It’s 1980 and you have a budget of around £6,000 to buy a car that adds a little style to your morning commute. The most obvious solution would be the Ford Capri, which fulfilled almost every need in a coupe but let’s look at 14 other saloon-derived temptations.
The first up is the Capri’s most obvious rival, the Opel Manta. While the imminent arrival of the FWD Ascona/Cavalier suggested its lifespan was drawing to an end, its second life as a rally car proved that there was a bit more life in terms of its marketing potential.
The Alfasud Sprint was a spirited choice, with genuine sporting character and a superb flat-four power plant. The design also outlived its expectations, outliving the Capri and Manta and it was still possible to buy one in 1989.
The first of a Japanese selection, the refined Datsun Bluebird SSS had become plusher and more luxury-orientated, but still retained a certain vogue and while not particularly sporting, it was a smooth cruising machine and a cinch to drive.
Arch rival Toyota also continued its Celica dynasty, like Nissan, they were keen to push the car further upmarket away from its original sporting premise. Designed by and for the US market, the car still had a following in the UK. Sold in both liftback and coupe form, the liftback served as a roomy well-made long-distance tourer.
The MGB represented a bygone era and was largely outdated in almost every respect. Yet it retained a sporting feel and its enduring success in the US, meant it was a rare example of a British Leyland product that was well-received there. Alas, the writing was on the wall for the MGB and it took its parent company 15 years to produce a successor.
A big seller of the era, the Renault Fuego was riding on the huge success of the now-forgotten 18. Also sold with turbo engines, the standard models had huge showroom appeal, helped by their nicely furnished interiors and keen equipment.
Mitsubishi, like Renault, was a big proponent of turbo engines and offered them on all of their passenger cars. The Sapporo was due for a facelift, but its chunky yet elegant style also offered a supremely smooth vibration-free engine.
Engine technology was also Mazda’s forte but the rotary technology was left to just one car, the RX7. In the meantime, their lower volume Montrose/626 series cars fulfilled the niche. A car with little market share in the UK, it provided a little glamour for those on a modest budget.
Another Japanese brand known for its engineering was Honda. A compact, brisk and superbly built machine, the Prelude was loaded with innovative features and stood out from its Japanese rivals but any success was hampered by its high price.
The Volkswagen Scirocco encompassed fuel economy with brisk acceleration and road-holding but the usual price premium, especially compared to the Japanese made it difficult for VW. The Golf GTI was cheaper and seemed to make the whole point of the Scirocco and indeed the coupe sector a bit redundant.
We have to credit the Ford Capri as the archetypal definition of a family coupe. Available with hundreds of different trim permutations, each version seating four people and their luggage but 1980 was the last year that the Capri appeared in the top ten selling cars in the UK.
Closely matching the Capri for space and accommodation, the elegant Lancia Beta HPE, was one of several Coupe options in the Lancia range available. As the luxury arm of the Fiat group, the Beta HPE was smooth to drive and very comfortable.
Fiat had always featured a coupe option in their range but for several years since the demise of the 128, they lacked a direct competitor to Alfa and Lancia. Luckily, the X1/9 fitted into the budget and introduced a mid-engine open-air element which provided a novel alternative to the fixed head competition.
Similarly proportioned but featuring a more conventional mechanical layout, Triumph TR7 was close to ending its production run. Preferred in V8 open-top form, the fixed head 2-litre models were good cars to drive and comfortable.
Despite what the BMW’s marketing men would say, the E21 3 Series BMWs were not strictly coupes, but its virtues of genuine driver appeal and peerless mechanical durability struck a chord with the public. However, the fact that it was not classified as a coupe didn’t hinder its success.