I had a Rover 45 1.6 when I was 18 and as you can imagine I wasn't very sympathetic to it at that age, I raced it, did donuts, commuted etc and it never once let me down, nor did it miss a single beat in it's ownership. Awesome car.
I bought one of these about a decade ago in the same colour, an Automatic with 28k miles. The older lady was moving to a luxury retirement complex and had no need for a car. She wanted £600 but all these cowboys said it was worth scrap and offered £150. It was like new inside so I said you want £600 so I'll give you £700. She accepted and I kept it about 6 months before someone that knew I had it offered me £1200 and I snapped his hand off. It's still under a cover in his garage as far as I'm aware.
My ULEZ compliant car is a 2001 Mondeo 2.5 V6. It is not what I bought it for, but it's outlasted more economical vehicles that can't go into London any more.
I live in London and my old 1.3-litre car wasn’t ULEZ compliant (as it was from 1999and therefore too old), so I’ve replaced it with a 2.5-litre V6 Rover 75… which is compliant 😁
Tho why don't they just fit things on the older cars to make them more environmental friendly or like tune them to have like eco mode like in trucks or something
@@aaroncable340 In European counties you can do just that - at a cost of around £800 to get a particulate filter fitted to the exhaust. Here they won’t even allow that or a conversion to nice clean LPG.
I have owned two 25's both 1.4 8v and not once did they let me down. Head gasket went on the 1st at 117k due to my poor maintenance and the 2nd never had any issues at all.
Back when I was a kid. My grandmother had a 96 216SLI with the 1.6 k series. Hers however had the CVT transmission. Other than it being jerky going into drive from park or reverse, it had no other mechanical issues. It was a survivor example in absolutely phenomenal condition. Sadly not to long after the next owner took it off the road for good. Greetings from NZ.
I had a 1.6 iS. I loved the steering feel and how secure it felt in corners. I also thought it was the best looking small car of its era. Very underrated. And it never let me down, until it got rear ended.
I hear what your saying about maybe it is better to keep an old car on the road, rather than constantly changing to a newer model. I drive a 1997 Mondeo, I only do about 5k per year now in miles. I have had the car for nearly 15 years. I know plenty of people that have changed their car 4, 5 or even more times in that period. If your capable of maintaining the car yourself it makes sense. And I have my own welding and spray gear, so rust is not a show stopper. And of course there is the other benefit to driving an older car - the maintenance is so much easier. None of the countless number of electronic control modules that all new cars have. Just one main ECU, just about everything else controlled by good old relays. I can change just about anything on my car without having to worry about needing to have the part coded to the ecu, or having to through complicated parameter settings, which pretty much always needs a high end scan tool to do. But I feel we are likely to be the last generation that can easily do this, once the switch to EV is pretty much complete, I doubt cars will be having that long a life span anyway, I think the car's battery will determine the life time of the car. A car may get a new battery pack if it's still under warranty, but other than that i think we are going to discover that it's just not economical to replace the battery pack. Would be like buying an 8 year old petrol car for a couple of grand, knowing that you will need to spend 5 times that amount on it before it is of any use to you. And in that respect, I think overall switching to electric is not going to be as eco friendly like we are all led to believe. Electric may well be the way forward, but using Li-ion batteries is not, they start to degrade the second you start to use them, and the more cycles you put on them, the faster they will degrade. And about the worst thing you can do to a Li-ion battery is to fast charge it - high charging currents will drastically shorten the life of the pack. The same applies to high discharge rates - in otherwords driving the vehicle hard will also shorten the battery life. Nope, Li-ion is not the way forward, we need something much better before going electric really is the greener option.
That's exactly the colour, wheels and interior I'd have specified in 2004. Lovely car, I had a Rover Streetwise briefly and it drove exceptionally well. I'll always carry the mantle for Rover.
No me too, they looked so futuristic in their day, especially when compared to competitors such as the Mondeo and Vectra which were just as bland as previous generations. They dont look like a car that was designed and first sold 23 years ago!
Nice to see a 25 being driven, as I'm so familiar with the experience! My 2002 25 1.4 is a great little car to drive. Have to say the gear shift is a major highlight. Nice short throw and easy to use. Mine only has 14500 miles on the clock which might help but the gear shift plus eager K series engine and good handling makes it a great car in my book!
People don’t seem to realise that the Rover engines where ahead of their time they only seem to see the head gasket issues but my parents had a 1990 214 Si, 1995 214 sei (R8), and a 2001 25 il . And never had any problems because they were all serviced and looked after,
Thanks for this video Matt, really interesting re ULEZ and exhaust CO2 output (not Euro 6). I had no idea that this age of car would be exempt - brilliant!
CO emissions is not the only thing coming out of exhausts, and though diesels had the edge on that, they have higher particulate matter PM (soot) and NOx emissions than petrol engines. These are more harmful to us. CO/CO2 are absorbed by plants, though is known as greenhouse gas. This is why petrol cars as old as 2001 or OBD2 and Euro3 compliant are ULEZ compliant, yet diesels need to be Euro 6 compliant. Most diesel cars from 2015, though some older cars are also compliant. There is a ULEZ checker, where you can enter the licence plate, and get conformation that the car is compliant or not.
Excellent video as always. Absolutely love my 25 as an introduction to Rover ownership. I believe with that age of 25 it would have the Ford IB5 gearbox.
Old friend from work now retired had one like this think it was 2003 model loved his Rover's was also a Maestro fan owned a few as well great example of a 25 Matty
Great review Matt and a very underrated car, I currently drive an R3 200 SLi auto, paid just £400 for it 18 months ago and still running well, it’s been the best £400 quids worth I’ve ever spent, really comfortable, reliable and drives really well for its age. I like the 25, it’s a good shape, still DIY maintenance friendly. I think I’d prefer a manual rather than CVT auto, but it doesn’t take away how well it drives. Grab a bargain while they’re still banger money as depleting numbers will ensure prices will follow the 75’s prices upwards.
Very good and fair review of a future classic. I own a 2004 R25 1.4. I used it for my 60mile a day commute for work and I have to admit, it really is a fun car to drive. The cockpit is light and airy and you can command over the bonnet with its high seating position. The handling of this car is incredibly good as well. It was a hand me down from a late grand parent who barely did any miles in it. Yes I've had a few issues with it, but throughout my ownership its been a pleasure to own. Doesn't do a lot for my street cred, with my friends all driving BMWs and Audis, but its a car that I can fix and maintain myself and enjoy mile after mile of care-free driving as it owes me nothing at all. Its currently off the road as I now work from home, but I do start it every so often and it always starts first time.
Well, well, just checked one the websites and our 2001 1.4 rover 25 is compliant, hooray. So thanks for the heads up. Just over 40k on the clock and my wife is the second owner (FiL now no longer with us bought it new). They do indeed handle very well, our other car is an allroad and if the journey involves little or no motorway, it is the car of choice to get there quickly, the allroad being a comfy barge. No matter what your speed, you think it into the corners and round it goes, no drama. The headlights make the allroad's look like candles in comparison and driving it to work I estimate I'm getting over 48mpg. What's not to like, cheap to run, insure and easy to maintain. We're keeping it until we can't get parts anymore and then who knows what I'll do, probably race it or something....just kidding. Recommended.
Inciteful piece - nice to know you can still find some decent bargain runabouts if you look hard enough. First car I bought with my hard earned cash was a 1.4 25. It was a big step up from the Ford Escort I was lent the money to buy to get to started. Did about 50k in it and still had some life left when I traded it in. They weren't bad cars at all, but finding a good one is getting harder these days. Definitely a good way of working around the ULEZ if you just need something to get from A to B though.
Also that will be a Ford ib5 gearbox which replaced the r65 in 2003. Boot space is good compared to Fiesta etc. Rover marketing the 200 against 306, Escort and Astra was daft, as was marketing the 400 against Mondeo and Vectra. It made total sense to re-position the 25 against Fiesta/Corsa, and 45 against Focus/Astra.
ULEZ is very effective at keeping my car out of London, but it keeps me out too. It’s now cheaper for me to fly to Paris, Berlin or Madrid than travel to London regardless of whether I drive or take the train.
My 2005 Renault Grand Scenic is ULEZ exempt - I found out earlier in the year when I got send to a job to fix a business's Wifi network in the SE1 postcode (more than a 3-hour drive from where I live). My Peugeot Expert would have had to pay the charge (it really is filthy and smoky though), but I couldn't have taken it anyway as it's too tall for the NCP London Bridge car park that I booked a space in! I've just checked my 2002 Ford Focus and that's exempt too! That car cost me nothing at all, unfortunately that's because it was my dad's before he passed away earlier in the year, and nobody else in the family wanted it. I just can't resist a cheap or free old car.
That’s amazing! What a great purchase. Many people are not aware that the Euro emissions determine the maximum amount of emissions. Many euro 3 petrol cars are even still within todays Euro 6 emissions limits. My old 2002 BMW 320ci E46 still meets Euro 6 despite being classed as Euro 3. One way to find out? Look at the Euro emissions targets and look at the figures on your V5.
I'm always amazed that in the UK you can buy reasonable priced cars. A car in this condition would cost you $4000-4500 dollars, in the USA. There was a time when you could buy a reasonable car for 200 500 dollars but that time is long gone. Greed you know.
is that possible? a Rover 200 ? $4000 for a little car that has serious engine design flaws and that can be bought anywhere in Europe for under 500? plus,most are already junked,i can drive around for 6 months on mine (gas and lpg...) without seeing another one
To Clear up the the ulez it’s euro 6 standard for all diesel vehicles and euro 4 for petrol cars and in some cases euro 3 petrol cars can be compliant as this rover is
Sooooo...what you're saying Matt, is that I need to be searching the classifieds for 80's & 90's luxo barges - thank you, my favourite type of car, I'm on it. Cheers!
What a great idea. Noone can ever accuse the government of being logical, at least not knowingly. Still, if it keeps a few older cars going, that's cool.
I have said for years that running an old car is better for the environment. My 51 plate 45 1.8 auto conny saloon is ulez exempt and i don't intend getting rid of it anytime soon....and on the lookout again for an auto R8 as miss mine to go with my 45......Yes i'm a huge Rover fan
My wife had a Rover 25 1.6 CVT automatic for 10 years. Great little car that typically was maligned just because it was British. The CVT/ semi-auto never gave any problems although the K-series engine had the usual head gasket replacement plus a few easy to rectify electrical gremlins. Never had a car that started "on the button" as instantly in all weathers as that Rover though. Sadly, it was written off soon after we sold it on to a friend.
This video has quite a familiar ring to it: cars from the MG Rover era which are Ultra Low Emission Zone compliant and cost under £1000... Where have I heard that before?
Great review, always had a soft spot for rovers. As for me I’m happily driving my 2003 Jaguar X-Type 2.1 petrol from my home within the London ULEZ. Everyone is always surprised when I tell them it’s compliant!
I went to buy an MG ZR 2.0 td in 2003 as I really liked the styling and the L series engine had a good reputation. When I discovered that ABS still wasn’t standard and various other bits of it felt cost cutting, I changed my mind and bought a 206 DTurbo instead.
Just checked and my Y reg 2001 VW Polo 1.4 16v Open Air is also ULEZ exempt, cost me nothing! saved it from the scrapper as an MOT failure with 73k on the clock and FSH. Needed tyres, brakes and exhaust section and it was good to go!
the 2001 onwards Corsa C (in petrol form obviously) is also a cheap ULEZ beater as examples can be picked up for the same price as the 25, However the Vauxhall can also take E10 fuel
My Y reg 2.0 mondeo auto is ulez compliant which surprised me. As for parking to access London use either Plumstead or Falconwood both with free onstreet parking and only 20 mins from central.
The Pektron system is a right pain in the arse just had to have my SCU done because it set fire/malfunctioned after the relays where replaced had to send it off to a specialist who built me a new one
Great review of an awesome little car, still don’t get the (everyone’s?) obsession with cup holders just pull up and buy a cup of tea! My modern has a plethora of them but would never eat or drink in a car unless it was a life or death situation (same goes for my kids, how hard is it to go into a roadside cafe / restaurant and eat in?? )
This would definitely have a Ford IB5 gearbox which was much more modern and robust than the old Peugeot R65 unit. The R65 was built by Midland Gears (used to be part of Rover Group). When BMW broke up Rover and MG Rover came into being, BMW retained Midland Gears, and were charging a lot for the R65. Midland gears closed down shortly after this sadly.
I had a 414 that had a R65 gearbox which was very smooth and precise, so I actualy preferred it to the gearbox in my current 2002 45, which is presumably the Ford gearbox.
I often slate rovers, but to be honest, what this car needed was a shed load of development…interesting to imagine what this may have evolved into. Little things too…those control stalks don’t match the rest of the car. They look very 1970s. But nonetheless underneath it all not a bad platform.
I'm in the dreaded ULEZ zone, recently scrapped my Punto as it was on its last legs anyway. I would be keen to hear of a list of recommended vehicles that beat the ULEZ, in your recommendation. Would make a good video.
Astra H 1.8 is a good cheap ULEZ compliant car. We have the "Elite" version with heated leather, cruise, "Opera" sound system and other goodies. Paid £2.1k for it and its a really nice car to drive.
@@TheSaabClinicUK Anything above 30 MPG is enough for me, I will definitely look for a manual though, I still enjoy them :) Average prices for decent ones seem to be around 2-4k which is ideal.
I think ULEZ should only apply to your second (or more), most polluting car. That way if you can only afford to own one older car you don’t have to pay, but if you have a cleaner car it encourages you to use that in cities.
But then rich people could just buy an extra 'clean' car, stick it in the garage and carry on as before. Ultimately 'poor' people still evidently have the option of buying £200 cars. Unless you're also proposing removing MOTs, that seems cheap enough. If you want polluting cars to pay for the costs they impose, the ULEZ does that. How ever you construct it it's going to be unfair to some people. EV owners have gone to the expense of buying an actual clean car and are still in the same position as someone forking out £200 for an old rover, how unfair is that?
You say the 1.4 k series in this became a 16v in autumn 2002 yet the 1.4k series was available as an 8v or 16v back in 1996 and i have a 96 214si 16v .so did rover only put the 8 valve k in this to start with which seems odd when they had a 16v block.
I had an 2003 IXL lovely car with all the toys. The electrical bits were an adventure. I am not one to name a car but I called this one Nippy as the end of the reg was NPY. Unfortunately it was not as nippy as the Rover 400 behind me at a roundabout which rear ended it. That was rhe end of that!
Much like this Rover, the 1.4 16v and 1.2 12/6v HTP models of the first generation Skoda Fabia can enter ULEZ zones too, even though some of them are nearly 22 years old!
Lovely Rover Content and think I might have to start looking at ULEZ Beater for when it comes to Edinburgh unless I take the Wife's 67 Plate Fabia! As I think my 75 will most likely incur a ULEZ charge!
ive screwed a downpipe bracket to my passenger dash area to hold cups . ive had 8 of these now , thermostat stuck on one , head gasket went on 2 , and one caught fire on the A14 ,
The problem with the newer Pektron SCU is that is has relays for things like the horn and the driver's window "One Press" wind down, and door locking. I had these faults with my MG TF Scotty. I swapped it with one from Whiskey, my first MG TF (which got water in the engine, when I drove it into a flood). When you change the SCU, you have to change the EMU, they are linked. But, the cars are slightly different ages. Whiskey is March 2004, and Scotty is May 2004. MG Rover did a rethink with the engine bay fan. Whiskey's one is controlled by a heat sensor in the bay. In Scotty, this is deleted, and the fan is link with the radiator fan. So, because Whiskey's EMU, in Scotty, is looking for heat sensor and don't find one, it defaults to having it on all the time. Fine in Summer, not in Winter. Just got Scotty's one back, fixed, from Technozen. I will be be switching it back this weekend. (Maybe, after I dug it out of the snow🥶)
I can see the day coming when all city centers will become bus and taxi only zones (electric/hydrogen of course) and all deliveries to be made between 23:00 and 07:00. Great for tourists but bugger the rest of us.
My first car was an X reg 2.0 TD. It was faster than every one of my mates' cars, was better to drive, did better mpg and got admiring noises from girls' dads. Plus it had A/C. Putting it through flood water while ragging it through country B roads was one of the worst days of my life.
@furious driving - Mems and pektron aren't the same thing. Mems stands for modular engine management system which started out as 1.6 on the early cars, the R3 had mems 1.9 and mems 2j for VVC. The 25, ZR and streetwise used mems 3 which carried overhead wasted spark pencil coils on the engine, some factory tuning differences from before. Pektron was the replacement for lucas 5as which uses the classic 2 button black fob. This came into play in late 2003. Along with the ib5 gearbox at the same point to replace the aged and weak r65. One thing you'll never want to do with a K series is drive on a cold engine, and if the dreaded does happen, a specialist only for certain work to be carried out! Most monkey mechanics haven't got a clue with K's. Good to see a product of Longbridge having a new lease of life! Awesome video by the way!
Being really nit picky, the engines started from 1.1 litre not 1.4, and there was never any 8v engines in the 25. The 200 R3 offered both 1.1 8v and 1.4 8v along with the 16v engines. But all 25 petrols were 16v. Two variants of the 1.4 16v however with different power outputs due to different throttle body’s
The cassette player was still about as my girlfriend at the time bought a new 2005 1800 MX5 (Mk 2.5)and I couldn’t believe a Japanese car would still have old hat technology It looks like someone got a mega bargain as the Mrs scrapped an old A class a few months back and got £268 so £200 for a running car with a ticket is amazing. I did pick up a lovely 2000 VW Golf MK3.5 cabriolet for £250 though today with a ticket and low mileage off marketplace and all it needs is a good clean to get it looking as good as new.
my MIL had one, it was pretty grim to drive to be honest, just too small in the drivers seat from a height point of view. As a ulez beater for 200 pounds, its better than being on a bus though. Can see the sense of it.
think rover were thinking of youths with the 25, thats not a tape holder, its for holding phones, and sepia tone is kind on the eyes after a long session down the club for the all day hangover :D
Bargain, could do a lot worse for £200. Shame that Rover had done away with the wood trim on the dash. It would be interesting to see R3 200, pre and post facelift 25's for a comparison.
I had a Rover 45 1.6 when I was 18 and as you can imagine I wasn't very sympathetic to it at that age, I raced it, did donuts, commuted etc and it never once let me down, nor did it miss a single beat in it's ownership.
Awesome car.
Which is why they're known as being underrated 🙂
I love the iconic K-Series sounds, the revving, the sound when starting up, even their unique sound when the battery goes flat and it wont start!
I bought one of these about a decade ago in the same colour, an Automatic with 28k miles. The older lady was moving to a luxury retirement complex and had no need for a car. She wanted £600 but all these cowboys said it was worth scrap and offered £150. It was like new inside so I said you want £600 so I'll give you £700. She accepted and I kept it about 6 months before someone that knew I had it offered me £1200 and I snapped his hand off. It's still under a cover in his garage as far as I'm aware.
My ULEZ compliant car is a 2001 Mondeo 2.5 V6. It is not what I bought it for, but it's outlasted more economical vehicles that can't go into London any more.
I live in London and my old 1.3-litre car wasn’t ULEZ compliant (as it was from 1999and therefore too old), so I’ve replaced it with a 2.5-litre V6 Rover 75… which is compliant 😁
Don’t let the rich know. This car will be banned soon.
But please pay £700 per month for a new electric car hahaha
Tho why don't they just fit things on the older cars to make them more environmental friendly or like tune them to have like eco mode like in trucks or something
@@aaroncable340 In European counties you can do just that - at a cost of around £800 to get a particulate filter fitted to the exhaust. Here they won’t even allow that or a conversion to nice clean LPG.
@@howard81 ah right thanks for the information
That looks like a very good car for £200!
Rover 25, not only one of the happiest cars going, but responsible too. I love mine. You know that 😊
I have owned two 25's both 1.4 8v and not once did they let me down. Head gasket went on the 1st at 117k due to my poor maintenance and the 2nd never had any issues at all.
They are brilliant cars
@@furiousdriving - I agree. The only nag I had was the lack of torque from the power lump.
@@JR90.
They like to be revved, that's why Lotus, Caterham and Ariel all fitted them.
Back when I was a kid. My grandmother had a 96 216SLI with the 1.6 k series. Hers however had the CVT transmission. Other than it being jerky going into drive from park or reverse, it had no other mechanical issues. It was a survivor example in absolutely phenomenal condition. Sadly not to long after the next owner took it off the road for good. Greetings from NZ.
Seeing this gave me nostalgia for the time when my dad's old 200 BRM worked
I had a 1.6 iS. I loved the steering feel and how secure it felt in corners. I also thought it was the best looking small car of its era. Very underrated. And it never let me down, until it got rear ended.
I hear what your saying about maybe it is better to keep an old car on the road, rather than constantly changing to a newer model. I drive a 1997 Mondeo, I only do about 5k per year now in miles. I have had the car for nearly 15 years. I know plenty of people that have changed their car 4, 5 or even more times in that period. If your capable of maintaining the car yourself it makes sense. And I have my own welding and spray gear, so rust is not a show stopper. And of course there is the other benefit to driving an older car - the maintenance is so much easier. None of the countless number of electronic control modules that all new cars have. Just one main ECU, just about everything else controlled by good old relays. I can change just about anything on my car without having to worry about needing to have the part coded to the ecu, or having to through complicated parameter settings, which pretty much always needs a high end scan tool to do.
But I feel we are likely to be the last generation that can easily do this, once the switch to EV is pretty much complete, I doubt cars will be having that long a life span anyway, I think the car's battery will determine the life time of the car. A car may get a new battery pack if it's still under warranty, but other than that i think we are going to discover that it's just not economical to replace the battery pack. Would be like buying an 8 year old petrol car for a couple of grand, knowing that you will need to spend 5 times that amount on it before it is of any use to you. And in that respect, I think overall switching to electric is not going to be as eco friendly like we are all led to believe. Electric may well be the way forward, but using Li-ion batteries is not, they start to degrade the second you start to use them, and the more cycles you put on them, the faster they will degrade. And about the worst thing you can do to a Li-ion battery is to fast charge it - high charging currents will drastically shorten the life of the pack. The same applies to high discharge rates - in otherwords driving the vehicle hard will also shorten the battery life. Nope, Li-ion is not the way forward, we need something much better before going electric really is the greener option.
That's exactly the colour, wheels and interior I'd have specified in 2004. Lovely car, I had a Rover Streetwise briefly and it drove exceptionally well. I'll always carry the mantle for Rover.
Is it only me that thinks the Rover 75 is timeless!
No me too, they looked so futuristic in their day, especially when compared to competitors such as the Mondeo and Vectra which were just as bland as previous generations. They dont look like a car that was designed and first sold 23 years ago!
Still beautiful
What a bargain. I still really love the shape of an R3 and of course the colour. I think it had evolved from Tahiti to Royal Blue by then
Nice to see a 25 being driven, as I'm so familiar with the experience! My 2002 25 1.4 is a great little car to drive. Have to say the gear shift is a major highlight. Nice short throw and easy to use. Mine only has 14500 miles on the clock which might help but the gear shift plus eager K series engine and good handling makes it a great car in my book!
People don’t seem to realise that the Rover engines where ahead of their time they only seem to see the head gasket issues but my parents had a 1990 214 Si, 1995 214 sei (R8), and a 2001 25 il . And never had any problems because they were all serviced and looked after,
My Y reg 75 2.5 V6 is also compliant. Nothing says emissions zone friendly quite like a big V6 petrol engine.
Yes, my 2003 45 V6 is the same!
2.5 is big now?
Thanks for this video Matt, really interesting re ULEZ and exhaust CO2 output (not Euro 6). I had no idea that this age of car would be exempt - brilliant!
Any Euro3 petrol is ULEZ compliant.
CO emissions is not the only thing coming out of exhausts, and though diesels had the edge on that, they have higher particulate matter PM (soot) and NOx emissions than petrol engines. These are more harmful to us. CO/CO2 are absorbed by plants, though is known as greenhouse gas. This is why petrol cars as old as 2001 or OBD2 and Euro3 compliant are ULEZ compliant, yet diesels need to be Euro 6 compliant. Most diesel cars from 2015, though some older cars are also compliant. There is a ULEZ checker, where you can enter the licence plate, and get conformation that the car is compliant or not.
Rover engines are great, very revvy.
Excellent video as always. Absolutely love my 25 as an introduction to Rover ownership. I believe with that age of 25 it would have the Ford IB5 gearbox.
Old friend from work now retired had one like this think it was 2003 model loved his Rover's was also a Maestro fan owned a few as well great example of a 25 Matty
Great review Matt and a very underrated car, I currently drive an R3 200 SLi auto, paid just £400 for it 18 months ago and still running well, it’s been the best £400 quids worth I’ve ever spent, really comfortable, reliable and drives really well for its age.
I like the 25, it’s a good shape, still DIY maintenance friendly.
I think I’d prefer a manual rather than CVT auto, but it doesn’t take away how well it drives.
Grab a bargain while they’re still banger money as depleting numbers will ensure prices will follow the 75’s prices upwards.
That looks pretty decent for £200! Sounds like there are a couple of small jobs to make it tidy again. Probably got plenty of life in it at 60k miles.
Very good and fair review of a future classic. I own a 2004 R25 1.4. I used it for my 60mile a day commute for work and I have to admit, it really is a fun car to drive. The cockpit is light and airy and you can command over the bonnet with its high seating position. The handling of this car is incredibly good as well. It was a hand me down from a late grand parent who barely did any miles in it. Yes I've had a few issues with it, but throughout my ownership its been a pleasure to own. Doesn't do a lot for my street cred, with my friends all driving BMWs and Audis, but its a car that I can fix and maintain myself and enjoy mile after mile of care-free driving as it owes me nothing at all. Its currently off the road as I now work from home, but I do start it every so often and it always starts first time.
Well, well, just checked one the websites and our 2001 1.4 rover 25 is compliant, hooray. So thanks for the heads up. Just over 40k on the clock and my wife is the second owner (FiL now no longer with us bought it new). They do indeed handle very well, our other car is an allroad and if the journey involves little or no motorway, it is the car of choice to get there quickly, the allroad being a comfy barge. No matter what your speed, you think it into the corners and round it goes, no drama. The headlights make the allroad's look like candles in comparison and driving it to work I estimate I'm getting over 48mpg. What's not to like, cheap to run, insure and easy to maintain. We're keeping it until we can't get parts anymore and then who knows what I'll do, probably race it or something....just kidding. Recommended.
Inciteful piece - nice to know you can still find some decent bargain runabouts if you look hard enough. First car I bought with my hard earned cash was a 1.4 25. It was a big step up from the Ford Escort I was lent the money to buy to get to started. Did about 50k in it and still had some life left when I traded it in. They weren't bad cars at all, but finding a good one is getting harder these days. Definitely a good way of working around the ULEZ if you just need something to get from A to B though.
Insightful. Unless you think it might incite a riot.
@@benholroyd5221 👍
Had a 2.0 diesel 25, loved it. Went well, comfy and easy run
Also that will be a Ford ib5 gearbox which replaced the r65 in 2003.
Boot space is good compared to Fiesta etc.
Rover marketing the 200 against 306, Escort and Astra was daft, as was marketing the 400 against Mondeo and Vectra.
It made total sense to re-position the 25 against Fiesta/Corsa, and 45 against Focus/Astra.
ULEZ is very effective at keeping my car out of London, but it keeps me out too. It’s now cheaper for me to fly to Paris, Berlin or Madrid than travel to London regardless of whether I drive or take the train.
Ulez really winds me up!
Mr Khan has a lot to answer for!!!! 🤬🤬🤬
ULEZ is keeping a lot of people out of city centres.
The main people who suffer are those who live in city centres.
Cockneys keep me from going to London
I like cars of 90s vintage like the first Focus. Much simpler driver experience with no silly driver aids and switches on the steering wheel.
My 2005 Renault Grand Scenic is ULEZ exempt - I found out earlier in the year when I got send to a job to fix a business's Wifi network in the SE1 postcode (more than a 3-hour drive from where I live). My Peugeot Expert would have had to pay the charge (it really is filthy and smoky though), but I couldn't have taken it anyway as it's too tall for the NCP London Bridge car park that I booked a space in!
I've just checked my 2002 Ford Focus and that's exempt too! That car cost me nothing at all, unfortunately that's because it was my dad's before he passed away earlier in the year, and nobody else in the family wanted it. I just can't resist a cheap or free old car.
This is more like it Matt. More lovely Roverness! Better than rusting Mercs anyday!
That’s amazing! What a great purchase.
Many people are not aware that the Euro emissions determine the maximum amount of emissions. Many euro 3 petrol cars are even still within todays Euro 6 emissions limits. My old 2002 BMW 320ci E46 still meets Euro 6 despite being classed as Euro 3.
One way to find out? Look at the Euro emissions targets and look at the figures on your V5.
Yup, or get an individual test if the figures are not available, there are loop holes .. for now!
I'm always amazed that in the UK you can buy reasonable priced cars. A car in this condition would cost you $4000-4500 dollars, in the USA. There was a time when you could buy a reasonable car for 200 500 dollars but that time is long gone. Greed you know.
is that possible? a Rover 200 ? $4000 for a little car that has serious engine design flaws and that can be bought anywhere in Europe for under 500? plus,most are already junked,i can drive around for 6 months on mine (gas and lpg...) without seeing another one
only the early L-series engines had head gasket issues. K-series is a Honda engine. More reliable than most.@@josepeixoto3384
This was really interesting and I’ve heard about ULEZ classics so it’s definitely good to hear more about it! Great video Matt
Great Video Matt, I remember buying my Rover 25, seems like yesterday however ive had it for over 4 years now.
To Clear up the the ulez it’s euro 6 standard for all diesel vehicles and euro 4 for petrol cars and in some cases euro 3 petrol cars can be compliant as this rover is
I’ve got one in Tahiti Blue as well, love it!
I love a 25. Really underestimated in my opinion and starting to become hard to find round my way
Sooooo...what you're saying Matt, is that I need to be searching the classifieds for 80's & 90's luxo barges - thank you, my favourite type of car, I'm on it. Cheers!
nows the time!
Just bought an MG ZT 190 and was shocked when I found out it was ULEZ exempt.
Did enjoy that. Especially the bit about the old lady that might find that big knob a bit hard to cope with!
I loved my old 214SLi
never got a bubble shape as it never did it for me.
I noticed that the word "Beater car" has significantly different meanings in Britain and Eastern Europe. That car is mint by our standards!
Double meaning here - beater as in beat the system, and winter beater meaning
We sometimes call what you call 'beaters' ...'Bangers' haha
@@furiousdriving how is it beating any system? you just need a 2001 or newer petrol and its most likely compliant. hardly a tall bar
What a great idea. Noone can ever accuse the government of being logical, at least not knowingly. Still, if it keeps a few older cars going, that's cool.
Great vid as usual, people need to listen a bit more, especially from about 18:35ish
Quick cheap fix for Headlining. A few Drawing Pins
I have said for years that running an old car is better for the environment. My 51 plate 45 1.8 auto conny saloon is ulez exempt and i don't intend getting rid of it anytime soon....and on the lookout again for an auto R8 as miss mine to go with my 45......Yes i'm a huge Rover fan
My wife had a Rover 25 1.6 CVT automatic for 10 years. Great little car that typically was maligned just because it was British. The CVT/ semi-auto never gave any problems although the K-series engine had the usual head gasket replacement plus a few easy to rectify electrical gremlins. Never had a car that started "on the button" as instantly in all weathers as that Rover though. Sadly, it was written off soon after we sold it on to a friend.
This video has quite a familiar ring to it: cars from the MG Rover era which are Ultra Low Emission Zone compliant and cost under £1000... Where have I heard that before?
Lovely Jubbly video, in which I actually learnt something, thanks Matt.
Great review, always had a soft spot for rovers. As for me I’m happily driving my 2003 Jaguar X-Type 2.1 petrol from my home within the London ULEZ. Everyone is always surprised when I tell them it’s compliant!
I went to buy an MG ZR 2.0 td in 2003 as I really liked the styling and the L series engine had a good reputation. When I discovered that ABS still wasn’t standard and various other bits of it felt cost cutting, I changed my mind and bought a 206 DTurbo instead.
Just checked and my Y reg 2001 VW Polo 1.4 16v Open Air is also ULEZ exempt, cost me nothing! saved it from the scrapper as an MOT failure with 73k on the clock and FSH. Needed tyres, brakes and exhaust section and it was good to go!
the 2001 onwards Corsa C (in petrol form obviously) is also a cheap ULEZ beater as examples can be picked up for the same price as the 25, However the Vauxhall can also take E10 fuel
I think the Rovers can take E10 too, as they were sold in other places where it was used from the '90s
The Rovers can also take E10. It's also a much better car than the Corsa.
However both are great for dodging ULEZ!
@@SpitfireFortyFour I'm an owner of a 2005 Corsa C 1.0 so I'm a bit biased to it, I understand peoples loyalty to rover though
@@furiousdriving I didn't know myself as Rover isn't on the government E10 check list so I just assumed it didn't take the stuff
@@qam2878 No I get that. Just going off my personal experience having had both cars!
I think this is a great idea, beat the system, save money, save an old car and have fun! I actually now quite like the spec of these!
My Y reg 2.0 mondeo auto is ulez compliant which surprised me. As for parking to access London use either Plumstead or Falconwood both with free onstreet parking and only 20 mins from central.
The Pektron system is a right pain in the arse just had to have my SCU done because it set fire/malfunctioned after the relays where replaced had to send it off to a specialist who built me a new one
Great review of an awesome little car, still don’t get the (everyone’s?) obsession with cup holders just pull up and buy a cup of tea! My modern has a plethora of them but would never eat or drink in a car unless it was a life or death situation (same goes for my kids, how hard is it to go into a roadside cafe / restaurant and eat in?? )
This would definitely have a Ford IB5 gearbox which was much more modern and robust than the old Peugeot R65 unit. The R65 was built by Midland Gears (used to be part of Rover Group). When BMW broke up Rover and MG Rover came into being, BMW retained Midland Gears, and were charging a lot for the R65. Midland gears closed down shortly after this sadly.
I had a 414 that had a R65 gearbox which was very smooth and precise, so I actualy preferred it to the gearbox in my current 2002 45, which is presumably the Ford gearbox.
Such clean shiny bodywork on this car. Even the headlights are crystal clear!
Don’t you just love it when someone is pulling out not indicating!!!! 🤣🤣🤣
Rover 25 rover finally made some
progress and made vehicle that didn't come apart after 5 years a good car sadly it was to late .
What a fascinating video, who would have thought? Seriously, this is a terrifically important video and I hope it gets more widely shared.
I often slate rovers, but to be honest, what this car needed was a shed load of development…interesting to imagine what this may have evolved into.
Little things too…those control stalks don’t match the rest of the car. They look very 1970s.
But nonetheless underneath it all not a bad platform.
Great video, really agree with keeping older cars, and just found out our 2005 Daihatsu Sirion is ULEZ compliant! Thank you for posting!
I'm in the dreaded ULEZ zone, recently scrapped my Punto as it was on its last legs anyway. I would be keen to hear of a list of recommended vehicles that beat the ULEZ, in your recommendation. Would make a good video.
Astra H 1.8 is a good cheap ULEZ compliant car. We have the "Elite" version with heated leather, cruise, "Opera" sound system and other goodies. Paid £2.1k for it and its a really nice car to drive.
@@TheSaabClinicUK Cheers for the suggestion! I will take a look. The 'Elite' version sounds just right.
@@JW20236 Ours is an auto as the Mrs only drives autos. Overall average MPG is 31. Which for mostly town driving is not bad for a small engined auto.
@@TheSaabClinicUK Anything above 30 MPG is enough for me, I will definitely look for a manual though, I still enjoy them :) Average prices for decent ones seem to be around 2-4k which is ideal.
Up here in Scotland we'll have the LEZ in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen&Dundee.
Great cars.
Always liked the larger 75 too, particularly the V6 - a gentleman’s carraige, in the fashion of the old P5, to my mind.
Just checked 2001 25GTi & that`s ok too
Pretty sure that got the IB5-Ford gearbox fitted at that age!
I think ULEZ should only apply to your second (or more), most polluting car. That way if you can only afford to own one older car you don’t have to pay, but if you have a cleaner car it encourages you to use that in cities.
But then rich people could just buy an extra 'clean' car, stick it in the garage and carry on as before.
Ultimately 'poor' people still evidently have the option of buying £200 cars. Unless you're also proposing removing MOTs, that seems cheap enough.
If you want polluting cars to pay for the costs they impose, the ULEZ does that. How ever you construct it it's going to be unfair to some people. EV owners have gone to the expense of buying an actual clean car and are still in the same position as someone forking out £200 for an old rover, how unfair is that?
I own an 01 1.4 16 valve 25 3 door, awsome car love it to bits
You say the 1.4 k series in this became a 16v in autumn 2002 yet the 1.4k series was available as an 8v or 16v back in 1996 and i have a 96 214si 16v .so did rover only put the 8 valve k in this to start with which seems odd when they had a 16v block.
My ‘02 MR2 Roadster is ULEZ and clean air zone exempt. Not bad for a 19yr old car!
same engine as my 04 Celica which is also exempt - so can confirm. #team1ZZ
Very interesting indeed. What nonsense all of those regulations are. Insanity
I had an 2003 IXL lovely car with all the toys. The electrical bits were an adventure. I am not one to name a car but I called this one Nippy as the end of the reg was NPY. Unfortunately it was not as nippy as the Rover 400 behind me at a roundabout which rear ended it. That was rhe end of that!
Much like this Rover, the 1.4 16v and 1.2 12/6v HTP models of the first generation Skoda Fabia can enter ULEZ zones too, even though some of them are nearly 22 years old!
Lovely Rover Content and think I might have to start looking at ULEZ Beater for when it comes to Edinburgh unless I take the Wife's 67 Plate Fabia! As I think my 75 will most likely incur a ULEZ charge!
My only ULEZ safe cars are the 2001 Mini and 1972 Rover - the V8 doest show up as a historic for some reason!
ive screwed a downpipe bracket to my passenger dash area to hold cups . ive had 8 of these now , thermostat stuck on one , head gasket went on 2 , and one caught fire on the A14 ,
The problem with the newer Pektron SCU is that is has relays for things like the horn and the driver's window "One Press" wind down, and door locking. I had these faults with my MG TF Scotty. I swapped it with one from Whiskey, my first MG TF (which got water in the engine, when I drove it into a flood). When you change the SCU, you have to change the EMU, they are linked. But, the cars are slightly different ages. Whiskey is March 2004, and Scotty is May 2004. MG Rover did a rethink with the engine bay fan. Whiskey's one is controlled by a heat sensor in the bay. In Scotty, this is deleted, and the fan is link with the radiator fan. So, because Whiskey's EMU, in Scotty, is looking for heat sensor and don't find one, it defaults to having it on all the time. Fine in Summer, not in Winter. Just got Scotty's one back, fixed, from Technozen. I will be be switching it back this weekend. (Maybe, after I dug it out of the snow🥶)
I can see the day coming when all city centers will become bus and taxi only zones (electric/hydrogen of course) and all deliveries to be made between 23:00 and 07:00. Great for tourists but bugger the rest of us.
is there a possibility for a review on a mg zr? thanks.
yes!
@@furiousdriving thank you love both mg zr mk1 and mk2 , I have mg zr trophy se in blue and I absolutely adore it 😎🔥👌
My first car was an X reg 2.0 TD. It was faster than every one of my mates' cars, was better to drive, did better mpg and got admiring noises from girls' dads. Plus it had A/C.
Putting it through flood water while ragging it through country B roads was one of the worst days of my life.
@furious driving - Mems and pektron aren't the same thing. Mems stands for modular engine management system which started out as 1.6 on the early cars, the R3 had mems 1.9 and mems 2j for VVC. The 25, ZR and streetwise used mems 3 which carried overhead wasted spark pencil coils on the engine, some factory tuning differences from before. Pektron was the replacement for lucas 5as which uses the classic 2 button black fob. This came into play in late 2003. Along with the ib5 gearbox at the same point to replace the aged and weak r65. One thing you'll never want to do with a K series is drive on a cold engine, and if the dreaded does happen, a specialist only for certain work to be carried out! Most monkey mechanics haven't got a clue with K's. Good to see a product of Longbridge having a new lease of life! Awesome video by the way!
am I right in thinking the 25's suspension is based on the 200VI?
That Car would have the ford IB5 gearbox instead of the R65, which was changed on the 25/45 in 2003. They also did a 1.1 petrol
Being really nit picky, the engines started from 1.1 litre not 1.4, and there was never any 8v engines in the 25. The 200 R3 offered both 1.1 8v and 1.4 8v along with the 16v engines.
But all 25 petrols were 16v. Two variants of the 1.4 16v however with different power outputs due to different throttle body’s
The cassette player was still about as my girlfriend at the time bought a new 2005 1800 MX5 (Mk 2.5)and I couldn’t believe a Japanese car would still have old hat technology
It looks like someone got a mega bargain as the Mrs scrapped an old A class a few months back and got £268 so £200 for a running car with a ticket is amazing.
I did pick up a lovely 2000 VW Golf MK3.5 cabriolet for £250 though today with a ticket and low mileage off marketplace and all it needs is a good clean to get it looking as good as new.
My ULEZ compliant car is a 2005 Toyota Avensis (1.8 VVTi petrol) 👍🏻😁
my MIL had one, it was pretty grim to drive to be honest, just too small in the drivers seat from a height point of view. As a ulez beater for 200 pounds, its better than being on a bus though. Can see the sense of it.
Great value at £200.
£200? Blimey! I paid £1000 for my Allegro in 1986. It lasted for 6 months of nothing but trouble. They don't make bangers like they used to! 😁
Whot a bargain 👌 😀 two hundred pounds with leather interior 👌 😍 😎. Bargain
Coming from the DriveTribe RUclips channel after watching the MG getting restored
Isn't ULEZ about NO2 emissions though? That's why it hammers older diesels a lot more than older petrols.
That seems actually like a sensible regulation for once!
think rover were thinking of youths with the 25, thats not a tape holder, its for holding phones, and sepia tone is kind on the eyes after a long session down the club for the all day hangover :D
@13:49 you say the car can be independently checked, can you tell me who provides this service?
Bargain, could do a lot worse for £200.
Shame that Rover had done away with the wood trim on the dash.
It would be interesting to see R3 200, pre and post facelift 25's for a comparison.
I live not even 5 minutes away from were you were road testing
should have brought out a cup of tea!
@@furiousdriving if you are ever back up this way road testing let me know I know some gd roads for you to use and I'll bring u a cuper for you