1976 Morris Marina

Morris Marina (Saloon/Estate), 1971-1980

The Morris Marina was in production from 1971 until 1980. Styled in house, it is a front-engine, rear wheel drive saloon, coupe and estate range seating five adults.

BMC had been somewhat poor at targeting the fleet market in the 1960s. The Farina series was old hat, its replacement the 1800 too big and too complex, while the ADO16 1100 and 1300 models were too small to compete with the ever-broadening Cortina and Victor ranges. The Marina was intended as a stopgap until BL had developed an all new car for 1976. However, the plan ultimately did not reach fruition - the Marina would continue in production until 1980, and provide the majority of components to its Ital successor. Under the skin, the Marina drew not only from the Triumph Dolomite but from the two-decade-old Minor, while the engines were drawn from the MG Midget and MGB. The latter proved difficult; period journalists reported that the 1.8 litre unit induced almost uncontrollable understeer, and implored BL to redesign the front suspension to suit.

Available with three body styles (Saloon, estate and coupe) and three choices of tune, the Marina range was wide enough even before trim was mentioned. The replacement of the B series with the OHC O-series made the Marina Mk3 a more modern proposition, though still behind the equivalents from Ford and Vauxhall and still known for the same nose-heaviness that had earned the car a poor reputation at launch. Today, we'd recommend a saloon as the best value, ideally with the TC engine.

Designed to compete with the Ford Cortina MK2, the MK3 launched just before the Marina was a larger car and not the fairest fight. Likewise the Vauxhall Victor was larger, leaving the Marina to pitch as a halfway-house contender between the Escort and Viva, and the Cortina and Victor. In Rootes there was a more natural rival in the form of the Arrow series, while later models would be targeted by the Chrysler Alpine and the Vauxhall Cavalier. It would be a stretch to consider the Coupe as a rival to the Ford Capri, but some people did.