May 1978
[size=150]Pint-Sized Powerhouses[/size]
[size=120]Little Commuters That Are Huge Fun[/size]
Last month we covered the heavy haulers, so it was time to investigate the opposite end of the spectrum in this issue. Small commuter cars epitomize everything that the half-ton isn’t; small, efficient, easy to park, and easy to maintain. And quite boring, thanks to a decided lack of power.
But there are options to spice up your commute without breaking the bank. By no means thoroughbred sports cars, these miniscule motors pack a decent punch in a small package. Yet they don’t turn their back on their roots as capable commuters.
For this roundup, we’ve scoured the globe for the four best micro-muscle machines that won’t break the bank. It may be no surprise that the field is dominated by foreign cars, but there is one quite remarkable American competitor, and it is not your typical Detroit steel, either.
Let’s take a quick look at what we found.
[size=120]Baltazar Quark FR445[/size]
Baltazar Automoveis of Brazil is a house name throughout South America. Recently they have started importing a few models in limited quantities in the States. The Quark FR445 was designed with the purpose of importation in mind. Under the hood of the sleek liftback is something a little bigger than Baltazar normally installs in the Quark in its home market. Displacing 1440cc, the 16 valve SOHC puts out just about 80 horses at its 6200 RPM redline. This is good for 12.3 seconds to 100km/h. While that may not sound impressive, it’s more than enough to get the Quark up to speed on freeway onramps with time and speed to spare.
What qualifies the Baltazar for this review is its handling. It is an absolute blast to throw into corners. While the power assist on the steering gets a little heavy during parking maneuvers, it is crisp and predictable at speed. It is also the only one of the four to provide antilock brakes, which helps to keep the Baltazar pointed the direction you want during hard braking.
The interior of the Quark is also nicer than we expected it to be. The floor is fully carpeted, seating surfaces are covered in soft yet durable Corduroy, and other nice touches like a tachometer and low fuel warning are integrated into the gauge cluster. Music and news is provided to the cabin via an AM/FM/8-track player with a single speaker located in the dash between the vents. Interestingly, rather than having a rear center passenger straddle the driveline hump, Baltazar has eschewed the center seat belt and given the outboard rear seats a sunken feel, almost like the front buckets.
[size=120]GSI Mosquito Sport[/size]
It’s only right that the sole American entry is made in California. After all, it’s nothing like the clunky, miserable hatchbacks and sedans being pumped out for years in Detroit. The GSI Mosquito Sport is also the physically smallest of the bunch, most closely resembling Japanese “Kei-cars.” Don’t let its diminutive exterior fool you, though. Squeezed inside the engine bay is a 1.8 liter 16 valve DOHC motor. The 100 horsepower cranked out shoots this little rocket to 100km/h in just 7.9 seconds, which is easily the best in this test.
Cornering is also exhilarating in the Mosquito, which darts and weaves with the same agility as its insect namesake. Power steering is standard on the Sport model, but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference in this 1600 pound featherweight.
Inside the Mosquito’s cabin, we find that GSI has decked it out in much nicer trim than might be expected. All four seats are comfortable yet supportive. The speaker for the 8-track radio is mounted on the top of the dash, giving clear, if not powerful, audio. The Mosquito’s glove box is also deceptively large, and its folding rear seats allow the trunk to expand for large shopping runs.