Faults:

Rear driver side door central locking stuck on locked, seemed to fix itself after a week :D.

This car has not had anything apart from that go wrong in the 10 months I have owned it.

General Comments:

Rover have gone bust, again. Never will a rover roll of the production line again after their new owners have stated they will only make MG's from now on.

Try not to think like most people do, Rovers are not just for old Sunday drivers and should not be overlooked as a good, solid everyday car for younger people too.

This means both good and bad news for us all. The bad news is eventually there will be no good rovers left to buy as age will catch up with them. But the good news is you can pick them up for a great price now. This Rover 45 IXS came with 15" Alloys, Air Conditioning, central locking, fog lamps and a sporty boot spoiler with 43k on the clock and all for 3500 pounds...bargain. The book price on this model when released in 2001 was around 14k.

That's a brief history of the car and company now on to what I love (and what I dislike) about this car. This car is surprisingly nimble for its size, you can throw it around quit vigorously yet still it finds grip, now this may not be supercar grip, but you can push it quite far before it decides to slide towards the kerb and even when it does you can easily gain control again with a dab of the throttle. The chunky 225 section tyres probably help with this. Power wise it may not have the hot hatches worried with 10.7 seconds to 60MPH time, but it is no breathless wonder either and from 6,000 RPM there is a little go to be squeezed out of this k-series engine (the same engine in the lotus elise).

The only thing that is bad with these cars is the petrol consumption, they drink the stuff. If you push this car even a little you will see yourself through a tank of petrol in no time, I worked it out as 26MPG. Not good so reluctantly I am selling it. I took a Skoda Fabia vrs out today and I am changed forever :D (read the reviews) lower insurance and 52MPG from a hot hatch, yes please.

A great thing about k-series rovers is how easy it is too do all your own servicing and repairs. A haynes manual and a set of sockets and spanners will see you clear for a host of DIY repairs. On my previous rover, a 214SEI from 1993 I changed an alternator with no experience in an hour :D.

I would advise a rover 45 for anyone on a budget looking for a good looking (in IXS guise) practical, easy to drive 5 door hatch.

Faults:

There is a small rip in carpet on drivers side and a few little chips and dents in body, nothing noticeable until up close.

General Comments:

What a car, as soon as I saw it at the dealer I had to have it, I was looking for something a bit sportier than my old 214SEi and this car leapt out at me with its 16" alloys, spoiler and aggressive front profile.

The drive as well, wow, so much of an improvement over the old rover, which I also loved, but then you don't realise how much better the new rovers are until you drive them.

The 6 speaker and CD head unit is also excellent with great sound and bass for a standard peice of kit.

109BHP is only a few up from the old 103BHP 1.4 K-Series in the 214 but it just seems to shift a hell of a lot quicker and no having to rev the nuts off it to go any-were means my petrol costs have halved, Its like the 214's older more mature brother that after a few drinks can go completely nuts if the mood takes him, great car, long lived rover...

If your going to buy a 45, buy this model...

Faults:

Light bulbs in the front cluster had to be replaced several times.

I know that's normal. But 9 times in two years is not I guess.

General Comments:

The accelerates quite fast for just a 100HP diesel. If I would have to make a choice today I'd take another one if they only swapped the dash for onde designed after 1860 instead of before. ;)