2004 Rover - Austin 75 Connoisseur SE review from UK and Ireland

Very little! Had a problem with the condenser cooling fan, this was fixed under warranty. Common problem is Airbag warning light coming on, normally caused by poor connections under the drivers seat. Easy to fix - just clean the connectors and reassemble.

The car was a pleasure to own, only sold due to changing circumstances meaning a saloon car is no longer very practical.

Running costs are reasonable for the car, service every 15K miles or 12 months helps and it alternates between a cheap service (mainly oil &filter change) and a major.

Tyres can be pricey if you want good quality but that applies to all cars, shop around and the price is manageable. Fuel costs were good with the car regularly returning >50MPG longer motorway trips at sensible speeds could easily make 55MPG.

Reliability was good, the car never left me stranded or failed to start. Build quality is in general good - nothing like the rubbish that left the Austin Rover factories in the late '70s or '80s

The 75 carries the miles well, I had the oppertunity of driving two different 75s back to back, one was new (about 500miles) the other 6 years old and 80K miles I can honestly say after 80K miles it was still as quiet and rattle free as a new car and just as 'tight'

The setup of the car leans towards comfort rather than outright handling, that said the handling is pretty tidy without affecting the comfort. The interior is pure luxury with leather seats (heated, electric adjustment and memory), dual zone climate control and a decent sounding standard fit audio system.

Performance can be described as adequate, OK from a standing start, better when accelerating 'in gear' - not untypical of diesel powered cars, loads of torque makes for relaxed driving.