Is the Rover 75 V6 auto a future classic? (Test drive and review)

The early model of the Rover 75 are becoming a rare sight on the roads today and I think it was about time I reviewed one. I have always loved the Rover 75/ MG ZT having owning one myself at 18.
These early ones are a classic example of how good a British car could be and they don't suffer from the cost cutting that happened with the later cars.
This is my first review and I would like to thank Chris for letting me borrow this early poverty spec 75. Chris is a mechanic who specialises in Rover and Mg cars; His website is below:
www.marshallperformancemotors...
Feel free to follow my Instagram for daily updates and car spotting:
Instagram: / bes_and_cars

[@davidwhittington8437]

great video iv'e got a CDTI tourer had it for ten years never let me down , it's so comfortable and luxurious i cant think of anything to replace it with

[@rarevhsuploads4995]

I have a 2.5 V6 auto in Moonstone* Green myself. I think it’s the most effortless setup for easy, smooth driving & I love mine. I get 30mpg average but have had 35-40mpg on long journeys with cruise control on. I was trying to watch the Rev counter when you were driving to see if the lower horsepower 2.0 revs higher but the needle seemed to sit at 2000rpm at 60mph which is the same as mine but it did seem more sluggish pulling away. This is certainly the first Classic SE I’ve seen reviewed & possibly the first Cowley car so it filled a little niche. You were spot on the little Cowley differences but the first year of Longbridge cars are largely identical. Well done, great review.

[@besandcars]

Thank you for the nice words! The differences are subtle but are very noticeable at the same time so it was definitely worth talking about. There is not a lot of power lower down and you really have to throttle it to get somewhere. Kick down is also a bit temperamental on this gearbox but I don’t think it’s a car that needs thrashing around really!

[@vincentharrison8767]

Just bought one. Identical. Love it but fingers crossed 🤞

[@split_pin]

The cloth seats in the Classic I had were far more comfortable than the leather option, especially in winter. V6 sounds great, the noise from the diesel can be a wee bit intrusive at times.

[@besandcars]

Cloth seats are really nice! The v6 is the perfect for windier as well. The car warms up super fast.

[@daveslife9486]

Great video many thanks I want one of these as a modern classic. Twin cam elegant and soft below 4000 revs and brut force there after 👍

[@jamesturner9028]

Excellent video I own the mk1 2.0 cdt connoisseur se automatic beautifully cars thanks for sharing

[@MillerExplores]

Enjoyed the video! I’ve got a connoisseur se with all the toys with the BMW Diesel engine!

[@besandcars]

Thank you! I had an mg ztt. It had quite a lot of toys on it too! I do miss that car. Driving this one made me want to buy another one 😅

[@robdavies8254]

Thumbs up, yes I liked it. Good to see a fair assessment by someone how might not have been the original target customer but appreciates it never the less.

[@netherwent2725]

Very nice review!

[@glen100100]

Great video but would love to see you driving your ZT V8 on those nice roads Would be amazing

[@BasiaSaysRAWR]

Nice video very informative

[@pauljohnson4871]

I have a 52 plate rover 75 diesel club saloon. One of the best most reliable cars I have ever owned

[@heathermcglade4166]

The 75 is a future classic for sure. I'm the proud owner of a CDTI, it's in brilliant condition all round, and the " bulletproof", BMW Diesel engine. Style, comfort, and right up there with the best looking cars ever made, and, the last fully British made car.

[@besandcars]

Handle really well for what they are as well! Lovely comfortable cars.

[@darkwatersband]

I have a 2002 2.5 manual and I have to say it is a very fast machine while still being a very comfy car

[@besandcars]

It’s all about smiles per gallon with these

[@darkwatersband]

@@besandcars surprisingly its quite good for fuel I get about 35 mpg average

[@adamlaird-smith609]

Great video!

[@besandcars]

Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it.

[@metalman4141]

Nice to be honest

[@rovercoupe7104]

Merry Christmas. M.

[@jeffvaljean6030]

It is a nice car my grandad loved them but my dad loved the mgzt guess that says it all really

[@scottcrozier5828]

Someones favourite word is ‘nice’ 😂

[@Banom7a]

never knew they make a poverty spec with a V6

[@besandcars]

They did indeed! This one is a great example of a poverty spec. I there is one lower than this and It didn’t have colour coded mirrors or alloy wheels.

[@hamzasharaz3687]

No double glazed windows? Deffo poverty spec

[@trackingcalin1988]

Rover 75 from year 2000 or 2005?

[@anthonyhenry5424]

1998-2007

[@trackingcalin1988]

@@anthonyhenry5424 I had one from 1999 CDI back in 2009-2015 it was the best car I ever saw. For 2 months I have a 2.5 automatic Tourer from 2003. Very rare car.

[@monicaurracci221]

Very nice biutifull, i wont this perfekt automobil for my end für mein brader 🖐️

[@Luzzak]

Lovely cars but unfortunately underdeveloped. I have both 75 2.0 V6 and MG ZT 190 2.5 V6 and to be honest, Rover is the better option. KV6 engine is perfect for Rover, not so great for ZT. In Rover you have this great growl and the engine itself is tuned much more for the comfy ride, not fast driving. Rover is a cruiser and it's perfect for it. You don't want to drive it hard, you want to have a peace, lovely sound and feeling that you're driving something unique. In those aspects - 75 is great. ZT on the other hand is much harder on the suspension, sits lower and feels like a reaaly sporty car. Unfortunately the engine is the weak point because you still have the feeling that it is made for a rather peaceful driving, not sporty. Then you have this strange feeling that you're sitting in a big, sporty saloon but because of the engine, you're dissapointed of the poor performance. KV6 in ZT needs to be push hard, almost to the red line to get the full power of it and even then - it's nothing special. It'a NA engine, sluggish under the 3000rpm and definitely not done for a sports car. Other than that, it's VERY thirsty. I've driven many cars in my life and this one is one of the "thirstiest" of them all. I'm sorry but if Chrysler 300C SRT 6.1 V8 can drink only 3 litres more, then something is not right here. Next thing - the HORRIBLE VIS system. Unreliable as f***. VIS motors will always break, just the matter of time but the real problem is the "Rattle Of Death" because of the damaged Inlet Manifold. It also will break for sure and buying new one is nearly impossible because of the MG Rover demise and even if you find one - they can cost as much as the whole car... They're made of plastic, are unserviceable and you can't fix them when they break, only buy the new one or the used one (if it works which is hard to check because you can't get them open). Next - three timing belts (costly to change), another plastic sh** which is the thermostat, which again - will break in time causing coolant loss and engine overheating. Next - the clutch and again - breakable plastic... Other than that - ECU display is always pixelated, door cards are falling off, chrome handles can break any moment, door locks can work one day and not on the other, pre-facelift models had a water leaking problems and on and on and on... MG Rover had a great idea for those cars and if they had more money, they could've been a real hit. Of course you can try to fix all of those issues by yourself permanently. It's doable. You can get a modified, double Inlet Manifold without any motors, flaps or moving parts to get rid of that problem, you can still get the metal thermostat and metal clutch. You can modify the door handles, get the BMW door locks, replace the ECU screen etc. but you have to be a real fan of those cars to put so much money into them. With Rover - it's not a bad thing to do cause it's a real classic today but with ZT... There's always the feeling that it is poor in performance. ZT 190 187bhp should be the lowest option, then 4.6 ZT 260 256bhp with Mustang V8 and then supercharged V8 giving you 400bhp on the top of the range. No diesels or K-series Turbo. You have a sports saloon with 116 or 131bhp with Diesels? Joke... Yes, you can remap them and get around 150-160bhp but it' still waaaay to low for a car of this size and weight. The same thing with K-series Turbo which is again - 160bhp. If 190 is poor in those cars then imagine 160 or even 131... and yes - I know that they're with turbos which can give you much better torque but still they are only 160bhp max in sports saloon. There are family cars with more power... It's not good to be daily car and it's not good for a track car, that's why it is hardly for anybody. Much too uncomfortable and thirsty to be daily, too slow on track. Needs to be pushed always to 6000-6500rpm which can sounds fun but gets tiring if you do that all the time, not to mention the horrible fuel economy then and overall - still nothing special with the performance. There's one thing that will always be great in those cars - the looks of them. 75's are really beautiful and ZT's - aggressive. 75 is very comfortable and ZT rides very good on sharp corners but there are too many flaws and keeping those cars alive costs huge money all the time. The suspension itself, because it's from BMW, will need to be fixed every couple of months. Especially in ZT because it's much harder and prone to break when driving on bad roads. That's why they are only for fans of MG Rover. Others need something more reliable, faster and something not to drain your wallet. Both in parts and in econony. I respect them but they are what they are - good looking but flawed and underdeveloped cars.

[@Jablonski277]

In 20 years a Tesla is a classic 😲