User Reviews

420 SLDi 5dr Hatchback

Alan

Overall Rating

A car your wallet will fall in love with! I love my Rover 420 SLDi for many reasons - but basically what they all narrow down to is cost. Before this car I had a Volvo 850 T5. The Volvo was amazing to drive, very well equipped, solid, and basically very good in all departments BUT cost - mainly fuel. It was averaging 18mpg according to the fuel computer. I needed a change and wanted something reliable, cheap to run, and fairly inexpensive to fix if need be. And that's what the Rover does so well. Firstly there's the purchase of the car - I paid £850 in Feb 2007 for a car with FSH with 75k miles (P reg). Cosmetically not perfect (though better than most), but mechanically spot on. Apart from one slight rattle in the driver's door (which I have been too lazy to look at and don't notice any more) the only thing this car needs is diesel now and again. On brim to brim calculations (and 95% town driving) I am averaging 42.1mpg. If you're a motorway driver, then you can expect far more! Info I have seen suggests 65mpg (or combined 52mpg). Can't verify these figures, but I truly believe it. Then the other costs: insurance for me (25 yrs old, 5 yrs NCB) is £170 fully comp! And the tyre size (185/65/14) have to be the most inexpensive to buy for! It's basically a bargain runabout which doesn't let you down. Other good things are the ease of driving, good vision, plenty of spares out there if required, and some of them can be quite well equipped! Mine is fairly basic, but it does all I need it to do. My main grumble would have to be the gearing - if I want to sit at 30mph it is a tad grumbly in 4th gear, but put into 3rd and sounds like it wants to change up. Nothing major, and only at that speed! If you're interested in performance, for what it is, it's actually pretty good. Over 100bhp from the direct injection turbo-diesel unit, and very torquey low down the rev range. It's easier than most petrol cars to accelerate due to this. So basically if you're a bit cash strapped but need a set of wheels which isn't hanging, well built, reliable, practical and quick, I don't think there's too much to beat this! Don't let the perceptions of others put your mind against it.

1.4 si

John

Overall Rating

I've had the 1.4 si and the 1.6sli and both of them within 5000 miles started to cause costly problems I will never own a Rover again.

1.6 Li 4dr Saloon

Rod McClelland

Overall Rating

I had this car for 4 years and never had a problem with it. It was serviced at manufacturer's intervals, i.e. 12,000 miles. The car had everything I needed as far as creature comforts, music and ride comfort. The engine was willing and would rev hard without any problem. The handling was not brilliant but you can't have comfort and handling in one car unless it's a rather expensive one like a BMW or similar. It was a good motorway cruiser - quiet and comfortable, and could maintain a good pace without any problem. Fuel consumption was reasonable for a solidly built saloon. If you are looking for a good reliable car then I would easily recommend a good Rover 400 saloon. Unfortunately mine was involved in a major accident recently and written off - what a waste of a perfectly good car. I wrote this because the car was so solid that I'm still here to talk about it. They are really well built. It's just a real shame Rover went bust but you never know... they may make a comeback!