Rover 420 GSi Goes for a Drive

Its not the first Rover R8 on the channel, and wont be the last, this is a Rover 420 GSi Tourer - Nitrosilva's Rover 400 in fact. Since filming hes decided not to sell it after all, bit you can see the rebuild here: • Rover 420 GSI Tourer -...
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[@mehrzahl2219]

Nice, two of my favorite channels coming together.

[@MarcusTDM]

The power bulge wasn’t for the turbo, its to clear the camshaft pulleys of the T-series. My dad had a blue 420 GSI saloon from new on an L plate. Lovely cars and such a positive drive. Great video mate and you cant make too many rover videos. Keep them coming! Nice one.

[@matthewsemple]

That's correct the bulge was only on 2.0 litre cars to accommodate the cam cover. The Honda and K-Series engines were lower. The only exception was the Coupe which all had the bulge even on 1.6 and 1.8 models.

[@antonsturesson8235]

Oh this brings back so many fond memories of my saloon 98 Rover 420 GSI which was my first car. It’s still in the road, might contact the new owner and see if I can buy it back. It made me a Rover fan for life! That engine is bulletproof as you said! It didn’t fail once over the nearly 50.000 km I owned it!

[@pwensor]

Nice one Matt. Shout out to James too for fettling it back to being roadworthy.

[@anthonyperkins7556]

The 400 Tourer series makes a reasonable loadlugger with the seats folded down, and makes a decent family car seats up with room for 5 people or 5 adults and luggage with a comfortable spacious interior and a good ride quality. I like the diesels with their absolute frugality and sheer economy and the diesel engined versions make sense if you regularly carry a full complement of people and things to make the most of the sheer pulling power and torque and is also useful if you occasionally need to tow a caravan.

[@SuperFIFTHGEAR]

Oooh, a GSi! James really has done a superb job on this. Great video, was looking forward to this since James mentioned it in his most recent video.

[@thedeadstig123]

i don't know why but i always thought this was one of the prettiest R8 designs, it just looks right as a estate car

[@peteramberley9952]

I thought the montego countryman was a very pretty car

[@thedeadstig123]

@@peteramberley9952 yes thats alot another one that looked better as the estate, i doubt the 7 seats are legal now though

[@nitrosilvia]

Yes the countryman when it got that lower lip extension

[@andrewthornton326]

IMO 5 door hatch was the best. D-pillar of the estate isn't quite right.

[@willwelch5700]

Love the touter!! When I was growing up my friend's dad had various rovers. I always loved the shape of the tourer over anything else. Nice to see one about 👍🏼

[@TheGalacticEmperorOfLabels]

The R8 is one of the greats, Matt, and I'm loving seeing them reviewed in their many forms. Thanks.

[@barryjackson8512]

What an awesome car. James has done a fantastic job. Plenty room for more rovers😉

[@ravisidhu1667]

I loved these touring. I’ve always wanted one in midnight fire red. What a find with the GSI

[@markpunt9638]

Excellent - I’ve been waiting for this.

[@M6GOF]

Weird vaguely related fact to the Rover R8: In a similar vein, the Nissan Bluebird U11 only existed between for two years before the T12 came out in 1985, then the T72 from 1987-1991 - BUT, there wasn't a purpose built T12/T72 estate. The U11 continued in estate form all the way until Bluebird range was ended and the Primera took over, only changing the grille slightly and a couple of trim pieces, if that.

[@simonsutton5499]

Love the T series lump, especially in an R8, & the way these things pull from 1200 rpm in 4th unlike most modern petrol engines.

[@davidcoleman7674]

Excellent! I have been following nitrosilvia rebuilding this car, so was delighted to hear you were reviewing it. Keep up the good work!

[@coopers4491]

You know you want it buy buy buy!!!! Great content matt , nitro silvia done a great job on that one!!! STAY SAFE☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

[@thetreadtrader7565]

Reminds me of the one of these my mate had as a company car. He was horrified when it turned up, not the car he wanted, “old mans car” was his impression. Didn’t look forward to the next three years motoring. Within a few weeks he wouldn’t have swapped it for anything, enjoyed his three year partnership.

[@123jrh1]

car looked amazing before it was crashed into , but nitrosliva has done it justice, i have 2 r8's 216 cabby and a 214sli, tomcat, gti and tourer needed to finish the set lol

[@mikenewman137]

Enjoyed watching the car being repaired nice to see you test it, i am now wanting a Rover though cant decide between a Tomcat or SD1 !

[@indepthcardetailing2254]

Love the vids, love the channel. I really felt for you, with the repairs to the convertible.

[@mrbennetts]

I had a green Tourer 1.6. Loved it. Unfortunately I left it in a lock-up garage for six months while I worked overseas. When I came back it was sopping wet and covered in mildew. Never the same afterwards. I had two cabriolets as well. Lovely cars. Thank you very much for your videos.

[@seancooke4127]

Oh God its gorgeous.

[@mickles1975]

I hope you get to drive the Diesel SD1 and the bubble too. When they're done, obviously.

[@chrisbury4635]

Great review mate, glad you enjoyed it, looks mint after James’ hard work, and of course it runs better now thanks to you, hope he manages to flog it 😎👍🏼

[@kdproductions2008]

Great review Matt, I’ve followed this car like a lot here of others through its journey with its current owner. You have to do his bubble next!

[@Thanos.m]

Love this estate It works so well one thing I've noticed with the R8 platform is that Rover did try a lot harder in the export markets with them a 420GSi would have had AC full leather full electric windows in European models in fact in Greece when they seemed quite popular I've hardly ever seen an R8 with keep fit windows

[@davidfos84]

Fantastic review again mate. Love this car and if I was to get any variant of the 200/400 R8 model, this would be it.

[@daz1150]

The tourer was never available with the 1.4 engine like you say, engines available was 416 petrol, 418 diesel, and the 420 you have here

[@coopers4491]

Dont upset him!!!!

[@furiousdriving]

shhh!

[@siraff4461]

@@furiousdriving Don't worry. There was at least one with the 1.4 in it. The result of a blown 1.6, a mate having a crashed 1.4, zero money and a spare weekend. That wiring harness is a bit much though...

[@lewis72]

7:20 Poverty-spec Mk3 Granadas had a coin tray where the fuel computer lives on the higher-spec cars.

[@LuminalSpoon]

That's fantastic, It's like going back in time. My dad had the exact same car in British Racing Green like yours! I always thought it was a bit of a crap car but looking back at it now I can fully appreciate the design and aesthetics of the 420.

[@scottishcarenthusiastsandtrain]

Lovely R8 and the best colour too. The interior still looks a classy place to be.

[@davidhall7744]

Surely one of the best looking estates ever? Right up there with the original Volvo V40 😉

[@seancooke4127]

The Volvo V40 Estate was equally timeless, well spotted.

[@michaeltutty1540]

As the owner and driver of a Volvo 240 DL Estate with the 2.3/Auto combination, the V40 is merely a car. Perfectly capable for what it is, but it is ordinary. The 240 is FUN, and gets the same fuel economy.

[@somervillearron]

the volvo 850 estate

[@RichieRouge206]

The R8 looks so nice as a Tourer too! Looks really smart in BRG too. Great review and video Matt! And who doesn’t love a fast wagon? So much better than SUVs!

[@maxidyne]

The Coupe and Touring are the most prettiest of the R8 series! Great looking car. Well preserved example. Nice review, thanks Matt.

[@davidjames2910]

'That's where cool is at!' - from the same guy who's obsessed with tea shelves. Love it.

[@joaop.carvalho842]

There is no such thing as too many Rovers and R8s are my favourites! They just look so right and the ride is so good and pleasant.

[@frothe42]

Smashing! Really like this. Brilliant video!

[@bunkaaa8726]

Man these old R8's ride SO HIGH!! I had approx 4 of them, the only ones that sat low as standard were ones with old springs. Mega nostalgic thanks for the vid.

[@hirohidetokoro9423]

Many thanks for your uploading. Another Rover that's right. I used to own the same colour but Honda zc 216 coupe made in '97. In Japan we can say that Rover is originally very rare. I was so lucky to find my car at a used car dealer. Mine was the later rounded interior version with CVT.

[@MarkGalbraithVideos]

Another great video Matt. I had a 420 SLi saloon in 1996 and absolutely loved its performance. It was an excellent touring car, which took me all over Europe. If I may clarify one detail; the bulge on the bonnet denotes the 2.0 litre engine and not the GSi specification. My 420 SLi spec' car also had the bulge, but my boss's 416 SLi did not. The bulge was shared with the coupe models (all engines). In regards to the ride height, I can confirm that the 420 models did have a notably higher ride height compared to the 416, which was particularly noticable at the rear wheel arches.

[@markharris7662]

The rover is just so nice inside and out.

[@ianleach752]

Back in the 90s my dad had a well specced 214si ( ex bae car) in brg then a 420 gsi tourer in red as his retirement car. I used both the cars. And particularly liked the look of the tourer. But remember the 214si being much nicer to drive. Lighter and more nimble. Thanks for the vid!

[@antwonefernandez7554]

Trip down memory lane for me this one. I had a 3 dr 214sei with those seats, I loved it. Good vid. Enjoyed that. 👍🏼

[@paul1153]

Great end result from James' efforts.Nice review Matt.

[@Cavalier_Steve]

I’m glad James is keeping it I think he would have regretted it if he did.

[@shepshepherd]

I loved the tailgate and fuel door levers in my 1994 214 Si. Very convenient :)

[@rydermike33]

From a wonderful tea shelf to a good 'body load' area you can't beat a 420 estate. And that one is a beaut.(Can't remember when I last saw one though!) Many thanks Matt.

[@christopherford3543]

Keep them r8s coming I love them will not get sick of seeing them great job matt and I think this one needs to join your fleet

[@paddycoleman1472]

This takes me back - I had a 420 GSi Sport Turbo in British Racing Green from new.

[@davidhumpherson4904]

Such a good car. The 1.4 K was a revelation in 1990 I couldn't believe how quick it was and how it revved. The unassisted steering was quite heavy I recall. Ive owned a 97 bubble 420i, good ride but very low geared steering, liked tyres and quite thirsty. I've had a t series 620ti very similar but much firmer riding.Both cars had the head oil weep and I think the 620ti had sticking valves when cold.Still, a plain old 420i NA is quite swift indeed and a nice thing.

[@MrAcoustic09]

This looked lovely when it had the sport kit on it ect very nicely done

[@focusrssteve]

I would not dare! Nice review of a future furious driver!

[@richardjohnson3463]

Brilliant! Hard to believe Rover was allowed to slip away....and very sad

[@neilwalsh4058]

As lovely as an Alfa 33 Sportswagon. What a superb carriage to smoke around in as a daily driver.

[@patrickrocks3312]

You can't get enough Rovers and this is one of the best👍.

[@Zeem4]

Your description of the car made me think about why I liked my 1989 214SLi so much, and why I didn't like the 1993 Escort 1.6 LX that replaced it. The Rover felt like they'd done the best they could do to make a car, and the rust and minor trim issues were just an unfortunate consequence of the available materials and technology a the time. It felt classy, solid, comfortable, and good to drive. The Escort felt like they'd done the absolute minimum they could get away with to make a working car, and it felt cheap, flimsy and miserable. I wish I'd still got it - according to How Many Left, there's only one 1989 214SLi still on the road, and 5 on SORN.

[@dmodeboy]

Been looking forward to this. After seeing all the hard work James put in it's great to see you reviewing it. I really like the car...I'd happily hoon about in that. I like the shape and it looks great as an estate. I'm not normally a fan of green for cars but this colour suits it perfectly. 😊👍

[@furiousdriving]

He did a great job sorting it out, its lovely now

[@RichieRouge206]

Lowered 30mm, medium tint on the rear two windows and back windscreen and some sharp, flat edged 5 spoke alloys would look amazing

[@peters2775]

Top job your doing 👍 I need my old 1994 216 SLi back in my life sold it to get a Rover 75 1.8 se love the car but do miss the thrash happy SLi 5 door. Keep it up.

[@mr-wx3lv]

I've always liked them. I would have one now if I could find a decent, low mileage one.

[@davecraig7082]

Love the R8 videos, the tourer is very smart looking indeed. Looking forward to the cabriolet starting as well and seeing the hood working! Maybe!

[@furiousdriving]

big maybe!

[@Roverjoe]

all these R8s are making me want to get an R8, in fact i was looking for one for a while now, i was either wanting a 400 or a 200 coupe, i think they are amazing cars, i currently drive a 25 which i love to pieces :)

[@mrwick7961]

i had one of these, the head gasket went bang when i was on the way to the shop, luckily i wasnt too far fro mhome and managed to get bk, had to sell it as cudnt afford to fix at the time but other than that it was a really nice car

[@getinthevantim]

Even though i moved down under almost 30 years ago I can usually pick where you are driving within a minute or so. You'd have enjoyed the handling even more if you'd taken the Hartlake Road to Golden Green and back. It always was a lovely, quick piece of road.

[@chrissybee18]

Brilliant video, always liked the tourer, and your right, estate car over suv all day long!

[@mpersad]

I loved my Rover 416 saloon. Just watching the interior shots takes me back, particularly the driver's elevtric window controls. Funny what sticks in your mind !

[@colindowd9756]

I always wanted a 420GSI saloon. Had the brochure and framed the moody shot of it on my bedroom wall

[@pit_stop77]

I thought I recognised the car from elsewhere, my other favourite rover channel 😎😎

[@6643bear]

Great video, nice car . Regards mark

[@jamesleeharris]

Watching this reminds me of the tourer that Reyland motorsport did. That was a peach. I'd live one of these one day. Great video.

[@stevenjones19-m8i]

Hi Matt,cool video,my brother had one of these,the one with the wheel trims and the burgundy colour,it cleaned very well,I would leave this as is.

[@androo4519]

Nice car. And nice to see a car going back to original spec. Somebody should make that a trend.

[@paultaylor9652]

Lovely Jubbly, very nice car.

[@lmm]

Ooh i like those speaker positions in the rear boot area - Trev

[@furiousdriving]

Dont know if the trim is solid enough to get any decent sound but its a great spot. I built a sub box into those corners on a 216 hatch once

[@jasoncornell1579]

Tea shelf level 1000 Excelsior!!😁

[@MarkieC1990]

Great review Matt, just a thought though I’m pretty sure the earliest R8’s were on a G reg, ‘89! Or did you mean the estate version?

[@marksterriker4724]

I owned a white 214 poverty spec back in the early 2000s a last run N registered hatchback believe it was a 8 valve . Loved it, and would love to own one again

[@Victor-DOOM]

Love the tourer pure class my favourite I'm a big fan of the Montego estate too

[@fonecrusher1]

I love how casually his appraisal of the boot includes him saying "You'd really struggle to compress someone in here if they were struggling" This guy is a legend. : D

[@logs1876]

Just subscribed to your channel and Instagram dude lovein the content 😎🤙💯

[@furiousdriving]

Awesome thank you!

[@neilmustow368]

Friend from work used to have the 214SEi 3 door same colour as this one 20 years ago nice car drove down to the NEC Autosport show 3 of us in January 2000 in the Rover I drove it back some of the way took turns

[@darrenwilson8042]

I love these - much more stylish that the equivalent Beemer.. when they were £50 a dozen they were still one that got away from me for some reason

[@stevehallam0850]

Do as many Rovers as you like 🙂

[@khew1]

Another great video! Back in the late 90's my dad had a 218 SD (diesel). It was white, we called it Loma as the reg was L*** OMA. I was young at the time and thought it was a desperately uncool car, but now they're really growing on me. Question to test your car knowledge: some of them, including my dad's, had wrap around indicator lenses and others had smaller lenses. Why was this?

[@woodrow_mayes]

Definitely a bucket list want, although I kinda preferred the previous wheels.

[@doktoruzo]

Great Matt, nice review. I have been following James (nitrosilvia) doing this one up. He has a fetish for welding!

[@furiousdriving]

People keep tell me I need to learn to weld from him, they are probably right!

[@stepheng8779]

Love a tourer/estate, I'm a fan of the Insignia sports tourer think it's vastly underrated, this Rover is a beauty.

[@danielrussell446]

Great looking car always liked the estate my dad had the hatchback and then two of the later 400/45 such comfortable cars and miss rover seats! My family and friends worked on the r8 and concerto at longbridge so many had them off the scheme went in a good many of the different types over the years!

[@rovervitesse1985]

Had two. Both with the lovely 1.6 kseries and 200 bubble dash (97-99). The first was nightfire red and the second one was a rare brooklands green sample with wooden steeringwheel and gearknob. Still think that these are among the most successful designed estate cars. They looked so modern for the time. Even when i had mine in 2007-2016 people never knew it was a 1993 design.

[@timstevenson7795]

Interesting as I haven't seen all the other Rover videos . It confirms my belief that these old Rovers were good cars overall.

[@stephenbates8370]

Nitrosilvia does really good job on his repairs this a perfect example.

[@colinbromley2454]

Growing up we always had Montego estates, but when the 400 Touring came out my mother opted to buy a Citroen Xantia instead. The main criticism of the Touring was the small boot opening, as you mention, but also the large lip, the Montego had a flat entry to the boot. Which was the better car? Personally I think the Montego GTi estate was a better estate car, offering Volvo levels of practicality for a fraction of the cost. It would be interesting to see a 400 / Montego head to head.

[@matty6848]

Only difference is the Montego would break down on you and rust after 18 months😂

[@julienbee3467]

And did you like the Xantia ?

[@ColonelJGHyde]

The abduction and corpse carrying capabilities is always a feature I look for in your car reviews! LOL

[@johnmarsh2078]

The Tourer was available with just four engines .... the D16 A6 single cam Honda with auto option, the turbo diesel by Pugrot, the N/A T Series and, after 1996, the K Series (or kettle!) 1600. Never the 1.4 K or the turbo T. I'd have bought this one except I'd just got a 1600 Honda version in Tahiti Blue. Love it.

[@team3383]

Jessus. There is a reason the GB car makers went out of business and this man is it ! Imagine having to work for or with him !

[@martinrule1569]

My mates Dad had a late one of these as a taxi for a while. Great cars. Underrated in my opinion. Think his had a later 400 dash.

[@lordbrennanofsealand5772]

That interior is still a class act.

[@leebatemanmusic]

I’m the new proud owner of this car. So pleased with it - and it’s still going sweet and strong!

[@MsBananasmel]

My brother found this car in a garage, It had been there a few years. I thought it had been written off so I'm glad to read it's still alive.

[@hopkin2006]

Does the Rover 420 Tourer estate come with an automatic option when it's new?

[@davidvickers4228]

Wonderful car 👍😍