Rover 25 1.4 16v 103ps Streetwise S Reviews

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Good Points: 1) Semi-sports, warm-hatch compromise between normal 25 & hot-hatch MGs.
2) Value for money.
3) Tragically & fatally underrated.
4) Very spacious in front seats.
5) Big boot & split/fold rear seats.
6) Mostly good build & trim quality & reliable, despite minor quality control issues.
7) Vulnerable areas like frontal area & wheelarches protected by tough, dark-grey plastic.
8) Handling.
9) Very comfortable half-leather sports seats.
10) Powerful, torquey engine pulls smoothly from 20 MPH in 5th & does 3,300 RPM at 70 MPH.
11) Future classic?

Bad Points: 1) Poor rear headroom for a car that's 13 feet long.
2) Minor quality control problems.
3) Standard 18-inch wiper blades are too small, leaving large, unswept areas.

General comments: Arguably the best version of Rover 25;- good compromise between normal 25s & 'in your face' overtly sporty MGs.
Never mind the list price, dealers sold these for £7,900 brand-new (NOT pre-registered!);- a grown up car for less than one of the higher spec Ford KAs!
Powerful 103ps engine means no cheap tax & dearer insurance than similarly priced smaller superminis;- HOWEVER compared with overrated, slightly larger foreign rivals like Golf & Focus, the MG ZRs & Rover 25s are an absolute bargain;- about HALF the price of a comparable specification Golf or Focus. £7900 would buy a mid to high spec 5-year-old 50,000 mile Golf or Focus!
MG ZR & Rover 25 are tragically underrated;- they should've been consistent top-five best-sellers & as big worldwide as Golf & Focus are.
It's particularly galling that current Focus looks like a second-rate Korean copy of a Rover 25;-yet it's MG-Rover, not Ford that have gone bust & are having their production lines switched to China.
One minor complaint is MG Rover's quality control at Longbridge wasn't up to Nissan's Sunderland standards:- My 25 Streetwise had a gearknob that can come off in your hand, loose rubber trim on the nearside rear door when I picked the car up & a load space cover attachment broke at less than 3,000 miles.