Perks of the job: Ford Cortina 1600E vs Renault 16TS vs Fiat 125S

By Andrew Roberts

| 16 Mar 2022

Classic & Sports Car - Perks of the job: Ford Cortina 1600E vs Renault 16TS vs Fiat 125S

Some of our more seasoned readers might remember ITV’s series The Power Game, the opening credits of which had Patrick Wymark and his various acolytes posing on the steps of one of the brutalist tower blocks that symbolised the new London of the 1960s.

Wymark’s Sir John was the role model for those young executives who, to quote Peter Cook in Bedazzled, were determined to turn England into a land of: “Tastee-Freez and Wimpy Burgers, of concrete runways, motorways, aircraft, television and automobiles, advertising, plastic flowers and frozen food.”

Yes, image was all, and for those go-ahead types who sported a Tom Jones haircut with daring 3in sideburns, the right set of wheels was essential.

The Ford Cortina ‘E’ combined cool colours with sharp styling and RoStyle wheels

The Triumph and Rover 2000s were reserved for the next pay grade, however, and while the Arrow-series Humber Sceptre may have looked sharp, it still had a slightly middle-aged personality.

As for the Vauxhall FD Victor, that seemed too bulky and the Wolseley 16/60 was a car for pipe-smokers who had not yet recovered from the Suez Crisis.

So, the first choice of company car would have been the Cortina 1600E, launched in October ’67 as the third of Ford’s Executive range.

This Cortina wears stylish Aubergine paint

The first was the ’65 Zodiac Executive MkIV, a vision of gold-metallic magnificence decked out with every conceivable extra and thus ideal for wide-boys who couldn’t quite run to a Jaguar MkX.

Two years later the Corsair 2000E stunned fleet managers with possibly the most enthusiastically tasteless hubcaps in automotive history.

But, with the Cortina 1600E, Ford achieved the perfect balance of tradition, style and pace.

The matt-black grille, RoStyle wheels and Wipac auxiliary lamps lend the Cortina a faintly menacing aura that is just the right side of flamboyant.

Later Ford Cortina 1600Es had additional gauges built into the dashboard

Equally important, the 1600E’s interior is welcoming and elegant without any of the archaic overtones of a Farina MG Magnette or indeed looking naff in the slightest.

It would have been all too easy for the cabin to slip into the abyss of 1960s pseudo-luxury – look on YouTube at George Lazenby in the Lyon’s Maid Fruit Parfait advert for a perfect example – but the Ambla and wood veneer blend is discreet and wholly contemporary.

The featured car is a second-generation 1600E, introduced in late ’68, with the sculpted rear seats adding to the air of quiet refinement.

And it is all too often overlooked that the 1600E was based on one of Dagenham’s best-realised designs.

The Ford Cortina E’s doors were capped with walnut

The original Consul Cortina, with its subtle fins and signature tail-lamps, was perfect for its intended late Macmillan-era customer, just as the 1966 reskin gave the Mk2 an equally appropriate look.

The slim pillars and brilliantly proportioned lines make the second-generation Cortina one of the hippest British cars of its day, and another key to the 1600E’s appeal is that its handsome visage is reinforced with genuine performance.

Aside from the leather-covered steering wheel, cutpile carpets and the clock was the GT’s proven crossflow engine, combined with the lowered suspension from the Cortina II Lotus.

All of this results in genuinely E-class transport that is light years apart from a Cortina 1300 with a painted dashboard and rubber mats.

This 1.6-litre ‘Kent’ engine feels eager and sings a crisp song

The 1600E is testament to just how right a mass-produced car can be when all of the elements are carefully considered.

The 1600E motorist would have enjoyed a fine gearchange, roadholding that belies the Cortina’s humble underpinnings and an engine note that is crisp but never harsh.

Whenever the 1600E driver – ensconced in his reclining bucket seat – overtook a grey Cortina De Luxe allotted to a junior commercial traveller, he knew that he had finally made it.

For the sophisticate, however – that is, someone who drank foul coffee and pretended that he understood Ken Russell’s documentaries – there was the still-unusual alternative of foreign cars.

The Renault’s passenger-side wheelbase is different to the driver’s side

In the late 1960s, fewer than 10% of vehicles on British roads were imported.

This was a time when any front-drive, five-door saloon would have definitely been considered unorthodox – even if it didn’t have an asymmetrical wheelbase.

Renault had concentrated solely on small family cars since the demise of the Frégate in 1960 and devised the 16 to win sales away from potential Citroën ID19 customers, as well as from motorists who regarded the Simca 1500 and Peugeot 404 as cars for an older generation.

The success of the R4 led Renault to use front-wheel drive on its new mid-size offering and, to further ensure that the ‘1500’ boasted as much verve as possible, Philippe Charbonneaux – who had a hand in the original Chevrolet Corvette – was commissioned to style the coachwork.

The Renault 16 offered a sublime ride compared with rivals

The media’s appetite was whetted in August 1964 when Renault released pictures of the new 16, as it was then badged, and the first examples reached the general public in April ’65.

By the end of that year, the R16 had been declared the first French Car of The Year and had created a new sub-genre of middle-class transport that offered superlative standards of comfort.

All that was lacking was performance. To counter those complaints, the 16TS made its debut in March ’68.

The 1470cc engine was bored out to 1565cc, complete with a new cylinder head with inclined valves into a hemispherical combustion chamber, plus a twin-choke Weber carburettor. And the brakes were servo-assisted discs to cope.

Various upgrades boosted the R16 engine from 67bhp (in the TL) to 83bhp (in the TS)

Compared with the Cortina and the Fiat 125S, the Renault is a beguiling combination of modernity and venerability.

The former is represented by the front-wheel drive, the hatchback bodywork that looks at least a decade younger than its actual age and such clever touches as the map-reading lamp for the front passenger and two-speed wipers that could be controlled via either a dashboard- or foot-operated switch.

The latter aspect of the Renault is embodied by a fascia so well stocked with arcane-looking switches and levers that it appears as if it was recently salvaged from the Marie Celeste.

Interior upgrades for the R16TS included a sporty gauge cluster

Once you settle yourself into the extravagantly comfortable front armchair – the better to enjoy a commanding view – you are faced with a full array of instruments and a stout-looking steering-column gearlever that is quick and positive in action, in keeping with the 16’s effortless character.

The Renault’s rivals may revel in their aggressive engine notes but the 16TS seems more refined, offering that magic-carpet experience that was unique to French cars.

The Renault can handle any corner without disturbing the occupants, and not even the worst British B-roads can ruffle its demeanour of insouciance.

The Renault 16’s clever seats could be folded into a bed

Aside from its performance and equipment, the other major selling point of the 16 was its versatility.

The brochure promised seven different ways of arranging the seats, but we only tried one – the ever-popular ‘suspending the rear backrest from the grabhandles’.

It is at moments such as these that you realise just how La Régie’s refusal to bow to the design conventions of the ’60s produced a car that was chic, practical and utterly delightful in almost every way.

The Fiat 125S’s boxy looks belie its sporty character

The Cortina and the Renault could not be described as low-key – understated, yes – but the Fiat revels in plain, almost severe lines that are mirrored by an equally businesslike cabin.

A 125S is a reminder that the Italian bourgeois demanded a certain sense of quiet dignity in their transport, so the interior trim positively breathes late-1960s executive chic – from its carpeted floor to a spectacularly fake ‘wood veneer’ dashboard.

There is certainly no room here for leopard-skin steering-wheel covers, black and white chequered wiper blades or any other period sporting ephemera, but the Fiat is confident enough in its sense of performance not to require any flashy trinkets.

This is the car for the man who believes himself to be the Mastroianni of the A33, despite his marked resemblance to a young Tony Hancock.

The Fiat’s twin-cam engine is especially lively

Just as the 1966 Fiat 124 was devised to eventually replace the 1300, the 125, launched the following year, was to supersede the 1500 in addition to attracting motorists trading down from a big 2300 Berlina.

Fiat combined the 124’s central hull with the floorpan of the 1500, a longer bonnet and boot, plus, for added vibrancy, quad headlamps.

The 125 was intended to be capable of 100mph, which precluded using the engine from the taxi drivers’ favourite – the befinned 1800.

Instead, Fiat took the Aurelio Lampredi-designed 1.4-litre twin-cam from the freshly launched 124 Sport Coupé and gave it a longer stroke, raising the capacity to 1608cc.

The Fiat’s interior was well-appointed, although its ‘wood veneer’ was unconvincing

From 1968 onwards, Fiat offered a 125S (Speciale) with a five-speed gearbox and an engine good for 100bhp, thanks to a modified cylinder head and a Weber carburettor, making an enjoyable sports saloon even more tempting.

In ’69, however, FSO of Poland began production of its own 125, which subsequently blighted the original car’s reputation, because the Polski-Fiat – powered by the old 1500 unit – is to the Speciale what Showaddywaddy were to the Elvis Presley Sun Sessions.

The heavy steering for parking is a small price to pay for one of the most overlooked Q-cars of its generation, a seemingly bulky family saloon that could out-handle and out-accelerate many a ‘traditional’ sports car.

The 125S is also extremely well appointed in the best Fiat tradition – the hand throttle is an especially nice touch – and our ultra-rare survivor makes you regret all over again Turin’s decision to use that flimsy Soviet steel.

The Fiat 125S, Renault 16TS and Ford Cortina 1600E offered three very different flavours of the sporty saloon

Each of our trio would have been at home in the car park of the Captain’s Table on the M1 as their respective owners wined and dined a Judy Geeson-lookalike secretary on 19s worth of fillet steak and French fries, followed by Black Forest Gâteau.

The fact that values of used 1600Es remained high after the model was superseded by the Mk3 2000GXL confirms its status as one of Dagenham’s greatest cars.

Put simply, the 1600E set the standards for all future prestigious Fords, yet few managed to attain them.

The Renault 16TS is the pick of the bunch, thanks to its clever interior and supreme comfort

As for the Fiat, many a British dealer can be thankful that severe import duties were still in place, such is its blend of practicality, dynamism and thrilling engine note.

But our victor has to be the Renault. It is idiosyncratic, eminently usable, decadently comfortable and has the finest rear-seat folding mechanism of the ’60s.

It is a car that makes you forget about mundane vehicles and just gives you the desire to speed down the A10, with a Francis Lai film score blasting from the 8-Track cartridge player.

Images: Tony Baker

Thanks to: Andy Navarro (1600E), Paul Kolk (125S), Chris Hayward (16TS), Cortina Mk2 & 1600E OC, Renault CCC and Brunel University

This was originally in our October 2013 magazine; all information was correct at the date of original publication

Factfiles

Ford Cortina 1600E

Sold/number built 1967-’70/60,087 (including 2563 two-doors for export only)
Construction steel monocoque
Engine all-iron, overhead-valve 1599cc ‘four’, with Weber 32DFM twin-choke carburettor
Max power 88bhp @ 5400rpm
Max torque 96lb ft @ 3600rpm
Transmission four-speed manual, driving rear wheels
Suspension: front independent, by MacPherson struts rear live axle, semi-elliptic springs, upper radius arms, telescopics
Steering Burman recirculating ball
Brakes discs front, drums rear, with servo
Length 14ft (4267mm)
Width 5ft 4¼in (1645mm)
Height 4ft 7in (1397mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 2in (2489mm)
Weight 2154lb (977kg)
0-60mph 11.8 secs
Top speed 98mph
Mpg 23
Price new £982 2s 1d (’67)

Renault 16TS

Sold/number built 1968-’76/1,846,000 (all 16s)
Construction steel monocoque
Engine all-alloy, overhead-valve 1565cc ‘four’, with Weber 32DAR2 carburettor
Max power 83bhp @ 5750rpm
Max torque 87lb ft @ 3500rpm
Transmission four-speed manual, optional three-speed automatic, driving front wheels
Suspension independent, at front by double wishbones, longitudinal torsion bars rear trailing arms, transverse torsion bars; anti-roll bar, telescopic dampers f/r
Steering rack and pinion
Brakes discs front, drums rear, with servo
Length 13ft 11in (4242mm)
Width 5ft 4in (1626mm)
Height 4ft 9in (1448mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 11in (2718mm, left), 8ft 8¼in (2648mm, right)
Weight 2271lb (1030kg)
0-60mph 12.3 secs
Top speed 101mph
Mpg 26
Price new £1223 8s 1d (’69)

Fiat 125S

Sold/number built 1967-’72/603,870 (all 125s)
Construction steel monocoque
Engine iron-block, alloy-head, dual-overhead camshaft 1608cc ‘four’, with Weber 32DHSA twin-choke carburettor
Max power 100bhp @ 6000rpm
Max torque 96lb ft @ 4000rpm
Transmission five-speed manual, driving rear wheels
Suspension: front independent, by double wishbones rear live axle, trailing radius arms, transverse link; coil springs, anti-roll bar, telescopic dampers f/r
Steering worm and roller
Brakes discs all round, with servo
Length 13ft 10in (4216mm)
Width 5ft 3¼in (1607mm)
Height 4ft 8in (1397mm)
Wheelbase 8ft 3in (2515mm)
Weight 2118lb (1006kg)
0-60mph 11.9 secs
Top speed 104mph
Mpg 28
Price new £1212 8s 1d (’69)