The Nineteen Eighties had been a very distinctive time for the automotive trade. As corporations crawled out of the Malaise Period, there have been plenty of new applied sciences or options being tried in locations you wouldn’t count on. Take this MotorWeek comparability check of automobiles outfitted with all-wheel drive from 1987, that includes every thing from a compact sedan to a rear-engine minivan.
Apart from the Civic, each different nameplate from this check is gone, although the Subaru does have a contemporary equal. It’s fascinating to see what number of compact automobiles had an all-wheel drive-option again then, one thing almost extraordinary right this moment exterior of Subaru and a pair different outlier fashions..
Honda confirmed up for the check with a third-gen Civic Wagon, which got here throughout as a small-ish MPV. The Civic Wagon’s capacity to haul folks and their stuff was wonderful, one thing famous by MotorWeek. It may maintain 5 adults and quantity of baggage with ease. It had a 1.5-liter inline-4 with 72 horsepower that was paired with a six-speed handbook transmission, the one choice for the Wagon, and torque was despatched by way of an all-wheel-drive system with a vicious coupling. There was a bit of additional floor clearance, however the Civic Wagon had no limited-slip differential, which means this wasn’t one thing you possibly can use to assault even the lightest of trails.
Volkswagen loaned MotorWeek a Vanagon with the Syncro all-wheel-drive system, which additionally gave the Vanagon barely bigger tires and an additional inch of experience peak. Syncro was capable of switch energy between the entrance and rear axles, a giant deal again then, by way of using a moist viscous coupling that was capable of measure wheel slippage. The Vanagon was even out there with an optionally available locking rear diff, making it a bit extra of a real off-roader than the opposite automobiles within the check.
The Mercury Topaz was an outlier within the check and doubtless essentially the most distinctive due to how uncommon the choice was for the Topaz and its Ford Tempo sibling. Solely out there from 1987 to 1991, checking the field for all-wheel drive on the Topaz and Tempo received you a high-output four-cylinder engine and an all-wheel-drive system consisting of a two-piece driveshaft. When a vacuum-actuated swap on the sprint was pressed, a sliding clutch collar linked the transmission to the driveshaft sending energy to a rear-mounted limited-slip diff partaking all-wheel drive. Ford says this was troublesome to engineer, and whereas the system might be engaged at any velocity, Ford warned that it was for “grime roads or pavement in dangerous climate solely.” MotorWeek discovered that, when utilizing the system on moist cow paths, it supplied wonderful traction.
The opposite two automobiles within the check, the Subaru and Audi, come from manufacturers who’re no stranger to all-wheel drive. The Subaru GL-10 used a full-time four-wheel-drive system with a locking middle diff, one thing Subaru says improved the automotive’s dealing with. Paired with a turbocharged 1.8-liter engine, the GL-10 was the second quickest automotive within the check at 10.3 seconds to 60 mph, although that’s not saying a lot. The Audi 5000 CS Quattro was the quickest. Its turbocharged 2.2-liter inline-5 and Quattro all-wheel-drive system resulted in a 9.5-second 0-to-60-mph run. Quattro was additionally essentially the most subtle AWD system within the check. A splash-mounted swap allowed drivers to lock the middle and rear diffs, which allowed for higher traction in slippery circumstances like a moist street or harsher stuff like mud or snow.
Sadly, all of those automobiles are misplaced to historical past. Issues like worth and purchaser desire implies that except you pay huge bucks, distinctive all-wheel-drive autos like these hardly exist anymore. Thank god MotorWeek’s Retro Opinions are round to remind us simply how good we used to have it.
