Rover 820 2.0

I've always been a fan of large saloon cars, and to be honest, this is one of the best - although, unfortunately, also one of the worst! I originally purchased an L plate 820. Mine was the Vitesse, which was a 2.0i turbocharged engine. I'll start with the image. I had my car called all sorts, an old man's car mainly. And in a way, I suppose they are right. Most of the people who drive these cars are, well, middle aged or above! But that aside, I really like the look of this car. It's got quite a sleak front, but a nice bulky backside! In my opinion, it looks intimidating. Overall I think it's ... more

These cars are the most affordable large saloons and hatchbacks on the road today. It amazes me that they have received so much bad press. This is the way I see it. New they were £20,000 NOW they are nearly all under £2000 They are quick, they look good and they drive well. The basic ones like the 820i, 820si and the sli are not worth buying unless you are on a tight budget. There’s three models that ARE worth buying though. 1. The 820, 825 and the 827 Sterlings are luxurious machines with all the extras Leather upholstery, aircon, electric everything etc. The only drawbacks are that they are ... more

I've had two Rover 820's.. Both saloon types, both 820 Si specification - one a manual transmission, one an automatic. To the benefit of anyone thinking of buying a Rover 800 series, Rover's don't hold their value. The design is slightly dated, and Rover has somewhat of a slightly tarnished image - partly because of it's British Leyland heritage, and partly because of the financial troubles that have been recent news. However, because of this, there are bargains to be had. There are few cars of such quality, performance, and reliability that can be had for so little money as a Rover. Whilst ... more

My Rover 820i has just turned 150,000 miles at the tender age of 7 years old. The car has worn well with miles; it looks and drives like a 50,000 miler. The Engine hasn’t developed a smoking habit just yet due to it being serviced 16 times in it’s 150,000miles and still goes like a whippet on viagra rather than a donkey with a punctured lung. This performance was a surprise to me considering that 2litre engine is pulling a car which weighs in on the fat side of a ton. The car moves itself to sixty bang on 10 seconds and will happily toddle on to 120+mph at a surprisingly rapid rate. All this ... more

Since 1986 when Rover introduced this luxury family classic, there have been many changes. The angular styling of 1986 was changed in 1992 with the introduction of the mark 2. This model had a more curved boot and the bonnet design was changed to incorporate a chrome grille which was a common feature on older Rovers. The next upgrade about 3 years later saw specification changes and a different dash design. In the past four years I have owned 3 Rover 820's. One manual and two automatics. Having worked in a Rover garage for a number of years, I was well aware that there had been problems with ... more

This is a fantastically under rated car due to the badge on it. If there were a BMW badge on people would easily pay £30000 plus for it. It many not have fancy electrical gadgets but the gadgets it has a effective and reliable. My father used to drive BMW and Merc’s and would get shot of them every few years. He has had this car since 1998 and its still going strong. The best feature about this car is the half leather Recaro Interior and the stunning 17” alloys. The car also boast great performance 0 – 60 in 7.1 sec and a top speed of 147mph. Not to bad for a rover or any other car in the same ... more

If only there was a section that you could just write about the manufacturers in stead of the individual cars, I would say the same about all of rovers vehicles. The rover 820 was designed and built for the executive market. The problem is, is that it was only designed to last three years as by thgen most executives would have sold it on and replaced with another new vehicle. Mine had had numerous paint jobs prior to me owning it. It was 5 years old when i bought it. First to go was all the electrical 'gadgets'. now this can be a nightmare. Windows wont shut properly, buttons fail to work etc ... more