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1984 Wartburg 353Review
Simon writes:
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Wartburg Knight (353) Great 2stroke Fun — With its 3 cylinder 2 stroke engine giving the equivalent power to that of a 6 cylinder 1.8 4 stroke engine acceleration is very good. All panels are bolted on and the car has a separate chassis for ease of maintenance. The engine only has 7 moving parts so is very reliable and you never have to mess around changing engine oil and filters. Designed and went into production in 1966 and was front wheel drive looks are really cool with plenty of chrome. Interior room is great with flat floors give plenty of legroom. Column gear change and freewheel on all gears make driving 2 strokes a total pleasure. Fuel consumption when driven steady ie cruising at 60 mph is around 40 mpg but drive it hard and 2 strokes do love to be thrashed and mpg drops to around 28.

Pros: Having owned this car since 1995 its a total pleasure to own and drive If I had the choice between having a brand new car every year of any make and price range  but never being able to drive a  Wartburg I would choose the Wartburg over any modern car.

Cons: There are 3 things I find annoying about the car.
1st. Limited choice of alloy wheels due to the 160 pcd Irmscher made some nice alloys for Wartburgs back in 1991 but have been out of production for nearly 20 years so hard to find and expensive.

2nd thing I hate is the large panel gaps but really thats nothing major.

3rd thing I hate is people looking at the engine and laughing at its size but they have no idea its has twice the output to that of a similar size 4 stroke engine.

8 of 10 people found this review helpful.
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Have you driven a 1984 Wartburg 353?