... I had previously owned two older Rover 200s, an H reg and a B reg. My main reason for choosing the new 216 Si was its economy to performance ratio, it will do 42 MPG and take me to 60 MPH in 9.3 secs. My options were a Megane, Astra or Fiesta but the Rover felt and looked like it was in a ... Read review
Advantages: Good looks, fine engine, economical. Disadvantages: Suspension doesn't compliment good performance, sub-standard interior build.
...had previously owned two older Rover 200s, an H reg and a B reg. My main reason for choosing the new 216 Si was its economy to performance ratio, it will do 42 MPG and take me to 60 MPH in 9.3 secs. My options were a Megane, Astra or Fiesta but the Rover felt and looked like it was in a different class both from the inside and outside. Once behind the wheel the first thing you notice is the chunky steering wheel. The interior is quite luxurious looking ... ...stereo and speakers are very good. The dash is reasonably well laid out but the opposite end of the speedo needle obscures the tripometer when cruising on the motorway. This is a trivial but flawed design fault, and not the only one. The window rim which stops dirt going into the door when a window is opened doesn’t even touch the glass, so when the windows have morning dew on them and you roll them down and back up to clear them, it has no ... more
I bought my P reg 216 Si 3dr in August 1999. I had to trade in my old car for something more reliable as I do 15-20k miles per year. I had previously owned two older Rover 200s, an H reg and a B reg. My main reason for choosing the new 216 Si was its economy to performance ratio, it will do 42 MPG and take me to 60 MPH in 9.3 secs. My options were a Megane, Astra or Fiesta but the Rover felt and looked like it was in a different class both from the inside and outside. Once behind the wheel the first thing you notice is the chunky steering wheel. The interior is quite luxurious looking compared with other cars in this class and the standard stereo and speakers are very good. The dash is reasonably well laid out but the opposite end of the speedo needle obscures the tripometer when cruising on the motorway. This is a trivial but flawed design fault, and not the only one. The window rim which stops dirt going into the door when a window is opened doesn’t even touch the glass, so when the windows have morning dew on them and you roll them down and back up to clear them, it has no effect! Also, the protective rubber on the sides of the car are placed on the pit of the bowl-shaped doors and offer no protection at all in car parks, in this case looks topped practicality - the 200 does look great, especially with the optional 15” alloys. However, its manners are not as sporty as the looks suggest. At first I was disappointed with the soft ride and spongy handling as I was used to my previous car - an Astra GTE 16v. There is quite a lot of body roll in the corners, this is a shame as the engine has plenty of power which can’t always be used because of the soft suspension. Running costs over 18 months have been excellent with group 7 insurance and good MPG. The car had a new cat fitted when I bought it at 23,000 miles. At 40,000 miles I bought two new tyres and at 56,000 it needed a new exhaust and backbox. The gearbox sometimes has problems getting into first or reverse, I have to declutch and when it's cold, the dashboard rattles like it's loose. Apart from that lot it's just had routine servicing.
Advantages: ease of drive, responsive engine Disadvantages: brake pad wear
...is fairly cheap due to the Rover badge - although it is exactly the same as the Honda concerto. I haven't had problems with reliability but it does go through brake pads fairly quickly as it is an automatic. I highly recommend this car as a good first time car. ...
Saman 13.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Rover 216 Gti
Advantages: Good seating position, great engine and extras Disadvantages: ABS noise, depreciation due to sell of by BMW
The Rover 216GSI, is a great budget car, it comes normally with ABS, PAS, central locking, alarm, nice RDS stereo, electric windows, mirrors and sunroof and some come with leather interior and rear headrests. Looking at the list of features, it sounds like we have a bit of a luxury car on our hands, especially when they can be bough relatively cheap due to the decline in Rover name due to bad realtionship with BMW. The main attractionof this car ... ...a Rover badge, since it boasts the Honda designed K2 engine and also the Honda designed clutch and gearbox. This is why they are so popular and so nippy around town and quite fiesty on the motorway. I would recommend it as a good second hand buy because of the ease of drive, the good seating position and the responsive engine. The only disadvantage i found was that the ABS does play up a bit, one tends to find a constant noise from the ABS when braking ...
Yasman 16.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Rover 216 Gti
Advantages: Honda reliability for Rover price Disadvantages: Only models previous to 1995 have the Honda engine
...Accord and also this model Rover 216. Up until 1994, Honda and Rover were merged 20% and shared car design and production facilties, this practise is increasingly common in the car industry due to the amount of money that can be saved on creating the basic structure of a car.
Of course in 1995, BMW took over Rover and Honda withdrew their support.
I will not review this car except to say it is an excellent car for its time, the D series engine ... ...engine also used on this model (used 100% on later models) and this is a bargain buy for anyone looking for a car at 500 or so pounds. The engine will do 150,000 miles or more if fluids and expendable parts are replaced as they should be.
Bad Points to watch out for are, distributor (£100) needs to replaced every 60k miles or so (symptoms are erratic rev counter). Rust on wheel arches must be treated. Rubber rear trailing arm bushes often expire ...
hubbabaloo 15.05.2006
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Rover 216 Gti
Advantages: Good Reasonably priced car Disadvantages: Worries about Rovers Future
The Rover 216 si is a very good car I have had mine for about eighteen months. In that time I have had no major problems with the car and the servicing cost have been reasonable. The performance of the car is excellent as it is as happy cruising along on the motorway as it is on city centre streets. The Engine being a 1600 allows for a high level of acceleration, I can grantee that not many other cars will leave you standing at the lights. The level ... ...has no less space than other cars in its class. To sum up the rover 216 si is a good car. The only worry about it is the future of Rover now that it is an independent company and if they will continue to support the older models. ...
sacook 15.07.2000
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Rover 216 Gti
Advantages: Reliable, economical, handles well, cheap to serice/fix Disadvantages: Depreciation, a bit rough, one or two things gone wrong.
I bought this car from new in August 1997, and have done 45,000 miles.
Overall this has been quite a good car. It handles well, is cheap to run and service. It has never failed to start and has never broken down. It does 43mpg, mostly motorway driving.
An oil seal went on the engine at 30,000 miles which cost £300 which I wasn't too impressed with. The exhaust needed replacing at 45,000 miles -which I think should have lasted a bit longer.
It ... ...the engine revs quite high in 5th gear. It feels like it is struggling a bit at 70-80mph. It is ideal for town and A road driving.
I would recommend buying one of these, as they are quite cheap to buy second had. Ours is worth about £4,500 at the moment. ...
GaryWilde 12.03.2001
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: helpful Review of Rover 216 Gti
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Advantages: Great economy, luxury trim, cute car Disadvantages: A bit slow
mfhome was disappointed too, when she first got the car, as she had previously had a rover216GTi which was quite fast.
The Ka has a 1.3L fuel injected 8 valve engine. Yep, it is slow but it's still plenty functional around town and will cruise very happily at 70 on the motorway, it will even pick up further to allow overtaking but it struggles to keep up with high speed traffic on motorways. If you are used to 16 valve engines then you'll be surprised by the lack of power at high revs, however, once you get used to this it can make for more relaxed driving. You don't have to "rev like mad" to get the power, what power it has is there all the time, shame that the power is so wimpy though.
The fuel economy helps ease this disappointment. I won't give an MPG as I honestly don't know, we get about 230 miles for £20.
The handling ...
mfhome 04.01.2004 (22.04.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Ford Ka 1.3i
