Austin Maestro 2.0 > Reviews (8)

Whenever people talk about the Austin-Rover Maestro, people seem to just write it off as a complete and useless failure, I have to stick up for it though and say it was actually a hell of a lot better than everyone seems to think.

There was always going to be a certain publicity problem amongst the British press and British people because the Maestro was the car that replaced the Austin Allegro, and the Allegro was famed for wheels flying off whilst driving and windscreens popping out whilst the car was jacked up. Also the fact that Austin (as with the rest of the British motor industry), was owned by British Leyland, and anything associated with BL was looked on as a very bad joke.

Anyway the Maestro was introduced in 1983 and was well accepted amongst the press. It was a very innovative car of it's time. This is because the early models had the talking trip computer digital dashboards. A voice would come on in the drivers speaker and give a voice warning if the engine was overheating etc... Also it had an electronic engine management system with an automatic choke. All this was very very groundbreaking in it's day.

The Maestro was finished in 1995 by Rover. However a few thousand were built recently in 1999/2000 from kit cars that Rover were going to sell over to Bulgaria but the deal fell through. A garage took the Maestro kit cars on and converted them from left to right hand drive and the 1000 or so that were built became Britains cheapest new car at the time at only 4995-00 on the road.

Anyway onto the Maestro now. Well to me (ignoring the stigma that the Maestro has mainly from people who've never touched one) the Maestro says several things and has many quality features. For starters theres the engine. All 1.3 litre Maestro's used the excellent Austin A series engine. These engines go on forever and have a proven track record for many years. They A series engines are also very easy to work on and faults can be put right relatively easily. This isn't forgetting the excellent 2.0 injection MG Maestros that were made based on Austins O Series engine (the one used in the Montego) and never to forget the 505 ever made MG Maestro Turbos which look excellent and will do 0-60 in 6.7 seconds and a top speed of 131 mph as manufacturers standard!!!

Another plus point with the Maestro is that it offers very good fuel economy. You can expect anything between 40-50 mpg with a reasonably looked after Maestro. This is very important nowadays as fuel prices continue to spiral. Maestro's are also incredibly roomy inside both in the front and back. Some models offer the normal luxeries such as electric windows and sunroofs.

There are things to look out for if your after a Maestro though. The main downfall of the Maestro was the rust problem. This is curable though if the car you buy hasn't been too badly invaded. The main places where a Maesrto will rust are as follows so be sure to check these places if your after buying one: Wheel arches (particularly rear), sills, under the grille and the front and rear pillars.

All in all ignore the things that people say about Maestros because if your looking for a second hand motor you could do a lot worse than go for one. Excellent fuel economy and a good Austin engine are major plus points for it.