW has done an excellent job with the latest electronics available and the transition from the old gearbox is almost unbelievable.

It is super-responsive in the style of GM's Trirnatic - still easily the best auto box available. But it is not quite as smooth as the Trimatic. There is no hunting, and jabbing the pedal gets a gear instantly - the one you want. With ratios pleasantly spaced for 35 and 55 mph in drive range, the manual lock-out lifted maximums to 42 mph and 69 mph for cornering and other special purposes. But it's rarely necessary to use the box manually. If you do, you'll find Leyland has employed a slotted gate which is just a little bit old fashioned and cumbersome now. It gets a bit of a drag chasing the lever through the zig-zag pattern, although this works quite well for sporty drivers who are using the box for cornering.

For normal round-town driving, it's just a nuisance. Going from first to reverse or park means sorting through half-a-dozen different planes on the selector - a simple lift or squeeze-release would be more effective. And the system falls down at night too when the poorly lit quadrant is impossible to see without peering - and not too precise in feel either. Two often-neglected compartments demand further comment on the Marina. At the front, the engine bay is a remarkable change from typical Leyland practice. It is spacious and well laid out with every service area accessible. Interesting fitments include the sealed radiator system with its spill tank and the optional power booster mounted sideways so it doesn't interfere with accessibility to the engine.

We let half-a-dozen mechanics peep under the bonnet and they couldn't believe the simplicity. "Leyland owners won't recognise their own repair bills," said one, "the labour cost will be cut three hundred percent." The boot is the other area. Also uncharacteristically Leyland in design, it is big and spacious. The spare is tucked in the left wheel well and the fuel filler neck is carefully shrouded in the right wheel well. It will load a lot of luggage.

That is the Marina - the car which Lord Stokes confidently predicted would lift Leyland out of the doldrums. Before we knew price and details of localisation we were inclined to be sceptical. Now we're not. The car has the price, the performance and the potential. Now it's up to the Leyland sales machine.

Article as published in Modern Motor - May 1972