Review written on 8/1964.
We have eagerly awaited the arrival of the Calboni Spell. The day has finally come. We're looking forward to taking this Coupe out for a drive. After our recent reviews of the Lynn, any test drive to make us forget it is welcomed! The real question bouncing around the office is if the Spell is better than the Mage. You'll have to read to find out.
The day started right when I was picked to drive the Calboni Spell on the track. The Spell is a is pretty fast for a Coupe. Its 103 hp @ 4962RPMs 2551 cc I4 engine response great and is the perfect size and power for this vehicle. It left a smile on my face when I was able to top it out at 115 mph. And then on the drag strip I was able to crank out a 20.004s 0 to 60 mph. Some may have their doubts, but the Calboni Spell is a fantastic track Coupe. While testing the Calboni Spell's handling on the track, we found that this Coupe drives like a brick. Many times we were confronted with a corner that the vehicle just couldn't handle. At speed this vehicle may be deadly.
When we got to interior testing on the Calboni Spell we found it to be below average. While you wouldn't want to use this vehicle on a road trip, it is comfortable enough for short rides and tiny commutes.
Above average to good is what a friend of mine said when trying to load some junk into the 19 cu-ft of space inside the Calboni Spell. He was right! The Spell is above average for vehicles in this segment. It is one of the more practical vehicles of this type on the market.
The team at Calboni cut a lot of corners when it came to building the Spell. It is apparent in everything from the interior to the body panels to the paints to the molding. Its not designed to last. But its not exactly the worst car on the market. You can do better.
If it wasn't for the price, we would of thought that the Calboni Spell was a disposable car. It literally breaks after use. But no, it's not disposable, and that's what makes it all the worse.
The Calboni Spell's fuel economy is impressive, but not in a good way. The Spell's 25.1 mpg is one of the worst in class. This might not be troublesome when you look at the numbers, but it will be when you actually have to pay for it.
While being safe is important, Calboni did not believe it was a priority in the Spell. The vehicle does provide enough safety features to be consider average for its class. It does not add anything more than that however.
Would we recommend this vehicle at retail price? No. There are better options in the Coupe segment than the Calboni Spell. It's hard to say what faults are the Spell but we do know that Calboni really needs to improve this product if it wants any sizeable portion of the marketshare. If you can get this vehicle steeply discounted then it might be worth it. Other wise avoid the Calboni Spell.