1981 Rover - Austin Metro L review from UK and Ireland
"Very reliable, relatively well built, but hardly exciting"
What things have gone wrong with the car?
The bodywork began to rust as the Metro approached 100,000 miles, but the engine was still running as smoothly as ever.
The interior was always fragile and things got easily broken, but they were easily repairable with glue.
General comments?
I bought a 14 year old 81X Metro in December 1995 for £350. My previous car was a 1973 VW Beetle 1303 which had lasted 5 years, but the Metro was ultra reliable.
The mechanicals were as solid as gold and completely faultless, but the bodywork began to show its age when the car reached the age of 20 years.
The Metro was a basic car with no stereo (the previous owner had taken it out) and the seats were as hard as rock. Interior space was quite good for such a small car.
The Metro was slow and spartan, but it was also extremely reliable and for the most part well built.
I finally sold it for £15 in 2003, by which time the Metro was 22 years old. I now own a 99T Vauxhall Corsa which is fairly reliable and more luxurious, but it's not as satisfying to own as the Metro.
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| Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? | Yes |
| Year of manufacture | 1981 |
| First year of ownership | 1995 |
| Most recent year of ownership | 2003 |
| Engine and transmission | 1.0 Manual |
| Performance marks | 2 / 10 |
| Reliability marks | 9 / 10 |
| Comfort marks | 3 / 10 |
| Dealer Service marks | 9 / 10 |
| Running Costs (higher is cheaper) | 9 / 10 |
| Overall marks (average of all marks) | |
| Distance when acquired | 69000 miles |
| Most recent distance | 108000 miles |
| Previous car | Volkswagen Beetle |
| Date of Entry | 8th March, 2004 |