1973 Vanden Plas Princess review from UK and Ireland

Nothing apart from normal wear & tear, eg. brake shoes, stainless exhaust replaced the normal factory-fitted.

The Vanden Plas is the top of the range version of the Morris/Austin 1100/1300 range. The Princess was advertised as 'The Poor Man's Rolls Royce' because of the standard of fittings and smooth ride. The half=leather seats, picnic tables in the rear, thick carpets and luxury headlining make the interior something really special. The real walnut veneer dashboard and door cappings add a further touch of luxury. Outside is the beautiful heavily chromed radiator, bumpers with overriders and coachlining to catch the eye.

From a driver's point of view, the controls are where you'd expect them to be for ease of operation, and the hydrolastic suspension smoothes out all the bumps. There is an automatic version, but I feel the driving experience is enhanced by the manual gearbox.

I have read that the Princess has the performance of a Mini Cooper, but never having driven a Cooper, I can't comment on that. Fuel consumption is excellent, and I do know the twin carbs tend to remain balanced and the engine never needs retuning between services. Suspect subframes have never been a problem - but the car was fully restored 30 years ago. She's still on the same Michelin tyres she left the factory on in 1973 and they're still perfect - a good argument for buying the best tyres you can afford as they're the best value in the long run!