1997 Rover - Austin 400 Si from UK and Ireland - Comments

Nothing yet. But when it does I'm sure the dealer will fix it quickly and efficiantly

When I was looking for a replacement for my Citroen, I was concentrating on BMWs or an Audi, but the Rover caught my eye and I fell in love. The Rover 400 series is one of the most under-rated cars on the market. To see how good the interior is, simply park it up next to a BMW. Admire the wood trim and cream leather in the Rover, then look at the BMW- bland black plastic with grey cloth seats. The rover K-series engine is the best I've owned. You can easily get 140bhp by just adding some K&N air filters. Plant your foot to the floor and it makes a great noise like a v-8 but subdues to near silent on the motorway where you are cosseted by the interior. If you are looking for a big exec car Don't buy a BMW! Buy a ROVER!

I wish you the Best Of British my friend when it comes to dealing with the Rover Service Department at your local dealership. You are far better off finding a specialist as the dealers are great conmen. One thing to watch out for concerning the K-Series engines. They have very long head bolts. Which over time come undone or indeed break! Obviously this is a major repair. The rear arches also rust out badly on all 400 rovers. Luckily mine got written off. I now drive a Lexus which is obviously nicer image wise.

Its interesting to see a 400 compared to a 3 series, especially as I have owned several examples of each. The wood in the Rover is fake plastic and will often fall off or discolour in sunlight. Not many 3s have wood, but those that do are of a far higher quality and actaully began life as part of a tree, which is a good start! Ditto the leather. And the engine. And the paint. And the fit and finish of the panels. And the badly finished trim and brackets on the body and under the bonnet. And the nasty Philips radios in the Rover. And the blancmange like chassis in the brit car, compared to the nicely balanced RWD arrangement in the bimmers. And the BMW won't rattle like a box of broken crockery after 50k miles, unlike a K or T series engined Rover.

The Rovers certainly 'talk the talk' in terms of specification, but they don't 'walk the walk' in terms of quality of assembly and finish, durability or residual value. bit like comparing a zircon to a diamond - they both sparkle, but the real thing does it better and longer.

Yes, but the real thing is a lot more money.

Had rovers for years, 216 gti, 214gsi and we now run 2 rovers a 416sli and a 216 gsi and I love them. the only problem I have had in all the years I've had the cars is the head warping on the 416 but for the money you can't beat them.

Funny having a 3-series owner mock the Rover 400 for poor build - the last 3-series (E36 318) I drove was a horrible shed of a thing with poor body control, creaky dashboard, faded paint and rust everywhere. You get good and bad examples of every car, and BMW is definitely not exempt from that.

Well, I can't help, but agree with the last comment, I own a BMW 528 as well as I rover 400. The BMW has just done 32,000 miles and the Rover 92,000 miles. So far the wooden trim has come away on the rear door on BMW, the interior panels on the rear doors is also coming off. The BMW clatters now on start up. As for the sound system in the BMW, the front speakers now don't work! And the Rover... absolutely no problems what so ever! And its done three times the mileage and of the BMW. The most annoying thing is, I swapped my Rover 620 Turbo for the BMW and the T-series engine in that was just as reliable as the K-series in the Rover 400!

Hi, I own a 416 tourer and an 1985 3500 Vitesse, with a real V8, and I can assure you that the sound of the 416 DOES NOT sound anything at all like the V-8 of my Vitesse, which has just a standard exhaust and no engine modifications to make it sound more brutal. World apart! I do like the sound of my Tourer though, but I LOVE the sound of my Vitesse (especially when it's thundering down the motorways)