1998 Rover - Austin 800 Sterling review from UK and Ireland

Engine blew up at around 60,000.

Refused to kick down lots of tranmission problems.

Central locking system never locked all the doors.

It is a boring car to look at even though Rover tried to smarten it up with chrome everywhere you just can't help noticing the late 80's design showing through.

Whatever other people may tell you about Rovers being the most comfortable and luxurious cars in the executive sector take it from me the 800 is not. Granted The dash is made from real wood unlike most BMW's etc, but it is dated, angular and the rest of the plastics that make up the interior are brittle and cheap and I don't find the leather to be of the same standard as in either a Scorpio or Omega. The rear seats are uncomfortable according to lots of surprised passengers who were expecting a comfy ride. A lot complained about the ride it was too softly sprung so it crashed from one bump to the next making them feel sick.

The engine is very refined yet in a car weighing approx 1.5 tonnes you need to have over 200 HP to compare to main rivals such as Omega Elite and Scorpio Ultimo, The sterling makes do with 172 that gave it smooth acceleration, but the handling meant this was only accessible on straight roads. I found that with passengers and luggage on board that it sometimes struggled on the motorway which is not acceptable for a flagship exec. Rover should have made a 250 HP V8 for this car it would have suited its soft character and they would have almost certainly gained customers from Ford and Vauxhall who chose their models for the performance advantage.