Review written on 8/1920.
We have eagerly awaited the arrival of the Philadelphia Motors Athletic. The day has finally come. We're looking forward to taking this Phaeton out for a drive. After our recent reviews of the everyone else, any test drive to make us forget it is welcomed! The real question bouncing around the office is if the Athletic is better than the Magdala. You'll have to read to find out.
Normally we take the vehicles out to the track as our first test. And to be honest we tried, but the Philadelphia Motors Athletic is so slow that it took us nearly 3 hours just getting out of the parking lot.
And that shows you how dreadful this Phaeton is. The 9 hp @ 519RPMs 3404 cc I2 engine is grossly underpowered. Interestingly enough if you waited all week you could power the Athletic up to a top speed of 29 mph and accelerate full throttle with a Not Applicable time. We found that with 75 lb-ft of torque this machine can tow an impressive 1280 lbs. When it comes to handling, the Philadelphia Motors Athletic is one of the worst Phaeton we have tested. We fear for our lives any time there is a slight bend in the road.So in a nut shell the Athletic is as slow as a rock. The only way to make it move is to push it off a cliff.
The Philadelphia Motors Athletic reminds me of jail. The longer you're inside of it the less you want to be there. The interior is drab and non-existent. Devoid of form or functionality. There is nothing there. Nothing to write about. Just horrible, cold, nothingness. And that is how you can best describe the Athletic's insides.
When it comes to cargo, its 27 cu-ft of space is better than most vehicles of its type, but far from the best. We believe there is enough room in the Philadelphia Motors Athletic to fill all your needs without over doing it.
A serious issue with the Athletic is its build quality. The finish on this vehicle is absolutely atrocious. Philadelphia Motors should be ashamed of selling it.
If you're looking for a car to put on cinder blocks in your front yard, the Philadelphia Motors Athletic is the vehicle for you. It is that unreliable.
At this point in testing we would normally take the Philadelphia Motors Athletic out on the roads. However our test driver barely made it out of the parking lot before running out of fuel. The Athletic's ghastly 9.4 mpg means you'll need to take a few jerry cans, scratch that, a few barrels of fuel just to make it to the grocery store.
On the topic of safety, the Philadelphia Motors Athletic is highly recommended for suicidal drivers who are not afraid of spontaneous combustion.
Words can not describe how bad the Philadelphia Motors Athletic. I flipped through just about the entire thesaurus. About the best I can do is this: The Philadelphia Motors Athletic is an absolutely horrendously disgusting Phaeton.