2006 Rover City Rover Goes For a Drive

[@colinmale3331]

I was a Rover mechanic when these came out. The only pre-delivery inspection I've done that also required a water pump as it was leaking on the transporter.

[@joshbacon8241]

Who remembers Top Gear’s 2004 road test on the CityRover when James May went undercover at a Rover dealer?

[@furiousdriving]

Yup, mentioned in the video!

[@davarosmith1334]

Aye it was funny , I remember thinking bloody no wonder Rover wouldn't let them have it. It is crap with a capital C!

[@neildempster2827]

Haha yeah.

[@rob5944]

James May= overgrown public schoolboy.

[@robertgarvey5652]

Wasn't that the first piece James May did for Top Gear?

[@mikehydropneumatic2583]

As long it is cheap and doesn't break down every week it can be a fun little car. Drove Citroën ZX 1.4 8v for 5 years. Simple car, no luxury at all, well it had a digital clock... Went to Luxemburg,France, Switzerland and even Italy.The 75hp ZX got me everywhere.

[@Kerring]

Tried the same, swapping a facelift E39 for a 92 Accord. Never been so depressed in my entire life. It doesn't get better with EV's around, making you realize this might be your last chance to enjoy motoring perfection. Got an MG ZT after 8 months (at about the same price). Absolutely adore it, and will hopefully never look back.

[@andic6676]

Yay ZX!

[@darwenrover8910]

If the car was keenly priced when new. They could have sold plenty if it was cheaper than a Ford Ka, Fiat Panda or Kia Picanto due to its shortcomings. The problem was that MG Rover’s management were greedy and arrogant. They lacked awareness of Rover’s brand perception. Poorly made, poorly marketed and overpriced made it basically unsellable.

[@moundain4220]

The car was a big hit in India.

[@ItsRickysChannelSHORTS]

@@moundain4220 Not the point he was trying to make. Rover was a dwindling high-class car brand selling an altered budget Indian car with a hefty price tag.

[@Shubham_Bahirat]

@@ItsRickysChannelSHORTS yup tata was selling it in half price it was basically made for budget section but they increased price in uk

[@jasonwilletts559]

Each unit cost MG Rover £3,800 to buy, ship and "Roverise" aka modify for British customers. To ask £9,000 for the top model was ludicrous

[@dougfurniss734]

The last nail in the coffin of Rover

[@pqsaservices]

Hi Matt, Thanks for an interesting review of the CityRover (Tata Indica). Having lived in India, Pune to be precise, through the noughties, I actually owned, from new, a Tata Indica 2000 LXi, which I purchased in 2001. This was the top line model in India and looked and was optioned pretty much the same as the CityRover. The only exception was it lacked any airbags, and yes the tea shelf did extend all the way across the dashboard. The other oddity was that the rear seat wasn't split folding! Also the 1405cc engine, in India only produced a maximum of 65bhp and while it was OK in the city, taking it on a longish (70 miles or so) run to Mumbai (Bombay), where my wife's family lived, clearly showed the lack of power. I had the privilage to take a tour arround the Tata factory in Pune where both the Indica and the CityRover were being produced side by side. It was obvious which was which as the CityRover had it's altered and rebadged front end right from the production line. At that time none of the cars came with factory fitted radios, they were always a dealer fitted option, even in India. The Tata factory was co-located, in Pune, with the Mercedes production facility where they assembled imported knocked-down kits of the Mercedes vehicles. I would like to correct one erronous statement from the start of your review, where you said that the CityRover's original Indian vehilce was badged as both the Indica and the Indigo in some markets. Actually the Indica was always the 5 door hatchback, while the Indigo was a 4 door, 3 box saloon built on the same platform. There was also an estate version of the Indigo. As my family grew I replaced the Inidica with a Tata Indigo LX. This had the 1405 indirect injection diesel engine producing just 62bhp. Dispite the slightly less overall power this was actually an excellent long distance cruiser, by Indian standards, and it took us to Kerela and back and several trips to Goa and also across to Hyderabad on many occations, for family visits. Again thanks for a very interesting review. Jonathan.

[@furiousdriving]

Thanks, interesting about the Indiigo, that doesnt come up in research here

[@confusedredditor1660]

​@@furiousdriving a simple visit to wikipedia would've sufficed en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Indigo

[@ihaveacoolhat1]

Can't believe it only took 10 years for Rover to go from the 827 Vitesse and the Turbo Coupe to churning these out.

[@TommyRogic18]

When you think about the number of jobs that crap like this cost and how shoddy the Phoenix group’s business model was, to pass it on to the customer at a 40% mark up as an example, the CityRover is criminal. The state of the fit and finish in them is embarrassing. Feel like when this was released even the most ardent Rover fanatic could see that they were doomed. Such a shame.

[@furiousdriving]

It would have been acceptable as a Deawoo or Dacia, or any entry level brand but not as a Rover and everyone could see it. The Phoenix four have a lot to answer for

[@TommyRogic18]

furiousdriving I feel so sorry for every experienced head at Longbridge who’d devoted their working lives to improving their craft/skills to be confronted with these buckets as a way of saving their jobs. This is the same company that 10 years before were building the 800 coupes. They certainly do have a lot to answer for! 😔

[@matty6848]

Scotty 848 agreed Scott. And it was down to poor management and over zealous unions and the poor work force was in the middle. I worked at Longbridge from 94 to 2001 and the atmosphere in the factory was terrible. It felt like walking into a rough pub where you felt like a massive fight could kick off at any minute. I took my Voluntary redundancy because I could see the writing was was on the wall, and looking back I left at the right time, because just a few years later the place literally imploded on itself and thousands or workers got nothing for years of service. I remember driving past Cofton Park opposite the Cab 1 & 2 buildings the day they went bust and there was literally thousands of workers wondering around Cofton park in haze like zombies, unable to take in what they just been told. You drive through Longbridge now the place is unrecognisable from 10 years ago. It’s all housing developments now.

[@Jb19111]

@@furiousdriving you know what, I don't think it would be acceptable for any brand in the UK, budget or not. I bought a new Panda in 2004, and did look at one of these too. I recall the Rover starting at £6k but with no PAS and I think it was £7k for one that was useable in terms of spec. As you say in the video, the build quality is truly third world and the powerful engine meant much higher running costs than a Panda, Picanto or similar. Showroom appeal was non existent and the only buyers were those who never looked at the alternatives (generally elderly Rover devotees). At £4k maybe they'd have sold more of them but not when you could buy something (anything...) else for similar money. As an aside they weren't even remotely reliable either, for a while every Rover dealer had a couple of them parked up round the back of the workshop waiting for back order parts to get them running again. However, I do like the fact people are buying them now as a curio to preserve, or maybe as a warning from history...

[@sameyers2670]

I think the main problem was they were overpriced for what they were

[@1961kickboxer]

My son had one it was a really nippy little car , very underrated.

[@mr.rajbosejee8280]

Indian brand Tata is Hero

[@TheJayant911]

I use latest tata car.

[@sebastian0107]

Your son, or the Tata?

[@ab167]

The “z” on the clock is to “zero” the minute of the time you’ve set, if I remember correctly. A Radio-CD was a dealer fit option and standard on the “Style” but was a “Panasonic” unit (or possibly Sony, i forget but definitely wasn’t Blaupunkt) so that one is not original.

[@stanleyleopard6799]

The Union Jack on the boot was real irony. Quite well specced for it's time and despite everything, still quite fancy one.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Have you seen my review of this very car, sir?

[@stanleyleopard6799]

@@lloydvehicleconsulting Yes, excellent as always!

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

@@stanleyleopard6799, I thought so, sir, thank you!

[@arnonmus1]

Matt thanks for the review, I love your energy and balanced approach. The story of Rover with all its technical innovation ending up selling this second rate product on the basis of a badge is the ultimate in corporate cynicism. In Australia, Holden did a similar thing rebadging Daewoo cars. Worked for a while until transmissions and engines started failing en masse at low mileage. Holden is also no more...

[@furiousdriving]

Also very sad, I felt for you all when that happened

[@thedeadstig123]

I can believe the rover consortium only paid £1500 a car and then sold the cars back to Rover for near double, if Rover could of sold these basement cheap they would of probably sold a decent amount of them when rover went under I remember car supermarkets been full with these, i think when rover went bust a stock of them was already on the water to the uk Also had a woman who brought a cityrover to the garage who was convinced it was the new metro......and she never stopped calling it a metro

[@westcoast747]

It was basically a modern day Metro or Rover 100. Cheap but bloody awful.

[@KarlHamilton]

The CityRover 2 was on it's way when the bankruptcy happened. It was also shite. A few of them did manage to escape into the wild though apparently.

[@CharlieFlemingOriginal]

Im sure someone in the media or press were calling it the new Metro at the time. My Mam had an M reg metro that went everywhere around the country not just a supermarket run around, it was used like a proper family car for ten years only didn't start once as it was a very very cold morning. Usual upkeep costs nothing at all heavy, rust was noticeable but not terrible... but got written off when an Audi driver didn't feel he had to wait behind two cars at a T juction and smashed into a Metro that must have been made on a good day at the right time. Nobody was hurt but loosing the car was like loosing a pet. My Mam never drove again, she loved the Metro too much.

[@aston-martin-internationalist]

I was working as a ships agent when Rover went pop and we had about 100 of them sat at the docks in Portbury. They were there for months and months. Not entirely sure what became of them, whether any were sent back. I wasn't responsible for the shipping company that shipped them over but they suddenly vanished.

[@lenholloway4390]

I was sure the price was £1800 each at the factory gate. In the showroom it was £7000 plus. At the same time it was possible to buy a rivals car for under £5000 How stupid of rover to think this pile of poo was worth more than £3500

[@triodehexode]

Poor rover the French or Italians would never let that happen to their industry. All our governments care about is dodger finance and insurances, lawyers for you and gambling. Good program on Radio 4.last week about the demise of rover (the reunion). Just as it was reviving with Honda the government sold it to its chums in British aerospace. The rest is a sad tale.

[@furiousdriving]

I heard that, it was very good

[@ColonelJGHyde]

The demise of the British Car Industry has always been a very sad state of affairs. Not to get political but its all thanks to the Tory Government. They should have backed BLC. It was at one time a thriving industry across the UK. Safeguarding generations of workers in the towns and cities which thrived on car manufacturering. But what did they do, killed it off. Technology has now improved. And we would have made better cars, Austins, Morris, Rover. British cars which would still be popular today for British People.

[@SpitfireFortyFour]

@@ColonelJGHyde Labour were in control at the time Rover went under and palmed it off to the Chinese instead of bailing them out.

[@triodehexode]

@russell hunter the damage was done by selling it to BAE Honda was the perfect partner and offered the then Tory Govt to buy a 49% share in it. That Govt chose to sell it to Its Chums in BAE who enraged Honda by selling it to BMW who cherry picked the good bits before selling of the runt to that consortium of directors who paid themselves quite pretty penny Labour should have been harsh on them but that wouldn't fit in with our financial free market ethic we have in the UK. Having said that the Labour Govt in the 60s did a disservice by throwing together the diverse UK car industries into a conglomerate it was a perfect storm tooling was goin metric industrial non relations unlike in Germany where unions had a seat on the board and there was cooperation it's all so sad. If you also remember Jag and Land rover were handed over to ford earlier by the Tories. The bit I don't get is the Tories sell the nationalised industries that are make money for the country and keep the loss making ones untill enough tax payers money has been injected only to sell it to their chums in finance. they kid on its share options for a ordinary People but we know where it ends up. The nationised french electricity owning our generation infrastructure and china building our new power stations so sad thanks Maggie.

[@triodehexode]

@russell hunter The irony is GB workforce can produce great cars for foreign owners. As it did latterly a for the river group political medlying and lack of investment sunk that shame.

[@SpitfireFortyFour]

I feel uncomfortable even referring to this monstrosity as a Rover. At some point in my head I've decided City Rover was a separate marque like Land Rover so I can block it out and forget it exists.

[@christineayres5339]

Well it is , its a Tata Nano in India it was made ,same as the new Suzuki Alto and Nissan Pixo , shitboxes , even a Chevrolet Spark is a better car as at least its made by the Daewoo people in Korea lol

[@forgotmyusername2]

@@christineayres5339 I didn't know that the Koreans still made the daewoo? I thought it got sent to India... Thank fuck that they still keep the Korean elements... But still that's fucked

[@christineayres5339]

@@forgotmyusername2 The Chevvy Spark is made by Koreans at the same Daewoo factory but obviously not called Daewoo anymore lol

[@randymarsh6559]

@@christineayres5339 the spark hasn't been sold in India for years. And the city rover is a Tata Indica. It was released in India in 1998, and was significantly overpriced by rover, while making no changes at all for a European market. Not sure how they ever thought they could pull it off. Also you're crazy if you're equating the Indian car market from the 90s to a European one.

[@another3997]

@@christineayres5339 The Suzuki Alto/Pixo certainly aren't shitboxes. Cheap and no frills, but reliable and pretty good at doing what they were designed to do. Having owned or driven many of their rivals, I'd be happy to have an Alto over a Ka, Corsa, or Twingo.

[@RichieRouge206]

Bet Ian from HubNut is watching with interest hehe. There’s something - despite the terrible pedigree and execution - that is oddly likeable about the CityRover. Dunno why. Great review Matt!

[@furiousdriving]

Its definitely collectible

[@Luke-PlanesTrainsDogsnCars]

@@furiousdriving So are the plastic use by tags off my bread.

[@furiousdriving]

@@Luke-PlanesTrainsDogsnCars dont joke, some one out there will..

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

The owner absolutely loves it!

[@owensteele1274]

RichieT5 )-That reminds me. How about a video '1990 Yugo Sana Goes For a Drive'? That would be well worth a watch. Well, after Mister HubNut finally gets it going.

[@thedeadstig123]

I worked on a few of these when they were relatively new, always made me laugh how the VIN plate is bent in a L shape and riveted near the strut tower Also theirs a bloke near me in wakefield with a yellow RHD tata version, spoke to him before he had something to do with rover and its a pre-production uk car, i don't think rover even sold them in yellow

[@ab167]

Was yellow only for the “sporty” Sprite model - another great name from the past! 😆

[@markfox1545]

*there's

[@skyrocketautomotive]

Not sure if you still monitor comments on such an old video, but I've been aware of your content for a good while and enjoyed your videos on and off, however I got properly into your content following the 200 vi journey, and I'm binging the channel as a result, These reviews are EXACTLY what I miss about the old format (pre clarkson) Top Gear: concise, fair, informative, and deeply interesting. Love it!

[@johnrobbo69]

Is the towing eye permanently fixed on the front "just incase" or has the manufacturer that little faith in the car? Nice video again Matt.

[@elliotroles7502]

The towing eye is permanently stuck😂 It will NOT budge...

[@TatrixTharna]

What a gem! Remember we had a customer with an Indian Red City Rover Select. Rover dealer encouraged them to buy it, claiming "They're selling like hot cakes!" It drove ok, never really let them down, although sourcing spares proved tricky- we had to engineer a few replacements. Lately we thought theirs was the last one running, but you've proved us wrong! At every service interval they insisted the service history book was stamped and up to date ( to keep its resale value up!) It was probably worth about 50 quid by this stage. They eventually chopped it in for a Honda Jazz, and we never saw them again-such loyalty! "Now we've got a proper car we're going to have it serviced at a proper (Honda) garage" ( and pay proper money, like £100+VAT per hour labour

[@huwdavies6650]

You can tell that Rover Management (or should that be Mismanagement) had given up by then. They just wanted something cheap they could chuck out the door and make a little bit of money.

[@skimmingstoness]

Before giving themselves a 20 million reward for failure and selling the workforce down the river.

They never gave up... because they never gave a toss in the first place. They did have a fun old time 'going to the races' and walking away very rich with laughable 'punishments'.

[@greghill7759]

After the P5B, things were never the same. I owned a saloon, and a coupe, and they were great! Despite the enthusiasm for the tea shelf, I wouldn't have one of these as a gift.

[@greghill7759]

@k halliday Rubbish? How dare you, sir! You may be interested to know that the prisms over the side-lights were originally a feature of the P5. Whilst the P6 was indeed decent, it didn't have the presence of a P5B. (I also had an SD-1V8 which was impressive right up to the time I managed to blow the engine.) Since then, it's been Saab, after Saab, after Saab, and now a 21 year old BMW 728i.

[@mariaparatore7318]

Great video and I appreciate the time taken to cover this car with such detail. The problem is, these weren't great cars by any standard, and I wouldn't have been too confident driving it, given the amount of bouncing on the suspension, and the car almost looked as if it was going to skid sideways when you did the brake test.

[@cal_lywal]

Remember looking at one in a Rover showroom... the door mirror case had broken and most of it was missing - inside the showroom. Enough said. Poor Rover...

[@ivan747100]

The boot-light will go on & off together with the cabin interior light, if its switch is set to the ON position - this means that when you open the boot, the cabin light also comes on - but it can also be turned off independently using the OFF switch as well.

[@furiousdriving]

Not terribly helpful if you walk up to a closed car and open the boot in the dark

[@ivan747100]

It works both ways - if the boot-light is set to ON, and the interior cabin light is set to DOOR, then opening either the tailgate on its own, or just one of the car doors, will illuminate BOTH the cabin light AND the boot-light as well - they will then BOTH go off when you shut the tailgate and any open doors, but if you set the cabin light to OFF, but leave the boot-light set to ON, then only the boot-light will illuminate when you open the tailgate or any of the doors (the boot-light has a separate trigger switch built into the bottom of the tailgate to allow it to function independently with either option selected).

[@Teribus13]

475 on the engine = 4-cylinder, 75mm stroke.

[@dortkommendieclowns1474]

Is the engine based on a Peugeot TU 4 cylinder?

[@toppledgod]

Nice. I was contemplating it was displacement in cu/in like Fiat used to, but that would make it just over 1.2 litres...

[@aruncv1373]

This was a good car in India. 20+ kmpl. Good price, great suspension, good reliability. It was a sales success here. But it wasn’t marketed properly in the UK and the price was doubled.

[@andywhite5695]

My Dad brought one , brand new . The first ever new car he has brought. He sold it back to the Rover garage and brought another Rover , 214 . He hated them both . He now has a nice scooter with 8mph limit .

[@andrewwmacfadyen6958]

You are posting nonsense Rover 214❤ was out of production years before this junk was sold by MG-Rover

[@ash7990]

So the CityRover is actually quite a good looking little car that is very spacious for its size, has a punchy 1.4 engine, ok gearbox, good comfortable seats and driving position, good equipment and ok safety etc. But with poor fit and finish in the interior and a choppy ride........whats the problem? That sounds ok to me for a small cheap car from india! Sounds no different to a late 90's Escort to be honest! I guess the problem was the price. Yes the 2004 Fiat Panda, Kia Rio, Vauxhall Agila and Ford Ka may have been screwed together a bit better (or where they?....Iv'e no experience of those cars so I couldn't comment) but I guess if the CityRover was priced lower it would reflect this. I mean the CityRover is arguable better looking than most of its rivals. To many people comment and have strong opinions about cars and products which they actually have zero experience and knowledge about. Its also known that us Brits love to joke and mock ourselves. So, I am of the opinion that the CityRover isn't THAT bad.

[@MathewParker-by4nx]

It was an utter pile of shit.

[@mattw8332]

I am of the opinion that the City Rover was a mistake. Matt mentioned the R3 200 series/25 with the 1.1 litre engine which imo was a great supermini alternative. Instead of bringing the Tata over here and rebadging it, Rover Group could have succeeded by cutting the prices of the 25 range to compete against the Fiesta, Corsa, etc. The R3 was an 8 year old design at this point after all.

[@christineayres5339]

Problem is ive owned a Rover 25 and the 1.4 engine which all young guys like me would buy back then still had the dreaded head gasket failures, even the MG ZR version suffered it too, they never learnt their lessons

[@Rover75ConnoisseurSE]

But the 25 isn’t a super mini, it’s a small family car, it’s more like the Focus size, Fiestas are tiny and cramped, the CityRover was the super mini. The 45 was the Large Family Car and even an Compact Executive Car, because it was bigger in Saloon form than a lot of Compact Executive Cars such as the Alfa Romeo 156 and 3-Series. Then the 75 was the Executive Car, but I guess people like you would compare the 75 to the Alfa 156 even though it’s still two inches longer than the Alfa 166 and the 156 is two inches longer than a 45 Hatchback, so the Alfa you should compare to the 75 is the 166. Same with the Equivalent Volvo, it was more similarly sized to the S80, the release of the 55 replacement of the 45 was to compete with many compact executive cars too. The 75/ZT was the finest executive car around and will always be my Favourite Car exactly like it’s true spiritual successor the Jaguar XF.

[@carravioli4803]

Yay another Rover video!!!!! Although my favourite Rover of the early 2000s is the Streetwise!!! But Top Gear gave it a bad rep and they were never coming back from that sadly and Rover passed into car brand heaven playing with Triumph, Morris, Saab and Pontiac!!!!! Very very sad 😔😔😔😔 But after watching the video I think Rover did actually try with sporty elements but fit and finish was sometimes shoddy which killed Rover incidentally it was all riding on this at the end of the day and it failed which was really really upsetting back in the day as frankly it was the end of the British motor industry.

[@furiousdriving]

The streetwise was ahead of its time, everyone was doing softroaders soon after

[@hydorah]

The Streetwise was really a great idea. Ahead of it's time in being a ruggedised urban vehicle. May and Clarkson had some kind of anti-Rover vendetta! Puegeot, Citroen and Fiat were all making worse cars in period and Vauxhall/Opel was trying to cook everyone - no mention was made of any of that

[@carravioli4803]

Well it’s a sad story like the Pontiac Aztek which was 15 years before it’s time and I bet you any money the Renault Avantime would sell like hot cakes today it’s sad

[@Tiptonian]

@@hydorah The Clarkson-May vendetta went back well into the British Leyland era.

[@hydorah]

@@Tiptonian I think you have hit the nail squarely on the head! Clarkson saw Rover as some bunch of rabid communists like it was 1976 or something. In fact he even said as much once! And May was just his (very willing) little acolyte

[@timhancock6626]

At the right price its might have sold enough to justify its existence. They pitched the price so high it was never going to sell. I just laughed when I saw the price. The emissions just edged it into the next VED band as well.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

I had an awful lot of fun filming this very car for my own channel a couple of weeks ago. The owner was such a great sport and was really kind to let both Matt and I do our reviews. I didn't like it as much as Matt, having driven one eight years ago and knowing what I was in for, but his video is still better than mine...

[@furiousdriving]

You were more willing to lay into it, maybe I should have been..He was very good to let us take it and be honest about it!

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

@@furiousdriving, yes, he was ever so kind to let me in particular have fun laying into it! Having driven one in 2012, I knew pretty much what to expect, and I wasn't disappointed.

Great review! I've always thought that as cynical of an effort as these were I always quite liked them. Your comment about the Phoenix Four (they even sound like a group who should be behind bars) was bang on. Ridiculous vanity projects and anything from wasting money on a Le Mans entrant to the SVR to the BTCC. They should have indeed been developing new models including Galaxy-esque MPVs to a new super mini. They were just having a fun old time jiggling the corpse of Rover around à la 'Weekend at Bernie's' style though, pretending all was well when they knew it was far from so. They then waltzed off into the sunset after pocketing millions each and left everyone who had worked even during episodes of pay cuts in the lurch. Four uttlery reprehensible individuals. Anyway, I'm off to watch your 75 Tourer V6 review!

[@nickwills6042]

I know Ian Seabrook of HubNut fame had one of these, but I absolutely cannot stand these cars!

[@furiousdriving]

They are interesting if not appealing!

[@robertkelly9508]

I used to have one a few years back.They are OK, don't just jump on the "they are crap" bandwagon automatically.My only complaint is that the wash wipe didn't have an intermittent mode, which is handy.

[@MajorKlanga]

Your attempt to put a positive spin on this car is admirable. However, when you look at the group of four who bought Rover from BMW for £10 and then just picked at the bones to make themselves richer you realise it was just a short term cynical attempt to make it look like they were running a car company rather than asset stripping. They divided the company into smaller companies so they could scavenge profit from divisions such as the parts business while letting the actual car production business go to ruin along with the careers of those that built them. A sorry tale of corrupt neoliberalism from which voters seem to have learnt nothing.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

I wasn't a huge fan when I tested this very car a couple of weeks ago. Matt and I compared notes afterwards, I think that the truth about it somewhere in the middle.

[@ash7990]

I don't disagree. However we can't forget that BMW also divided the company up and totally de-valued the image of the brand.

[@another3997]

No, it's not " neoliberalism". Rover failed due to personal greed and manegerial ineptitude. Nothing more, nothing less. You could argue that the fates of BL/Rover were largely sealed during the '70s, a time of great social unrest, inpept managers and militant unions (greed on both ides)... but even then, a turnaround was possible. They needed a decent plan, a proper target market and the will to see things through.

[@terrificspokesman7416]

The Indigo was the saloon version of the Indica and the Indigo Marina was the estate version.

[@ex-muslimraj8652]

And today, Tata Motors is a very innovative car maker, and one of the largest one in the world...

[@davidhayes4814]

I love your enthusiasm (and your knowledge) but there has been a slide ever since the P5/P6. Fundamentally it was because others were in charge of the purse strings and maybe B.L. was the worst custodian of Rover. The P5 was lovely, old school and by a wonderful piece of luck it was endorsed by that V8. If you want to build cheap, cheerful, reliable and undemanding small cars, then look no further than the Dacia Sandero, which must be the benchmark for that sector. Rover were desperate. If you need to blame anyone, then it probably lies back in the 70s. They were terrible times for UK engineering.

[@williamegler8771]

A car designed for a developing nation for people moving up from a motor bike. It was designed and built to be sold at the lowest price possible. Without a complete redesign it isn't ever going to compete with modern European or Japanese/Korean car. In Europe it was cheap and you got what you paid for.

[@terrificspokesman7416]

In India they also sold a 1.4 diesel and Turbo Diesel version with Indirect fuel Injection. Which is basically the same Peugeot derived petrol engine but heavily reworked and made into a diesel. Later on they replaced the hatchback Indica with the Indica Vista which was an all new car and had the 1.3 Fiat Multijet turbo diesel (badged as a Quadrajet by Tata) the Indigo saloon was continued and the 1.4 CR4 diesel was launched (this engine gained Common Rail direct injection). This car was sold until 2016.

[@seancooke4127]

Surely that rear view mirror wasn't standard fit, looks like a stick on, although the Vauxhall Nova horn suits the car, as you say. The identical horn replaced the knackered one on my Mum in law's 2002 Audi A4, hilariously unsuitable. Top Gear should not be proud of what they did, though if every potential customer had bought one it still probably wouldn't have saved Rover. However, you confirmed that it is, without doubt, an ok car. In 1989, the Skoda Favorit was an ok car also, but Skoda priced it very competitively and it was a great success. Above all, it is definitely a Rover. Full marks to TATA for supplying a safe, good looking and reliable package that looked well as a Rover. Who knows, maybe the Halo version should have been an even more throaty MG Z City with Tony Pond strapped into its half pigskin Recaros.

[@davidyoung9561]

I think the idea of the manual boot courtesy light is to ensure you don't end up with a flat battery. This is because many times the boot light has remained on even when the boot has been closed as the micro switch has stuck. However, with the manual system, lets hope you remember to switch it off again before you close the boot. My Volvo 345 had this problem so I disconnected it. I just use the torch on my phone. No more flat batteries.

[@wobbler6372]

Its actually goes forward and running and it's not rusted out . Better that most rover products

[@furiousdriving]

thats actually pretty unfair, most Rovers were very good until the asset strippers started cutting corners after 2000

[@martinrule1569]

I do love a Furious road test, I guess the outcome would be that it’s terrible if you think of it as a Rover but actually it’s not that terrible really. Great work again 👍🏼👍🏼

[@mfitzy100]

Sold a few over here in Ireland but I can't remember when i last saw one. Again same story- it was hopelessly outclassed by more modern and better value options from Fiat, Hyundai, Kia, Daihatsu etc

[@mrh1096]

We have a lot of these in india. Diesel versions were popular as taxis until the production stopped. Good car for indian roads- jack of all trades and master of none- doesn't excel in any one area but doesn't suck either

[@neilwalsh4058]

Great review and from your experience not as bad a car as it was made out. Just really sad to see a rebadged, uncomfortably shaped, thrown together, Peugeot derived engined car, carrying the Rover badge to the grave. The company that had experimented with jet power, built cars for prime ministers, designed the SD1 etc, were relegated to selling the City Rover as its only model. Left to die by a succession of governments who all seemed embarrassed that we once lead the world in car design and manufacture. What a shame 😭

[@eclectarama]

Matt, can you please reference Fondant Fancies next time when extolling the virtues of, or otherwise, the tea-shelf capabilities of any vehicle under consideration. Thanks.

[@Rich-on6fe]

Are they the ones that taste of paint?

[@eclectarama]

Rich Only when you paint them before eating them.

[@furiousdriving]

Steve, yes although there is the issue of are they french or Fondant? And Rich, it sounds like someones trying to poison you, be careful!

[@eclectarama]

@@furiousdriving That's a great point and entirely worthy of another chapter in my upcoming book - Cakes of my Childhood.

[@furiousdriving]

@@eclectarama Ill buy the hard back of that..can it be a wipe clean cover so cake can be eaten from it?

[@kd23se4]

The big appeal of this car is that every ride might be your last. No other car makes you think like that :)

[@woodrow_mayes]

The only thing it shares with a Top Fuel Dragster

[@alexander1485]

@@woodrow_mayes or Yugo

[@AJT296]

I remember this car was universally panned when it was released. Plenty of space and equipment and fairly quick were all the good points. I sat in one at the British motor show and remember how awful the interior was. Not just the exposed screws but the hideous grey plastics as well. Such a shame when Rover had made so many great cars that it boiled down to this. As a side note if that’s the best they could do with the ride, how terrible must it have been on the Indian market Tatas?.....

[@randymarsh6559]

The ride usually is greatly softened up in India to cope with our ridiculous roads. I'd guess they didn't tune the suspension well enough for the UK market.

[@AJT296]

Randy Marsh sounds like that’s the case!

[@randymarsh6559]

@@AJT296 that, and the Tata rover was positioned a whole market segment above what it was supposed to be in India. It was a dirt cheap everyman's car in India, it's weird they tried to position it as a rival to more premium vehicles in the UK. I'm reading up on the history of British automotive brands and I can't help but scratch my head at most of the things they did.

[@AJT296]

Randy Marsh haha I know. They were desperate for sales and the Rover badge used to carry some cache but by then it was too late. They even invested in a vanity project making an £80,000 sports car. BL in the 70s and 80s was absolutely dire

[@AJT296]

Randy Marsh kzbin.info/www/bejne/mGrdpYiiq8psoMU

[@dainsmart6237]

I had the model before 114 gsi in night fire red and i loved it polished it every Sunday when permissible weather it glowed after using canuba wax the paint got deeper and deeper red god i miss it kids could have waited two more years two more years of fun lol kids first ☹️😂

[@alansimpson835]

I always found it sad that an organisation who had managed to produce some brilliant small cars - The Mini, the Metro, the 25 - and were an authority on how to make them handle brilliantly, found themselves in the position where they had to buy something in and from a less experienced supplier. I like that the car's evolution to become a Rover makes it a bit quirky but I wish it had some even more endearing quirks like, despite its rough edges, it had actually been a surprisingly great driver's car or that City Rover had been pitched as a budget spin-off people's car brand, a bit like Dacia, and with lower prices. It's a car I really want to like more than I do. Great review as always

[@jacquirhinton2622]

Another great video fantastic quality a real pleasure to watch , don't know if you have brought some new filming kit ? You are as always doing a great job keep them coming please.

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

At first I thought this was Ian's old car! I think the stereo may have been added extra as I am sure it was sony stereos that they used unless they changed later in production. Am I right in saying the engine was a revised XUD Diesel peugeot unit or shared its roots with it. I was looking at these when they came out as a replacement for my troublesome K12 micra as I just wanted a cheap car!

[@furiousdriving]

I have a feeling the stereo was dealer fit so they could have been various. Yes thats a an old Pug at heart, I think its had a bit of a reworking over the years

[@MacklandsMotors]

I know one of the previous owners of this example (Mr Roles as featured on Lloyd Vehicle Consulting), sadly WX56VZS isn’t on the road anymore, can’t believe it was registered in December 2006!

[@furiousdriving]

Thats sad to hear, it was in good condition when I drove it

[@sanatandharma4435]

As kids we were brought up on Rovers. P6 V8s then many SD1's also V8's. They made a mark on myself and my two brother's! When we get together we always end up talking about dad's rovers! We went everywhere in them. When rover went bust we were sad, but then we realised how the management of 4 stripped the company and the last vestiges of national pride with it! "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time." (Lincoln) The tata (cityrover) was a shame, and it ridiculed India with it! They know own Landrover! Poor sod's! Thankyou for your excellent review. Can you do a review on a Fiat Idea?

[@GentilsGarage]

Shame the Rover engineers weren't allowed to improve the car the way they wanted, otherwise it would have been a much better product. Yes, limited to the base car, but nevertheless much better. That passenger airbag pod arrangement was also common when the first generation Fiat Punto's were fitted with dual front airbags. I totally agree with you about the "last Rover" never ending discussion.

[@mattsbeamer]

475 stands for... 4 Cylinder 75- the stroke in mm I was working it out for Josephs video lol :)

[@stevenjones19-m8i]

Hi Matt,what a review on this City Rover,for the mileage its very clean,apart from the small issues it has,the Rover drves very well.

[@MillerCorner]

"Porsche's got a lap timer, City Rover's got a NAP timer!" I want that on a t-shirt!

[@furiousdriving]

That could happen!

[@thomasfrancis5747]

One of the problems was that Rover engineers sent out to India told their management in the UK what needed doing to bring it up to European standards but they were simply ignored in major areas. The fuel consumption didn't help sales. Styling is very similar to the South American Fiat Palio. Right at the end a Mark 2 version was introduced with a black facia - IIRC 600 were on a ship when MG Rover went bust and Motorpoint bought them off the receivers - be interesting to see how much better they were. Some have suggested they should have been badged as an Austin to avoid cheapening the Rover brand.

[@thomasfrancis5747]

@@cr-vm4fn Officially 37mpg under ideal test conditions but in reality quite a bit lower.

[@morgman43]

People will say that Top Gear had a downer on Rover, but I also remember James May stating that the best car you could buy (or possibly, at least, the best British car you could buy) was a Rover 75 2.5. For him to say he preferred that over, say, an X350 XJ, was quite the recommendation.

[@anthonyperkins7556]

Built in India with Rover badges nailed to it and a slightly refreshed light cluster design? A poor effort. And the build quality on first generation cars was hopeless, it did eventually improve, but by the time it did, the CityRover's reputation was damaged and in tatters.

[@owensteele1274]

Congratulations on the Diamondbrite sponsorship. I test drove a CityRover Sprite at launch and found it similar to the new-at-the-time 5dr Suzuki Alto, nothing special, but just not a bad little car. It looked quite nice I thought.

[@furiousdriving]

Thanks, it makes big difference to the channel! In appearance they look similar but over a few years the Alto proved so much better quality

[@mattbedford875]

I've always been quite fond of these, obviously it's not a quality thing but it's Indian made, not Rover made, so it isn't Rover's doing so wind your necks in! It also has more power than my mum's 2003 fiesta zetec, at 79bhp as oppose to 85bhp. Not much but it's there and it's a much more characterful car and will still keep you safer than my 1997 Rover 114 SLI in a crash!🤪

[@TheUphillracer]

An old colleague was Service Development Manager for the City Rover in the build up for launch. He was very defensive of the whole project. I worked with him later at Modec the electric commercial vehicle manufacturer where I wrote the repair manual before they went broke - the story of my life! MCW, Reliant, Metrocab, LTI etc.

[@furiousdriving]

So its all your fault! They did a lot to bring it up ti UK standards but without the budget to do the expected fit and finish trim improvements it was never going compete

[@crashbox7130]

@@furiousdriving The problem is you can't polish a turd, you can only sprinkle it with glitter.

[@colinbrown8316]

Should have badged it as an Austin and marketted it in a similar way to modern Dacias. The constant downgrading of the Rover badge really did hamper the company in the end, what in the 80's was providing 'affordable luxury,' soon became a byword for a joke.

[@SuperLaugh20]

That's a proper triangle of doom

[@paulh4842]

this 2006 city rover looks in really good condition

[@furiousdriving]

Its got to be one of the best survivors

[@owensteele1274]

@@furiousdriving I thought Mister HubNut's early Solo was decent as well, certainly after he fitted genuine mats and wheel trims, dealt with an electrical engine fault and installed a working rear wiper (of course). It was the MOT fail last Winter that put an end to the car. According to DVLA, its tax was cashed in in the middle of June so probably very sadly in car heaven now.

[@ceylontea5877]

Indicar is tough it has proven itself over 20years in many countries

[@nickwilczynski3684]

Ugh... Couldn't we just remember Rover greatness rather than see this sad sputtering demise?

[@FM60260]

19:16 That triangle of doom is nearly as big as the car!!!

[@Pmjs]

Two years ago I had a Citroën C3 1.2 82bhp courtesy car I remember the biting point seemed quite high on it as well .

[@kathykirby5837]

God, to think this is what became of Rover 😭. Ive had several p6's and the end was this, a rebadged Tata. Honestly a crying shame.

[@danieleregoli812]

Agree. I drive a P6 2200TC, and what a splendid, quality driver's car that is even today... not a chance the ShittyRover can be considered a relative, can it?.

[@car9723]

I think...things could have been better if CityRover got proper marketing, branding and pricing than it actually gotten eventually. Things I heard from AROnline made me think like that. Maybe, selling it as "MG City," becoming official importer of TATA brand, or more aggressive marketing and pricing with CityRover moniker could have been better options for MGR.

[@furiousdriving]

Just improving the interior trim would have been enough, covering the screws and bolts, better carpet, the things you expect in a Rover

[@marcushull12]

The terms and conditions set out by BMW when they sold Rover where very strict , they wasn't allowed to make a 4x and wasn't allowed to MAKE a supermini . They also only let them use the Rover name under licence as it was part of Land Rover , it is still a company and files tax returns every year , ironically owned by Tata when the bought Land Rover

[@davebicker8618]

Now THAT was a very lively drive. It looked like you needed reins rather than a steering wheel.

[@furiousdriving]

haha and a thick hat!

[@iamthefatstig]

To be fair, the interior quality and fit/ finish are on a par with a K12 Micra. I love my Mum's Micra, but the interior plastics, such as the cubby hole lid popping open all the time and the heater switch surrounds cracking and letting the bulbs show through is terrible. It's still a decent steer though so all forgiven! Too many people expect a premium finish in a Tupperware spec car these days.

[@furiousdriving]

They really arnt...Ive driven them and they are so much better built

[@DarthTrotter]

Checkout the Tata Bolt. What this car became once JLR were finally let loose on it. Love mine.

[@swamiboo9375]

JLR didn't work on Tata Bolt.. Tata Bolt is based on Tata Indica Vista launched way back in 2006. Tata Indica Vista was touted as the replacement, but it was costly compared to Indica(and ended up selling side by side, a common practice in India, to sell last generation along new one albeit at discounted rates, pioneered by Maruti Suzuki and followed by other manufacturers like Tata, Skoda, Hyundai).. Indica was constantly refreshed as Tata went ahead on the learning curve so it's demand never dried until late 2000s when the '4 meter'(length not exceeding 4 meters and max engine displacement of 1.2 liters for petrol and 1.5 liters for diesel to attract lower taxes) regulations changed market dynamics in India. JLR didn't do a thing in improving Tatas.. Which is why I'm one of those few Indians who think Tata should've never acquired JLR.. It was neither able to reap benefits due to technical transfers or expertise(or lack of on the part of JLR agreement) nor was it able to make India a manufacturing hub for high end components(if not complete cars)... The last I heard JLR was involved in 'refining' a Tata car was when Tata sent its Aria MPV to JLR's center in The UK and all the folks there did was simply okayed interiors(which had room for improvements) by touching here and feeling there..

[@john1v6]

Newest car I've seen to still use a mechanical odometer. Last car I had with one of those was a 1992 Fiesta MK3 - whose instruments looked very similar to those of the City Rover.

[@moundain4220]

The car is actually from the 1990s its actually an Indian car

[@hydorah]

This venture was a terrible error of judgement by Rover. I don't think they deserved absolutely ceaseless persecution by James May and Jeremy Clarkson however

[@furiousdriving]

For doing this yes. The rest of the range deserved better from them though

[@GM-pm8fy]

I had one right at the end of production so a cheap price with very short warranty. Needed some fixing on warranty. Told the man at the desk, do I have to crash it to see if the air bags work? Air con clicking sound, engine cut out at top speed, odd spongy ride and took forever for heaters to warm. Mocked by other people and called popemobile. After about a year the engine stated to die, had to run it at lunchtimes at work in winter to prevent it from struggling to start. Managed to trade it in for not much less than i bought it was the oddest thing.

[@Bumper3D]

Those dials look very similar to those found in 90s Astra/Cavalier/Calibra. I've got first hand experience with a Rover 75 and I'll happily call that a real Rover. Despite any BMW influence that might've been there it had a very British look and feel about it. The City Rover doesn't have any of that. Had they trimmed the interior in some burl walnut and cream (pig?) leather, I'd give it my seal of approval.

[@markthorpe1528]

I would like to know who did the MOT?.You stated engine management light on,and doors that don't open properly,two obvious fails straight away.Very nostalgic,but sounds like one to avoid to me.

[@dtuk22]

Incredibly the board of Directors at Rover thought this car would be a good idea. I'm speachless.

[@gord307]

I remember Rover being in trouble before for selling cars in the UK market for more that they were selling abroad, so already had a reputation for ripping the British public off. And the problem with this car is that everybody knew that it was a rebadged budget Indian made vehicle selling for a higher price. What were Rover management thinking? All that said, It is great to see a few examples being looked after; in just a few years time it will be one of the rarest cars in the UK. Thank you for the review :-)

[@fordlandau]

British motor industry dies by eating its own excreta. The worthy successor to the Morris Marina. Love your work !

[@richardgelder9879]

Shame you didn't get to road test the Mk2 version; slightly less crap, with improvements where it really matters. Nippy, plenty of space, and an inoffensive design. It's not as awful as everyone would have you believe. Oh, and 'z' on the clock is to zero the minutes at the top of the hour when you're listening to Radio 4.

[@Namburiadityasairam2605]

The indica was a landmark car for India as a whole, it came out when India opened up economy and started it's slow but steady economic climb. For many like me, it was the first car in our family as my dad bought an indica when I was born (2001) and I have a deep connection with the car. It had its flaws but for the price point (unlike rover) and the market it was selling in, it was amazing value for money and the tag line "more car per car" basically sums it up! Seeing this made me very nostalgic as unfortunately we had to scrap the car a couple of years ago, I wish I could've kept it forever :/

[@confusedredditor1660]

I still have a 2000 diesel too

[@matthewlovell5376]

The Z on the clock probably refers to Zulu, which is used in the military to refer to daylight savings time. I would have thought pressing it moves the time an hour forward or back.

[@a.gordon.1385]

I want one. I have a soft spot for the unloved, quirky and underdog. Plus it's a bit of history. They are dirt cheap now. It would be a fine machine to add to the fleet and get me to work. But what about parts? That concerns me.

[@furiousdriving]

Rimmers have everything for now, and much of it under a tenner, but its basically a Tata so there are millions of them

[@a.gordon.1385]

@@furiousdriving Aah, all good then, cheers :) 👍 I wonder if some updated dampers might be in order or available. See if I can get it more civilised in the bumpies.

[@furiousdriving]

A. Gordon. Or invest in a crash helmet and enjoy the ride!

[@a.gordon.1385]

@@furiousdriving A bit of white knuckle excitement. 😅

[@chucky2316]

I had a rover 114 gsi and apart from being comfortable it was a heap of a pile of smelly stuff

[@b.2221]

Rover like Saab should and could easily still be in production to this day, and as the old saying goes, a gun is not dangerous its down to the person who owns it. This shameful example of what they did to a once respected premium car brand is scandalous to say the least. Another great job by one of two of the best entertainment car reviewers currently on KZbin this is luckily for us You Tube at it’s best 👍 Tam.

[@lloydvehicleconsulting]

Matt is brilliant.

[@clivesinclair4623]

I just purchased a Cityrover I must admit the engine does feel quite meaty. I do not have any issue with brakes though they seem to be sharp so I am not sure the example used in the review was tip top in that area. I also think the body roll issue is not any worse then a fiat seicento. However quality of interior is awful so I agree on that front. Also the doors clang and I do have some rattle in one door. Steering also feels strange so I agree there as well and gearbox is not great on mine either. It is a strange car as I thought it would be really bad but have found mine at least to be okay so far.

[@truthwillrevealed1588]

What else you will find in 3 lakh car price it's cheap Car in india 2006 model it's never a sports car it's Regular people car it does all kinds of Job what else you want in hatch bag

[@eggy1962]

that bonnet release was terrible most commonly broken, switches broke too, gearbox was too low geared with top gear at 25mph, nuts n bolts were made of chewing gum (twist n break), plus points um...a hoot to drive around town... to own now... its costly and difficult to source parts make it a no go, dirty emissions made uk road tax ouchie.

[@terrificspokesman7416]

The Indian car industry has hugely improved very rapidly. Many new Indian cars can easily compete with Japanese and South Korean car. Sadly they don't sell it here

[@KR1275]

Z stands for zeconds

[@stephenroberts9121]

I really liked the shape/style of the city rover... But the build quality was definitely a bit questionable. Now if you are looking to review something interesting and a bit left field what about doing a Daihatsu YRV, now there is stylish car and not too many of them about these days

[@adrianrowden8266]

Very enjoyable review, and maybe the car wasn't quite as bad as we all thought.