Hyundai Pony review

• Overview
• What is it?
• Er, what?
• Eh? I must’ve misheard.
• Are you about to tell me Hyundai’s first car was based on a Morris Marina?
• What about exports?
• To America, I’m assuming?
• OK enough history, what’s it like today?
• What's the verdict?
• Driving
• What is it like to drive?
• Does it handle?
• How’s the engine?
• Interior
• What is it like on the inside?
• And lessons that probably have been learned, too?
• Does it feel small on the road?
• Does it feel cheap inside?
• Buying
• What should I be paying?

Overview

What is it?

The OG Hyundai. Or at least very nearly. The car you see here is a Pony 2. 1 had arrived seven years earlier, at the end of 1975. Truth be told there wasn’t that much change between one and two. Single rectangular headlights instead of twin round inside a nose that sloped back rather than forwards. Underneath they were mechanically largely the same. And neither was the first car Hyundai built.

Er, what?

The Pony was Hyundai’s first car that was all Korea’s own work. Although, as we shall see, that wasn’t strictly true either. Anyway, before 1975 Hyundai had built other people’s cars under licence, among them the Ford Cortina, built in Ulsan from 1968. But of course they wanted to do their own stuff, but without experience of car building, they needed a hand. So they hired a Brit.

Eh? I must’ve misheard.

You heard right first time. George Turnbull was MD of Austin Morris (part of British Leyland). Hyundai had dealt with him before, and decided he’d be just the chap to help them get their fledgling car business off the ground. Although he died a long time ago (back in 1992) he remains a legend in South Korea. He started at Hyundai in 1974 and brought with him five other car engineers and designers. And a pair of Morris Marinas.

Are you about to tell me Hyundai’s first car was based on a Morris Marina?

That’s about the size of it. It was a bit of a bodge (aren’t they all?), carrying some parts over from the Ford Cortina, while drivetrains were bought in from Mitsubishi and it was cloaked in a hatchback body designed by none other than Giorgetto Giugiaro.

It was rear-wheel drive, through a solid rear axle supported by leaf springs, powered by in-line four cylinder engines and there was a choice of manual or auto gearboxes.

It went on sale at the end of ’75, and was an immediate hit in the domestic market. Legend has it that Hyundai was a profitable car company within a year of starting production – and production had started not much more than a year since Turnbull had landed with his engineers and Marinas. That’s amazing. The definition of a successful start-up.

What about exports?

They didn’t take long to follow. In 1976 Hyundai began sending cars to South America, with Europe coming online from 1979. By that stage the model range was already expanding. The four door hatch (it only had a small notch tailgate) was joined by a three-door liftback, an estate, and even a pick-up. However, those were mostly for the domestic market – exports only really got started with the second gen car (like the one you see here) came along in 1982.

To America, I’m assuming?

No, even back then it didn’t meet emissions regs for the USA. But it did for Canada. And here it got a lucky break. As Korea was seen as an emerging market economy the Canadian authorities gave it some tax breaks. That enabled Hyundai to sell it cheap – it started at just $5,795, with a full house GLS version at $6,695. The number may not mean much, but the key point is that it undercut all its rivals.

Hyundai predicted sales of 5,000 per annum. They guessed wrong about Canada’s appetite for a bargain. Having gone on sale in December 1983, the following year over 25,000 were sold. In 1985 that figure doubled again. In the space of two years from a standing start, the Pony was Canada’s best selling passenger car.

OK enough history, what’s it like today?

Rudimentary, but tolerably well engineered. It certainly wasn’t an advanced car and never pretended to be. Even this gen 2 had a carburettor rather than fuel injection and the four speed manual is a bit shaky. It’s a car that does the job of being a car without ever seeking to do more. It’s a classic first effort – the kind of car where you can tell they were just trying to get the engineering and production right, with little capability left over to consider dynamics or design.

Visibility is excellent, largely because the concept of crash structure and safety cells hadn’t properly introduced themselves back then, and for similar reasons there’s plenty of space inside. The metal frame is thin, there’s not much sound-deadening and the engine, although not harsh, is a constant companion. It’s roughly the size of a Ford Fiesta (won’t be able to use that as a benchmark for too much longer), and weighs around a tonne.

Even at a distance of 40 years (the Pony is older than 90 per cent of the buildings we drive past in Seoul), Hyundai’s first model shows signs of the talent that has taken the firm to the top of the global automotive table. For a parts bin special, it has a sense of being its own thing rather than a direct rip-off of someone else’s work.

Sure, there’s nothing innovative about it, but very few car firms get off the ground by being innovative straight out the box. They develop by building sensibly off firm foundations. The Pony is exactly that – not a thrilling car, but a very savvy one.

Continue reading: Driving

Driving

What is it like to drive?

A little crude but by no means a basket case. About par with other cheap cars from the period then. It’s certainly no worse than a lot of what was coming out from British Leyland at the time.

What we have here is an ordinary hatchback, the kind of car that keeps the world turning but never sets it alight. It uses coil springs up front and leaf springs and a solid axle at the back. It’s not a cossetting set-up, but the front end is positive through the unassisted steering. Just watch that though: plenty of turns from lock to lock.

Does it handle?

Technically yes, rewardingly no. It can go round corners, but push even an ounce too hard and you sense the loaded front wheel start to tuck under. At this point you remind yourself how spindly the suspension looked when you had a root around and that you’re driving a museum piece.

The rear axle is less well damped and skitters about. It’s a bit lumpen. Go faster and it never really settles. But there are no squeaks and nor is there much suspension noise. The ride isn’t sophisticated, but back then precious little was.

How’s the engine?

It manages to move the car. Actually, that’s a bit unkind. Once warmed through (the carburettor doesn’t need much choke) the Mitsubishi-sourced four cylinder actually runs pretty smoothly. There’s not too many vibrations and the noise isn’t too invasive. Nor is the gearchange particularly awkward. It functions well, but by any modern standards the performance is extremely leisurely. Even keeping up with city centre buses is a challenge – the engine likes to be kept in a fairly narrow sweetspot.

Previous: Overview

Continue reading: Interior

Interior

What is it like on the inside?

Firstly, it’s worth pointing out that this isn’t a museum grade prima donna. It’s got astroturf floor mats, a pockmarked gearlever and 72,000km on the clock. But otherwise it’s been well cared for. The steering wheel isn’t too shiny and the switchgear all works.

Look at it though, all blocky and clustered around the plain instrument pod. Actually quite nice to operate a car that isn’t trying to actively overawe you with its touchscreen capabilities. Nice slender steering wheel, too. There’s lessons to be learned here.

And lessons that probably have been learned, too?

Absolutely. The skinny pillars and slim doors do make for a light car that’s easy to see out of, but equally one you know would fold up better than a Brompton in a crash. The seats are flat and unsupportive, the steering wheels sits in your lap and it all feels a bit primitive – like the ergonomics are nearly there, but not quite.

Does it feel small on the road?

Not especially, because it was a mid-size hatchback, designed to take on the likes of the Ford Escort and Vauxhall Astra. It’s narrow, but over four metres long, so about the size of a modern supermini. But probably bigger inside because there’s not much thickness to the safety cell. You’d get five in happily (rear knee space isn’t great), and despite a high sill there’s oodles of bootspace, too.

Does it feel cheap inside?

God yes, if you’re comparing it to anything new, but by the standards of the 1970s it’s about par for the course. Everything is brittle moulded plastics – there’s a bit of soft touch around the dash, but you can see the boltheads visible under the vinyl door trims and there’s no attempt at design beyond the purely functional.

A quick word on the exterior: anyone else think it looks a bit like a Volvo 340 from the back?

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Continue reading: Buying

Buying

What should I be paying?

It would be a pretty rare groove collector keeping an eye out for one of these in the UK. The ever excellent howmanyleft.co.uk currently lists four original Ponys still in use on UK roads at the end of 2022. The most since 2019, which is nice.

Hardly surprising that there are currently no cars for sale in the UK. In fact, even expanding that out to Europe, we only found one Pony/Pony 2 on the market, a ratty example in Greece wearing a POA tag. Doubtless hoping someone will think it’s a classic and make a daft offer. More modern Ponys are available from around €1,000. If you must.

But only an original Pony or Pony 2 can make any sort of claim at being historically significant. Given where Hyundai is now, in terms of its scale and success, a beautiful original probably does have some value. The question though, is who would pay for it.

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Continue reading: Specs & Prices

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