1995 Rover - Austin 200 220 GSi 2.0 turbo

Summary:

Stylish, subtle styled performance on a budget!

Faults:

Nothing of note.

General Comments:

Blistering performance. Excellent power with a decent chassis, just needs suspension and brakes tweaking to make the most of it - £600 will get you newer springs and shocks together with performance discs and pads. That simple mod will make this underestimated car a Scooby beater!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 20th September, 2000

1995 Rover - Austin 200 220 Coupe 2.0i 16v

Summary:

This is the second 220 Coupe I have had which must say it all

Faults:

Courtesy light rarely works.

Clutch cable broke after 56,000 miles.

Eats tyres.

Starter motor is on the blink now.

There is a leak into the boot well, which I have yet to find the root cause.

Other than that it has been very reliable.

General Comments:

Performance is excellent especially past 3000 revs. It is enjoyable to drive and very forgiving.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 14th September, 2000

7th Feb 2001, 11:52

If you have bought TWO Rover 220 Coupes then this does, indeed, say it all...

1995 Rover - Austin 200 214 SEi 1.4 16v

Summary:

Competent all rounder

Faults:

Very little, until a week ago! Went to a local garage complaining of clutch judder, and sticky firt + second gears. Turns out the clutch is OK, but gearbox needs new bearings and an overhaul.

I put this down to the Grandad that owned it last. It had only 19,000 miles spent going to the shops etc, which has clearly taken its toll.

General Comments:

Love the equipment level, electric windows, roof, half black leather and alloys.

Only criticism is the ridiculously low ratio 5th gear making motorway driving a bit tiresome.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 10th August, 2000

12th Feb 2001, 16:23

It wasn't the Grandad's fault, it was the bloke who put the gearbox together. Apparantly it is a common fault on this car (it happened to mine). Seems ours were built on Friday afternoon.

5th Apr 2001, 13:55

Mine does it too, but only when it's cold, could be clutch or gearbox, gets better when warm so not too bothered.

23rd Sep 2001, 12:02

I had a 214 sei as a company car for 6 months. I loved it, it had a real small luxury car ambience, and the half leather sports seats were great.

Not much of a handler but the engine was a revelation for its day - a 1.4 with 105 horsepower.

A fine car I will remember with affection.

15th Jan 2002, 17:41

I have never had a problem with my gearbox. What you have mentioned isn't a common fault either, like you say it was probably the lack of proper use previously. I agree with you, the 214SEi is something special.

1995 Rover - Austin 200 214 SLi 1.4i 16v petrol

Summary:

An underrated bargain - economical and not slow!

Faults:

Head gasket recently went, bit of a bummer as I had only just bought the car - an independant garage fixed it but didn't tighten up the radiator hoses very well so had some coolant leaks - as a result check the levels very frequently because I don't trust it. When it comes down to it, just the head gasket.

General Comments:

Great little car - where else can you get a nippy, economical, not bad looking, practical, and also quite fun car for 3 grand??

Okay, not the last word in comfort or looks, but I get about 38-40mpg when driving in town, and it has a 0-60 that will put some much bigger cars to shame (BMW 318, Cavalier 1.8) at just over 10 secs.

Loaded down with kit too - pick of the range would be the SEi with alloys and leather seats!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 24th July, 2000

14th Jan 2002, 05:56

Hmmm... I have a 214 SLi, and its abit juddery (technical term??), I think its either the engine mounts or the clutch. Had a 414 SI before I killed it with a bush, and the clutch was slipping on that too, I had heard that from others too. Electric windows have broken too, the clips have come unglued from the window, and I can't find a suitable glue/filler to fix it with, conveniently rover don't sell that.. you have to have a whole new window and mechanism. Pretty good performance though, but she's got to go soon. I also had a problem with the engine management, it sometimes decided to idle at 2K, and also ran abit strange, but still the problem isn't completely solved. Its got to go soon, coming up to 60K, and I have a funny feeling about some big bills soon. Want a 220 GSi really, can't put a roofrack on a 3 door really though (Worry not, I am carrying windsurfing boards, not ladders!!). Apart from that it goes really well for a 1.4, and no really serious problems yet.

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