Faults:

Radio/Info display on dash was damaged when I bought the car (few LED's out) - heard they are expensive to replace.

Exhaust slightly rusty when I purchased the car. Although I suspect this is surface rust it's a little unsightly.

General Comments:

Very quick for a 1.4 liter engine provided your willing to get the revs up and it handles well too especially for a "bigger" small car which was built for comfort. I'm impressed.

The clutch pedal, however, was obviously designed for an Ostrich as the distance between the foot-well and the position of the pedal is phenomenally big! Also, the clutch itself is a little sharp and needs to be treated carefully for long life (and to prevent back injury if you stall - which is very easy to do if you've never driven a Rover before!!!).

The seats and driving position, whilst a little high are extremely comfortable - long journeys are made a lot easier in this car.

The rear-view mirror is so big you can see the whole world out of the back window! Definitely a plus point.

Unfortunately there is no ABS standard on this model which is a shame because heavy breaking usually goes hand-in-hand with speed, which, this car achieves with ease.

The Power Steering is very very light. some may like this (I know I do), however it does reduce the "feel" of the vehicle underneath you.

Faults:

As yet unexplained starting problems when the car has not been used for more than two days (suspect fuel supply).

There are one or two annoying squeaks and creaks from the dashboard.

The seating position could be awkward for some drivers; the steering wheel does adjust for height, but not much!

The clutch is rather sharp.

General Comments:

For a 1400cc engine, the car performs really well.

It is attractive and well fitted, quiet and comfortable; at home in town or on the motorway.

Disappointingly the rear seat base doesn't fold forward, so you can't have a level loading platform.

The wing mirrors are rather small.

Sound quality from the radio/cassette is not great.

Faults:

Power steering hose leak.

Airbag coupler faulty. It was very expensive to repair, but luckily under warranty.

Heater controls turn 360 degrees.

Inlet manifold gasket blew.

General Comments:

The 1.8 K-series engine is very smooth, and allows for rapid progress. It has a fair amount of torque in all gears and so can allow for laziness around town.

The 15" wheels provide plenty of grip stopping power. The body role is at a minimum through firm suspension. Slightly annoying around towns and villages where all bumps and lump are felt, but excellent on the open road and motorway.

I am just over 6ft and, even with the adjustable height on the seat, head room is at a premium and I get a knock to the head when encountering particularly big bumps.

The build quality isn't great (considering it's a rover) and the car suffers from various squeaks rattles from the boot and driver door a little wind noise.

The stereo is not as good as my previous car a 1992 Honda, although I believe this is due to the speaker quality rather than the head unit.

Faults:

Nothing has as yet, gone wrong with the car - however due to the age of the engine moisture gets in and makes it hard to start on cold and damp mornings.

General Comments:

The car was originally owned by the police and as such has seen some heavy use (nearly 80K miles in two years).

However the car was half the Parkers guide price and so far I have spent very little in keeping it going. My only outlay has been £150 for a complete replacement of the uprated brakes fitted by the police (Kwik fit upheld their incorrect quote!).

The car is economical with a a regular 45-50mpg and nippy enough to keep an ex-boy racer happy.

The car handles well and is only let down by a very obvious cross-over on the power steering when cornering between 50-60mph (motorway flyovers etc)

Quite a lot of room until you get to the boot - however the missus has manged to fit two pushchairs and asorted baby equipment in without too much effort.