Left to right: Aero Zipp Base @Edsel, KHI 1325 @doot, Aero Zipp Premium, Resuki Tabi 900B @Repti, Knightwick Dragonfly Saloon @mart1n2005, Aero Zipp Convertible, Resuki Tabi 1300D, Resuki Tabi 1500S, Knightwick Harris 1500, KHI 1325 Luxe
Once again we start the reviews with the city car segment. These were the smallest cars with short wheelbases that were nimble, easy to drive, and (usually) good on gas. Not built for the open road, they were most at home on city streets. The best in this segment would get you (± some family members and ± your groceries) from A to B within the concrete jungle reliably and in relative comfort. Now that much of the inner cities have been rebuilt after the earthquake damages, roads widened, and parking space integrated in city planning, is there still a real need for these kinds of cars? We shall find outâŠ
Right in 1955 the smallest car on Letaran roads made its debut, the Aero Zipp. Although officially classified as a âcity carâ, the popular designation soon became âmicro carâ - the first ever of its kind. The Base model was the cheapest city car on the market and was the only budget city car offering in this era. And it was truly bare-bones: basic interior, no radio and a tiny 0.4L I3 propelled the car to a blistering 71 km/h, making it the slowest car on Letaran roads. It really had no creature comforts and was miserable to drive, having the lowest comfort and the lowest drivability rating of any car on the road. At least it was good on gas, one of the cheapest offerings in terms of long-term upkeep (but not the cheapest due to the difficulty of working in such a small body), and easy to park⊠Overall, though, the car was just too bare-bones, too uncomfortable, too impractical with only two seats that it never really caught on as a serious contender. Although slightly faster, better to drive, and more comfortable, the Premium model suffered much the same fate.
Also released in 1955 were the Resuki Tabi 900B and 1300D. Compared to the Aero, you got a lot more car here for just a little more money: full 2+3 seating, a radio in both trims (basic and standard, respectively), standard interior, and a larger, more powerful engine that propelled the cars to safe highway speeds. The Resuki cars were also good looking: cute yet stylish with well-thought out chrome accents in the appropriate places and a distinctive grille. The premium interior in the 1300D was particularly attractive as it was the cheapest car with such an interior on the market, and could be had well within âstandardâ pricing. The 900B had decent comfort for the class and the 1300D was outright good, easily rivalling more expensive and larger cars. Long-term upkeep for both was also quite reasonable and both had excellent reliability, and both were among the easiest to drive cars in all of Letara. So it is easy to see why the Resukis were a major success in this segment, and remained strong sellers throughout their production run.
The final city car released in 1955 was the Knightwick Dragonfly Saloon. Price-wise, the Knightwick slotted in between the two Resuki models. Overall, the Knightwick seemed a little outdated with its looks, ladder frame (all others thus far were unibodies), and solid rear axle (all others had fully independent suspension on all four corners). More forward thinking was the 4-speed gearbox, however. Overall, the car was quite average, with decent drivability, reliability, and comfort. It was not quite as practical as the Resuki cars with only 4 full seats. But that was not really a problem, because its main market turned out to be older, mostly retired, buyers who preferred the more traditional (older) looks of the car. With the kids out of the house, they didnât really need all the seats - four were enough to ferry around some grand-kids if necessary. Due to a bad fuel economy, long-term upkeep was quite expensive for the class, but as long driving was kept to a minimum this cost could be minimized somewhat. So while not an outright huge sales success, the Knightwick did find a niche, and was relatively successful in it.
Introduced one year later, the Knightwick Harris 1500 was a slightly more upscale offering than the Dragonfly. It had more stylish chrome on the outside, a nice two-tone paint job, and a more premium interior. The Harris was also more comfortable, even a little more than the 1300D, was a little better to drive, and it was the most prestigious city car too. Of all the city cars on the market thus far, it is also the first one with enough âoomphâ to make it a relatively comfortable tourer for longer inter-city trips. Younger buyers were equally unsure about its dated looks and engineering, but pensioners who didnât lose their investments in the economic crash, or had good secure pensions, and wanted a more comfortable and capable city car opted for the Harris 1500.
Released in 1958, the Resuki Tabi 1500S was introduced to the market. At first glance, it seemed a direct competitor to the Knightwick cars, in an attempt to lure the older buyers into the more modern cars. Similar to the Knightwick offerings, and in contrast to the other Resuki cars, the 1500S had 4 full seats. It retained the premium interior of the 1300D, also on par with the Harris 1500, but thanks to a more sporty suspension tune its overall comfort was slightly lower. Yes, indeed, looking at the performance is where it becomes clear that it is not really a competitor of the Knightwick. It is something new altogether. The Tabi 1500S is a small and nimble car, perhaps best classified as âcity-sportsâ. It had really good acceleration, only beaten by true sports cars, good top speed, good handling. Yes, this car truly bridged the gap between âcityâ and âsportsâ. Perhaps a little extravagant given the economy of Letara at this time, but it was still quite a tempting offering for younger buyers who didnât yet have a family, had a decent job in the city, and wanted to feel a little bit of excitement. So in the end the Tabi 1500S didnât see too many sales, it was a little too niche - but whomever bought it was a very satisfied customer indeed!
Three more city cars were released in 1959. First was the last addition to the Aero Zipp line, the Convertible. This car was very similar to its sibling micro cars: small anemic engine, lack of any kind of performance, lack of comfort, hard to drive⊠ok, no need to hammer this poor little car any more. The Convertible was in an unfortunate situation that it tried to fill a non-existent need in the market that its earlier siblings already tried to fill, and at an unattractive price to boot.
The other two cars were the KHI 1325 and KHI 1325 Luxe. These cars were at complete opposite ends of the city car segment; the 1325 was almost the cheapest on offer, and the 1325 Luxe the most expensive. In fact, the latter was the only âpremiumâ offering in terms of purchase price, with an upkeep to match. Both were on slightly dated ladder frames and had solid rear axles. Interestingly - and uniquely - both were wagons with 2/3 seating, making them the most practical city cars. The 1325 had a standard interior with standard radio and the Luxe model had a premium interior with a class-exclusive phonograph! The Luxe was also the only city car with an automatic gearbox. So while built on the same platform and in the same segment, they were truly catering to a different market. The 1325, aiming for the lower end of the city market immediately captured a large portion of buyers. Its low price combined with superb practicality, good comfort for the price and overall good stats, it was a very appealing prospect for anyone wanting a decent car to haul their family and a large amount of luggage. Although a city car, this niche had at this point not been filled yet even in the âwagonâ segment, so sales were brisk. The Luxe, on the other hand, was trying to extend the city segment into the âpremiumâ realm. It was by far the most expensive city car, but it offered comfort not seen even in more expensive family cars, and combined it with really good practicality and cargo space. Its Achilles heel was its performance and reliability. In this class the consumers would expect to at least make 100 km/h, yet, the Luxe came just short. And the car became known for frequent issues as the advanced interior electronics tended to fail. So it was on paper an interesting proposal, in practice however it came at the wrong time, and never became as popular as itâs cheaper sibling.
)
