Classic Cars of Greece and Spain: Renault, Rover, Nissan and SsangYong

Last year my wife and I took a trip to Europe that covered several countries. In the previous entries we looked at France, Ireland and Malta. We shall finish off in Greece and Spain. This early Renault 5 was found in a dusty building in Athens and was a highlight, but far from the only unexpected find.

We visited Athens in Greece, a very busy and old city, which leads to a tough and short life for most cars. Despite this, there were a few interesting nuggets like this Nissan Vanette. It was even more rare to see a white van not covered in graffiti.

There were very few sports cars, but I did manage to come across this rather tidy-looking 1990s Nissan 200SX.

The notchback was never offered in Europe, but the lovely hatchback body style was. Despite being named 200SX, it sports a 1.8L CA18DET engine. European-market cars had no speed limiter and a differential oil cooler to handle any Autobahn duties. In front you can see what almost all cargo vans looked like.

This parked Rover 416GSi was a very unexpected find. The 416GSi was part of the 400 range and, if I am decoding this correctly, featured a Honda 1.6L 16-valve engine of 112hp and was available from 1991 to 1994.

I do like these Nissan March hatchbacks. This blue example with aftermarket wheels is quite nice.

These more rounded style Suzuki Jimny are not everyone’s favorite generation, but I find them appealing. This one features aftermarket wheels and unique roof treatment.

The Mazda MX-5 is much less common in Europe than in America. This example is a little worn but still appealing with a red top.

There were still a few Honda Super Cub motorbikes active in Athens. They are always a welcome sight for me.

On the larger end of the motorcycle spectrum was this classic Ural motorcycle with side car.

These feature a boxer engine and based on a 1930s BMW design refined over many decades.

Of the two countries, we spent more time in Spain. Most of the time was spent in a bit of a resort area rather than a dense urban area and there were older but more everyday cars. This Citroën AX is a good example of that.

The first-generation Ford Ka was such a bold design that got watered down in subsequent revisions. This one has a few scars and bumps from years of street parking.

The rear of the Ka is even more polarizing. Rather like my Renault Twingo, the Ka used an updated but fundamentally old engine design with characterful styling. Dubbed the Endura-E, the four-cylinder engine was evolved from the old Kent engine (Ford Anglia, Cortina, etc.). It is considered durable but has a poor oil filter location due to its roots as a rear-drive, longitudinally mounted engine now situated transversely.

The Renault Mégane MkII is a little funky from the front…

… but a lot funkier from the rear. The styling was inspired by the larger Avantime. A variety of gas and diesel four cylinder engines were offered.

One of the nice things about going to different places is seeing some pretty underwhelming but never-seen-at-home cars like this Mahindra KUV100 from India. The wheels look a little undersized, but it is a handsome design otherwise.

This SsangYong Rodius is another example of something I would likely never see in Canada. These first-generation Rodius minivans, with the facelift shown here, were based on older Mercedes-Benz mechanical bits.

The rear view is a bit challenging from a looks viewpoint, and the critics panned the styling. They are distinctive!

This post 1996 Nissan Terrano SUV looked sharp in green.

These electric, vaguely beach-buggy-looking vehicles were available to rent. The stance looks a little too high, but I would have loved to give one a try.

Here is a European market 8th generation Honda Civic with a full-width front light bar, with a later SsangYong next to it.

This Piaggio Hexagon GT 250 caught my eye.

This Mercedes 207D van, set up as a food truck, is still earning its keep.

There is very little information on these commercial trikes, but Trimak is a Spanish-market trike vehicle with an aerodynamic body that was built from 1959 to 1967 before encountering financial challenges. As seen here, for the 1970s the Trimak returned with revised and more squared-off bodywork to become the Tri 70. Engine options were SEAT gas four-cylinder engines or a Lombardini single-cylinder diesel.

We took a bus tour into Barcelona and spied these Go Cars electric two-seaters. These looked like a lot of fun, and I wish we’d had the time and flexibility to try one out. Perhaps next time.

I will close on this yellow classic car. I can’t pin down exactly what it is, as I only saw it briefly from the rear. To me it gives off Hillman Avenger or Mitsubishi vibes, but neither is a match. I am hoping that a reader will be able to identify it so I can finally exclaim, “Of course, that is what it is!”