1995 Rover - Austin 200 SEi review from UK and Ireland

Rear silencer exploded (more about this later).

What a find! Having been into cars for years my first car was never going to be a heap and low and behold I found myself a little gem.

Let's start with the bad points:

First the 200's dull styling is made to look exceptional on the GSi with the spoiler, skirts and alloys. The SEi is part way there with nice, grippy 15" alloys but the better 3 door was dropped before the body coloured bumpers were introduced. I'm sure most people can remember just how bad the part grey part colour models looked. I don't understand why Rover ever chose that look.

Second I am told the models without power steering were very heavy yet the models with power steering are far too light. There is virtually no feedback and, although convenient for parking, on a flowing main road it is nice to be able to feel the road.

Third the standard radio is a real letdown considering the rest of the car but never mind because I have just fitted a fantastic JVC MP3 unit that cost just £135! And fitting it was a real breeze, so easy.

Finally the car is just too heavy for its engine. This 1.4 MPi is the most powerful 1.4 on sale today and yet because the mk2 200 is a bit fat its performance is only good and not amazing. The mk3 214 103bhp I am told is a little belter but had Rover put this engine in the 100 they could have had a serious hot hatch on their hands.

While we are talking about the engine this leads me on nicely to the good points. As I mentioned before the 1.4 is very powerful and yet is very efficient. The fact that the engine is still on sale today and sailing through emissions tests that much younger engines find hard to meet and that it can still hold its own against the big manufacturers is a credit to the original BRITISH design! When you put your foot down in second gear between 2000-3300 there is a nice surge, 3300-4000 there is a slightly annoying flat spot but after that up to 5000rpm the torque really arrives and gives a nice little push in the small of your back from the fantastic seats.

Clothed in half cloth and half leather the sport seats taken from much faster cars offer serious support. A lot of my friends laughed at the fact a 17 years old bought a Rover yet none of them had anything but praise for the seats which belong in a different class. I also love the fact that my car produces 103bhp over my friends' Saxo VTR 1.6 90bhp, Corsa Sport 1.4 16v 90bhp, 106 XSi 1.4 100bhp, 106 Quicksilver 1.4 75bhp. If only my car weighed less I would cane them all! Oh well, at least its not nearly as cramped as those little shopper hoppers with spoilers.

The specification is amazing, I paid £1200 at a used car dealer for my M plate British Racing Green SEi with a full service history and just 73000 on the clock! This comes with electric windows and sunroof, remote central locking, immobiliser, 15" alloy wheels, driver's air-bag, body coloured bumpers, half leather trim etc...

Finally a couple of weeks ago I was doing a little performance test in 1st gear and just as I was passing 5600rpm it went BANG! **** I thought as I saw a whole load of black smoke blow out from behind it, but I soon realised from the race car exhaust note that I had blown a hole in my exhaust. When I got out and had a look it had actually burst right down the side. It wasn't until I was going up a steep hill near my house that I realised something was different - it was still accelerating in 3rd, before i always required 2nd. I thought this odd but put it down to the engine being able to breathe better. Anyway got the exhaust changed for just £30 and the extra power was still there!!! There must have been something wrong with my old silencer and it was slowing the whole car down. It's a little belter now though it does vibrate quite badly at 3000rpm since the new exhaust was fitted. A small price to pay if you ask me :)