THAT word " useful " has no really special meaning,
suggests • nothing you might not -expect hi the cars under review. Except for one thing, it need not have been used at all. Practically all modern cars are useful in one way or another, including the three-thousand-pounder and the ancient crock, picked up at a roadside sale for a pound or two, and held together chiefly by sticky tape, seecotine and faith. The one thing is, according to your tastes, anything from speed to comfort. In this case it is the regularity that should conic from sturdiness of build and common-sense design.
The words used nowadays to describe ordinary qualities in good cars are so numerous that one is obliged to translate most of them. By regularity (a poor word, I admit) I imply the sustaining over a long period of a certain standard of per- formance, together With freedom frOm more than average repair-bills. You expect your car to put up much the same performance after 50,000 miles, as after 5,000. By that tune, unless it has cost large stuns of money,,it may be economical to get a new one, but until that moment arrives your " regular " car is to my mind a more useful car than one which will need fre- nuent attention, free or costly, even though it is a more brilliant performer for the first half of its life with Yon. A useful car, other things being equal, is a car that does not worry you.
I am inclined to ascribe this valuable quality to the new 12-11.p. B.S.A. and the new 12-11.p. Triumph, two moderate- sized cars- I pick out of half a dozen of the same type for no particular reason save that they* cost nearly the same and behave in much the same manner. There is, as a matter of fact, no proper basis of comparison between them-At' ever it had entered my head to discover so invidious a thing. The B.S.A. engine ha§ a larger cubic content, the Triumph a longer wheelbase. The Triumph is a 4-cylinder and the B.S.A. a 6-cylinder. Except for that useful point of expected regu- larity, accommodation and performance, there is no simi- larity between them. The Triumph has a plain gear-box, with a silent third and freewheel, the B.S.A. the Daimler transmission, with pre-selective Wilson box and fluid flywheel. Except on second speed the B.S.A.- is slightly lower-geared than the Triumph=as, it appears, most Sixes are in comparison with most Fours.- - The 'I'-riumph- -engine has its inlet-valves above the exhaust, the B.S.A., like the Laitcheater;- side-by- side, overhead operated by push-rods. Like the new Lan- chester, too,,it has_ak:solid head; cast in one with the cylinder block.- For this ddsign many advantagei are claimed, inglnding reduction of cylinder wear, greater cooling of valve-seats-and plugs, reduction of the need for valve-grinding, the use of higher compression, improved power and economy, .0f.. none Of these points can I speak from experience,: but, providing the lifting and, -replacing of the cylinder-block involves no undue trouble, I _am,. on . general• principles, in favour of the
scheme. There is no gasket. • • •
The Triumph-has the orthodox detachable head and I am certainly not prepared to say which, if either, is the better system. Both have been proved, the solid before the War, when detachable heads were almost -unknown, the other ever since the War. Until experience conies, let us leave it at that.
The B.S.A. six-Windoired saloon, whieh costs £315, is an exceptionally comfortable car. It is comfortable alike for the driver and the passenger. The general control is excellent, the steering and road-holding first class, and the foot-brake, which is mechanical, smooth, rapid id action and powerful. The same set of brakes are actuated by the lever, but with not quite the same effect. This is a point I have often noticed in cars where there is -only one set of shoes. A longer lever, or a different control lay-out suggests itself. The stopping effect by lever is quite adequate, but it is not so good as by pedal. Why should it not be ? The steering is light and steady and you feel you have the car in hand 'all the tittle. This is by no means so *common a feature with modern fat tyres and modern low-geared steering as you might think.
The engine is surprisingly lively for its size and has the very good quality of running with real smoothness and ease at its maximum speed. There is no vibration to be detected at any period, and from the driver's point of view I should say that the chief attraction of this very useful little car is its complete absence of fuss. I found that, by speedometer, a mile a minute could be quickly reached and comfortably held, while 40 and 30-miles an hour were the reasonable maxima on third and second. The car has outstanding flexibility in top- gear climbing and its work on really steep gradients like 1 in 6, taken on second, is well above the average. The general finish is excellent, particularly under the bonnet and on the instru- ment board. There is plenty of room, considering the 8ft. 3in. wheelbase. It is well sprung.
The Triumph is, like its 10-h.p. predecessor, a car of a dis- tinctly Continental type. That word means, to me, the sort of car in which you drive very long distances without over-tiring. A Continental car need not be very fist—though some notoriously are, and I like them better so—but it must be excep- tionally well-sprung, have exceptionally easy steering, notice- ably good springing-cum-road-holding, and brakes on which you can depend in emergencies. Above all, it must be a car that sits down firmly on the road at whatever speed you drive it. You must never have to think about your speed except in relation to your brakes. Cornering and overtaking must come as easily as_traffic-crawling. Now the Triumph will do sixty miles an hour, its gear-change is excellent, swift and certain, the engine has plenty of power, runs quietly, without vibration and as steadily as the proverbial train at high speeds and the steering and stability are exactly right. The brakes were inclined to lock on sudden application, and that * should be seen to. Central jacking is fitted and the length of the steering-column is variable within 4 inches-a most useful feature. There is not too much room in..the saloon, but-air- filled, well-angled seats console one for the presence of the shaft-tunnel. There is good luggage accommodation and the general finish; within -and without; proclaim your well-bred car. It has the real Continental personality and is not at all the sort of car you-would willingly part with for many years. It costs £288, £298 and £320, according to coachwork. De- cidedly a. useful ear. Jaw PRIbLEAV. [NOTE.—Readers' 'requests for -advice" from 'our Motoring Correspondent on the choice of new cars should be accompanied by a stamped and addressed envelope. The highest price pay- able must be given, as well as the type of body required. Na advice can be given on the purchase; sale or eathan,ge of used cars.
—ED. The Spectator.] • • - -
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