Faults:

Nothing has gone wrong with the car.

General Comments:

The Rover is the most comfortable car that I have owned.

The 1.4 engine is quiet and refined, and perfectly adequate to take a family of five on a long trip.

This particular car has been owned by the family from new, has never failed an MOT, and has had no real problems in its nine year life.

Regular servicing is all that this car needs - oil is especially important, I found that 6000 intevals is about right.

Faults:

The clutch went at about 29,000 miles.

The rear exhaust has been replaced twice.

The middle section of the exhaust has been replaced once.

The front section of the exhaust has been replaced twice.

The head gasket went at about 40,000 miles.

Headlight problem, it needed a new relay which was rather expensive!

Water pump packed in at about 80,000 miles.

The drivers seat is broken... loss of support on the right hand side.

General Comments:

I bought this car second hand from a Rover dealer.

In the first year and a half I was very dissatisfied, however apart from having to replace the rear, front and middle sections of the exhaust as well as the water pump, it ran fine after that.

The interior is quite nice, and I like the colour scheme of the dash.

I have spent around £1500 on the car to keep it going (not including servicing) so to be honest I wouldn't really recommend this sort of car.

If however you are 'dead set' on getting one I will admit that it can show up a lot of cars at the lights!

I fitted an ecotek valve to the car and noticed a considerable improvement on the economy. I was able to get around 50 miles more to a tank with this valve fitted. the most I ever got out of it was 395 miles to a full 45 litre tank.

I am told that you should go for the 216 version since it has a Honda engine... I say "Get a Honda!".

I will be replacing the car for a Honda Civic Coupe in the near future, but I will definitely be sad to see it go.

Faults:

Cam belt snapped just 20 miles after purchase.

In fairness to the belt in question, it should have been replaced at 60,000 miles.

You have been warned!

Central locking didn't work on the passenger side.

General Comments:

The car was cheap from a friend who was emigrating. The price made allowances for the cam belt, but I certainly didn't expect it to go that quickly!

The specification of these lower Rovers is odd - niceties like central locking and wood trim, but no power steering, which makes it heavy to drive.

Once rebuilt, the 1.4 K-series engine is a gem, and the car goes really well for a big-bodied 1400. Faster than my 1998 Civic 1400. Quite economical too.

Comfortable ride and roomy interior, especially for a 3 door.

No-one seems to want to buy a three-door unless it's a GTI, though.

Faults:

The rear tail pipe on the exhaust fell off.

The electric windows wind slowly.

Alternator blew at 59000 miles.

Driver's side rear door window no longer winds down.

General Comments:

My car is a 214i 16valve GSi metallic green.

I find that the doors and bodywork seem to dent very easily, especially the doors. No rust to report.

The 1.4i Honda engine is very quick off at the lights but screams at the top end. The gearbox could do with a sixth gear to reduce the revs or have a higher ratio on 5th gear. You really notice the fuel economy drop over speeds of 70mph.

The car is good looking and comfortable for its age.

The power steering makes the car a nice drive.

The gear change is nice and precise although it had problems jumping out of 1st. Found the problem to be a poor spark plug which cause the engine to kangaroo on take off.

The interior is nice and the cabin is spacious. The dash is well presented with good clear instruments, the seats are comfortable and there is a good panoramic view.

Fuel economy is good around town and at speeds up to 70mph, 35-42mpg.

I hear a lot of reports of head-gaskets blowing on this engine and the cam-belt must be changed at 50000 miles. It's worth asking if this has been done prior to buying as it could be expensive.