1995 Rover - Austin 200 sei from UK and Ireland - Comments

The car started misfiring and after changing spark plugs, leads and putting a fuel engine cleaner through it I thought it might be the valves or injectors (£100 - £300 bill), I was very glad to notice a spark near the bottom right of the ECU. The fault was at the first ht lead, some water there was helping bad contact. That's all so far, but only had the car a month.

OK I've had a rover sli 1991 model before, you know the two tone one that thinks it's a bit of a boat. Wasn't a bad car for having over 110,000 miles on it. had to replace clutch, alternator, gearbox, electric window before the gear box went again at 114,562 miles

This is why I got this 1995 1.4 sei and what a difference.

I need to tell you I'm a bit of a boy racer and so are my friends. They have a pug 1.4 xsi 100hp, saxo vtr (modified) 102hp tested, nova gte (modified) 115hp est and a new Astra 1.6 sxi 103hp. I've raced them all and only the nova is faster (it is as heavy as a small GOAT by the way) O and the Astra is the slowest ha ha.

I'm 18 with 1 years no claims bonus and I'm £334 per year full comp, this is cos insurance group 8 not bad???

This car is very nice inside. leather seats, electric windows, mirrors, and steering are fab for only paying £525 for it. I've also got alarm, alloys, immobilizer, metallic paint too.

I would love to believe these cars hit 60 in 8.5 but that's a bit fast, the saxo vtr is 9.9 standard my friend has one uprated to 102 TESTED and hits 60 at about 9.0 to 9.2. I'm only just faster.

I, m getting Kent cams, Pippercross replacement filter and 52mm throttle body installed soon, I'll get it tested and let a know what horsepower is running and how that nova looks like out the back window. He He.

Come on now guy, a 1.4 Rover 200 hardly has, as you term it, "Blistering Performance."

OK for a 1.4 it is.

Tell me what other cars have more than 105hp with a 1.4 engine and that doesn't use a turbo.

Not many!!

Also this car cost me £500 so i'll give you a challenge if you like. Find me a 1.4 (or less) engined car for less than £1000 that has 105hp or more. Remember no turbos and try find one that's done less than 80,000 miles.

Come on now guy, a Rover 200 1.4CC is not Fast. It is not even luke warm.

That noise you are hearing is from the BS Sensor. It is located just above the TPS Sensor. This is the reason your car is running so fast. A new BS Sensor for my 1994 214 Cost me 74 Pounds at my local Rover Main Dealership.

OK "AS I SAID BEFORE", for a one 1.4 it is and if you can't find me one that is faster then don't bother writing any more "its not luke warm" rubbish.

Did you replace the Sensor yet? Like I said, the reason your Engine is running faster then other 214's is because your BS Sensor has gone into Open Loop. I purchased a new BS Sensor from my Local Rover Main Dealership, Charrards of Dorking, for 74 Pounds. Try and Fix The BS Sensor, see if that cures it.

These Rover 214's are not at all fast. I take it this is your First Car. I had a 1994 214 and it could not get out of its own way, especially uphills. I did have the vehicle from brand new. They are not even a Luke Warm Car. Obviously it is gonna be faster then your mates 1 Litre Nova. These cars are cheap now due to Rovers appaling image and Build Quality issues. Watch out for the Head Gasket going, they all go eventually.

OK if my sensor is out and is making my car go faster then why exactly would I want to change it.

And for the last comment yes this is my first car, but I've got 4 older brothers, they all drive faster cars than me (BMW's, MGF's, Nissans and the like, I've driven them all and know what fast is) but their first car's were all slower than mine and were mostly 1.6s.

Which brings me to my next point, I'm not sure if you have problems reading (in which case I'm very sorry) but I did write that the nova was a GTE which if you know much about cars you would understand that it would be a 1.6 not a 1 litre. I also said this nova was faster than me and not the other way round, TRY TO ACTUALLY READ THE REVIEW BEFORE WRITING ANY COMMENTS.

Can anyone please find me 1.4 car that doesn't have a turbo that's faster than my car. This 1.4 it is the fastest for its engine size, so begs the question is it a fast car. Well for the money (including insurance and to run) then I think it is.

OK now, I have a 1.4 Rover and probably significantly older than you, I had one for 5 yrs before this also. Now OK, they go well for a 1.4, but that's it.. In all reality a 1.4 running well might hit 0-60 in 10.5 seconds, but I think you are dreaming if you think its quicker than that. Your mates cars sound pretty poor, so I wouldn't seek too much solace from that. Maybe grow up and get yourself a pastime rather than worrying about whether your car is slightly faster than this or that... What is good about them is that they are cheap as chips, and don't cost much to run, and you can fix them yourself.

Caterham 7 1.4 16v will hit 60mph in 6.5 seconds. Yes I know it has the same engine as your car, but none of the weight.

I used to own a 214 SEi and you're right the 1.4 K Series is pretty much the best normally aspirated 1.4 ever, as long as you keep and eye on the temperature gauge. Problem is the R8 200 is a bit of a fatty and to get real performance from it it really needed the twin can Honda 1.6 or the T Series Rover 2.0.

I think the guy who posted those comments was Winding you up. If you read between the lines you can safely assume that he meant BS Sensor as Bullshit Sensor.

Original writer.

OK what the TPS sensor then.

Throttle Position Sensor.

Back on the subject...I'm 21 and had my 214 SEI for almost a year now and can honestly say its the quickest car I've had and my previous cars were a 1.6 16v Fiesta Si and a VW golf 1.6. The rover is 103 BHP (factory) and is as far as I'm aware the most powerful naturally aspired 1400 ever!! It is quite a boat compared with the fiesta and golf, but if driven properly and kept above 4500 - 5000 rpm it is fairly quick and will surprise a few people, but is not blistering performance depends how you look at it!!! If your 18 and your first car it would be rapid... ID LOVE TO NO WHO YOUR INSURERS ARE??? £300ish? fully comp seems far fetched I'm 21 2 years no claims and pay £640 fully comp with 6 points.

Original writer.

OK insurance is with swindon I think, I've done my pass plus and 1 years no claim, I live in Inverness so the last car that got nick here was in 1984 or something lol. Your points must be putting up your premium. Also I'm garaged.

Anyone reading this and also drive the same car can you stick in how much you pay for insurance, how old you are and so on. As I'm betting its also real cheap compared to cars like vtr's.

Had the car a few good months now and for what the car is I still think its blistering, what I mean is that this car is 11 years old, can be bought for £500 or less and can beat all modern equivalents or better in a straight race.

Also keep an eye on your temperature gauge at all times. If you have never heard your fan come on (not the one that blows air in your face) it should, so get it sorted or you could pay £100s for overheating damage. Most common problem that stops your fan working is also easy to fix. Its the temperature switch in the radiator. Pop the bonnet, locate the radiator, there is a larger rubber hose that comes out the left/drivers side of the radiator near the top, the switch is down from there about 10cms, pull the wire connection out, then unscrew a plastic retainer (only a half turn) then the switch should pull out o and along with half the water in there. You can get these switch's in halfords for pennies.

Anyone else got any tips on keeping this car from overheating.

I'm hoping to get over to crail drag strip soon. I'll find out a true 0-60 and quarter mile time. I'm betting under 10secs for sure, but would love something around 9.