It’s the 1970s. The most fun – and possibly least practical – form of transport is the space hopper, half penny coinage allows a feeling of wealth with pockets full of change and View Masters permit loops of viewing discs to rule your evening. Outside on the driveway is your dad's car…
The 1970s allowed a great number of impressive cars – the Jaguar XJS, Lamborghini Countach, Lancia Stratos, Mach 1 Mustang, the TVR 3000S…
The thing is, these were all expensive to buy, extortionate to run, often impractical to live with and chances are your dad didn’t have one. The cars your dad did have are now fading into history as numbers thin and models disappear from our roads completely. The stark fact is they need to be saved.
The automobile of choice for dad often boiled down to Ford or British Leyland. The Austin Princess may be an easy target for cheap laughs, but if you can save one – should you? Or should it be the Granada II? Let the battle for your nostalgic affection commence…
The Looks
Many look at the Princess and gawp at the blatantly different styling, ignoring its merits. The styling is not just unique; it’s cool. Stop basking under that BL-bashing bandwagon and study the lines; this is a quirky and retro piece of kit. Holding the ability to turn heads and cause ear-to-ear smiling, it’s an unruffled design that has stood the test of time to become a symbol of the 70s itself.
The Ford is rather more generic, with angular slabs and a front end reminiscent of a school ruler. It’s in no way a bad looking car, it’s actually rather handsome and allows sharp-suit looks with a design that hasn’t dated badly at all.
The Power
The Princess 2000HL can get you from 0-60mph in 13 seconds thanks to its 93bhp unit, topping out at just shy of 100mph. This power is lackadaisical however, thanks to the gearboxes coming straight from hell itself.
The Granada V6 equivalent is a different story, offering a top speed of 117mph, 160bhp and 0-60mph in less than ten seconds. Ford offered a 5-speed manual and the changes are so much better than the unchanged biblical technology of the Princess.
The Handling
The Princess works with the same hydragas set up that was introduced on the Allegro. This allows for a comfortable ride, right up until that moment arrives for a hasty swerving manoeuvre. The lean in a corner or around an obstacle is severe with the uncanny ability to demonstrate how your t-shirt feels going through the washing machine.
The Ford handles a bit better than this, with the capabilities to corner at speed and not alert you to the fact the windscreen is on a view masters spin of land, sky, land, sky, land, sky, land, sky.
The Interior
The Princess certainly oozes character with the interior - lashings of 70s period details slapped on every panel is a feast for the eyes. Often too much for some, the über velvety-ness of the interior is paired with masses of head and legroom, allowing 4 in comfort or 5 at a push. Ok, excessive use of components can often cause them to fall off and squeaks and rattles were standard even when new – but the Princess is a rather splendid place to be, public consensus brainwashed by cheap Clarkson gimmicks and the media bandwagon.
The Granada II is much more advanced, with ergonomics greatly improved over the Princess. It is, however, more grey and plastic based – with charm lost over functionality. The Granada is a nice cabin to sit in, but unless you end up with the top of the range version, the Ford is just a bit too soulless. The Princess, however, allows charm, character and eccentricity to shine through.
Living with them
The Princess rusts. Oh boy, does it rust. The Ford also rusts – with both requiring regular care and attention given to the bodywork no matter the cars condition. As with any classic, maintenance and check-ups are compulsory - but if you do indeed look after either one of them it will reward you with reliable transport and a great secondary car.
Parts for the Princess are becoming ever more difficult to track down, with the same story for the Granada II, but owners clubs serve these cars well.
As an everyday car, both offer usability and driving through town won’t give you a migraine. Motorway driving with the Austin is another matter, as with the Princess limited to 4 forward gears, progress and noise can suffer. The Ford will keep up without too much trouble but is heavier on the fuel bill.
Summary
Is there a winner? That all depends what you are looking for as both have huge merits.
For peculiarity and the ability to sum up the decade most call tasteless, we would have to go with the Princess but for everything else the Granada reigns supreme.
Despite being as common as mud 30 years ago, these are now incredibly rare machines. If you should find either one languishing in a barn or slowly rotting away unloved in a field or hedge, it is your patriotic duty to save it.