1995 Rover - Austin 100 1.1i 1.1 petrol from UK and Ireland
Summary:
Is there a bigger let down possible than life with a tarted up metro?
Faults:
Just about everything.
In the six months I have had this car, it has been to the garage at least once a month, to the point where I got to first name terms with the mechanic.
Overall has cost me £800 on repairs alone, all mechanical.
Rear arches very rusty, the mere mention of water seems to dissolve this car. Same with an elderly relative who also owns a 100, having garaged it from new, and washed it very regularly, and leaving it outside to dry if it got a bit wet at any point in the day.
Alarm key-fobs are ludicrously expensive, £90 for a replacement.
The interior trim has started rattling, even though the car has quite a low mileage.
General Comments:
This car's is a complete and utter waste of money.
It handles tidily enough, although this is no doubt helped by the lack of body roll induced by the awkward hydra gas suspension.
The interior, though comfy up front is too cramped for carrying passengers in the back. Not that you'd want to anyway for fear of killing them in the event of an accident (1 star is not good, even Fiat's minuscule Seicento did better, and that's even smaller)
Engine wise, its not too bad. Until you need to travel over 200 miles with people in the back. A combination of stupidly small fuel tank plus stunted performance means that such a journey would be both painfully slow (through lack of speed), and peppered with stops to service stations (to brim the fuel tank with less than twenty quid's worth of fuel)
Overall, this car has failed to live up to low expectations, and my money would have been better spent on train fares, (which would surely have been a far more enjoyable way of getting about than in this abomination)
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 26th October, 2003