RE: Shed Of The Week: Rover 820Si
Discussion
Had an 820 Vitesse for about 5 mins. Reasonably brisk in a straight line. Seats looked great but were very uncomfortable, ride was horrible, handling average and the gearbox was TERRIBLE, notchy and whiny.
I can't see the fun in this at all, it isn't even a turbo. Takes shedding a bit too far for my liking. A 620 would be a better buy.
I can't see the fun in this at all, it isn't even a turbo. Takes shedding a bit too far for my liking. A 620 would be a better buy.
I had an 820i hatch in night fire for 3 years ( company car).
It was pretty reliable though towards the end had warped discs and broken wiper mechanism.
Was hugely practical for climbing n hiking trips ... Could even fold the front seats down flat and sleep
... But when I swapped it for a BMW E39 in 1996 ... Could see how unrefined tje rover was in comparison. BMW was in another league ..
It was pretty reliable though towards the end had warped discs and broken wiper mechanism.
Was hugely practical for climbing n hiking trips ... Could even fold the front seats down flat and sleep
... But when I swapped it for a BMW E39 in 1996 ... Could see how unrefined tje rover was in comparison. BMW was in another league ..
I had quite a few of these as company cars, at least six maybe more, both saloons and fastbacks. I was a manager at British Aerospace at the time who owned Rover before BMW. They used to give us a new one every six months or so to put them out into the second hand market quickly - not sure why - maybe someone here can remember the marketing tactics of the time.
The cars were genuinely OK though - I can't ever remember having a major problem or being stranded at all, some minor niggles like windows failing and trim coming adrift sure, but those kind of problems existed with the other makes as well - I'm not sure Rover quite deserve the poor image they have been remembered for, a lot of half truth and myth seems to have crept in now.
I'm not in the market for a shed but if I was then this looks like a reasonable bet to me.
The cars were genuinely OK though - I can't ever remember having a major problem or being stranded at all, some minor niggles like windows failing and trim coming adrift sure, but those kind of problems existed with the other makes as well - I'm not sure Rover quite deserve the poor image they have been remembered for, a lot of half truth and myth seems to have crept in now.
I'm not in the market for a shed but if I was then this looks like a reasonable bet to me.
The Crack Fox said:
g3org3y said:
Actually not that bad tbh. Comfortable on a cruise. However genuinely terrible ergonomics and a 'that'll do' attitude to much of it.
We used one for a banger rally a number of years back in full Alan Partridge livery
Write up: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=130...
One of my favourite things on Pistonheads, that it. We used one for a banger rally a number of years back in full Alan Partridge livery
Write up: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=130...
mikebrownhill said:
I had quite a few of these as company cars, at least six maybe more, both saloons and fastbacks. I was a manager at British Aerospace at the time who owned Rover before BMW. They used to give us a new one every six months or so to put them out into the second hand market quickly - not sure why - maybe someone here can remember the marketing tactics of the time.
The cars were genuinely OK though - I can't ever remember having a major problem or being stranded at all, some minor niggles like windows failing and trim coming adrift sure, but those kind of problems existed with the other makes as well - I'm not sure Rover quite deserve the poor image they have been remembered for, a lot of half truth and myth seems to have crept in now.
I'm not in the market for a shed but if I was then this looks like a reasonable bet to me.
All manufacturers still seem to use those same tactics now. Certainly VAG and Mercedes do. Not only company cars swapped twice a year,but a couple of friends and family lease cars too. A neighbour currently has a C200 estate and an SL350 and its his brother that actually works at Merc HQ!The cars were genuinely OK though - I can't ever remember having a major problem or being stranded at all, some minor niggles like windows failing and trim coming adrift sure, but those kind of problems existed with the other makes as well - I'm not sure Rover quite deserve the poor image they have been remembered for, a lot of half truth and myth seems to have crept in now.
I'm not in the market for a shed but if I was then this looks like a reasonable bet to me.
These were always handsome cars. My best friend's dad had an 820 when I was in high school and the ride was very comfortable with the long wheel base, soft suspension and high sidewall tyres, much more comfortable than the vast majority of modern cars (German stuff included). There was no rattling in his. He owned it for absolutely years (mid 90s until about 2008) and nothing serious went wrong with it (his had about 180,000 miles when he got rid of it).
If this exact car had a foreign badge the braindead would all be falling over themselves to say how good it is, "it's British, we're British, attack it, let's make our own people feel as miserable as possible, yay!", can someone explain this mentality to me?
If this exact car had a foreign badge the braindead would all be falling over themselves to say how good it is, "it's British, we're British, attack it, let's make our own people feel as miserable as possible, yay!", can someone explain this mentality to me?
RobertDawson said:
These were always handsome cars. My best friend's dad had an 820 when I was in high school and the ride was very comfortable with the long wheel base, soft suspension and high sidewall tyres, much more comfortable than the vast majority of modern cars (German stuff included). There was no rattling in his. He owned it for absolutely years (mid 90s until about 2008) and nothing serious went wrong with it (his had about 180,000 miles when he got rid of it).
If this exact car had a foreign badge the braindead would all be falling over themselves to say how good it is, "it's British, we're British, attack it, let's make our own people feel as miserable as possible, yay!", can someone explain this mentality to me?
Not really. We're discussing this one car, not the entire British car industry.If this exact car had a foreign badge the braindead would all be falling over themselves to say how good it is, "it's British, we're British, attack it, let's make our own people feel as miserable as possible, yay!", can someone explain this mentality to me?
V8forweekends said:
dbdb said:
They're decent cars and quite handsome. The earlier version with its razor sharp lines deserves to be seen as a classic in my view. Nothing looks more eighties.
Still, any Rover will always suffer the problem that people seek out and highlight the negative stories, whilst shunning or disbelieving the positive. In reality, whilst the Rover was not a paragon of Japanese style reliability, it was not the definitive 'bad car' either.
The opposite is true for their German competitors - whose cars will seemingly be forgiven almost anything. Truly odd, but PH strangely reflects society's car prejudices whereas I would expect the average PHer to be able to see that Audi and BMW and Mercedes-Benz are not the only cars worth having.
This x100 ^ Still, any Rover will always suffer the problem that people seek out and highlight the negative stories, whilst shunning or disbelieving the positive. In reality, whilst the Rover was not a paragon of Japanese style reliability, it was not the definitive 'bad car' either.
The opposite is true for their German competitors - whose cars will seemingly be forgiven almost anything. Truly odd, but PH strangely reflects society's car prejudices whereas I would expect the average PHer to be able to see that Audi and BMW and Mercedes-Benz are not the only cars worth having.
t out of it. Yes it has had a new altenator, several batteries both front wheel bearings an ABS sensor and a very healthy appetite for brakes despite being a manual. Even the climate control still works perfectly. Carry on buying the Gerry built st though, make sure you feed some elses economy before your own. A few photos of my Vitesse Coupe turbo from about 10 years ago. It was one of the last to be made. The only problem it had in the couple of years I owned it was the beam incline adjustment on one of the headlamps got stuck.
I really liked this car and I only changed it because I changed job and I needed a newer car to get the car allowance. I bought an Astra Turbo Coupe - the Bertone one, and I felt like a right peasant
I really liked this car and I only changed it because I changed job and I needed a newer car to get the car allowance. I bought an Astra Turbo Coupe - the Bertone one, and I felt like a right peasant
I cant comment on the 820 as my dad bought a 827.
All the rover bits broke snapped off and were just plain crap. The Honda bits no problems at all.No prizes to know what they were!
The engine was lovley and it was pretty rapid for its day.
The biggest problem was massive massive torque steer when flooring it form a stand still.
Christ you really had to hang onto that wheel !
All the rover bits broke snapped off and were just plain crap. The Honda bits no problems at all.No prizes to know what they were!
The engine was lovley and it was pretty rapid for its day.
The biggest problem was massive massive torque steer when flooring it form a stand still.
Christ you really had to hang onto that wheel !
Roger Woods said:
7DWM said:
Got a soft spot for these my Dad had 2 of them. both 820 fastbacks, a 90 'G' and a 95 'M' facelift.
Both ex-Rover management cars bought cheap under a year old at about 40% less than list price. They were tough old things, managed to withstand a me and my brother as teenagers trying to destroy them with our driving antics.....apart from the headgasket on the 'G' plate one!
Ex BAE or RO man then?Both ex-Rover management cars bought cheap under a year old at about 40% less than list price. They were tough old things, managed to withstand a me and my brother as teenagers trying to destroy them with our driving antics.....apart from the headgasket on the 'G' plate one!
The local rover dealer turned up at the house with a massive list of all the 800's and 600's available, Vitesse's 620ti, Coupe's the lot, all cheap as chips!
I was trying my hardest to get the old man to buy an 820 Vitesse Sport, ended up with another 820si, great car for road trips with your mates and handbrake turns, s
te for burn outs!yonex said:
Mr2Mike said:
You didn't put a smiley in. Was that an amusing anecdote, taking the piss out of the ignorant people who believe that all Rovers suffer head gasket problem irrespective of the engine they use?
We had an 800, the head gasket failed. I had 4 Rovers before that, the head gaskets didn't fail on any of them.
Also had a Corsa, Nova, Escort, BX, Golf -- head gasket didn't fail on any of those.
Therefore, all Mondeos are s
t and the HG's fail.DUH
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