Faults:

Nothing went wrong with the car until the end, and then it was the oil pump. Sadly this rendered the old beast uneconomical for repair, given its tech engine, which meant simply swapping a part out wasn't an option.

General Comments:

Fantastic fun and huge amounts of power. Initially when it started to smoke, I was blamed for not driving it hard enough. I explained in the city I live in, I'd have ended up in someones living room!

For comparison, we had a few pool cars at work. BMW 1 series, a Golf TDI, an Audi A1 and a couple of Skoda Octavia's. Having driven them all, the only one that outperformed my little Rover was the Golf!

Comfort was excellent, all the trim was firm. It makes me laugh when people say "interior was plasticky". Well duh, 99% of the interiors of cars are plastic!

Only criticism is that the front pillars obscure some of the view, and the clutch was a bit heavy. With wide alloys, it stuck to the road like glue, and fuel economy was excellent!

It gets my goat when people run down Rover. The survival rate of Rover vehicles, given the ratio to sales they made (after BMW clobbered them for being better selling fleet cars!), is much higher than most of the competition. Just look around at how many 93 onwards Rovers there are still in everyday use, compared to say, Fiesta's, Escorts, Cavaliers, Punto's. The company may have died, but the vehicles will live on longer than most of their competitors!

Faults:

Typical problem with Rovers of this model, radiator corrosion at around 125,000 miles.

Top end had been replaced before purchasing, so have not yet sustained any significant damage on behalf of that, but keep an eye out around the 100,000 mile mark, especially when purchasing from young drivers, or business/long distant drivers.

Watch alloys for corrosion bubbles on spokes! Not major but looks tacky! Easily repaired though!

General Comments:

A* economy on fuel and tax, for the response of how quick and poky this engine can be!

Parts are as accessible as Lambert and Butler cigarettes.

They're a brilliant bargain on uprated or after-market accessories.

At a scrappy you can pick up amazing MG ZR parts! And some insurance providers can class them as stock as they are manufacture made!

Very responsive, and never any play in the steering. Braking is amazing even without ABS! All safety features ie; front fogs, electric windows, alloys as standard, remote central locking!

Front seats are ace, but can get a bit squeaky; especially annoying on long journeys, but the performance of this car takes that lag all away.

Faults:

The car had a bit of a "moment" on a dual carriageway when the throttle jammed open and the engine over-heated due to the engine not turning off even with the key removed. It's been OK since though. There have been no other problems despite some hard and fast miles in a short space of time though (4000 miles in less than a month).

General Comments:

For £142 there wasn't much to expect, I just needed something cheap and reliable. There was a bit of crash damage (hence the price) but other than that the car was mechanically good. A new offside mirror, rear door and hatchback sorted out the crash damage.

The Mk3 200 series is a remarkably decent car given the constraints of time and money Rover had at the time, certainly up to the best of its rivals.

In handling it excels, with a neutral balance typical of other Rovers of the era. The steering is very good compared with other Rovers, just light enough, but it still tells you about the road surface. The ride also is great for such a small car, it just sails over poor surfaces.

Rover's intercooled L-series direct injection turbo-diesel engine chucked into such a small car makes for decent performance, with 60MPH from rest coming up in under 10 seconds and moving acceleration times (50-70 etc.) better than that of the 'hot' Rover 200Vi.

The engine sounds like such a tractor nobody will ever guess it's actually quite fast...

Maybe I've been using too much of the performance, but economy in my hands hasn't been exceptional like the 63MPG claims in the handbook - low to mid 40s is more like it. The engine's acceptance of alternative fuels such as vegetable oil makes up for it though.

Unfortunately the interior is rather cramped and dated with its orange-glowing illumination and plasticky switchgear. It's well-made though with no rattles.

Specification is reasonable for a base model, with front electric windows, remote central locking, alarm and immobiliser.

Exterior styling is better, the 200 still looks quite modern today - probably because its sister, the Rover 25, was on sale until the collapse of MG-Rover in 2005.