1997 Rover - Austin 600 Ti 2.0 turbo
Summary:
Hides its abilities under a plain exterior
Faults:
New brake discs required at delivery due to severe warping.
New air conditioning pump required at delivery due to extreme noise under use.
Recent water loss from the cooling system although no visible signs of leakage. Dealer unable to find the leak, have to carry water with me everywhere.
General Comments:
Very very quick indeed although heavy wear on the front tyres a consequence. Tyres are expensive P-Zero 205 Z rated asymmetric (approx £100 each tyre).
Also, fuel consumption is significantly higher than my previous 620Si (although this would be expected).
A nice touch is the plain "600" boot-lid badge, only those in the know will be aware of what it is and what it can do (0-60 in 7 seconds, 144mph). I've had it up to 130mph and there was plenty more to come.
Inside is fairly bland, but half-leather is a nice touch.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 24th August, 2001
25th Aug 2001, 21:44
The Pirellis for the 620 are expensive indeed. Here in New Zealand they are NZ$550 a piece which is about 170 pounds! Besides they wear pretty fast in the front and are notorious for sidewall weakness.
When I faced replacing tyres to my 620ti, I took a look around and found Kumho ECSTA Supra 712 (a very high spec tyre) much better value for money. I got them for NZ$230 each which is about 70 pounds, which is much less than half of Pirelli's price!
So far I've been happy with Kumhos. In addition, with Kumhos the tendency of steering pulling from side to side almost disappeared. Perhaps that's why Pirelli calls the tyre 'Asimmetrico'...