1981 Talbot Alpine LX 1.5 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Comfortable and inexpensive to run, but unreliable

Faults:

Power steering failed after 39,000 miles. Tried to drive with non assisted steering until I was finally fed up of such heavy steering. Went to the local garage and paid for the power steering to be repaired.

Petrol tank split and started to leak after 44,000 miles. Had a new tank fitted at the local garage.

Broke down several times in the space of one year.

General Comments:

The Alpine was reasonably cheap to run, comfortable and had good dealer backup. But it was only average to drive and was plagued by seemingly endless reliability problems.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 7th October, 2005

1982 Talbot Alpine GL 1.6 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

It was reliable and dependable

Faults:

Mechanically - no serious problems.

Bodywork - rusted badly in places.

An engine fire at 12,500 miles necessitated a major rebuild.

General Comments:

The car was mechanically good and technically advanced for its time. It was reliable mechanically and very easy to maintain. The 1600 cc engine consistently returned 35 mpg over its lifetime. The main problem was the body rot.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 9th December, 2003

1st Oct 2005, 16:51

I had a series of them, 3 I think, when I was a medical student in the early nineties and needed to get between hospitals. Why? I was skint and you could buy one with 6 months MOT for £100. If I got more than a couple of months use out the the heap I was happy enough and one got 3 MOT's with just the (expected) welding.

Good bits? Economical. Cheap.

Bad bits? The rest. But then I got 4 years motoring for the cost of a couple of months repayments on something smarter.

In reply to 1st Oct 2005, 16:51

27th Jan 2023, 20:24

Soo many people did this with cheaper cars back in the day. Now 100 bucks gets you nothing. Even with £2000 you'd be lucky to get a car that starts and drives in 2023.

23rd Jul 2026, 13:25

I loved this car. I remember it being very similar to the VW Passat from the 80s.

They had a reputation for being very reliable and simple cars. People I knew owned a Horizon and spoke very highly of it.

The engines were of Simca origin, developed in collaboration with Chrysler Europe.