NEW SINGER BANTAM

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22402, 24 April 1936, Page 13 (Supplement)

NEW SINGER BANTAM

Road Test

LIVELY SMALL CAR ADMIRABLE SUSPENSION Lively in performance, smart in appearance, roomy and comfortable, and possessed of exceptionally fine roadholding qualities, the Singer Bantam comes as a welcome addition to the ranks of the small cars. Distinguished by no really revolutionary features, the Bantam is characterised more by welltried and thoroughly proved engineering essentials. TJnderslung at the rear, the chassis is of otherwise conventional design. However, road-holding is much better than that obtainable in the average small car and there is an almost complete absence of roll or sway when sharp corners such as those on the waterfront road are taken at speeds ranging from 85 to 45 miles an hour. It might be expected that to achieve this stability the manufacturers would have provided hard and stiff springing. This, happily, is not the case, and a satisfactory compromise has been struck. The two-door saloon model tested by Focus during the week was taken over the usual test run, whicl: includes four miles of pot-holed meta"' roads behind Orakei, and a cruisinj: speed of about 50 miles an hour wa> maintained all the time without an\ difficulty. One generally expects to have to dc some gear-changing in a small car in

rough and hilly country but the Bantam is an admirable hill-climber and top-gear performer. Gear-changing is smooth and simple, there being synchromesh on second and top. On the waterfront road the car was speeded up to 58 miles an hour in top against a very slight breze. Under favourable conditions the mile-a-minuto mark could probably be passed without eifort. The car was accelerated to 36 miles an hour in second on the flat. An opportunity for a slow-running test came on Grafton Bridge, when there was no tendency to snatch until about seven miles an hour was reached, a creditable state of affairs for a car with a small fourcylinder motor. A certain amount of road shock was transmitted through the steering-wheel

but this was no more, and possibly less, than that encountered with most machines of the "baby" type. At the same time it would be mentioned that the car could be kept straight on quite long stretches of pot-holed surface without the steering-wheel, being touched. The Lockheed hydraulic brakes brought the car to a stop in 82ft. 6in. from 30 miles an hour, this figure being obtained on a dry concrete road. Adequate head, leg and foot room have been provided inside the body and serious attention has been paid to comfort, tho front bucket-seats being very soft and pleasing. Visibility is aU that could be desired. A sunshine roof is available at extra cost. The Bantam seems to live up to all tho claims made for it by the Singer Company and is probably destined to maintain the reputation for reliability and satisfactory performance established by its predecessor, tho Singer Junior.