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® The Hillmann Husky |
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A Versatile
and Inexpensive vechicle
wich in |
| Whereas most British car manu- facturers now offer estate car models as more costly alternatives to their saloon productions, the Rootes Group are unique in making an estate car the lowest- priced model in their range. The popularity of the Hillman Husky in its original form seemed fully to confirm their view that buyers of low-priced cars are more than normally appreciative of an estate car's practical merits, so especial interest attaches to this re-designed "second edition" of the Husky. To owners of earlier Huskys, it may safely be said that this new version retains the old "go anywhere, do anything" character in full, but adds to it additional performance, roomier bodywork and In Brief Price: £465 plus purchase tax £233 17s. |
imensely improved all-round refinement of running. Now incorporating the latest engineering practice of the Hillman factory, this new Husky is appreciably bigger than hitherto, with an overhead- valve engine of 1,390 c.c. replacing a side- valve unit of 1,265 c.c., and with two more inches in the wheelbase to accommodate roomier bodywork, although the width overall is slightly reduced. In comparison with the Hillman Minx from which it derives many components, however, the new Husky remains a more compact vehicle, 10 inches shorter in the wheelbase and with two-door instead of four-door bodywork. Compact enough to provide extra ease of parking or turning round in confined spaces, the Husky with its blunt stern now offers very genuine four-man seating capacity and a sub- stantial luggage capacity, or when the rear seat is folded forward out of harm's way it becomes a two-seater van which can carry a very substantial amount of goods. Although its makers have most empha- tically not set out to make this a fast car, the ample size of engine and modest unladen weight have given it very pleasing liveliness. Figures which illustrate this are top gear acceleration from 20 m.p.h. to 40 m.p.h. in 10.8 sec., acceleration from rest to 50 m.p.h. through the gears in 17.8 sec., and a timed maximum speed of 71.4 m.p.h. as a mean of runs in opposite directions. In performance and |
carrying capacity, the Husky at £465 (with purchase tax, ,£698 17s.) represents very obvious value for money. Very much quieter and better sprung than the preceding model, this estate car now compares well in refinement with orthodox saloons of equivalent cost. Cruised at 50 m.p.h. or so, it is pleasantly quiet, and whilst pushing the cruising speed up to a comfortable 65 m.p.h. appreciably raises the general noise level as well as the fuel consumption, much the same can be said of other comparably priced cars. What background of sound there is at high speeds seems to be com- pounded of engine, road and wind noises without any one item being especially conspicuous. Auxiliary leaves in the rear springs being provided to cater for heavy loads, this new Husky rides in an unexpectedly soft fashion when running as a private car with only two people in it, and corre- spondingly shows appreciable roll when cornering. Most-of the time, it rides very comfortably indeed, and a rear seat passenger can endorse this praise, in- feriority of this model to the longer wheel- base Minx lying in occasional rather bouncy response to awkward combina- tions of bumps or waves in a road surface. Badly surfaced farm tracks hold no terrors for this car. Whilst the initial flexibility of the springing, and a slight lack of mechanical |
