The last time I drove a Contessa was in June 2000. It was comparable to an old 1963 Karmann Ghia I own, only I’d accept that type of driveability from a historic car. But to be fair, the Contessa is really the old Vauxhall Victor that used to grace European roads in the 1970’s and it hasn’t changed since (slap a Hindustani Motors badge on the bonnet and hey presto! We’ve got new car.... I think not) . The thing still drives like a tank!! I can’t deny that it was fun and that there is amble room and storage space, but the less than positive brakes and the amazing time delay steering system was, shall we say, alarming!? At least I could use the horn to warn those in front of the bonnet that it would take ten minutes before the Conty turned in the direction I desired it too! The suspension was another thing and could easily be replaced with the insides of an old spring mattress. And the acceleraction? what acceleraction? Certainly not a greased lightning experience. As for the A/C performance, most of the fluid leaked from under the dash and wrecked my trousers!
All in all, HM did the right thing in promoting the Mitsubishi Lancer; what it does wrong is continue wasting time on dinosaurs like the Ambassador and Contessa. LPG and CNG versions of the same are to arrive on a road near you soon, but gosh aren’t they the same old things they ever were?