Techzle celebrates its 30th anniversary, which is why we look back every week on this week’s edition in 1990. From today, Techzle 33 is in the shops with a trio test of the Kia Sportage, Citroën C5 Aircross and Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross and a meeting between a used e -Golf and a second-hand Ioniq Electric. But what exactly was in Techzle 33 thirty years ago?
News
‘Mercedes on the BMW tour’; this opens the news pages on a grand scale. For the first time, the successor to a new Mercedes-Benz 190 is captured on sensitive plate. We speak of a new 190 in the mid-1990s, but history shows that it is the first C-class that we are introduced to here for the first time. That C-class is eventually produced from 1993. In 1990 there is already a lot of speculation about different body styles, including a convertible. However, the arrival of an open C-class will only follow with the W205 series that has been on the road since 2014. In addition to the ‘new 190’, a fresh entry-level version of the Daihatsu Charade is also covered. It is the Fellow version where costs have been subtly saved, such as due to the lack of a parcel shelf.
Tests
Techzle opens its 33rd issue with a test for the enthusiast: three sports coupés meet. These are the Opel Calibra 16V, Toyota Celica 2.0 GTi and Nissan 200 SX. The test mainly looks at the – how could it be otherwise – performance of the trio. The Calibra turns out to be the most streamlined, the Nissan is the fastest (0-100 in 7.5 seconds) and the Celica is most pronounced with its round design.
Where Ford now mainly has elevated models, the Sierra was one of the most popular names in the 90s of the last century. In 1990 Ford improves the Sierra so that it is freshened up again. Especially the innovations of the 1.8 diesel were important, because it replaced the old 2.3.
Furthermore, things other than cars have also been tested: what about child car seats and ten multifunctional trailers! These can lend a helping hand as soon as the trunk of the car is just not sufficient.
Reports
Although experiments with plastic cars have been going on for some time in the early 1990s, it remains a great rarity when a car with a plastic body actually appears. This car will hardly ring a bell with the general public, but thirty years ago in the Netherlands too, there were plenty of tinkering with plastic cars. The Vector is a good example of this! Now don’t be ashamed if the GEP doesn’t recognize Vector, because it never reached the public road. At the time, they mainly wanted to show what is possible. A well-known car was taken as a basis: the Citroën AX. The Dutch GE Plastics, incidentally, still exists, but fell into Saudi hands in 2007.
In addition, a Jaguar XJR-S 6.0 adorns the poster story: what a device! This ‘racing car in tuxedo’ squeezes 309 horsepower from its 6.0-liter V12. The Jag thus achieves a top speed of 250 km / h: quite an achievement for that time!
