new steering gear
has already been mentioned. A thin-rimmed spring-spoked wheel of new pattern
for the Midget is set almost vertically and is adjustable telescopically on the
column when a nut has been freed by means of a spanner, The rim has finger
holds on the under side which are specially comfortable. There is just the
right degree of castor action in the steering, which is light for lock-to-lock
turning round in a restricted space, or for taking a right-angle corner, whilst
at speed it is definite and one has hardly to steer the car consciously. A
really accurate course can be followed on a fast bend, a round- about can be
"swept" in the style which is amusing at times in a car of this
character, the Midget feeling absolutely safe. There is a marked feeling of
increased solidity about the car, resulting from the new and more
Measurements in these scale body diagrams are taken
with the driving seat in the central position of fore and aft adjust- ment and
with the seat cushions uncompressed.
rigid frame, yet it has gained enormously in comfort of
riding over the types of surfaces such as a car of this kind is likely to be
asked to tackle.
In spite of the car being strictly a two-seater with a centrally placed
remote-control gear lever retained, the back rest of the seat is in one section
stmight across and not shaped to the shoulders. It is necessary to set the fore
and aft adjustment and also the separate sliding adjustments for the angle of
the back rest with some care In the first place to obtain the required driving
position, and then it is practically perfect, with plenty of Ieg room under the
facia and ample width to give the
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driver free elbow
room. For the fore-and-aft adjustment there is a release catch at each side and
it is a two-man job to make the adjustment owing to the reach involved.
The hydraulically operated brakes are light in operation, and to judge by the
specimen tested there is greater braking power available than may be suggested
at first experience. This is not a veiled criticism of the brakes, but rather
to point to a hidden virtue, for they are never fierce, although always potent
to the required degree.
The gear change has synchromesh for second, third and top, but there is always
an inclination with the Midget on the part of any driver whose experience goes
back to " plain " boxes to use the double-declutching technique
downwards, although it is strictly superfluous. A restrained exhaust burble,
never amounting to real noise, but reminiscent of other days, somehow fits in
with this method. Upwards the changes can be sliced as quickly as most sporting
drivers ever want without clashing the gears by overriding the synchromesh.
The hand-brake lever is perfectly placed in a cutaway at the centre of the
one-piece seat cushion, and it is still of that best type of all hand brakes,
the fly-off pattern, released by an upward pull of the lever itself and not by
depression of the pawl, which has the opposite effect of normal and secures the
brake.
Horn and head lamp dipping switches remain as a combined unit on the facia
board, a little unfamiliarly out of their normal position, but an arrangement
to which the driver becomes accustomed, though less easily to the position of
the dip switch. This might be more convenient if foot operated in the region of
the clutch pedal, where. there is room for the left foot off the pedal.
All-weather Protection
It is comfortable to drive with the right elbow inside the
body, which also means that with the side screens raised there is no marked
sense of interference with the driver's freedom. He feels very much that he is
sitting in the cap and not on it. The all-weather equipment is good.
Illumination of the instruments at night is effective and not dazzling, by a
pale green lighting effect. As in the past, a petrol gauge is not provided for
the big tank, which gives a range in the region of 300 miles, but a green light
on the facia, flashes a warning when about 2½ gallons remain. There is now
the good point of a cubby hole with a lid in the left of the facia board, in
addition to map pockets in the doors. A useful enclosed luggage space is formed
behind the seats, and the side screens are stowed in a separate vertical
compartment within this space.
The head-lamp beam is equal to the speed of the car, and the Midget can now
make itself heard when roquired, twin horns being fitted under the bonnet. For
several nights during a prolonged test the car stood in the open. Frost point
was reached only once during this part of the test. On every occasion the
engine fired at once from cold and it did not need the mixture-enriching
control for the S.U.s to be kept in use for more than a few seconds after
driving away.
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