Metrocab Metrocab I

Which Metrocab I version to buy: 2.5 AT vs 2.5 MT (1987–2000)

If you are choosing a Metrocab I, the decision is not between engines, generations, or body styles. The catalogue lists 1 generation (1987-01-01 to 2000-12-31), one body — Hatchback 5-door — and 2 versions that share the same diesel, the same outputs, the same weights, and the same top speed.

Which Metrocab I version to buy: 2.5 AT vs 2.5 MT (1987–2000)

If you are choosing a Metrocab I, the decision is not between engines, generations, or body styles. The catalogue lists 1 generation (1987-01-01 to 2000-12-31), one body — Hatchback 5-door — and 2 versions that share the same diesel, the same outputs, the same weights, and the same top speed. The only specification that changes on paper is the gearbox: 2.5 AT is Automatic with 4 gears; 2.5 MT is Manual with 5 gears. Everything else you can measure from this dataset is identical, so “which version to buy” is a gearbox choice, not a power or size choice.

Specs that are the same on both versions

Both 2.5 AT and 2.5 MT use a 2496 cm³ Diesel, 4 cylinders, Inline, 2 valves per cylinder, boost No, engine layout Front, longitudinal. Peak output is 75 hp (55 kW) at 4000 rpm and 168 Nm at 2500 rpm. Compression ratio is 20.6; bore and stroke are 93.7 × 90.5. Fuel is Diesel. Drive is RWD. Maximum speed is 125 km/h. Tank is 64 litres. Kerb weight is 1765 kg; gross weight is 2220 kg. Front suspension is Independent, spring; rear is Dependent, leaf spring. Front brakes are Disc; rear brakes are Drum.

0–100 km/h is not measured on either version. City, highway, and combined consumption are not measured. CO2 is not measured. Eco class is not measured. Ground clearance is not measured. Wheel size is not measured. Fuel-system type is not measured.

Power per litre on both cars is 75 ÷ 2.496 ≈ 30.0 hp/l. Torque per litre is 168 ÷ 2.496 ≈ 67.3 Nm/l. Weight per horsepower is 1765 ÷ 75 ≈ 23.5 kg/hp. Payload (gross minus kerb) is 2220 − 1765 = 455 kg. None of those ratios differ between 2.5 AT and 2.5 MT, because the inputs do not differ.

Engine: nothing extra to buy on one version

There is no “more powerful” Metrocab I in this generation. You cannot pay for more displacement, more cylinders, a different layout, or boost: both versions are 2496 cm³, 4, Inline, boost No. You cannot pay for a higher redline of peak power: both peak at 4000 rpm. You cannot pay for more mid-range: both list 168 Nm at 2500 rpm.

If a listing claims a different horsepower, a turbo, or a petrol engine for a Metrocab I in these years, that claim is outside this dataset. The catalogue’s two named versions are 2.5 AT and 2.5 MT only.

The high compression (20.6) and the Diesel label sit on both cars. They do not help you pick a version; they describe the shared engine. The same is true of Front, longitudinal placement and RWD: neither version adds a second driven axle or a different engine position.

Gearbox: the only numbered difference

2.5 AT: Automatic, 4 gears. 2.5 MT: Manual, 5 gears.

That is a +1 gear on the manual and a change of type from Automatic to Manual. Top speed stays 125 km/h on both, so the extra ratio does not buy a higher listed maximum in this data. Acceleration to 100 km/h is not measured on either, so you cannot say from these numbers that the five-speed is quicker. Fuel use is not measured on either, so you cannot say the manual “saves X litres.”

What the extra gear does buy, using only arithmetic on listed counts, is one more split between standstill and 125 km/h. Four automatic ratios versus five manual ratios is the entire mechanical fork in the range.

For urban taxi-style work, the 2.5 AT is the version whose listed type matches repeated stop–start without a clutch. For a driver who wants the extra ratio count, the 2.5 MT is the one with 5 gears. There is no third gearbox in the table.

Performance and mpg: what is measured, what is not

Top speed: 125 km/h on 2.5 AT and 125 km/h on 2.5 MT. Difference: 0.

0–100 km/h: not measured / not measured.

City mpg/l/100 km: not measured / not measured. Highway: not measured / not measured. Combined: not measured / not measured.

A buyer comparing “which is more economical” cannot use this catalogue for a number. Saying one version uses less fuel would invent a figure. The honest comparison is: economy is not measured on both; performance beyond the shared 125 km/h ceiling is not measured on both.

Power-to-weight is the same 23.5 kg/hp. If you expected the automatic to be listed heavier, this dataset does not show it: kerb 1765 kg on both, gross 2220 kg on both.

Dimensions, weight, tank, clearance

Kerb: 1765 kg either way. Gross: 2220 kg either way. Payload: 455 kg either way. Tank: 64 litres either way.

Ground clearance: not measured on 2.5 AT; not measured on 2.5 MT. Wheels: not measured on both.

You do not get a roomier or lighter Metrocab I by switching from 2.5 AT to 2.5 MT. Body is Hatchback 5-door for the generation as a whole. There is no second body to choose.

If payload matters more than gearbox type, both versions give the same 455 kg between kerb and gross. If range matters, both have the same 64-litre tank and not measured consumption, so range in kilometres is not measured.

Generations: what changed (and what did not)

There is 1 generation. Start 1987-01-01, stop 2000-12-31. 2 versions inside it. There is no second generation in the data, so there is no “later car with more power” to wait for inside this model key.

Nothing in the numbers shows a mid-cycle jump in hp, Nm, displacement, or weight between the two versions: both run 1987-01-01 to 2000-12-31. You are not choosing an early versus late generation; you are choosing Automatic 4 versus Manual 5 on the same 75 hp Diesel.

What a later generation might have changed is outside this dataset. Within Metrocab I, the generation did not split the range into a restyled high-output line. One generation, two gearboxes, one engine.

Reliability and problems: what this data can and cannot say

This catalogue does not list failure rates, service intervals, or known faults. “Problems” and “reliability” as search topics therefore have no counts here. What you can say from the spec sheet:

• Both versions share the same Diesel, 4, Inline, 2 valves per cylinder, boost No. A reliability difference cannot be blamed on a different cylinder count or on turbo versus naturally aspirated, because boost is No on both.
• Rear brakes are Drum on both; front are Disc on both. You are not buying a four-disc setup on one version.
• Rear suspension is Dependent, leaf spring on both; front is Independent, spring on both. You are not buying an independent rear on one version.
• RWD on both: neither version adds another driven axle.

If a seller argues that the automatic is “less reliable,” that is not a number in this file. If a seller argues that the manual “uses less diesel,” consumption is not measured. Stick to the listed split: 4-speed Automatic versus 5-speed Manual.

Which version to choose

Choose 2.5 AT if the listed Automatic and 4 gears match how the car will be driven: the engine, 75 hp, 168 Nm, 125 km/h, 1765 kg, 2220 kg, 64 L tank, RWD, and Hatchback 5-door body are the same as the manual. You are not giving up horsepower, torque, top speed, or payload versus 2.5 MT. You are giving up one gear (4 vs 5).

Choose 2.5 MT if you want the Manual with 5 gears. You do not gain hp, Nm, a higher 125 km/h cap, a lighter kerb, a larger tank, or measured better mpg — those items are equal or not measured. You gain one extra listed ratio.

Do not choose on engine size, fuel type, drive, or generation. Displacement is 2496 on both. Fuel is Diesel on both. Drive is RWD on both. Generations: 1. Power per litre is ~30.0 hp/l on both. Weight per hp is ~23.5 kg/hp on both. Payload is 455 kg on both.

Do not choose on 0–100, mpg, CO2, eco class, clearance, or wheels. All of those are not measured on 2.5 AT and not measured on 2.5 MT. Treating a blank as “this car has no such parameter” is wrong; the parameter exists as a category and is simply not measured here.

There is no “extra money for extra power” comparison inside Metrocab I: 75 hp minus 75 hp = 0. The extra the 2.5 MT lists is +1 gear and type Manual. The extra the 2.5 AT lists is type Automatic with 4 gears. That is the whole buying fork for this model.

Version table (Metrocab I, 1 generation, 1987–2000)

Top speed 125 km/h both; 0–100 not measured both; consumption not measured both; kerb 1765 kg both; gross 2220 kg both; tank 64 L both; clearance not measured both; wheels not measured both.