Cars/Vehicles with a unique selling point

[warch]

Inspired by @Schaefftand his awesome Miller cycle (five stroke) Mazda it occurs to me that I have a peculiar weakness for cars or other vehicles which are a bit special. 

My Vauxhall Calibra Turbo was an interesting one, being basically a parts bin special based on the extremely unspecial Mk3 Cavalier but raised above the common herd because it had AWD and a six speed speed gearbox. 

I also liked the V6 engined Golf and Corrado, because back in the day it was an unusual sort of thing to fit in a hot hatch, see also the G40 and G60 supercharged VWs. 

 

[Supernaut]

Citroen C3 Pluriel?

[warch]

19 minutes ago, Supernaut said:

Citroen C3 Pluriel?

Absolutely

On a related note I like those Citroen and Peugeot vans that were fitted with a limited slip diff, such an obvious idea for something often used in conditions of adherence limitee and much more efficient than running a 4x4 all the time for the odd occasions when it might need to cross a muddy field. 

New Citroën Berlingo XTR+

Actually cars fitted with limited slip diffs are a good candidate for this. 

[robt100]

A more modern one I always think of is the mk2 Skoda Superb, the non-estate model has a boot that can open either as a hatch or a saloon depending on which button you press, been very handy for larger loads, and haven't seen that on any other car either.

[quicksilver]

Subaru would appear to be a candidate for this thread with their near-universal use of 4WD in everyday cars. Models like the Justy and Vivio especially were pretty much unique in putting all-wheel drive in a little supermini. The only alternative I can think of is the Panda 4x4 so I guess that qualifies too.

[Dobloseven]

What about the Peugeot 1007 with it's sliding doors? Always think it would have made a good base vehicle for a modern Invacar.Or the third gen Renault Twingo with it's rear engine.And the Smart equivalent.

[quicksilver]

How could I forget the Maxi? 5 doors and 5 speeds were certainly a unique combination among 1970s British cars.

[grogee]

Hyundai Veloster. 

A different amount of doors on each side, because... reasons. 

 

Renault Twizy. 

No doors at all. 

 

BMW C1. 

A scooter with a roof. 

 

All huge* successes. 

[mk2_craig]

Suzuki X90, because why wouldn't you want an off roadery jeepy type thing that can only seat two people but has a secure luggage compartment with saloon car bootlid. 

[Datsuncog]

Subaru also fitted a third central flip-up headlight to their early 1980s passenger cars

The grille badge rotated up and out of the way to reveal it when the main beam was activated.

No other manufacturer copied it, for some reason.

[MorrisItalSLX]

The Leyland P76 and is boot that could famously fit a 44 gallon drum.

[HMC]

[grogee]

1 hour ago, Datsuncog said:

Subaru also fitted a third central headlight to their early 1980s passenger cars

The grille badge flipped up to reveal it when the main beam was activated.

No other manufacturer copied it, for some reason.

Thank you for this, I was not aware. Seems like a cool little feature and I'm surprised it wasn't copied. Outdoorsy types would have liked a big fat main beam capability. 

[Crankshaft]

2 hours ago, robt100 said:

A more modern one I always think of is the mk2 Skoda Superb, the non-estate model has a boot that can open either as a hatch or a saloon depending on which button you press, been very handy for larger loads, and haven't seen that on any other car either.

I seem to remember reading about this when it was introduced and the idea was that - in places with cold winters (like the Czech Republic, Skoda’s home country) - you could access the boot without letting all the warm cabin air out of the big tailgate opening. So you had the advantages of both a saloon and hatchback.

[artdjones]

2 hours ago, grogee said:

Hyundai Veloster. 

A different amount of doors on each side, because... reasons. 

In Spain, MK1  Berlingo/Partner cars often had one door on the driver's side and two on the pavement side.

[grogee]

1 minute ago, artdjones said:

In Spain, MK1  Berlingo/Partner cars often had one door on the driver's side and two on the pavement side.

Famously also the Bini Clubman, handy for launching children directly into a live lane of traffic

[artdjones]

Some of these ideas have been excellent, and deserved to become universal. Such as the Skoda dual boot access. 

What usually happens is that after a couple of generations the cost cutting lizards move in and delete the feature because it costs a massive €15 extra per car.

[artdjones]

1 minute ago, grogee said:

Famously also the Bini Clubman, handy for launching children directly into a live lane of traffic

Sounds reasonable to me.

[warch]

18 minutes ago, grogee said:

Famously also the Bini Clubman, handy for launching children directly into a live lane of traffic

'If you can dodge traffic you can dodge a ball' - Patches O Houlihan (2004)

[Dyslexic Viking]

I would say that the entire modern Suzuki Ignis is a unique car today and I myself own a 9 year old one with awd.

Small and light with awd and surprisingly capable off road, can tow 1 ton with brakes legally here. has high ground clearance and wheels with high tire profile. Spacious inside and with the back seat down or removed is a small van. And has no mechanical weaknesses and has a 1.2 petrol engine which by today's standards is simple and easy to work on and access even in light hybrid form like mine.

I don't know of a single car that meets all of these bulit in the last 10 years.

I visited family on Saturday in the hills of southern Norway and the roads there are unpaved and really steep at times and this one right at home and fantastic there It's like a little mountain goat that just goes thru everything I throw at it.

[Popsicle]

I always liked the extra front seat in the Fiat Multiplas and Honda FRVs.

[warch]

21 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I would say that the entire modern Suzuki Ignis is a unique car today and I myself own a 9 year old one with awd.

Small and light with awd and surprisingly capable off road, can tow 1 ton with brakes legally here. has high ground clearance and wheels with high tire profile. Spacious inside and with the back seat down or removed is a small van. And has no mechanical weaknesses and has a 1.2 petrol engine which by today's standards is simple and easy to work on and access even in light hybrid form like mine.

I don't know of a single car that meets all of these bulit in the last 10 years.

I visited family on Saturday in the hills of southern Norway and the roads there are unpaved and really steep at times and this one right at home and fantastic there It's like a little mountain goat that just goes thru everything I throw at it.

Agreed.

I bet that is brilliant off road. Lovely photo btw, I live in a forestry district and woods are sort of my happy place. Any bears left in Norway?

17 minutes ago, Popsicle said:

I always liked the extra front seat in the Fiat Multiplas and Honda FRVs.

I always liked that feature in my old Landrovers, it was quite common when cars still had bench seats. Its still quite handy if you own a van but have say, two kids because you can still take them places. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

4 minutes ago, warch said:

Any bears left in Norway?

Yes, loads but none left in this area.

But I have a lot of moose in this area still. Walked up on one with last year's calf near the house not long ago.

[grogee]

22 minutes ago, Dyslexic Viking said:

I would say that the entire modern Suzuki Ignis is a unique car today and I myself own a 9 year old one with awd.

Small and light with awd and surprisingly capable off road, can tow 1 ton with brakes legally here. has high ground clearance and wheels with high tire profile. Spacious inside and with the back seat down or removed is a small van. And has no mechanical weaknesses and has a 1.2 petrol engine which by today's standards is simple and easy to work on and access even in light hybrid form like mine.

I don't know of a single car that meets all of these bulit in the last 10 years.

I visited family on Saturday in the hills of southern Norway and the roads there are unpaved and really steep at times and this one right at home and fantastic there It's like a little mountain goat that just goes thru everything I throw at it.

I didn't know it was AWD. Maybe UK didn't get that option? I can see it being very useful in the snow. 

Is Suzuki popular in Norway? It's a bit niche here, although I bet they rate highly for customer service and reliability. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

3 minutes ago, grogee said:

I didn't know it was AWD. Maybe UK didn't get that option? I can see it being very useful in the snow. 

Is Suzuki popular in Norway? It's a bit niche here, although I bet they rate highly for customer service and reliability. 

Almost all Suzuki sold here are AWD, the importer rarely brings in 2WD models. And they are fantastic in the snow and in the winter and they are very popular here and are among the brands that really hold their value. They are somewhat typical rural cars where reliability and being good on bad roads and in winter are valued.

[warch]

20 minutes ago, grogee said:

I didn't know it was AWD. Maybe UK didn't get that option? I can see it being very useful in the snow. 

Is Suzuki popular in Norway? It's a bit niche here, although I bet they rate highly for customer service and reliability. 

I've just had a quick squizz on Autotrader, we do get that model in the UK, its a 1.2 MHEV. They are indeed incredibly light for an AWD, probably the same weight as my Astra. I'd love one, it'd be perfect for what I do. 

[Dyslexic Viking]

I forgot about it earlier but the ignis has drum brakes in the rear maybe a small thing for some but a big thing where I live. Rear disc brakes rust quickly here and are a big expense as they have to be replaced often. Few cars have it now so it is also a unique thing.

[RayMK]

Mitsubishi i Kei car sold briefly in 2007, UK, for a few years.  Fractionally shorter than a Citroen C1 of the time yet could comfortably seat 4 adults.  Transverse rear engine, 3cyl 659cc turbocharged, conventional (slushbox) 4 speed automatic, de dion rear suspension, 70mph cruising easily maintained, top whack an indicated 92mph.  45+ mpg typical.  It is not the later MieV EV which used the same body.

Motoring journalists labelled it as a city car.  True, it did that very well, but I bought one brand new (650 miles ex-demo, salesman owned) and used it to commute 26 miles each way, toured Scotland from Northants with driver + 2 adults and luggage (Fort William, Isle of Mull etc), toured Somerset and Wales solo with camping gear, toured Swanage area solo with camping gear, toured IOW  solo with camping gear, totally reliable for 83K miles, driven hard....then the turbo lost a vane, wrecking the intercooler.

A fascinating, enjoyable,  incredibly practical, very compact car with an unusual configuration for its time.  The Tata Nano came a bit later (2008),  Renault Twingo and Smart version in 2014.   

[matt79]

3 hours ago, Datsuncog said:

Subaru also fitted a third central headlight to their early 1980s passenger cars

The grille badge flipped up to reveal it when the main beam was activated.

No other manufacturer copied it, for some reason.

Rover tried a similar idea back in the 50's with the P4 Cyclops....

[Dobloseven]

2 hours ago, matt79 said:

Rover tried a similar idea back in the 50's with the P4 Cyclops....

Which I believe they copied from an American car.Studebaker?