a six-cylinder car was road tested by britain's "autocar" magazine in march 1975 at the time of the model's launch. it recorded a maximum speed of 104 mph (167 km/h) and reached 60 mph (97 km/h) from a standing start in 13.5 seconds. the top speed was marginally lower than the 109 mph (175 km/h) achieved by a recently tested ford consul 2500 l and a full three seconds slower to 60 mph than the ford which managed the standing start test in just 10.4 seconds. the 2200 also fell slightly behind the fiat 132gls 1800 in these comparisons. at the same time its overall fuel consumption at 20.7 mpg was usefully superior to the ford's 18.1 mpg. the lighter fiat was more frugal with fuel than either of the other two. on price, the austin's domestic market recommended retail prices including taxes of £2,424 was significantly higher than the £2,221 charged for the ford.