1999 Reliant Robin is SO MUCH FUN! But did it fall over?

Huge thanks to the Great British Car Journey for letting me shake off the winter gloom with this classic test drive.

The Reliant Robin was first seen in 1973, with MK1 production ending in 1981. The name was revived in 1989 for a facelifted Rialto with Fiesta headlamps. After brushes with bankruptcy, Reliant reworked the Robin in 1999, creating the MK3 you see here, complete with Corsa headlamps. Sadly, production ended in 2001, with BN Plastics producing a further 50 until 2002.

Fun fact. Del Boy never drove a Reliant Robin.
#reliant #3wheeler #testdrive

[robd]

When my brother was little, whenever he saw a 3 wheeler he would wind the window down and shout 'PLASTIC PIG!!' at the top of his voice. Sadly he died at the end of November. There are a few still on the road around us and my sister, mum and I have taken to shouting at them now, it does make us smile remembering his antics.

[mpersad]

What a lovely tribute to the Reliant Robin. Your joy at driving that little car was palpable, and great to have some common myths debunked! A lot of people forget what a difference these cars made to the lives of thousands in the UK in the 70s and 80s, with their low running costs and no need to have a full driving licence! Terrific video!

[Maddpunx]

I owned a 1975 Robin when I was 17, used it in the winter to get to work, rather than the motorbike.

[fcubeboy]

The parcel shelf lifts up when you open then boot!

It is officially more advanced than my 2014 Škoda Citigo

[davidmatthews]

After I passed my driving test I drove a Reliant Regal 21E quite a lot. It was a great little car and it taught me a lot more about driving than the minis a lot of my friends drove would have taught them. For them a corner was something you steered around, with the Reliant you had to get everything right, speed, entry, braking, line and so on. These are skills that I was able to take advantage of throughout my life. The people who make fun of Reliants are those who have never used them.

[super]

Those newer Robins where actually quite tough for what they were, a school friend of mines dad from Felinwynt had 2 of them between 1988 when I went there and 2000 before I moved away. The first one was a Blue fairly new one for the time in 88 . Somehow it ended up wrapped round a Porsche of some kind on his way to work at Verwig school. The Robin had a couple cracks in the body somewhere that totaled it, which was a shame as you could hardly tell there was visible damage. The Porsche on the other hand looked like it hit a wall at 80 mph and they shoveled most of it up off the road . The one he replaced it with was a lot older and started getting some fiber glass fatigue cracks in it. The memory I have of that one is his late Dad being outside with this red Robin, cutting bits out of a red plastic bucket and fiber glass resin gluing them on the cracks . I can tell you the comment not to make to a proud Robin owner is " wouldn't it be better to cut the best bits off the Robin and glue them on the bucket". Poor old Ed was not seeing the funny side, and CerI and his brother were trying not to laugh in front of their Dad !. Take care.

[johnfrancis]

I remember back in the 90's when a friend (a bit older than me) got his license & his dad got him a Ford fiesta (F reg I think). He used to drive it like a mad man (1.1 litre engine - but pretended he was in a rally car) took about 20 secionds to get to 60mph so when he was at that speed he would tend to maintain it). One day when i was a bit mad with him cos he'd decided not to pick us me up I was walking home (obv didn't have a lift) & came across a car wreck soon was evident it was my friends car though totally unrecognosable). What happened a reliant robin was turning in & my friend (speeding in his Fiesta judging by the 50 foot plus skid marks) crashed into the Robin int the side of it. The fiesta was completely written off - the guy in the Robin opened his boot pulled out a roll of masking tape & taped up the side part of the body which had torn almost in half... then drove off (after swapping insurance details etc), Fiesta had to be recovered with truck. My logic, understanding at the time thought it should have been the other way round!

[davidflamee]

I don't know of anyone that owned a Reliant and slagged it off. They were fairly easy to DIY repair and maintain. As an A to B vehicle they were cheap and reliable and made for a rather jolly first car. I think the love for them is still evident, it's a pity that more were not made. Happily though, quite a lot of them still exist.
My favourite was the regal van, camping gear loaded in the back and setting a course for north Wales, happy days. You would have to have owned one to understand its appeal.

[heavyspanners]

I remember Sam Glover put crossply tyres on his Robin, to deliberately limit the grip and make it easier to slide round corners. Apparently that's an established fast-driving technique in a Robin!

[James-ldjc]

You were clearly loving the drive. It's great that you keep an open mind about cars

[ColinCarFan]

That is one happy HubNut! The Reliant clearly met the "Less is More" description.

[koini]

Just the tonic I needed. The glee Ian has driving a reliant robin round a car park is infectious!

[simonbarnwell]

My younger sisters hubby had a late 60's Reliant Regal, he used to really make it shift but as a passenger i was expected to act like i was in a racing sidecar and launch myself into the direction of the corner to hold down the inside back wheel as moving ballast . Btw that's like a luxury version of Twc . I haven't seen you enjoy driving that much in a while .

[janeeccleston]

Four of us a tent and supplies drove from Manchester to Wales for a weeks holiday in the 80s in a N reg robin -Happy days and fond memories

[joewyatt]

What a fantastic little machine! I’ve always wanted a go in one. I’ll have to head on up there soon!

[ben]

My Nan had an A reg Rialto with the little drop down boot. She went absolutely everywhere in it. Up and down the motorway without thinking about it. Never let her down. She did prang it the first day she had it. Started it not realising it was in gear and it bounced forward into the back of my dad series one land rover. Resulting in my dad going out for a fibreglass kit to repair a small but of damage. Never let her down in 20 years. I'd love a go in one was the best car when we were kids 😅

[kevindarkstar]

I had a couple of reliant Robins many moons ago, and when my kids were little they thought it was hilarious when I did doughnuts in the snow, which was stupid easy in the Robin 😂

[darrenwilson]

I once drove a Regal van. Ride was appalling and you were conscious that there was only one wheel at the front so I was a bit careful on cornering but I agree they are far far more stable than some would have you think.
What did for them in the end was said to be the closure of the mines. It seems coal miners were on motorcycles mostly so liked a Regal/Robin/Rialto for winter motoring to work to keep warm and dry. Of course you could drive one on a motorbike license

[steveingham]

Great to see somebody actually do a truthful review of the Reliant for once, having owned and abused a few, i can agree with you completely about how much fun these are to drive. So many people (usually those who have never driven one) are quick to dismiss them for falling over which is not the case, yeah you can roll one if you try hard enough but they will usually slide about or lift a wheel and lose traction first! i'd love another but too many projects already lol. Thanks for being honest and keep showing the underdogs 👍

[stewartellinson]

Worth remembering that it WAS all about weight - the tax.class for tricycles was limited by weight, hence the fibreglass body, alloy engine and much more. Many motorcyclists used them as winter vehicles but, as you say, the market faded away and reliant with it I did once manage to tip one at 45 degrees by driving tight circles in a car park. The owner was not impressed as I wound down the drivers window, stuck an arm out and shoved it back into it's wheels