GROUP TEST Photography: Philip Lee Harvey Most coupes are well versed in the language of speed and the grammar of fun. But has the new Fiat Coupe FLUENT rewritten the book? The Honda Prelude, Nissan 200SX and VW Corrado will have a few words to say ITALIAN ontest Coupes give car that. Senior management see the especially a yellow one – is a bit like makers a chance to sketches, shake their heads, suck their turning on the radio in 1976 and hear- let their hair down. teeth and sling the lot into the bin, ing the Sex Pistols’ Anarchy in the UK. Forget boot space leaving the frustrated designer to tear Suddenly everything around it looks and rear headroom – his pony-tail out, accept the art of very dull and dated. go for style, performance and fun. compromise and design something his The dramatic body styling was Consequently, you get some pretty aunt Maud might find a little bit racy carried out by Fiat’s own in-house good cars. Like the high-tech Honda to collect her pension in. styling team, while the equally exciting Prelude VTEC, VW’s cleverly pack- Nissan’s 200SX is a fine example. interior is the work of Pininfarina, aged Corrado VR6 and our favourite, From the side, the 200SX is low and which also builds the car. The icing on the exciting, rear-drive Nissan 200SX. sleek but the nose is so bland it could the styling cake is the brilliant detailing Now there’s the Fiat Coupe, a car belong to just about any modern car. – like the headlamp clusters, the whose reputation precedes it after a Honda has tried harder with its racing-style flip-off fuel filler lid, the launch in Europe a year ago which saw Prelude 2.2i VTEC. The nose in par- side slashes and those rear lights. journalists rushing for their dictionaries ticular is wide, low and dramatic. The to find new adjectives to describe its rear end, though, is a bit of a cop-out. PERFORMANCE dramatically different styling. But is it ’s Corrado VR6 might Being a pretty boy is all very well but The Fiat Coupe really is a really as good as it looks? Well it’s here only have another six months to live the new Fiat has got to be able to go as design bore’s dream car. Oh, in the UK at last, we’ve lined up those and its shape might be more hatchback well as pose – and the opposition the purity of its lines. Oh, the rivals, and we’re about to find out. than true coupe, but it still looks good doesn’t come much tougher than delightful definition of its despite its age. It has a chunky, tough Nissan’s turbocharged 200SX. detailing. Oh, its swages, STYLING Tonka-toy look to it that gives it char- The Nissan’s four-, 16- chines, valance undersweep, In theory, a coupe should give design- acter, if not elegance. is the most powerful of all the ellipsoidals and tumblehome. ers the chance to have a bit of fun. In And then there is the Fiat. Catching cars here, kicking out 197bhp at Oh, I think I’ve wet myself practice it doesn’t always work out like your first glimpse of a Fiat Coupe – 6,400rpm, and it has the second

70 August 1995 Top Gear ontest

highest torque figure too, with 195lbft turbocharged engine. The Italian unit lazy and lacks that instant pick-up. For at 4,800rpm. is two horsepower down on the Nissan, that reason, it’s the least easy engine to The VTEC in Honda’s 2.2-litre but produces its power at a much lower live with in traffic – if you let revs fall 16-valve engine stands for variable 5,500rpm. The Fiat’s torque is not off too much you need to change down valve timing; at low revs the are only the best at 218lb ft, but it also a gear. Likewise, it picks up weakly in opened with economy in mind, but comes in nice and low down the rev fourth and fifth gears. above 5,000rpm the emphasis changes range at 3,400rpm. The Fiat’s engine has the outright to performance. Not surprisingly, the turbo cars flying speed of the Nissan but is much It’s clever stuff but, even so, the dominated our performance testing easier to live with. It starts its work 183bhp Honda engine is the least session. From rest to 60mph the Fiat lower down the rev range and pulls powerful here, while pulling power is and the Nissan were neck and neck, solidly up to 7,000rpm. You can still fairly puny with just 156lb ft of torque. each posting identical 6.8 second feel the turbocharger coming in above The Honda engine also looks like it times; even by 110mph there was still 3,000rpm but with a good strong will need most revs, for its maximum only 0.1secs between them. surge, rather than the Nissan’s sudden power doesn’t come in until 6,400rpm Oddly, the Corrado and Prelude bang. It can also crack 50-70mph in and peak torque not until 5,300rpm. also clocked identical 0-60mph times, fifth gear in 8.4 seconds, which makes VW’s VR6 engine relies on good though at 7.3secs they were half a it the best for quick, safe overtaking. old-fashioned cubic capacity to get the second slower than the turbo cars, but At first there doesn’t seem to be any- The Nissan’s chief area of job done. The compact, narrow-angle beyond 90mph the Honda started to thing special about the Honda VTEC delight is the bit that lies under V6 is the largest engine here at pull away. engine. At low revs it’s all fairly boring the bonnet, and what it does 2,861cc, but with 190bhp at 5,800rpm On the road the Nissan does feel as lethargic stuff, but when the revs build with its products. In other and 180lb ft of torque at 4,200rpm it quick as its figures – but only if it’s something magical starts to happen. words, the fab turbo engine and is only the third most powerful. revved. You can really feel the turbo- Just above 5,000rpm the engine note the rear-wheel drive. The body Like Nissan, Fiat has gone for a charger coming in at around hardens and flattens as the valve timing is, sadly, a bit dull but a beefy two-litre four-cylinder, 16-valve 3,500rpm; below that, the engine feels changes and with a high-tech war cry facelift is promised soonish

Top Gear August 1995 71 things really let rip. Although the which the turbocharger feeds in the control but it doesn’t work that well. engine needs revving, it pulls power, but mostly due to its viscous- Gun the VW hard and you’ll have brilliantly in fourth gear and the coupled limited-slip differential. wheelspin aplenty in first and second Honda is pretty useful for overtaking. Basically, it means you can nail the gears with the front of the car squirm- Of all the , it feels the most Coupe as hard as you like out of a tight ing around the road. bulletproof and the most refined, no damp corner while the front wheels get The Fiat’s brakes are the best of the matter how much abuse it is given. on with the job of putting the power bunch; not only does the pedal feel The VW VR6 engine sounds even down on the road. The five-speed gear- good, but from 70mph the Fiat better than the Honda, with a beauti- box can feel a bit notchy, but never stopped in almost ten feet less than its ful, warbling, banshee wail that grows enough to prevent smooth changes. rivals. The Nissan’s pedal feels a bit in intensity the further up the rev range Changing gear in the Nissan is never stodgy, but with a stopping distance of you push it. It stumbles a little bit a problem thanks to the short, direct 165ft from 70mph, the brakes never away from traffic lights at very low action of the five-speed gearbox, but feel weak on the road. revs, but once it’s rolling the engine there’s no traction control and it isn’t The Honda’s brakes also feel good pulls strongly; provided it’s revved. It that difficult to set the rear wheels on the road, though they were the least does lack flexibility, though, and its spinning, especially in the wet. effective at the test-track. Likewise, the overtaking performance in the higher Honda’s five-speed gearbox is also VW’s brakes seem fine but fell into the Some people love the Prelude’s gears is really not that strong. hard to fault; it has a neat, direct action second division at the track, with a pointy-nosed, chop-tailed Not so long ago front-wheel-drive plus a pleasant meaty feel that’s miss- stopping distance of 173.7ft. looks, others think it’s not that turbocharged cars had a nasty reputa- ing from many Japanese cars. There’s great. But everyone goes ‘oooh’ tion for wild, wheel-spinning, torque- no traction control system but even so, HANDLING the first time they turn the steering antics out of tight corners. there’s rarely any scrabble out of tight Drive the Nissan hard on your ignition key and watch the Some still deserve that reputation but corners, unless you let the clutch out favourite stretch of deserted twisty road Blake’s Seven-style dashboard fortunately the Fiat doesn’t. That’s viciously in first gear with lots of revs. and you’ll soon find that it’s the rear display light up and do its stuff thanks partly to the civilised way in The Corrado does have traction wheels which dominate affairs, not the

72 August 1995 Top Gear ontest

fronts. Hit the accelerator too hard too solutions to the problem of handling by the scruff of the neck and put it early, in comes the turbocharger and with four-wheel steering and expensive precisely where you want it. The well- out goes the tail. It takes a bit of delib- double-wishbone suspension all round. weighted steering has no shortage of erate provocation in the dry, but hardly It should add up to a great package feel and feedback to it, and it really any at all in the wet. but doesn’t. Again it is the steering that does let you know what it is going on. It’s one hell of a hoot and makes a is at fault, for the Honda’s feels far too In a tight corner the Corrado will even- refreshing change from front-wheel light. It’s fine for twiddling into tually run its front wheels wide, but it drive and lots of understeer – and parking spaces – where the four-wheel turns in more smartly than anything provided you aren’t half asleep, the steering also helps – but not much use bar the Nissan. well-weighted power-assisted steering over your favourite B-road. The VW’s chassis is not without will allow you to catch the slide. It’s such a shame, because once it’s flaws and it doesn’t take much provo- The 200SX corners crisply and settled into a corner the Honda is as cation to lift an inside rear wheel. Over responsively – the nose is happy to composed as any of its rivals. Its ride is fast bumpy roads its firm ride keeps the change direction just as quickly as you the best over high speed bumps and car stable, but it isn’t as well sorted or want it to. Although the ride is firm you really can feel those steering rear as composed as the others and the ride around town, the chassis is never wheels helping it through the bend. It is also a bit crashy around town. The phased by mid-corner bumps. gives you lots of confidence once in a Corrado is also the most keen to twitch Yet, fun as it is, the 200SX could be corner, but not enough turning into it, its tail out should you lift off the accel- And then there’s the VW. Or at more involving. For all its efficiency where the light steering makes the erator in the middle of the corner. least there will be for a little the Nissan has a remoteness about it front of the car feel terribly vague. Like the others, the Fiat is excellent while longer. The inside is that prevents you feeling 100 per cent Admittedly the steering weights up to drive but it also comes with that gloomtastic, though, and the part of the action. The cause is prob- well enough once in a corner, but even added ‘feelgood factor’ which is much squarish exterior which can’t ably the steering, which is accurate but then it communicates little. rarer. It’s at its best on fast flowing quite decide if it’s a hatch or a doesn’t give much feedback. By contrast, the Corrado’s steering is roads, and although the ride quality is coupe never quite looked hip, The Honda applies high-tech simply brilliant. You can take the car a touch bouncy in comparison with the even when it was brand new

Top Gear August 1995 73 Honda’s, it is still good enough to ‘sports car’ – you could be sitting in instruments feel and look ancient and a allow you to go as fast you want over any well-ordered modern car. The seats splash of colour wouldn’t go amiss the bumpiest roads. The steering is are comfortable but, for a coupe, need amidst all the dull blackness. almost up to the Corrado’s high stan- more side support and even with a Despite a slight lack of front head- dards, for it’s well weighted, direct and height-adjustable steering column, the room, the Volkswagen is actually the really lets you feel what is going on. wheel can still brush the top of your most practical of the four. It’s the It takes very little movement of the legs, especially when changing gear. roomiest in the back – almost offering wheel to run the car through a series of The rear is decidedly cramped for normal seats – and, being a hatchback bends and it responds to any change of adults and the boot very shallow. with folding, splittable rear seats, offers direction very rapidly. Lifting off the At least the Honda engineers have the most versatile load space. accelerator in a tight turn will tuck the tried to make the Prelude feel a little Not only does the Fiat look funky nose sharply into line, but without the bit special inside. It has a dashboard from the outside, the interior is truly accompanying tailslide of the VW. Captain Kirk would be proud of. A radical-looking too. The idea is simple; Where the Fiat can struggle is in large, brightly illuminated speedo and a metal strip the same colour as the tight hairpins. There, turn-in is not so rev counter face the driver, while LCD- bodywork runs around the sides and sharp, and it’s the one which will run style fuel and temperature gauges are front of the cabin and in it are cut its nose wide the easiest. Like the positioned over to the left in front of holes for the speedometer, rev counter Try this on a dry road and the Corrado it can also lift an inside rear the passenger, with the warning lights. and other instruments. It’s different rear-wheel-drive 200SX will be wheel when cornered hard. Excellent bucket seats give lots of and it works brilliantly. far more leery, oversteery fun support and there’s plenty of space. Not everything about the coupe’s than the front-wheel-drive Fiat. INTERIORS The rear is hopeless, though, with just interior is good though; the plastic On a wet road, it would be the In our books a sporting coupe should about enough room for a couple of door trims feel cheap and nasty, and other way round. The Nissan, feel sporting inside, but sadly that’s not kids, but boot space is reasonable. the seats could do with more side that is. And upside down as the case with the Nissan 200SX. The Corrado shows its age inside support. But the driving position is well if you weren’t careful There’s just nothing that cries out very badly indeed. The switchgear and good and there is tons of room up

More stuff from the Fiat tree frog impersonation school of design. The mystery object below right is the Nissan’s seat adjuster. Its finest feature

74 August 1995 Top Gear ontest

front. The rear is easy to get in and out good used examples should be well only one that you simply can’t fit of and two adults can travel comfort- sought after when it goes out of pro- adults in the back of. ably in the back, with enough luggage duction soon. Fiat’s coupe should hold The Corrado feels dated, the interior space for four in the boot. its value well, too because of its visual is drab and there are no airbags, but it appeal and Pininfarina associations. still sneaks ahead of the Honda. It’s a VALUE Neither the Nissan nor the Honda lot more fun to drive and you can Only a mere two quid separates the has such character so, for a change, it is actually take two extra adults along. £19,248 Fiat from the £19,250 Nissan likely to be the Japanese cars which Nissan’s 200SX has a lot going for and there’s not a lot of difference in have the less impressive resale values. it. It’s well-priced, well-built, well- terms of standard equipment either, The biggest black mark in an other- equipped, fast, and good to drive. It’s nor indeed in service intervals. But wise glowing test report for the Fiat also superbly balanced, and provided there is a big difference in warranty. concerns its economy. Admittedly it you’re half sensible, you can have more You only get one year with the Fiat was thrashed to within an inch of its fun in it than any of the others. But it while the Nissan offers three. life during our test, but, even so, its doesn’t look too special, you can only Honda’s £21,995 Prelude is the 20.6mpg is below the Honda’s 25.4, just get adults in the back and its steer- most expensive, but that money does the VW’s 24.8 and the Nissan’s 23.4. ing makes it a little bit uninvolving. secure a comprehensively equipped car If the Fiat Coupe was all looks and with a two-year warranty. On the other VERDICT no go, its stylists’ work would have The Honda does its cornering hand, the £21,199 Corrado has only a The Honda may be high-tech but, been in vain. It isn’t; it’s got most of stuff well enough without ever one-year warranty and, being an older sadly, it still comes last. The engine the other bits right too. It has superb really getting you too involved. design, lacks the twin airbags all the and gearbox are excellent, but the over- performance, a chassis that is second to Shame. The Corrado’s others have as standard. light power steering means that the none, an engine that’s refined and easy endearing habit of cocking a However the Corrado should do car’s performance can never be exploit- to live with, and an interior with wheel up mid-corner like a well enough when it comes to resale. It ed to the full. It just isn’t as much fun enough space for four adults. All that puppy has won it a fair few

has something of a cult following and as any of its rivals here. It is also the and it can turn heads, too ▼ fans, as has its tidy handling

When it comes to details the swoopy Prelude’s got the lumpy VW beaten. The Corrado’s spoiler, though, is a fine thing to annoy following drivers with

Top Gear August 1995 75 ontest

AS SHE IS SPOKE Fiat Coupe Honda Prelude Nissan 200SX VW Corrado Performance 0-30mph 2.7 2.9 2.5 2.8 0-40mph 3.9 4.1 3.6 4.2 0-50mph 5.2 5.7 5.2 5.6 0-60mph 6.8 7.3 6.8 7.3 0-70mph 9 9.6 8.9 9.6 0-80mph 11.3 12 11.3 12.3 0-90mph 14.1 15 14 15.1 0-100mph 17.9 18.8 17.5 19.1 0-110mph 22.2 23.2 22.1 24.1 FIAT COUPE 16v 0-120mph 28.4 30.2 27.5 31.3 Max Speed, mph 140 (claimed) 138.8 143.3 141 Standing qtr mile, secs 15.3 15.7 15.2 15.7 Little brother Terminal speed, mph 93.2 92 93.9 91.6 30-50mph in 3rd, secs 4.5 4.9 5.1 4.8 umour has it that the TVR a bushel at low revs, only giving its best 30-50mph in 4th, secs 7.4 6.6 8.1 7.1 boss’s dog lent a hand, or when worked hard to the accompani- 50-70mph in 5th, secs 8.4 9 9.3 9.4 Rrather muzzle, in the design of ment of raucous yet tuneful noises. If 30-70mph thru' gears 6.2 6.7 6.4 6.8 the Chimaera’s front end. Not to be anything, it sounds more characterful Braking 70mph-0, ft 156.3 176.7 165 173.7 outdone, the boys at Centro Stile have than the more muted turbo unit. clearly given Freddy Kruger free reign The five-speed gearshift, though no Costs on the clay model of Fiat’s succulent match for the Japanese competition, is List price £19,248 £21,995 £19,250 £21,199 new Coupe. And the effect is, to say light and reasonably precise, losing its Test mpg 20.8 25.4 23.4 24.8 the least, striking. slight notchiness as it warms up. Euromix mpg 28.5 31.4 31.6 28.3 Visually identical, save for discreet Brakes, with ABS fitted as standard, are Insurance group tba 17 17 18 door sill badging, to the Turbo Coupe, powerful, with plenty of bite. Service interval Every 9,000mls Every 6,000mls Every 9,000mls Every 10,000mls the 16v provides ocular entertainment The ride’s firm, but well controlled Warranty 1 yr, unltd mls 2 yrs, unltd mls 3 yrs, 60,000 mls 1 yr, unltd mls from every angle and, though lacking without excessive roll through corners. the turbocharged muscle of its elder Add nicely-weighted power-assisted What you get brother, still offers entertainment in steering with plenty of feel, and you plenty from behind the wheel too. have the recipe for entertaining but Central locking yes, remote yes yes, remote yes The 16v has a 142bhp version of the essentially safe handling. Radio cassette yes yes yes yes 1995cc engine, with quoted perfor- For a mere £17,349 – that’s nearly CD player dealer option dealer option option option mance figures of 0-62mph in 9.2 two grand less than the Turbo – you Electric windows yes yes yes yes seconds and a top speed of 129mph. still get all the toys thrown in: Anti- Sunroof option yes no yes Not outrageous figures but the 16v lock brakes, power-assisted steering, Alarm/immobiliser yes/yes dealer option/ yes/yes option/ Coupe compensates for a lack of turbo- central locking, electric windows, dealer option option charged zest with a more even power his’n’hers airbags and a respectable Leather option option option option delivery; hefty application of throttle sounding six-speaker stereo. Alloy wheels yes yes yes yes on sight of bend exits producing Not as fast as the Turbo, and not as Anti-lock brakes yes yes yes yes smoother, lunge-free, acceleration. exciting perhaps, but the 16v is still a Airbags dual dual dual no As with so many Italian power lot of car for the dosh, and it looks the plants, the engine hides its light under business ■ Technical Engine 4cyl, 16v, 4cyl, 16v, 4cyl, 16v, V6, 12v, dohc, turbo dohc, VTEC dohc, turbo sohc Capacity 1,995cc 2,157cc 1,998cc 2,861cc Max power 195bhp @ 183bhp @ 197bhp @ 190bhp @ 5,500rpm 6,800rpm 6,400rpm 5,800rpm Max torque 218lb ft @ 156lb ft @ 195lb ft @ 180lb ft @ 3,400rpm 5,300rpm 4,800rpm 4,200rpm Transmission 5sp manual 5sp manual 5sp manual 5sp manual Story: Anthony ffrench Constant Front brakes Vented discs Vented discs Vented discs Vented discs Photography: Philip Lee Harvey Rear brakes Solid discs Solid discs Solid discs Solid discs Front suspension MacP strut, Double Independent, MacP struts, FACT FILE lwr wishbones wishbones MacP strut lwr wishbones Model two-door coupe Rear suspension Independent, Double Independent, Torsion beam, Engine two-litre 16-valve trailing arms wishbones multi-link trailing arm On sale in the UK now Wheels 6Jx16", alloy 6.5Jx15", alloy 6.5Jx16", alloy 6.5Jx15", alloy Price £17,349 Tyres 205/50 ZR16 205/55 R15 205/55 VR16 205/50 R15 Rivals Ford Probe, Vauxhall Calibra, Dimensions (ins) L167.3, W69.5 L175, W69 L178, W68.1 L60, W67 Honda Accord, Rover 220

76 August 1995 Top Gear