RE: Shed Of The Week: Rover Metro
Discussion
PMSL
yonex said:
OpulentBob said:
So, 5 pages of posts with maybe 50% loving and 50% hating, yet the hateful s
tebox/lovable appreciating classic (delete as appropriate) is still for sale.
Come on, powerful richboy PHers with acres of land and triple garages. Money where your mouths are... who would dare buy it and run it til the MOT ran out?
I'll put £50 in if I can start the fire. tebox/lovable appreciating classic (delete as appropriate) is still for sale. Come on, powerful richboy PHers with acres of land and triple garages. Money where your mouths are... who would dare buy it and run it til the MOT ran out?
IanMorewood said:
Kill yourself in that and people you never met would mourn yours and the cars passing. Kill yourself in a Metro and you would be lucky if your other half put a bunch of petrol station flowers at the location you snuffed it.
Like James Dean except you wouldn't be a famous film star.. B'stard Child said:
hondafreek said:
I'd rather log roll to work through broken glass to work, than drive a metro.
I've never owned a Honda car - are they any good? - I'd value your thoughts as you own two now and and have owned another previouslyI'm not sure how valid your comments are on a Metro ;-)
I really dont understand why so many people hate the rover 100 ! The early austin metros YES i do understand why they are hated so much.
They was rust buckets with crappy old mini engines fitted. The rover 100 was a different car it had a better engine and interiors and a revamped front end.
For the money these little rovers are superb i should know because i have owned 6 in the past. I had no overheating problems ,No suspension issues or anything like people have said they have had. Surely you people must be refering to the austin metros???
The rover 100,s i have owned have served me well with high mileage engines 125000 miles in mine with no head gasket issues in any of them. I put the headgasket problem down to poor maintenance but like any other aluminium head if you spring a leak in the rad and you dont check the coolant level quick enough then the engine will overheat and pop the gasket just like any other allu engine would. I have owned fiestas from the 80s and puggs but the rover 100 was a more reliable car than the two. never failed an mot on the rover 100 either never.
This little rover 100 is a great buy and i wish i could buy a brand new one but sadly they are no more.
The best little run about money can buy today and surely a future classic.
If im correct dont lotus use the K-series engines in the caterhams ? As for the steering on the rover 100 i must admit that when turning in the right direction on a bend in the wet they did want to go straight. This was due to the crap 155 tyres rover fitted to them, I used a 175 tyres and they went like go carts.
They was rust buckets with crappy old mini engines fitted. The rover 100 was a different car it had a better engine and interiors and a revamped front end.
For the money these little rovers are superb i should know because i have owned 6 in the past. I had no overheating problems ,No suspension issues or anything like people have said they have had. Surely you people must be refering to the austin metros???
The rover 100,s i have owned have served me well with high mileage engines 125000 miles in mine with no head gasket issues in any of them. I put the headgasket problem down to poor maintenance but like any other aluminium head if you spring a leak in the rad and you dont check the coolant level quick enough then the engine will overheat and pop the gasket just like any other allu engine would. I have owned fiestas from the 80s and puggs but the rover 100 was a more reliable car than the two. never failed an mot on the rover 100 either never.
This little rover 100 is a great buy and i wish i could buy a brand new one but sadly they are no more.
The best little run about money can buy today and surely a future classic.
If im correct dont lotus use the K-series engines in the caterhams ? As for the steering on the rover 100 i must admit that when turning in the right direction on a bend in the wet they did want to go straight. This was due to the crap 155 tyres rover fitted to them, I used a 175 tyres and they went like go carts.
I had one of these for my first car, it never set a foot wrong even after sitting in traffic for hours on end in the height of summer. It was cheap to run, cheap to insure, had no ABS or power steering and was sloppily put together. But it was fun because you could throw it around a fair bit on good tyres. I had a friend who put a 1.8 VVC engine in his and it was terrifyingly fast for something so light and weak. Would I ever have another? Not a standard one, no. But give me a 1.8 with a tartan rug in the back and National Trust stickers in the windows and I'd be tempted.
hondafreek said:
B'stard Child said:
hondafreek said:
I'd rather log roll to work through broken glass to work, than drive a metro.
I've never owned a Honda car - are they any good? - I'd value your thoughts as you own two now and and have owned another previouslyI'm not sure how valid your comments are on a Metro ;-)
Biker's Nemesis said:
The little FIAT looks scary, it looks like the steering column comes out to greet you!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfLI9wrY96s
If someone had told me 20 years ago I'd be defending Metro I'd have laughed in their face. However that's what I'm doing!!! They were great fun.
And yes I've either owned or driven (close group of friends used to swap each others cars on nights out) 5 Gordini, Gordini Turbo, 5 GT, 205 XS, 1.6 and 1.9 GTI. Golf GTI Mk1, MK2, Charade GTTi, 106 Rallye - even a friends sister had a 205 Roland Garos which I remember borrowing one night because a friend was in between selling the XS and buying the 1.6 GTI! XR3, XR3i too etc. etc. though the XR3i was my fathers brand new F reg car I *ehem* borrowed whilst parents were on holiday...
With the exception of the MK2 GTI and XR3i all were, like the MG Metro, fun. Some were utterly mental Gordini Turbo and 5GT for example but they were all great for their time.
Would I buy one now. Hell no but if someone threw me the keys and gave me a twisty B road would I refuse? No way.
If someone had told me 20 years ago I'd be defending Metro I'd have laughed in their face. However that's what I'm doing!!! They were great fun.
And yes I've either owned or driven (close group of friends used to swap each others cars on nights out) 5 Gordini, Gordini Turbo, 5 GT, 205 XS, 1.6 and 1.9 GTI. Golf GTI Mk1, MK2, Charade GTTi, 106 Rallye - even a friends sister had a 205 Roland Garos which I remember borrowing one night because a friend was in between selling the XS and buying the 1.6 GTI! XR3, XR3i too etc. etc. though the XR3i was my fathers brand new F reg car I *ehem* borrowed whilst parents were on holiday...
With the exception of the MK2 GTI and XR3i all were, like the MG Metro, fun. Some were utterly mental Gordini Turbo and 5GT for example but they were all great for their time.
Would I buy one now. Hell no but if someone threw me the keys and gave me a twisty B road would I refuse? No way.
Dave Hedgehog said:
its not a maligned car, its a bloody death trap
the crash worthiness was so bad they where pulled just after NCAP tested them
I'd rather crash a metro than erm any small british built car designed earlier that might now be considered a classic. the crash worthiness was so bad they where pulled just after NCAP tested them
Having owned ONLY A series metro's I imagine the rust can't help the crash protection.
I had a Metro Turdo and 1275 Sport in the 90's(92 Bhp and 75 Bhp), but always wanted a 3 door GTI with K series.
I assume it's the same block as the 1.8 VVT out of an elise ? Now imagine 180 bhp with 5 doors. I'm warming to that now.
I had a K series 1.4 GTi 16v. Fantastic little car - very quick (for its time), lots of torque, handled well and was good value for money as a 2-3 year old second hand buy back then.
Had no problems with mine other than an exhaust or cat very early on which had a massive impact on performance and was replaced under warranty. I loved it. It was massively different to an older MG Metro with the A series that my Mother had a few years earlier - chalk and cheese.
A very underrated car in my opinion.
Had no problems with mine other than an exhaust or cat very early on which had a massive impact on performance and was replaced under warranty. I loved it. It was massively different to an older MG Metro with the A series that my Mother had a few years earlier - chalk and cheese.
A very underrated car in my opinion.
Biker's Nemesis said:
fk me. And there was me thinking Saabs were safe!!Yes, the 2010 Fiat Seicento isn't brilliant, is it.
All the OMG! DEATH-HORROR-DOOM-METRO! sentiment meant I had a look at a few of these crash videos. Really, the Metro was pretty decent for the early/mid 1980s. At that time, only really a big Mercedes or XJ6 could be considered in any way crashworthy to modern eyes.
The one which amazed me most was the 1985 Volkswagen Santana. Mid way though this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73zDrVMyWOU
So, how does the big strong Volkswagen do?
I hope it was going really really fast.
All the OMG! DEATH-HORROR-DOOM-METRO! sentiment meant I had a look at a few of these crash videos. Really, the Metro was pretty decent for the early/mid 1980s. At that time, only really a big Mercedes or XJ6 could be considered in any way crashworthy to modern eyes.
The one which amazed me most was the 1985 Volkswagen Santana. Mid way though this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73zDrVMyWOU
So, how does the big strong Volkswagen do?
I hope it was going really really fast.
Edited by dbdb on Thursday 30th October 18:45
The only accident I've had in a car of the period was a Discovery which was hit by a lorry in the side in 1993. That was about the biggest car you could buy and about 6 months old.
It was completely destroyed. If anyone had been sitting on the left hand side, it would have resulted in very serious injury. I was in the back on the right and we left with sore necks and headaches.
How did we survive the 20th century?
It was completely destroyed. If anyone had been sitting on the left hand side, it would have resulted in very serious injury. I was in the back on the right and we left with sore necks and headaches.
How did we survive the 20th century?
RobinBanks said:
The only accident I've had in a car of the period was a Discovery which was hit by a lorry in the side in 1993. That was about the biggest car you could buy and about 6 months old.
It was completely destroyed. If anyone had been sitting on the left hand side, it would have resulted in very serious injury. I was in the back on the right and we left with sore necks and headaches.
How did we survive the 20th century?
Ah, but body-on-frame, separate chassis, is bound to perform worse than a monocoque...It was completely destroyed. If anyone had been sitting on the left hand side, it would have resulted in very serious injury. I was in the back on the right and we left with sore necks and headaches.
How did we survive the 20th century?
back in the late 80's i worked at weekends / after college for a local car dealer (arthur daley character), he used to joke if someone pulled up in a metro he could sell them the biggest pile of crap on the lot..... he wouldnt take one in p ex but convince the owner to do sale or return deferring the balance untill the metro was sold..... usually it wouldn't sell so off to the block it went (one of my jobs) - some didnt sell there.
Without doubt an absolute pile of rubbish, its up there with allegros, ambassadors and talbot rancho's.......
Without doubt an absolute pile of rubbish, its up there with allegros, ambassadors and talbot rancho's.......
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