Rovers - were they really that bad?
Discussion
When I passed my test my first car was a 1990 Rover Metro. It was a great little car, ok it rusted but so did most of the cars from the late 80's early 90's. After that I bought myself a 1995 Rover 214 SEI because it was better equipped and as powerful as the 1.6 Escorts that my friends were driving.
Recently I needed to get myself a cheap estate car and found a 52reg Rover 75 diesel for £1500 and I love it. Its extremely comfortable and smooth to drive, handles way better than I expected bearing in mind its a nose heavy fwd barge, everything works on it and the only down side is some of the trim squeaks a bit but its an 11 year old car with over 100k miles on it. Just need to get a v8 one now.
Recently I needed to get myself a cheap estate car and found a 52reg Rover 75 diesel for £1500 and I love it. Its extremely comfortable and smooth to drive, handles way better than I expected bearing in mind its a nose heavy fwd barge, everything works on it and the only down side is some of the trim squeaks a bit but its an 11 year old car with over 100k miles on it. Just need to get a v8 one now.
Define 'Rover'
The real Rovers ended with the SD1 and were fantastic, well engineered modern, forward looking cars. The SD1 in particular was let down by its terrible build quality, but a good one can be fantastic. My 2300 was lovely.
Front drive ones, from 213s onwards were basically Hondas or Austins (or Tatas!) with a marketing man's idea of what a 'British' car should be, and sold on their 'Britishness' rather than any intrinsic qualities that made them superior to the competition. Badge engineering is not engineering.
When the base car was good the Rover was good, as with the Honda Concerto-based 200/400 and the Accord based 600.
When it wasn't, well it wasn't.
The 75 was a German's idea of what a British car should be, and for about a year it looked great, but the retro fad passed quickly and they still didn't modernise it.
History will not remember the K Series kindly. It was too highly strung and underdeveloped. When that is your only engine choice because your masters have seen fit to saddle you with a unique front drive platform instead of a shared BMW one what hope is there? And the Pheonix Four were a bunch of shysters who really didn't have any idea of what the Rover brand stood for.
Ironic really that the makers of the Cityrover now own the brand.
The real Rovers ended with the SD1 and were fantastic, well engineered modern, forward looking cars. The SD1 in particular was let down by its terrible build quality, but a good one can be fantastic. My 2300 was lovely.
Front drive ones, from 213s onwards were basically Hondas or Austins (or Tatas!) with a marketing man's idea of what a 'British' car should be, and sold on their 'Britishness' rather than any intrinsic qualities that made them superior to the competition. Badge engineering is not engineering.
When the base car was good the Rover was good, as with the Honda Concerto-based 200/400 and the Accord based 600.
When it wasn't, well it wasn't.
The 75 was a German's idea of what a British car should be, and for about a year it looked great, but the retro fad passed quickly and they still didn't modernise it.
History will not remember the K Series kindly. It was too highly strung and underdeveloped. When that is your only engine choice because your masters have seen fit to saddle you with a unique front drive platform instead of a shared BMW one what hope is there? And the Pheonix Four were a bunch of shysters who really didn't have any idea of what the Rover brand stood for.
Ironic really that the makers of the Cityrover now own the brand.
I had a ZT V6, it was a mark 1 so NVH was very good. The interior space and looks were amazing. Shut lines and the like we're very good for a supposed cheaply developed car. The handling was amazing for such a great car and I thoroughly enjoyed the drive every time.
However while no HGF (due to the V6) I did have the other common faults of clutch and thermostat failure. I then had a misfiring cylinder 2. Despite that, to fix it all including doing the brakes only cost me £1100.
I really was to try a V8 one though... They look like tons of fun
However while no HGF (due to the V6) I did have the other common faults of clutch and thermostat failure. I then had a misfiring cylinder 2. Despite that, to fix it all including doing the brakes only cost me £1100.
I really was to try a V8 one though... They look like tons of fun
i worked on metros/maestros when they new ish , seriously rusty after say 3 years and wasnt unheard of to need welding for the 1st mot
old fella that worked with me said when sd1 were new they often had to re paint parts on new cars at the dealer as they were rusting before being picked up by the new owner
poor quality tat if you ask me , you could really tell the interiors were low rent
old fella that worked with me said when sd1 were new they often had to re paint parts on new cars at the dealer as they were rusting before being picked up by the new owner
poor quality tat if you ask me , you could really tell the interiors were low rent
I've had a few.
5 x Classic Minis
Mostly 998cc and a couple of 1275 coopers. 10/10 for just being one of the best cars in the history of the world, ever.
2 x Metros.
Both A series powered, one MG in white, one GTA in red. Not as good as the minis but fun nonetheless, could have rusted in the olympics. 7/10.
MG ZT CDTI
Cheap to buy, cheap to run, reliable, comfortable, quite and people thought it was an expensive car and always got good comments from non petrolheads. Just sold it to a young lad I know who's got it as his first car (To go along with hid drift/track MX5 he can't insure for road use due to cost) and he loves it as well. 9/10
5 x Classic Minis
Mostly 998cc and a couple of 1275 coopers. 10/10 for just being one of the best cars in the history of the world, ever.
2 x Metros.
Both A series powered, one MG in white, one GTA in red. Not as good as the minis but fun nonetheless, could have rusted in the olympics. 7/10.
MG ZT CDTI
Cheap to buy, cheap to run, reliable, comfortable, quite and people thought it was an expensive car and always got good comments from non petrolheads. Just sold it to a young lad I know who's got it as his first car (To go along with hid drift/track MX5 he can't insure for road use due to cost) and he loves it as well. 9/10
My old dear had a 1993 214si 3 door in the late 90's.
Can't remember anything going wrong with it, and it seemed better quality than it's rivals from Ford and Vauxhall.
Let's face it, 1993 Escorts and Astras were pretty horrible. I see more Rovers of that age still going than the others!
It was like this, but gold, mmmmm.......
Can't remember anything going wrong with it, and it seemed better quality than it's rivals from Ford and Vauxhall.
Let's face it, 1993 Escorts and Astras were pretty horrible. I see more Rovers of that age still going than the others!
It was like this, but gold, mmmmm.......
Edited by V88Dicky on Saturday 7th December 10:19
cptsideways said:
75's & ZT's are decent cars, reliable & generally well respected with users on here, my wife & I included, ride & NVH levels, its all BMW stuff underneath.
The Honda years were good too, with the exception of the K series engines.
Good summary. Those who understand cars and are not just followers of fashion value them for their engineering merit. The Honda years were good too, with the exception of the K series engines.
I would love a 75 but I think most of the good ones are now being used as sheds.
Hub said:
The 90s Honda based 200/400 with K series engines was a good car, good performance and sold well. The 800 was a bit rubbish though, with a reputation for poor reliability. The 75 was an improvement but looked too old fashioned.
Underinvestment led to a very dated model range by the end.
Drove a 214 back in the early 90s, nice car to drive compared with Escort/Astra etc of the time. Fairly nippy for a 1.4 too.Underinvestment led to a very dated model range by the end.
Drove an 820 too, can't remember much good about that, the steering wheel didn't feel as if it was connected to the front wheels as steering was so light.
Pistom said:
I would love a 75 but I think most of the good ones are now being used as sheds.
I bought my 36,000 mile 75 last January for a whopping £900. The intension was to just leave it in the airport car park for a month at a time and to just mistreat it as a complete shed.Unfortunately it really is a lovable old thing and so it's had new mats, new bluetooth stereo, some clean second hand wheels and gets cleaned and polished. I intended spending nothing on it but I just can't help but look after it! It even has an electric rear blind!
"Rovers - were they really that bad?"
In a word... Yes!
I don't suppose that B279 XYY has survived because it was pretty much at death's door when I replaced it at 3 years old, but that was one steaming pile of turd from bumper to bumper.
I've often thought about that car over the last 25 years or so and STILL can't think of a single positive thing to say about it EXCEPT that I don't have to drive it any more!
The brand new Rover 800 that I was given as a hire car to go from Perth to Heathrow made it as fas as Edinburgh before I abandoned it.
In a word... Yes!
I don't suppose that B279 XYY has survived because it was pretty much at death's door when I replaced it at 3 years old, but that was one steaming pile of turd from bumper to bumper.
I've often thought about that car over the last 25 years or so and STILL can't think of a single positive thing to say about it EXCEPT that I don't have to drive it any more!
The brand new Rover 800 that I was given as a hire car to go from Perth to Heathrow made it as fas as Edinburgh before I abandoned it.
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