RE: Shed Of The Week: Rover Metro

[Blackpuddin]

Hoi, we don't want any of your filthy facts in here!

[Agent Orange]

Gandahar said:

I screwed my wife to be in a red Metro in the middle of Watford NCP carpark one night. Beat that.

I got blown off by my then girlfriend under the clock tower at Southampton Guildhall by the Southampton Central Police station in my Metro. Never been better either.

So are Metro's the ultimate shag car?

Aged 18 I had a black MG Metro (EHP 93Y) back in 1988/9. Hydrolastic rear suspension nearly bankrupt me but was a great fun car.

Sounded great, handled great, rear spoiler, pepper pot alloys, sports seats, red seat belts and carpet. Gearbox wasn't great and near horizontal placement of steering wheel a bit odd (just like old Minis) though.

But bar being a bit naive and having bit of grief with an unscrupulous so called Mini/Metro specialist in Durley who robbed me blind whilst fixing the rear suspension I don't recall the car giving me any problems.

This GS though? I'm sure it's perfectly capable and worthy for that commuting train station run 2 miles way but does it actually give any driving fun?

[daytona365]

Yet if it 'mini cooper' on the back, you'd all be slobbering and thinking why is it only 6k ?!

[dbdb]

Blackpuddin said:

Hoi, we don't want any of your filthy facts in here!

[carscribes]

I was on this photo shoot… And I drove the first 1.4 K series non-stop around all the EU capital cities. At the time it seemed a refined and fun little car, so I can't really see where all the hate for the Metro is coming from. That said, I'm not sure I'd spend a grand on one today.

Pommygranite said:

Boom!





Check these out!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/triggerscarstuff/col...

[dbdb]

cookie1600 said:

Pommygranite said:

When it came out What Car gave it a full 5 stars and proclaimed it a class leader...

What Car Azerbaijan?

No, 1980. The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

Car ran with the strapline "Metro the magnificent", but then they hadn't seen Top gear. They did rather ruin it by adding "In the circumstances BL have done a brilliant job", though...

[ash9988777]

I had one of these as my first car and i simply adored it! it was Henley Blue (paint code JPD) 1.1s with the 1.4GTA alloys on it (same as this) the suspension was lowered, (well the hdryogas gas was donald ducked but people didnt need to know that!) a peco big bore 2 exhuast and 2 10" subs in the boot, it was so underpowered, hard to drive but looking at these pictures bring back some fantastic memories.

What a great little car, if i win the euromillions tonight, despite the visit to romans international in the mornnig i will be giving this guy a call and keeping it next to the 458 speicalle.

A.

[Negative Creep]

dbdb said:

cookie1600 said:

Pommygranite said:

When it came out What Car gave it a full 5 stars and proclaimed it a class leader...

What Car Azerbaijan?

No, 1980. The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

Car ran with the strapline "Metro the magnificent", but then they hadn't seen Top gear. They did rather ruin it by adding "In the circumstances BL have done a brilliant job", though...

But Lord Clarkson and this bloke in the pub told me they were the worst car ever and anything British was rubbish anyway! Other cars from the era never, ever rusted or broke down!!!

[Blackpuddin]

I love how PH threads balance themselves up.

[BL Fanboy]

Blackpuddin said:

You need to change your username as I am confused.
I agree with your basic point though. SOTW should pick only Cavaliers and the like so as not to provoke any of that awful forum chat.

Like the car very much. In fact there isn't a model of car in existance I don't like.

Just see this week as a "Metro" bomb and all really predictable that's all.

[P4ROT]

IanCress said:

"I'm not driving a Mini Metro, I'm not driving a Mini Metro, I'm not driving a Mini Metro"

"No Alan, It's a Rover 100"

"THEY'VE RE-BADGED IT YOU FOOL!"

haha! Cock, Piss, Partridge...

[Dave G fsi]

Ashcroft has exactly the right attitude towards them, see 1 min 56 seconds...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lyu1KKwC74

[Coddy85]

I'd rather go to work dragging my scrotum on a rusty razor blade.


But then I'd buy it just to see the reaction from here!

[NGK210]

Gandahar said:

I screwed my wife to be in a red Metro in the middle of Watford NCP carpark one night...

Gracious, the seems a tad ruthless. Or did you mean to write:

"I screwed my wife-to-be in a red Metro..."??

[Gorbyrev]

Kitchski said:

r11co said:

Comical. People here revere Caterhams and Westfields, and admire Citroen AX's and Saxos that are just as 'dangerous'.

Second time I've seen that, and I've got to point out the AX and Saxo (though you wouldn't want to test them) did fare better than the Metro in crash tests, and in the real world (speaking from experience I gained working in a bodyshop). You've also got to consider the majority rusted so badly, the original structure wouldn't have performed as it was designed to when new as there would be rot around countless spot welds etc. Mind you, the same could probably be thrown at a 1987 Golf or BMW E30, so what quantifies 'safe' exactly I wonder? They're all only tested when new.
I'm speaking as a pro-Metro voice on this thread, but the crash performance of them is particularly bad. I've got an old mag extract from the old Euro crash tests in the early '90's. The AX had a 2 star rating, the (then new) Saxo and 106 had 3, Fiesta mk4 and Punto had 4 star, and the Metro had a 1 star rating, and that was only because 1 was the lowest they could score I still fancy a Metro GTi one day though, or an early 1.0/1.3 4-speed in really basic spec. In yellow, or beige!

Bang on about the Se7ens though, and probably most TVRs for that matter. If I binned my S1, I know there's not so much a crumple zone in front of me, just a load of randomly positioned spikes wrapped in bits of broken glass!

Edited by Kitchski on Friday 24th October 13:24

Have had the dubious honour of crashing both a Metro (into a Volvo 245) and an AX (T-boned a Cavalier right on the front wheel. Thankfully walked away from both. My understanding is that Caterhams are quite good in a crash structurally. Some of your bits are rather exposed and the crumple zones are far from generous. But people walk away from pretty serious racing incidents in Sevens. As has been said, don't think any of the Metro's orginal competitors would have fared well in a Euro NCAP test (don't believe me look on Youtube and see what a Renault Modus does to a Volvo 940 in the 5th Gear video. Tech and design have come a long, long way since then.) Loved my 1981 Metro HLS (oh yes, we are talking top quality black velour here) complete with 1.3 A series engine. Proper little go-kart which would four wheel drift at will. Pleasingly cheap to fix though the fuel tank was a pain to drop so ran out of juice on a few occasions unaware that the tank was bottoming (no trip-o-meter). In terms of 1980 tech it was up against the MkIII Escort which I drove at length and I much preferred the Metro as a driving experience. By Rover 100 days these were fatter and outclassed by other cars, but back in the day they deserved their good reputation. Garage mate of mine rallied them. Wasn't there an ex-Royal Metro in the classifieds for a while replete with bespoke white piped trim and about 20,000 miles driven from a heated garage?

Edited by Gorbyrev on Friday 24th October 14:01

[Agent Orange]

ash9988777 said:

a peco big bore 2 exhaust

AH thank you!!!! I knew my MG had an after market exhaust but I couldn't remember what one. Sounded great

[RobinBanks]

I remember these as comfortable, frugal cars which were quite sweet to drive.

If I was looking for a cheap, frugal car I would call Nick to haggle. I like those seats!

[kpb]

I recall them not being a bad little car in their day.

However I rear ended one at a roundabout in 1999 when they were still relatively numerous. I was driving my boss' Carina V6 and doing no more than 10mph (the other driver pulled away and then stopped for no reason whilst I was still looking right).

I remember hearing the driver's two kids screaming their heads off in terror, and being unable to get them out and to a safe location because of how the rear crumpled and overlapped with the rear doors, they were sat covered in glass - then feeling a complete clown when one of the door handles came off in my grasp when tugging on it...not a great memory.

[Fetchez la vache]

I took my lessons in a turbo. If I recall it had 4 forward gears and lights above your head for turbo boost.

Come-on shed. They weren't even cool at the time, even with turbo boost led's and "turbo" written large down the sides. Not sure how this stbox passed under your radar.

[Al 450]

If it's a 1.4 then it's 105hp, 76hp was the 1.1L. Highest specific output of any small engine at the time and for a long time as I recall.