When the VW Beetle was finally dethroned - by the Renault 4, Fiat 850 and Simca 1000 LS
12/01/2016
The VW Beetle 1200 was a spacious four-seater with a classless image and outstanding manufacturing quality. At least that was the view of the magazine "Auto Motor und Sport" in 1967. The Beetle was by far the best-selling car in its class, and import competitors were largely without a chance on the market.
However, even the best had to compete with its alternatives time and again, and so the AMS editors pitted it against other inexpensive cars, namely the Citroën 2 CV 6, the Simca 1000 LS, the Fiat 850 and the Renault 4 Export, in a large comparative test that was documented over two issues and a total of 27 pages.
They were all old designs that were compared, only the Fiat 850 was still in its youth, having been built for around three years. The Ente had already been launched in 1949, the Renault 4 and the Simca 1000 in 1961, but the Beetle's design dated back to the 1930s and it really took off in the late 1940s and 1950s.
So it fits in well that three of the five test vehicles - Beetle, Simca, Fiat - had the engine and drive at the rear, while the Renault and Citroën naturally had front engines and driven front wheels.
The editors of Auto Motor und Sport magazine left nothing to chance, measured everything that could be measured and drove the cars around bends until they almost pulled the tires off their rims. They certainly could not be accused of a lack of care.
They also compared the prices, which at the time were between DM 4460 (Fiat 850) and DM 5295 (Renault 4 Export), with the Beetle in the middle at DM 5045, the Ente costing DM 4597 and the Simca 1000 LS DM 4998 - an average of around DM 5000, which would have been exchanged for around EUR 2550 at the turn of the century. Yes, they were really cheap cars!
The Beetle did a respectable job, accelerating to 100 km/h in 26.8 seconds and reaching a top speed of 118.4 km/h. But others were just as good as it. But others could do this just as well as they consumed less fuel. The standard petrol Beetle consumed 10.6 liters per 100 km, the Citroën 2CV 7.3, the Renault 4 7.6 and the fast Fiat 850 9.0 liters.
So it came as it had to. The much younger competitors outstripped the Beetle, which had already become a classic car by then. Third, one place ahead of the Beetle, was the Simca 1000 LS (343 points), second the Fiat 850 (344 points) and winner the Renault 4 Export with 373 points. In its favor were its practicality, good use of space, sufficient room for four people, four doors, a usable trunk and very good suspension comfort. The Beetle only scored 324 points and the Duck came last with 301 points.
Incidentally, the Renault 4 won three of the five test disciplines - body, engine/performance, handling/operation, ride comfort, driving safety - while the Beetle won none. The Fiat 850 won in "engine/performance" and also came out on top in "handling/operation".
Almost 50 years later, things look different when it comes to buyers' favorites, at least in our part of the world. The VW Beetle is the most popular, followed by the Citroën 2 CV and gradually the Renault 4, while the Fiat 850 and even more so the Simca 1000 hardly play a major role in the "classic car hit parades". Buyers of classic cars have different criteria than the AMS testers 50 years ago.
