Honda N360TS (1969)
Publication: Car Graphic
Format: Road Impressions (full article includes Daihatsu Fellow SS, Subaru 360 Young SS, and Suzuki Fronte SS360)
Date: January 1969
Author: “C/G Test Group” (uncredited)
Road Testing the Honda N360TS
With performance comparable to that of cars in the 1-liter class and a spacious interior, the Honda N360 greatly changed both the image and the significance of the kei car. In the roughly two and a half years since its introduction, the N360 range has grown to include numerous variations, among them the S, M and G types and an automatic model. The latest addition to this N family is the T series.
The T is, so to speak, the sporting model. In addition to two Keihin variable-venturi carburetors, the cylinder head has been modified with separate intake ports and a higher compression ratio, while the valve springs and crankshaft have also been strengthened. As a result, output from the air-cooled, four-stroke, two-cylinder SOHC 354cc engine has risen from the standard 31ps to 36ps/9000rpm. Maximum torque has also increased to 3.2mkg, delivered at the unusually high speed of 7000rpm.
There are several variations within the T series as well, but the car tested here was the TS, given a sporting appearance inside and out with such features as a tachometer and leather-covered steering wheel.
In short, the N360 TS may be described as an extremely well-balanced, very small sporting sedan based on the N series. Without sacrificing any of the advantages of the standard N, it combines them with higher performance. The engine, with its high specific output of 100ps per liter, is very easy to use and gives none of the impression of being overstressed, a common weakness in cars of this type.
Even on a cold morning, the engine starts up immediately with a gentle whir from the Dyna-Starter. Thanks to the advantages of air cooling, it requires little warming up before setting off, although it often stalls while idling until it is fully warm. Since maximum power is developed at 9000rpm, 500rpm higher than in the standard model, and maximum torque at 7000rpm, fully 1500rpm higher, the engine naturally has to be taken to fairly high revs when starting off. At first, conscious of this high-revving engine, we drove it constantly at fairly high engine speeds, but after a while we found that there was no need to rev it so hard: even shifting up at around 4000rpm was enough to keep pace with city traffic. Torque increases sharply from around 5000rpm, but the engine is not particularly peaky compared with those of other sporting kei cars, and will pull quite well even at fairly low speeds.
There is another reason not to use more than 5000rpm unnecessarily: doing so inevitably brings an increase in noise. The mechanical noise produced by the air-cooled two-cylinder engine has been regarded as one of the biggest drawbacks of the N series. Considerable effort has been made to reduce noise in recent models, and in fact this TS seemed much quieter than the last standard N we had driven. Even compared with the other three cars tested thi time, it was not particularly noisy. Nevertheless, once past 6000rpm conversation inside the car becomes difficult, and one feels hesitant to drive it through a quiet residential neighborhood late at night. veryone is asleep.
The engine revs smoothly and surprisingly freely, resulting in excellent acceleration at lower speeds. In first and second gears, in particular, it reaches the 9000rpm red zone almost before one knows it; maximum speeds in the gears were 30km/h in first, 50km/h in second and over 80km/h in third. In the T series, top gear has been shortened somewhat from the standard model’s 0.608 to 0.648, but even so, acceleration drops off sharply once top is engaged. Consequently, in the 0-200m acceleration test, which uses the first three gears, the TS recorded 13.5 seconds, the fastest time among the four sporting kei cars. Its 5.5 seconds from 40-60km/h in third was also excellent. In the 0-400m test, however, where the finish comes at 100km/h and 7000rpm in top gear, it could manage only 21.9 seconds (the catalog figure is 21.05 seconds).
The catalog gives a maximum continuous speed of 120km/h. On the Tomei Expressway, acceleration fell off considerably above 100km/h, but given a long enough stretch, it seemed that 120km/h could be reached without too much effort.
The gearbox is the familiar constant-mesh type, so quiet shifts require double-clutching, but once one gets used to it and learns the knack, shifting is very light and quick. In particular, downshifting into first requires much less care than in other non-synchromesh cars.
The rack-and-pinion steering is light for a front-wheel-drive car at both low and high speeds, as well as being sharp, and together with the fact that it is hardly affected by crosswinds at high speeds, this gives the N360 excellent stability. Speaking of wind, the N360’s boxy body creates very high air resistance, which significantly reduces acceleration when driving into a headwind.
As might be expected with front-wheel drive, the handling is dominated by strong understeer, but when the power is cut off, its line suddenly cuts inward. Care is needed, however, when taking tight corners in this car. During the gymkhana at Murayama, if we entered a corner just a little too fast, the inside rear wheel would lift completely off the ground, and the car tended to assume an unstable attitude that seemed on the verge of tipping over. It is stable enough in ordinary use, but is actually rather unsuited to gymkhana-style driving, and its lap time was the slowest of the four cars.
The brakes are quite stable, bringing the car to a straight stop from an initial speed of 50km/h in around 9m with a pedal effort of 28kg.
Finally, the interior. The S-type leather-covered steering wheel is quite substantial and gives a much greater feeling of security than the standard plastic one. The circular speedometer and tachometer are small in diameter, but their markings and needles are easy to read. As on the other N-series models, we were also grateful for the powerful heater and defroster despite it having an air-cooled engine. Removing the rear seat (which is surprisingly easy) allows large items to be carried, something we found extremely useful during testing with our bulky equipment. Since the engine is a four-stroke, it is also economical with fuel: during a round trip on the Tomei at a steady 80km/h it returned 20km/l, while even in Tokyo traffic that included hard driving it managed 15km/l, making it the most economical of the four cars.
Postscript: Story Photos
