Rover 75: PH Carpool
Two PistonHeads boxes ticked with this Carpool and Shed Of The Week combined!
Car: Rover 75 2.5 litre
Owned since: February 2017
Previously owned: Lots!
Why I bought it:
"I have always wanted a Bristol. I will have one before I die, but I wanted something British. I run a company in the UK and thought it would be wrong not to go local. This one I found in a dismal used car lot in the Midlands, and bought it from two Afghans whom I impressed by recognising they were talking Pashtu to each other. I felt like I was rescuing an unloved dog from an animal shelter."
What I wish I’d known:
"I immediately bought a Haynes manual. At the price that I bought my Rover - £700 - research other than finding that the bodywork was basically sound was unnecessary."
Things I love:
"What I really love is that cultured purr of the V6 as the revs smoothly rise to meet the redline, the sophistication of the damping, and the fact that I can really push on bumpy B-roads. The bodywork is scruffy with scratches, dings and dents which are a legacy of the previous elderly owners and their parking issues."
Things I hate:
"I hate nothing… it is one of these cars that has a calming effect on me. Not like a sedative, but more like the smell of comfort food when you are angry. It makes me more tolerant of other people, even those in German cars."
Costs:
"A cambelt job was almost as expensive as the car, with a water pump thrown in. I have since got new Toyo tires, a set of road Powerflex bushes, a new oil cooler, a good Sony radio and new wheel bearings plus some other assorted items. Fuel consumption is also looking reasonable, all the more so because the engine is fantastically flexible, pulling easily in fourth almost from standstill."
Where I’ve been:
"Now that is the funniest part. I, a Polish guy, run Arrinera Racing Ltd here in the UK, which builds and tests our Arrinera Hussarya GT3 race cars. I drive my Rover 75 to circuits like Silverstone, Blyton Park or Snetterton and then get behind the wheel of a purebred racer. On the way home the Rover again calms me down with its waft factor."
What next?
"I don't think I could sell it, as I could not sell a dog either. The next stage of upgrades will be uprated shocks and better brakes, because braided brake lines are already fitted."
Want to share your car with PHers on Carpool? Email us at carpool@pistonheads.com!
Given your day job, have you felt the need to fettle the 75 at all?
Sadly, I had to sell mine (took a while, no one was interested) to some blokes who were going to send its engine to Africa I need a 2l v6 auto tourer desperately
I also run a supercharged V8 ZT, have done so for over eight years. Must be the cheapest way to a 400bhp saloon with a long ownership. The £650 car is my fifth ZT/75.
Saying that I'd buy one as a cheap run about, they're well built and I personally really like the interior, the V8 would be a good bet as a future classic.
Saying that I'd buy one as a cheap run about, they're well built and I personally really like the interior, the V8 would be a good bet as a future classic.
I think the problem with the 75 generally was that the retro styling wasn't to everyone's taste, it was oddly sized in between say the 3 Series/C Class and 5/E Class segments and it was released at the point where the Rover brand had been tarnished. The dash for smaller premium cars had started by then and Rover was largely churning out reheated ex-Honda dross from the early 90s. If you look how successful the MINI and Land Rover brands have been since given the right product and marketing, it makes one wonder where and what Rover could have been now.
Saying that I'd buy one as a cheap run about, they're well built and I personally really like the interior, the V8 would be a good bet as a future classic.
TBH there are a vastly underrated car as long as you avoid the 1.8 petrol and I am not keen on the BMW diesel either after driving one - the KV6 is much smoother and better suited to the car. Refinement levels are good, the controls are evenly weighted with a solid, smooth feel and the ride quality is better than most cars I have ever been in (I used to work in the motor trade) including the petrol XF that my parents bought to replace it with. Reliability has been very good though the years have caught up with it a bit recently, having had four new springs and a brake calliper. Other than that it has been spot on.
As for them not selling well, I am not convinced that the price was the biggest issue because the 75 is actually larger than E46 3 series and better built than the X-type but was considerably cheaper than both spec for spec. There is a considerable debate over the demise of Rover but the BMW chariman's comments at the launch of the 75 could not have helped. Also buying a British car with traditional styling and comfortable ride was certainly not seen as very 'youthful' or New Labour back in the early 2000s. That the remainder of the MGR range was based on old Hondas probably didn't help the brand image either, especially as MGR replaced the strongest Honda asset (reliable engines) with the good but HGF prone 4 cylinder k-series. Fortunately, the re-engineered KV6 in the 75 does not seem to suffer HGF anything like as much. Interestingly, at the same time BMW were suffering HGF issues on their straight six engine of the same period; a former colleague who worked at a BMW dealer told me they used to stock replacement parts on site as the issues were so common.
First one bought at 8 years old in 2009 with 28K miles for 2300 quid, kept it for 6 years and took it to 90K miles, swapped it for a 2004 30K mile car 2 years ago that I got for £1300, which is now on 70K miles.
The difference in quality and NVH is marked, with the early car being far better. Both have done their jobs brilliantly though, for buttons.
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