The Eighties have been a extremely distinctive time for the automotive trade. As firms 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 attention-grabbing to see what number of compact automobiles had an all-wheel drive-option again then, one thing practically unparalleled at this time 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 individuals and their stuff was glorious, one thing famous by MotorWeek. It may maintain 5 adults and a very good 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 means 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, that 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 trip top. Syncro was in a position to switch energy between the entrance and rear axles, a giant deal again then, by means of using a moist viscous coupling that was in a position to measure wheel slippage. The Vanagon was even out there with an non-compulsory 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 possibly probably 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 obtained you a high-output four-cylinder engine and an all-wheel-drive system consisting of a two-piece driveshaft. When a vacuum-actuated change on the sprint was pressed, a sliding clutch collar linked the transmission to the driveshaft sending energy to a rear-mounted limited-slip diff participating all-wheel drive. Ford says this was tough to engineer, and whereas the system may very well 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 glorious 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 heart diff, one thing Subaru says improved the automobile’s dealing with. Paired with a turbocharged 1.8-liter engine, the GL-10 was the second quickest automobile 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 probably the most subtle AWD system within the check. A splash-mounted change allowed drivers to lock the middle and rear diffs, which allowed for higher traction in slippery situations like a moist highway or harsher stuff like mud or snow.
Sadly, all of those automobiles are misplaced to historical past. Issues like worth and purchaser choice signifies that until you pay massive bucks, distinctive all-wheel-drive autos like these hardly exist anymore. Thank god MotorWeek’s Retro Evaluations are round to remind us simply how good we used to have it.
