1992 Cossack C1800
Performance - ★★★★
The Cossack C1800 has a sporty 1.8-litre 4 cylinder engine sending power to the front wheels. The engine produces 137 bhp @ 6600 rpm and 126 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm, which is more than enough power to send this 1000 kg car flying along quite briskly. It is no more powerful than its typical rivals, but thanks to the added lightness it does have an extra ability to get a move on. The engine is pretty smooth and responsive, but it could be a bit better and there is a little delay between foot to the floor and acceleration. The car has more than enough oomph at all but very low revs to keep it cruising briskly and overtake with no problems. The gearbox isn't the sportiest feeling in the world, but the gears are spaced correctly and the engine doesn't rev as much as some sports cars only managing to get to 6600 rpm, but that does mean that best performance is in the top end which definitely makes the car feel sportier. The 0-62 mph sprint is covered in just 8.2 seconds and top speed is 137 mph.
Ride Comfort - ★★★★
The Cossack is a sports car but it does have a rather pleasing ride. The suspension up front is a rather soft setup and the rear is quite a bit firmer but in almost situation the suspension behaves very well. At low speeds the firm rear suspension can be felt, especially by those who are sitting in the rear of the car. The rear can get a little bit jiggly over low speed bumps, whereas the front suspension does a good job at soaking them up. At higher speeds the firm rear suspension doesn't cause any more troubles and the front suspension continues to do a great job. The front suspension can get a little bit bouncy after going over larger bumps at higher speeds and takes a bit longer than it should to settle down. The body roll is kept well under control, as expected.
Handling - ★★★★
As expected, the C1800 handles like a sports car should. The soft front suspension doesn't seem to have affected the way the car handles much and the firmer rear suspension is just great. The Cossack C1800 has bags of grip and only when you push it a lot does it begin to understeer, but the speeds at which it will be travelling around corners before this happens is more than enough to put a smile on your face. The steering setup is good and the feel, weight and response is just right giving you extra confidence in the car when taking it round some corners. This confidence is boosted by the previously mentioned lack of roll when cornering. The lack of traction aids can reduce your confidence somewhat but adds more to the sporty feel. It is a bit of a shame that it is FWD, but for a car with power heading to those wheels it certainly is a cracker.
Refinement - ★★
One area where the C1800 doesn't impress is the refinement. The engine is a nice sounding engine and under acceleration it fills the cabin with a fruity and sporty sounding 4-cylinder not, but when you want to just cruise along the engine can be constantly heard and can become annoying quite quickly. The insulation from other noises isn't particularly good either. From not particularly high speeds the tyre and wind noise starts to intrude into the cabin and once you are up to motorway speeds it can become rather vocal and may require you to raise your voice if you are having a conversation or increasing the volume of the music you are listening to, however it isn't unbearable.
Equipment - ★★
This is considered a budget small sports car and we weren't expecting much equipment, and what we got was actually a bit less than what was expected. The cabin inside is pretty bare on the inside from the lack of equipment. The equipment levels is something you expect more in a budget small car, not a sports car. The basics that do come with the car do make journeys a bit better than if they weren't there whatsoever.
Quality - ★★★
Although there is a lack of equipment and the cabin is really rather bare, the quality of the interior, especially considering that this is a cheap car, is actually quite good. The interior plastics aren't the poshest, but they are reasonable enough for a car like this. In the higher up parts of the cabin the plastics are rather appealing, but lower down they do become rather cheap, scratchy and flimsy looking and feeling.
Reliability - ★★★★★
The 1.8-litre engine in the Cossack C1800 has been through a lot of testing and it didn't require any repairs and basically no servicing was required. It seems to have pretty much bulletproof reliability. The very few electronics that there are to go wrong seem to be alright, and even if they do wear out and go wrong, they shouldn't affect the way the car is at all. Any repair bills will probably only costs peanuts too.
Running Costs - ★★★★★
This car also costs absolute peanuts to run. The engine consumes fuel miles better than its rivals. The 1.8-litre engine sports car manages 42.3 mpg and emits just 155 g/km of carbon dioxide. Compare this to the 2.0-litre Volkswagen Corrado's 23 mpg and 260 g/km of carbon dioxide and it only makes sense to own this car and not the Corrado. The insurance bill should also be rather inexpensive as well considering that in the event of having a crash there isn't exactly many things that will need repairing and there are no expensive parts. Servicing, however, does cost quite a lot.
Safety - ★★
One thing I recommend to you is that you don't crash this car badly. There is hardly anything in terms of safety aids, so if you need to brake hard you will just lock up or if you need to swerve the car will most likely loose traction a spin off into a hedge. If you do have a crash as well there isn't much in terms of safety equipment. There are some basics that will keep you from getting very badly injured, but if you have any high speed crash and you will probably be in a bad state.
OVERALL - ★★★★
For: Cheap fuel bills, sporty drive, good ride, bulletproof reliability
Against: Stingy equipment, poor safety and refinement.
The Cossack C1800 has a sporty 1.8-litre 4 cylinder engine sending power to the front wheels. The engine produces 137 bhp @ 6600 rpm and 126 lb-ft @ 4000 rpm, which is more than enough power to send this 1000 kg car flying along quite briskly. It is no more powerful than its typical rivals, but thanks to the added lightness it does have an extra ability to get a move on. The engine is pretty smooth and responsive, but it could be a bit better and there is a little delay between foot to the floor and acceleration. The car has more than enough oomph at all but very low revs to keep it cruising briskly and overtake with no problems. The gearbox isn't the sportiest feeling in the world, but the gears are spaced correctly and the engine doesn't rev as much as some sports cars only managing to get to 6600 rpm, but that does mean that best performance is in the top end which definitely makes the car feel sportier. The 0-62 mph sprint is covered in just 8.2 seconds and top speed is 137 mph.
Ride Comfort - ★★★★
The Cossack is a sports car but it does have a rather pleasing ride. The suspension up front is a rather soft setup and the rear is quite a bit firmer but in almost situation the suspension behaves very well. At low speeds the firm rear suspension can be felt, especially by those who are sitting in the rear of the car. The rear can get a little bit jiggly over low speed bumps, whereas the front suspension does a good job at soaking them up. At higher speeds the firm rear suspension doesn't cause any more troubles and the front suspension continues to do a great job. The front suspension can get a little bit bouncy after going over larger bumps at higher speeds and takes a bit longer than it should to settle down. The body roll is kept well under control, as expected.
Handling - ★★★★
As expected, the C1800 handles like a sports car should. The soft front suspension doesn't seem to have affected the way the car handles much and the firmer rear suspension is just great. The Cossack C1800 has bags of grip and only when you push it a lot does it begin to understeer, but the speeds at which it will be travelling around corners before this happens is more than enough to put a smile on your face. The steering setup is good and the feel, weight and response is just right giving you extra confidence in the car when taking it round some corners. This confidence is boosted by the previously mentioned lack of roll when cornering. The lack of traction aids can reduce your confidence somewhat but adds more to the sporty feel. It is a bit of a shame that it is FWD, but for a car with power heading to those wheels it certainly is a cracker.
Refinement - ★★
One area where the C1800 doesn't impress is the refinement. The engine is a nice sounding engine and under acceleration it fills the cabin with a fruity and sporty sounding 4-cylinder not, but when you want to just cruise along the engine can be constantly heard and can become annoying quite quickly. The insulation from other noises isn't particularly good either. From not particularly high speeds the tyre and wind noise starts to intrude into the cabin and once you are up to motorway speeds it can become rather vocal and may require you to raise your voice if you are having a conversation or increasing the volume of the music you are listening to, however it isn't unbearable.
Equipment - ★★
This is considered a budget small sports car and we weren't expecting much equipment, and what we got was actually a bit less than what was expected. The cabin inside is pretty bare on the inside from the lack of equipment. The equipment levels is something you expect more in a budget small car, not a sports car. The basics that do come with the car do make journeys a bit better than if they weren't there whatsoever.
Quality - ★★★
Although there is a lack of equipment and the cabin is really rather bare, the quality of the interior, especially considering that this is a cheap car, is actually quite good. The interior plastics aren't the poshest, but they are reasonable enough for a car like this. In the higher up parts of the cabin the plastics are rather appealing, but lower down they do become rather cheap, scratchy and flimsy looking and feeling.
Reliability - ★★★★★
The 1.8-litre engine in the Cossack C1800 has been through a lot of testing and it didn't require any repairs and basically no servicing was required. It seems to have pretty much bulletproof reliability. The very few electronics that there are to go wrong seem to be alright, and even if they do wear out and go wrong, they shouldn't affect the way the car is at all. Any repair bills will probably only costs peanuts too.
Running Costs - ★★★★★
This car also costs absolute peanuts to run. The engine consumes fuel miles better than its rivals. The 1.8-litre engine sports car manages 42.3 mpg and emits just 155 g/km of carbon dioxide. Compare this to the 2.0-litre Volkswagen Corrado's 23 mpg and 260 g/km of carbon dioxide and it only makes sense to own this car and not the Corrado. The insurance bill should also be rather inexpensive as well considering that in the event of having a crash there isn't exactly many things that will need repairing and there are no expensive parts. Servicing, however, does cost quite a lot.
Safety - ★★
One thing I recommend to you is that you don't crash this car badly. There is hardly anything in terms of safety aids, so if you need to brake hard you will just lock up or if you need to swerve the car will most likely loose traction a spin off into a hedge. If you do have a crash as well there isn't much in terms of safety equipment. There are some basics that will keep you from getting very badly injured, but if you have any high speed crash and you will probably be in a bad state.
OVERALL - ★★★★
For: Cheap fuel bills, sporty drive, good ride, bulletproof reliability
Against: Stingy equipment, poor safety and refinement.