Ford Sierra vs Austin Montego - 80s Real Estates! (1989 Sierra 1.8 L & 1985 Montego 1.6 L Road Test)

[@UPnDOWN]

Have a like, purely for the 100% spot-on summary of the SUV craze in the intro!

[@ebutuoyYT]

SUVs are the Love Island of the car world, a pointless exercise in style over substance, for those that fear thinking for themselves, or risking more hardcore options that demand sacrifice for actual specific utility.

[@Lot76CARS]

We can only hope it’s a phase, just as MPVs (like the Scenic) came into and then out of fashion SUVs will surely do so. Probably some of the strange stuff Citroen and Peugeot are churning out might indicate the way forward.

[@ebutuoyYT]

@@Lot76CARS The era of cheap cars was already ending, even before EVs, due to emissions and safety regulations, not to mention consumer expectations, the SUV style is a good way for car makers to fool owners of smaller cars that they are getting’ value’ for the higher list prices. EVs should have killed SUVs, except at the highest price points, as they are clearly less efficient than hatchbacks / estates, but in even in range limited EVs, SUV is still a popular choice.

[@dj_efk]

I really don’t get the appeal of a SUV for the reasons given - our family has a VW Touran - a MPV - which has an insane amount of space for its dimensions; it’s the natural successor to the family estate and where I think the smart choices are (or were) at.

[@grahamepigney8565]

But this is a false comparison of '80s estates to modern SUVs. A more realistic comparison if '80s estates compared to the numerous 21st century estates.

[@markonmotoring]

Your assessment of the modern SUV was bang on in my opinion. I'd sooner take an estate car over an SUV any day of the week. I think these two however were still of a time where they didn't look as attractive as there saloon/notchback counter parts. The Montego probably is a better car than many perceive it to be but the Sierra is the one I'm drawn to.

[@sydnorth5868]

An old boss of mine from back in the early 90's had a Montego estate. Everyone else at his level had a Cavalier 1.6L but he'd managed to convince the fleet manager to get him the Montego because he had 5 kids and needed the extra two seats in the boot. He let me borrow it one weekend because I needed to move a 2-seater sofa from my parents' house to my place about 150 miles away. In return he got my 150k miles Mk4 Escort 1.3L for the weekend (mentioned right here a couple of weeks ago). We never swapped cars again!

[@iseeolly9959]

Nice story mate, cheers.

[@-DC-]

Montego always drove far better than most people thought who hadn't had a go in one, The Sierra was the better fleet package though simple tough well priced.

[@tallblokesam]

Despite the reputation I love a Montego. We had a white, E reg 1.6L Estate for nearly 10 years as our family car when I was a kid and travelled all over the UK and France, even into the Alps with a loaded roof rack on family holidays. It only broke down once, in Bristol when the fuel pump failed. My dad didn't particularly look after it other than a fortnightly wash with a sponge and hose pipe and apart from the odd scab on the front door bottoms and the indicator lenses falling off it didn't drop to bits any worse than another car of the time. We only sold it as my mum has arthritis in her hands and struggled to park with no PAS.

[@evigrove]

Sierra and cortina had completely different suspension layouts. I remember the montego bumpers falling apart with age. The sierra was the better car in terms of durability - and I have driven a few versions of both back in the 80's

[@Theoriginalramjammer]

The notorious ’Wontego’ was dreadfully made. The bumpers collapsed and fell off as they were made from fragile materials, and the areas behind the bumpers were left unpainted from the factory to save costs. This is why the rear arches and rear crossbeam used to rot out quickly.

[@wessmith3161]

I think a plus point of the Montego was the actual room they had. Not much else for me though. A Sierra, Cavalier, BX, 405, Bluebird, Mazda 626 all way more desirable.

[@Car_and_classic_lover]

I'd have both of those estates over any modern SUV without a doubt. I just love classic estate cars. To me there retro and cool compared to modern "family" cars. It's great to see those estates in such good condition! Its just a shame there so rare now :( . Being a BL/ Austin Rover fan if I had to pick one I'd have the Monteago but love the Serria estate none the less!😎👍

[@keithatate3050]

years ago I went out in search of a new 2nd hand car and on the forecourt right next to each other a Sierra and a Montego ! I rest drove the Sierra first and I hated it It really was like driving actual jelly I took it back got straight into the Montego and fell in love with it straight away I had a few years of happy motoring in it ,,,,,,,,, until the day I swept it up off the floor and chucked it in the bin

[@paulie-Gualtieri.]

Both have pros & cons, both are very smart in Ghia and Vanden Plas specs.

[@jonathanfrankel6787]

It’s hard to believe the Sierra Estate is a 40 year old design.

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Agreed, still looks modern, doesn't it?

[@kjellhmyhre2374]

What an excellent, desirable car the Montego was!

[@Celicarz11]

Introduction was a masterpiece. It said it all about sad and nonsense modern auto industry trend. I loooove station wagons, sweet examples.

[@davidjames543]

I have to be honest, I thought the review would have been more biased towards the Montego, so was pleasantly surprised. The rear suspension of the Sierra was different to the Cortina and was independent so not completely based on the Cortina. As sighted, the Sierra I think was the better car overall with the Montego edging the handling. The Montego styling was also very awkward and the whole image at the time wasn't great

[@dr-mn7ld]

My dad had a Montego EFI with the red piping along the sides. He loved that car.

[@julianlangdon3456]

pleased to see that the reviewer included his own personal opinion. A close run thing for me, but my ideal would be a late model Montego DSL Estate (ie with the 2.0 Perkins Diesel)

[@robertngreen6]

Yes, I would pick the Montego too. Although it's possibly not the "better" choice here, it's more appealing these days. In fact, I should have bought this one - missed out for spending too long thinking about it!!

[@cliffknox5315]

I owned both back in the day. The Montego had the advantage of the rear facing extra rear seat as I had four kids. But the Sierra was the better car in all other respects, an absolute workhorse. I'd happily own another Sierra but not another Montego. Had saloon and estate versions of both.

[@SuperOldShows]

This brought back some childhood memories! In Cubs 'Akela' had a monty estate with the fold down seats in the back which we were all loaded into, and my friends dad had a Sierra estate. Pretty sure back then I saw more Montego estates than Sierra estates on the road. By the way, the Austin-Rover Maestro van was a really good workhorse, my dad had one.

[@MeMe-qr3go]

I have had both Sierras and Montegos and they both had their merits. In my opinion, Montegos had better engines that lasted a lot longer (if looked after) and were more powerful as well as efficient. The Sierras felt a bit more solid and Boge gas front shockers radically improved the handling. The Montego interior wasn't actually bad at all and mine didn't rattle significantly (1985 model). The Sierras had a bit less corrosion overall in terms of bodywork but more chassis corrosion. The Montego was torquier and generally better on fuel, although early Montegos had a bad front wheel bearing design that wore out prematurely until Austin Rover fitted one piece bearings. It was also more controllable on slippery surfaces. To be honest though, I liked them both.

[@ianfrench1577]

In 1989, the Austin Montego was rebranded as the Rover Montego and had a substancial facelift with massively improved plastics which even today feel good quality. Added burr walnut / mahogany door cappings and plush velour, and you ended up with a much more upmarket car. Something which the Sierra failed to do.

[@adamdavies163]

I had a later Montego, they were great improvement over the earlier cars, drove really well. My only gripe with the car was that it rusted from inside out. I once shone a torch into underbody sill wax injection ports and you could see a small circle of wax behind the hole but none beyond. In the factory they had literally just squirted a drop of wax into each injection point for show, but the car was totally unprotected, same with the bonnet lip. Such a shame, as a little care in factory would have produced a much better product, and maybe more of them would still be on the road today!

[@KarlHamilton]

False. It was never the Rover Montego. Just the Montego. It was never a Rover.

[@jimmarshall807]

I drove them both as hire cars, once each, thirty odd years ago. It's so long ago I can barely remember them, but for what it's worth I dimly recall liking the solid handling of the Montego on the motorway.

[@phil955i]

I had a 1990 Montego 1.6 LX estate as a company car in the early 90s, it was pretty well equipped for the time with electric front windows, central locking & electric sunroof, but I remember it being a wholly unremarkable car. It certainly wasn't unreliable under my tenure though, I did over 100,000 miles in it with no major faults from memory. I drove an Sierra estate at the time & I remember it feeling softer & the interior space feeling a bit more encroached by the transmission tunnel necessary for RWD.

[@spinosauruswearingboots4156]

These cars weren’t just for 80s dad’s my dad had both in the late 90’s I think he was still running his later L-reg Montego up until 2005. Which to choose? Our Sierra had the Variable Venturi automatic choke and it was utter cak I don’t think they were fantastic new and at 10 years old it gave up entirely so the garage converted it to manual choke. The Montego was a great car all round 7 seats and the rears are just cool. We had the 2.0 Perkins engine which was fantastic. Ours was owned by a neighbour and ex mechanic who got it totally together and wax-oiled it all. It was mint. Out of my dad’s cars I’d have the Montego. Out of these two the Sierra although I think those wheel trims are from a GLS but they do look good. Happy times spent in both these cars with our ancient 70s caravan on the back. Great test thanks.

[@paultasker7788]

Montego build quality. I remember our friends had one and the 6 year old son leant against it once. That was enough to put a dent in the car! Relatives had another and it rode vedy nicely but couldn't cope with 5 people in it, started smelling very bad and 3 of us were kids, and we had to be rescued by their 2nd car. At the time we had VW Passat. Somewhat better than Montego in terms of build quality but it wasn't actually that reliable. Family had the Sierra and that was a good car. The mondeo they had after was definitely better though for ride/handling

[@67tomcat]

Perfect description of the "modern" car- the CUV. Shame they're so popular, no doubt driven by marketing.

[@2ndbaritone]

I unashamedly copied your first line while sharing this. The SUV is the metaphor of tasteless boulemic consumerism.

[@isaywhatilikeandilikewhati1117]

I owned both in the mid 80's. The Sierra I had was a great car and was the first Ford car in the UK to offer a 4 speed automatic gearbox that was excellent. The Montego had a terrible set of front seats...the seat bottom (base of your spine to under your knees, the distance was short) offered no support under your legs and driving long distances made your legs ache! The seven seat version held its second hand price very well indeed, as factory seven seat cars were in the 80s very rare.

[@willharris5972]

Goodness Me! I actually saw G642YTW out and about on the roads today! It was traveling along the Falmer Road coming from Rottingdean.

[@knightad33]

The Cortina (Mk3 onwards) had double wishbone front suspension, and a live rear axle. The Sierra had Macpherson struts up front, and independent rear suspension. You're right about the engines and 4 speed gearboxes though.

[@barrycaldwell2924]

First of all, I love all your videos but i feel I must correct you on one or two things. the sierra's suspension was completely different to the cortina, the sierra had simple struts up front where the cortina had double wishbones and where the cortina had a live axle at the rear with coil springs, the sierra had independant suspension at the rear. Also power steering was available on mk5 cortinas (some 2.0, and all 2.3) sorry to be such a nerd

[@kieranwhite6647]

That introduction sums up my opinion on SUVs perfectly, well played!

[@ruscador1]

when i was young i loved the montego finally got one loved it the engine was like a sieve crankshaft oil leaking and many more leaks it even had a trailer towing repeater light on the dash very modern for it's time

[@simonc858]

Totally with you on this one! One of my cars is a 2004 Volvo V50, ok the boot is not as big as my MK5 Mondeo but an estate looks so much better than an SUV!!

[@Kiinell]

I had both and preferred the Sierra, but when I as skint and couldn't afford a Ford the Montego came to the rescue and I liked it.

[@neilgent1595]

Love the channel, love the content, all of these video's bring back many many happy memories for me. Thanks.

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Thanks Neil, that means a lot!

[@paultasker7788]

What amazes me is both are smaller than my golf mark 7 estate. Shows how much smaller cars were back then

[@stevel9914]

I swapped from a saab 9000 brand new .. to a montego vdp .... don't recall feeling hard done by. Primary reasons for having the 9000 (went back to my old company and company car) would be the solid nature of the 9000 and rear leg room. Ergonomics of the heating system (from a driver perspective) are fine .. the levers are close to the wheel.

[@willwelch5700]

You wonder how different things might have been if Austin hit the ground running with the montego?

[@StephenButlerOne]

My mum replaces her first car (old panda), for a Montego, her first night she crashed it when putting it in the garage. That car went thought about 3 or 4 clutches in about a year. The garage ended up buying it back, and she got an xr3i. My dad always had sierras. I can't remember him having anything else.

[@timbre7999]

Completely agree; a pure stationwagon is so much more stylish and nicer to drive than what sounds like a disease (doctor I'm afraid I've got an SUV). I'm not attracted to a Gran Coupé either; that does not sound sexy now does it? Just a true hot hatch, a classic sleek sedan and a pure stationwagen please.

[@gleng6812]

I know it's hard to find these cars but that was the older model Montego up against the newer shape and model Sierra. Didn't know they did the Montego with the extra back seats in the boot 👍

[@ianfrench1577]

The Sierra was released a year before the Montego. Both are the same era

[@gleng6812]

@@ianfrench1577 this is the original Montego against the New Revised Facelift Sierra.

[@johnwright3075]

Ford sierra all day

[@alanwayte432]

My father had a Countryman Estate, the quality of the interior was excellent

[@matty6848]

Yeh one thing Austin always did well was interiors. My dad had the Rover 216efi Vanden Plas and even by today’s standards the interior was lavish. Inside they were always very comforting and regal, typically British.

[@paulillingworth1242]

Nailed it with SUV things I prefer a good solid saloon or hatchback!

[@stephencurran5429]

Definitely the sienna I had a white sapphire 1.6lx was a great car had her for 11 years great work horse ran her into the ground then got a burgundy mrk 1 1.8 lx mondeo

[@paulmcgee1867]

I was very happy with my facelift Rover Montego estate 2.0l GTI. None of issues you mentioned.

[@brianiswrong]

I had a turbo diesel countryman estate in metallic green as a company car when new, just engine put it leagues ahead of most competitors, however a Sierra ghia trim was beautiful

[@matty6848]

Sierras we’re good cars but Montego’s we’re a bag of nails the minute they come out the factory in Longbridge. I know my dad used too work there in the 80s and he said the way those cars were put together was shocking. Not too mention they were rust buckets. The only reason my dad drove a Austin is because he got them cheap through the employee acops scheme.

[@rabk5702]

I use to work on these cars in my day as a mechanic retired now Serra was my choice never like the Montego. The build quality and reliability of the ford was much better after owning Cortina's I move over to the Serra and love them all 👍👍 👍

[@mikmazzucchelli2165]

My choice would be Sierra. After 40 years it still look modern, the DOHC and CVH engines were very reliable, the 2.3D undestructible 🙌🏻

[@dcanmore]

Who did it best? The Peugeot 405 :)

[@jarlrise]

Sierra suspension did not have anything in common with the Cortina, it was more similar to the Granada layout, with independent rear suspension

[@graemetaylor629]

Montego much more rare than sierra in fact you will struggle to find one. Can’t agree with your comments about the montego dash quality and layout I bought mine new with the Perkins deisel and ran it for 5 years and 60000.00 miles without it even blowing a bulb. The car I bought new one year before I bought the montego was a sierra and I couldn’t wait to get rid of it! Both were saloons by the way.

[@thomash2806]

I absolutely love a Sierra (a German car) with a Cologne (‘K’) registration in an early promotional photo. It’s a shame your Sierra’s rear wiper wasn’t parked in the right position…

[@MrAdditionelle]

I had a Montego saloon, same exact color as the one pictured in the video. It was honestly the worst car I’ve owned. I actually laughed out loud when he said something about the parts falling off because I had so many parts fall off, break, stop working, etc. Examples: the passenger door handle came off in my friends hand one time when I went to pick him up. When I went to push the eject button on a cassette, the whole radio ejected through the bottom. The dash lights would go on and off constantly so I would bang on the top of it to make them stop and then one time they all just went out completely so I had no speedometer or anything. Also, temperature gauge just sort of floated when you turned to the right it would go all the way to hot and when you turned left, it would go all the way to cold and otherwise it would just float up up and down depending on the road. I was 19 and living in Germany at the time and this was a car that someone had brought over from England so it had the steering wheel on the right which made it even more comical at stoplights or driving in narrow, cramped streets. I remember asking more than once of the passenger, Can you look and see if I can go? After having it for three or four months it was having a lot of problems so when I took it to a repair shop, they said the head gasket was basically blown and I should just get rid of it. The car was absolutely terrible but the memories make me laugh this day.

[@Zadster]

I suspect that Sierra's dampers need renewing, they never felt particularly floaty and vague to me. Warmer models with thicker antiroll bars were pretty decent. Especially with poly bushed ARB bushes. Not sure where the thing about Cortina suspension has come from, Cosworths weren't exactly bad handlers with a 1970 chassis. Estates could take some real abuse. Get that rear wiper fixed though, it should park horizontally 😄

[@knightad33]

As mentioned elsewhere in the comments, the Sierra had completely different suspension to the 1970 onwards Cortinas.

[@Brimstoneandfire]

My only wish is that this could have been a three way test with the Nk2 Cavalier, though I don’t believe this ever came near the sales of the Montego or the Sierra.

[@GShockWatchFan.]

The Montego alongside the Sierra looks very old fashioned

[@aston-martin-internationalist]

Give me a svelte estate over any SUV/Crossover. SUVs and Crossovers are an absolute stain on the automotive world. I still don't understand how this market segment has gained the traction it has when estates not only look better and handle better, but they make a much better use of space.

[@dotmars2568]

Fab vid Joe 👍

[@Марк.Фетнов]

Back in the early 90's my mate at work had a Montego Turbo, we used to go out in it at lunchtime it was rapid as..!

[@nickmoulton446]

I had an MG Montego Turbo as a company car,I was 27 years old. Complete recklessness. Terrible torque steer & wore out front tyres with horrifying regularity. Many modern SUV’s, mine included, are much faster than it was, hard to believe really.

[@timelwell7002]

I'd have been happy with a Maestro, but the Montego never appealed to me. The Sierra estate, on the other hand, was a comfortable, practical and reliable workhorse - much more to my taste, and was much better suited to my needs. Whilst I never owned on myself, I had friends who owned them, and I was at times a passenger in two different Sierra estates. I loved them.

[@siraff4461]

That Sierra is a strange one. It says its an L and has wind up windows but the red trim stripe and wheel trims are from an LX of that age and it has PAS. Its already a fairly rare one being the half face lift (orange indicators, older style grille but with the later other bits) which only adds to it. I think they were doing quite a few parts bin specials back then before the full face lift was launched. Our family car was a 2.0LX sapphire which had the same outer styling as this one but the twincam carb engine, electric windows, more bolstered seats and so on but no PAS . I still miss that car. It took us everywhere, pulled like a train and on a run would use very little fuel. As for the Montego - I always wanted a TD countryman but never got one. A friend of mine who used to live near my grandparents put MG turbo seats, wheels, engine and gearbox in his estate back in the 90's before the fun police took over everything. It was bright red with a turbo bodykit made to fit and lowered to just about get on his drive. Lots of whoosh and hiss noises and plenty of spinning wheels in that one. I'm not 100% sure but I think he got featured in a magazine back then too.

[@person.X.]

I owned one of the last Sierras made, a K reg. Even in the 80s they were a bit of a joke as a naff repmobile but I actually really liked mine. It was laughably slow as a 1.6L but very comfortable and reliable and it just wouldn't die. It went on and on. In the end some tossers stole it and set it on fire. It would have kept going for a lot longer if not for that.

[@TheLowerman]

Brilliant video

[@siraff4461]

On the modern suv thing - I have one as a daily driver. I couldn't agree more with you. Its a complete waste of everything while offering no gain that I can tell. The only reason I went for it is the powertrain which isn't available in other cars. They even make a great estate which this is based on but don't offer this powertrain in it. It seems like makers are doing this more and more - leaving the good stuff to the suv's and only offering their basic powertrains to the estates and normal cars. I would have been much happier with the estate. I would have had much more interior room, better economy - especially on a run - and I would feel less of a prat turning up at anyone's house who knows anything about cars. Unfortunately for my use that would have involved around a £70 per week increase in fuel costs for zero gain and since its only a daily thats more important. If anyone's interested its a Kuga PHEV and my choice would have been a Mondeo estate.

[@autoknight747]

Whilst that fold away rear seat in the Montego is a great idea, I don’t think anyone should have their legs/feet in the recess which is just ahead of the rear panel. At least you’d see it coming if you were sat there and suffered a rear end collision!

[@richhughes7450]

Montego went better power wise. The montego turbo was an animal

[@spainter1985]

I think I'd swerve them both and go for a 405 or BX, but an equivalent aged Montego would be the one to go for, they looked quite smart towards the end.

[@paramedicchrisbookseries]

Proper motoring.

[@grahamepigney8565]

Estates didn't stop or even start to decline in the '80s. Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Volvo and others have continued to produce estates. They have become more sophisticated, more of a driving experience and are far cheaper than the SUV versions to run. These days estate cars from these manufacturers are far beyond the Montego & Sierra models and are easily equivalent to their saloon versions. Even the estates from Citroen, Fiat, Renault have easily surpassed the the Montego and Sierra estates that you feature. I have a 1993 BMW E34 Touring and two 2001 E39 Tourings. All three are a world apart from the Montego 2.0 Estate my father had in the '80s. Comparing '80s estates to modern SUVs is not a valid comparison. Comparing '80s estates to 21st century estates is a valid comparison.

[@Landie_Man]

This is sad. My Triumph Acclaim has hardly any rattles. Everything feels quite good quality. Hondas bits I guess.

[@TheOne170]

The Sierra had fully independent suspension, nothing like a Cortina

[@erniethecat198]

Mk2 Granada was also a beast

[@giulianomarco]

I looked at a new Montego Countryman in 1989 (with the generous BAe discount at the time). Decided it was a bit too "Dad's car" - as I was only 21! Big load lugger for the money (£209/36 months), though.

[@paulnutter1713]

those extra seats must have been an optional extra on the estates as mine didn't have them, i know the countrymen estates did. Mine was a 2 litre, great car, towed car & trailer all over with it. I thought the interior was far plusher than hard plastic ford interiors

[@tomwilliams7391]

How do you get these 80s cars to look a couple of years old in the 2020s ! I prefer Sierras... didn't they put more modern engines in the late 80s early 90s Sierras? They seemed a lot quieter than the early ones

[@lewis72]

Cortina had a live rear axle. Sierra had IRS.

[@iainferguson764]

My dad had a Montego 2.0HL 1988 E Reg as a company car for 2 years. Worst car he ever had. Kept cutting out in the worst places due to a dodgy electronic controlled carburettor(?). Was glad when got a MK3 Cavalier to replace it with!

[@andyb3666]

The later Rover Montegos were much better made than the Austin ones as per here. However, I’d sooner have the Sierra.

[@tz6414]

That pic wasn’t a mk3 cortina.

[@erniethecat198]

The king of the 80ies estate was actually the Vauxhall cavalier mk2 it easily had more interior space than the rover and ford and a magnificent fast free revving engine…..

[@Lot76CARS]

The Montego was a good design with some great features but poorly executed.. my colleague had one that was so bad he had to ask for the fleet manger to change it early..into a Renault 21 Savanna, remember those?

[@davidkmatthews]

Yes, that's spot on, I think. Great as an estate car but right throughout its lifespan, the build quality was largely terrible. I remember around 1992 I was looking at two- or three-year old ones with a view to buying one but the common issues on them were sills and wheelarches dissolving - even at such a young age. At least that was a problem for Monte-no-go's that "lived" in the north of England and Scotland: the bodywork tended to survive better in the south.

[@jondrizzle4554]

The Sierra as you can make it go sideways

[@Brimstoneandfire]

For me the Sierra is a much better looking - and more expensive looking car.

[@shanewaller2864]

F20YBT was the registration on my ford sierra cosworth estate. I did a you tube video with Adam Smith last year .Google the registration to see features and photos on this 400 bhp plus estate car 👍

[@paullacey2999]

I liked the Sierra,still a modern looking car.But dont forget the Cavalier estate too....I would rather an estate car over these horrid suvs that have strangled car design.....

[@malcolmcowan9554]

I used to see rotten montegos in 1990 pile junk

[@Steve-gc5nt]

I'd have the Cavalier.

[@orion1983uk]

This video is worth the like just for the opening paragraph about the Nissan Qashqai and its vile brethren.

[@Nooziterp1]

The Montego reliability issues - it was known as the 'Monte-won't-go'.

[@davidgibbon7911]

Front cortina double wishbones Sierra mkferson struts rear cortina live axle seara indigent suspension so apart from the engine the seara had nothing in common with the cortina

[@willmatthews878]

My Dad had a Montego, it burnt his garage down. So, tell me about the Sierra, then? 🤣😀

[@davidvestey6014]

Hated my Sierra, fortunately I could replace it with a Rover

[@TomBartram-b1c]

1.6 sierras never did over 30mpg. Montegos were faster and more economical. Pity about the rust.

[@smoothmicra]

Lol, 32K on the clock and the rattles at low speed make the Montego sound like it is going over a cobbled street. Yet another example of a good concept badly executed by Rover, real shame they never quite had the resources to worry Ford or any other manufacturer to be honest. I'd have the Ford, but in the world of classics if you want something rare and a bit quirky the Montego is a no brainer. The owners club must be pretty small these days🤔

[@brianlaunchbury4491]

The ones I used from the beginning didn't rattle like that! I had two failures in around 70k miles, 1 wheel bearing and 1 power steering belt.

[@EdgyNumber1]

Not really a fair comparison. You need to compare the 1.6 Sierra to the 1.6 Montego. Sierra was slower.

[@garydavis1528]

Montego was so unreliable especially with water getting into the oil creating a costly mayonnaise crap problem to sort out and bodywork didn’t last. Sierra was so much better particularly as it was steadily developed and refined over its life.

[@gaddmeister]

How can you claim the Sierra drives the same as a MK3 Cortina? Utter nonsense, the Sierra of which I owned, handled on rails and utterly dependable. The Maestro/Montego were utter garbage! Why not compare how many sold and how many are still on the road? That's a true comparison?