| Year of manufacture | 1974 |
| First year of ownership | 2002 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2002 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.8 petrol Manual |
| Performance marks | 7 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 4 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 9 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 7 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) |
6.8 / 10
|
Summary:
Worth the money
Faults:
Flat Battery.
Temperamental start on cold mornings.
Seats have started to wear badly.
Cabin light broken.
General Comments:
This car sounds really good and is really grunty.
It handles well and is very comfortable.
The only bad comment is the cabin light is broken and possibly unable to be fixed.
Spacious car and good for it's age.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 18th September, 2002
| Year of manufacture | 1969 |
| First year of ownership | 2001 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2001 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.7 litre Automatic |
| Performance marks | 4 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 3 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 9 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 4 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 7 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) |
5.4 / 10
|
| Distance when acquired | 71000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 71568 miles |
Summary:
A good car for a first timer
Faults:
Well, for starters the sub frame behind the passenger wheel had been cracked so it creaked when you turned the wheel. Then it started to overheat and it still does, and you can't unlock the doors with the key.
General Comments:
It has a nice sounding exhaust on it and it is the most comfortable car I've been in for ages.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 2nd November, 2001
| Year of manufacture | 1972 |
| First year of ownership | 2001 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2001 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.7 Automatic |
| Performance marks | 8 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 5 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 8 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 6 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) |
6.8 / 10
|
| Distance when acquired | 3000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 6532 miles |
| Previous car | Toyota Paseo |
Summary:
A car for the ladies to look at in the year 2001
Faults:
My head gasket was leaking.
Water from the radiator was going into the engine.
My car was running really rich.
A lot of soot and condensation was coming out of the exhaust.
General Comments:
The car is really tidy, apart from these small problems which could have been avoided had it been taken care of better.
The engine was rebuilt and when I bought it, it had only done 3000 miles in the short time I have had it (4 months). I have got it up to 6000 driving from Auckland to Taumarunui.
A really nice car.
I have a CD stacker in it with 2 6x9's in the back and 2 6" in the front.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 11th October, 2001
That's a load of tosh both the Cortina and the Hunter were built up to the standards of the time - Hence they are both very rare today like most other cars of the time!
If you find one of either that was undersealed from new, then an example of either vehicle tends to have survived OK to the present day! I know as I've owned examples of both!
Do any of you people know were I can find parts in NZ for a 1973 hillman hunter GL do you.
Two quick questions.
Where can I find parts for a Hillman Hunter in N.S.W?
And where can you buy preformance parts such as suspension and engine components?
I have a 1975 Hillman Hunter GL and I am in need of an engine in reasonable condition. I am in the Waikato of New Zealand. Help!!!
Great cars, my father owned a 1972 Hillman Hunter Sunbeam which had great accessories and nice sounding engine 1725cc (powerful). My only problem was the front end which had problems with rough surfaces.
Driving it or being driven in it was always a treat.
Pity a total factory reconditioned unit isn't available today.
| Year of manufacture | 1972 |
| First year of ownership | 1999 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2000 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.5 OHV Manual |
| Performance marks | 6 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 3 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 6 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 6 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) |
5.3 / 10
|
| Distance when acquired | 52000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 57000 miles |
| Previous car | Mazda 1300 |
Summary:
Has the feel of a big car, but the nimbleness of a small car
Faults:
Where do I start here...
Needed to replace the exhaust because the previous owner had fitted an incorrect one. Dynamo was not working very well which made it hard to start and the battery would drain if you used too many of the accessories at once.
Brakes failed a one point due to fluid leaking from the rear brake hose and the front right disc brake seized due to rust.
Tail-shaft fell off onto the road at one point due to loose bolts. Under-carriage was severely rusted due to salty British roads.
Indicators worked sometimes and sometimes not.
General Comments:
Apparently these cars are pretty reliable if they are looked after and last year I heard this model won the round the world rally.
My car was pretty neglected when I bought it but once I cut and polished about 10 years worth deteriorated paint off the surface the car actually looked quite good, although this didn't improve the mechanicals of it.
I guess this car would have been quite a large car in its day, it is certainly very roomy inside. Because of this you would think that the small 1.5 liter motor would make the car pretty slow, but I never found the car to be sluggish.
One thing about the car is the lack of accessories, i.e. no radio, single speed blower, no rear seat belts, no rear de-mister, just the basics which is all you need really.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 4th June, 2001
Yeh, well I got myself a Hillman Hunter. Might be an earlier model, but I had no problems with it. Bit of body rust, but that's all. Yeh they are a really, really, really slow car, but what can you expect for an old pom car?
Mine drives almost exactly like my old Marina 1800 - The car tilts like crazy when you rev the engine, but it still does 0 - 60 in about 5 minutes! Oh, and don't try taking it out in the ice or you will be asking for trouble. Handles like a shopping trolley. Lack of a heated rear window on my model makes the cold weather a pain in the rear, but getting one fitted would modernise the car and it wouldn't be original any more would it!
Funnily enough I also had 2 Hillman Hunter Estates in the 70's. Company cars. They were basically reliable, but had only vestigial road holding and liked to lurch from serious understeer to dramatic oversteer in the twinkling of an eye. Why would anybody even want to see one now? Let alone actually buy one!
Many people want to add a Hillman Hunter to their collection. This is 2008, but did you know the Hillman Hunter is being produced in Iran under the name of Peykan by Iran Khodro Ind?! ha ha ha...!
My father had one, it was a '72 DL 1500 bought in 1979. One tends to be nostalgic for that cars that one's father had, but not in this case. It was horrible, collapsing seats, no wing mirrors, non-inertia reel belts, loud, slow, moldy.
Nothing electrical worked except the one speed wipers and the head lights. I remember many electrical fires and the fact that he had to keep it in third gear with a rubber band.
Rust wasn't a problem though, and the bloody thing just wouldn't die. Gave it away in the end. He chose it over a Renault 16 Automatic back in '79. What was he thinking?
I have a Hillman Hunter.
It's a super car, lovely to drive, as back in the days the roads were not great. Driving mightn't have been the best as the roads have improved a lot since my dad had one for years. It was like a tractor. It would pull anything, Holbay engine o/d gearbox. What more would you need?