The Rover 200-series / 25 is a small car An automobile, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally for the which was produced by the Austin Rover Group The Austin Rover Group was a British motor manufacturer. It was formed in 1981 as the mass-market car manufacturing subsidiary of British Leyland (BL). ARG was the end result of a comprehensive restructuring programme intended to rescue BL from almost-certain oblivion, and with the Triumph, Morris, Riley and Wolseley marques now effectively dead,, and latterly the Rover Group MG Rover was the last domestically owned mass-production car manufacturer in the British motor industry. The company was formed when BMW sold the car-making and engine manufacturing assets of the original Rover Group to the Phoenix Consortium in 2000 and MG Rover MG Rover was the last domestically owned mass-production car manufacturer in the British motor industry. The company was formed when BMW sold the car-making and engine manufacturing assets of the original Rover Group to the Phoenix Consortium in 2000.
There have been three distinct generations of the car, the first of which was a badge engineered Badge engineering is a term that describes the rebadging of one product (especially cars) as another. Due to the high cost of designing and engineering a totally new model, or establishing a new brand (which may take many years to gain acceptance), it is often more cost-effective to rebadge a single product multiple times Honda model, and known as the 200 series. However, both the Mark II 200 and its sister model, the Honda Concerto were built on the same production line in Rover's Longbridge factory. The final generation was developed independently by Rover on the platform of its predecessor, and was initially sold under the Rover 200 name. After the sale of Rover in 2000, and following a facelift, the model was renamed and sold as both the Rover 25 and MG ZR. Production ceased in 2005 when MG Rover went into administration Administration, as a legal concept, is a procedure under the insolvency laws of a number of common law jurisdictions. It functions as a rescue mechanism for insolvent companies and allows them to carry on running their business. The process – an alternative to liquidation – is often known as going into administration. Production rights and tooling for the model, although not the Rover name, now belong to Chinese car manufacturer, Nanjing Automotive The history of the Corporation can date back to 1947. It was first established as a repair service column in the East China Field Army in the province of Shandong. This was the period of civil war between the Kuomintang government (the Nationalist or KMT) and the Communists. In July 1949 it took over an automobile workshop of the KMT government in.
The Rover 200 was originally a four-door saloon, based on the Honda Ballade, but in its second (R8) generation form it was available in three- or five-door hatchback forms, as well a coupé and cabriolet (in relatively small numbers). The final (R3) generation was available as a three- or five-door hatchback.
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Mark I (1984-1990)
The original Rover 200 (sometimes referred to by the codename SD3) was the replacement for the earlier Triumph Acclaim, and was the second product of the alliance between British Leyland British Leyland was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . It was partly nationalised in 1975 with the government creating a new holding company called British Leyland Ltd which became BL Ltd (later BL plc) in 1978. It incorporated much of the British owned motor vehicle (BL) and Honda Honda Motor Company, Ltd. listen (help·info) (TYO: 7267) is a Japanese multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles[1]. Only available as a four-door saloon, it was intended to be more upmarket than the company's Maestro model which came close to the 200 in size. Although neither of these cars were produced in the volumes that made it a serious threat to the sales success of the Ford Escort and Vauxhall Astra, their combined sales figures were a very real threat for the market leaders — and often enough to overtake the Astra. Throughout its later life, the first generation 200 Series was the 9th best selling car in Britain with between 55-65,000 sales per year.[citation needed]
Essentially, the 200 was a Honda Ballade which sported the Honda Civic The Honda Civic is a line of compact cars developed and manufactured by Honda. In North America, the Civic is the second-longest continuously-running nameplate from a Japanese manufacturer; only the Toyota Corolla, introduced in 1968, has been in production longer. The Civic, along with the Accord and Prelude, comprised Honda's vehicles sold in-derived 1.3 L 12-valve engine, or BL's own S-Series in 1.6 L format (both in 85 bhp (63 kW; 86 PS) carburettor and 101 bhp (75 kW; 102 PS) Lucas EFi form), the resulting cars being badged as either "Rover 213" or "Rover 216". The Honda badged version was the first Honda car to be built in the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land (the Honda version of the Acclaim was never sold in the UK); Ballade bodyshells were made in the Cowley plant alongside the Rover equivalent, although they all used Honda engines, apart from the 216 which was a Montego S-series 1600 cc.
This (original) version of the 200 series was only offered in saloon A sedan car or saloon car (British English) is a passenger car with two rows of seats and adequate passenger space in the rear compartment for adult passengers. The vehicle usually has a separate rear trunk (boot in British English) for luggage, although some manufacturers such as Chevrolet, Tatra, and Volkswagen have made rear-engined models. It form. This version of the 213 / 216 competed against the likes of the Ford Orion, Vauxhall Belmont, Volkswagen Jetta The Volkswagen Jetta is a mid range family automobile, produced by German automaker Volkswagen Group for the Volkswagen Passenger Cars marque since 1979. Positioned to fill a saloon/sedan niche above the firm's compact / small family car Golf hatchback offering, it has been marketed over five generations variously as the Atlantic, Bora, City Jetta, and Renault 9, as small family saloons were still popular in the 1980s in spite of the growing monopoly of hatchbacks in this sector.
This model of car is well known as Richard and Hyacinth Bucket Hyacinth Bucket, who insists her last name is pronounced "Bouquet" /buːˈkeɪ/, is the main character in the BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances , played by Patricia Routledge's car in the BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which began in 1932. The British Broadcasting Corporation has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927 sitcom Keeping up Appearances Keeping Up Appearances is a British sitcom starring Patricia Routledge as eccentric, social-climbing snob Hyacinth Bucket . Created and written by Roy Clarke, it aired on BBC1 from 1990 to 1995 — spanning five series and 44 episodes — four of which are Christmas specials (1990-1995). Some episodes show a 213S, but later episodes show either a 213SE or 216SE.
Trim levels were:
| 200 Series Engine Setup | Power | Base | S | SE | SX | Vanden Plas | Vitesse |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.3 (213) | 70 | ||||||
| 1.6 (216) | 85/101 |
Mark II (1989-1995)
This model, codenamed R8, was the first car to be introduced by the newly privatised Rover Group (1988), and was a quantum leap in terms of technology and image placing it as class leader. Once again, the model was designed in collaboration with Honda Honda Motor Company, Ltd. listen (help·info) (TYO: 7267) is a Japanese multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles (who produced the new designed-for-Europe Concerto model) and both models would share production lines at Rover's Longbridge facility. Initially only available as a five-door hatchback A Hatchback is a broad term for a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate — and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box design, the body style typically, this was the first application of Rover's ground breaking K-Series family of engines (appearing in 1.4 L (1396 cc) twin-cam 16-valve In automotive engineering, an engine is referred to as multi-valve when each cylinder has more than two valves. Such designs have been around since at least 1912 (Peugeot) and perhaps earlier form).
The 1.6 L (1590 cc) version used either a Honda Honda Motor Company, Ltd. listen (help·info) (TYO: 7267) is a Japanese multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles D16A6 SOHC or D16A8 DOHC powerplant, while the 2.0 L M-Series unit from the 800-series followed soon afterwards (1991) in the sporty versions. Later versions used the sturdier Rover T-Series engine, with limited-run turbocharged Rover 220s in GTi and GSi-Turbo trims, boast a very rapid power output of 200 bhp (149 kW; 203 PS) as standard. The Rover-engined models drove the front wheels via joint developed Peugeot Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe/Rover R65 gearboxes (1.4-litre) and licence built Honda Honda Motor Company, Ltd. listen (help·info) (TYO: 7267) is a Japanese multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles-designed PG1s for the 1.6- and 2-litre versions.
Also available were two PSA diesel engines A diesel engine is an internal combustion engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel, which is injected into the combustion chamber during the final stage of compression. This is in contrast to spark ignition engines such as a petrol engine (known as a gasoline engine in North America) or gas engine (using a, with the choice of naturally-aspirated A naturally-aspirated engine is a reciprocating internal combustion engine that depends solely on atmospheric pressure to draw in combustion air. This is in contrast to a forced induction engine, in which a mechanical or exhaust-driven blower is employed to increase the mass of intake air beyond what could be produced by atmospheric pressure alone 1.9-litre XUD9 or turbo-charged A turbocharger, or turbo, is a gas compressor that is used for forced-induction of an internal combustion engine. A form of supercharger, the turbocharger increases the density of air entering the engine to create more power. A turbocharger has the compressor powered by a turbine, driven by the engine's own exhaust gases, rather than direct 1.7 XUD7T engines. These were installed instead of the Perkins Prima used in the Austin Maestro and Montego because that engine with its noisy combustion was deemed too unrefined for the new 200.
On its launch, the R8 was in a sector in which many of the competing designs which were at least five years old. For instance, Ford's The Ford Motor Company is an American multinational corporation based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford, Lincoln, and Mercury brands, Ford also owns Volvo Cars in Sweden, and a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK. Ford' Escort had been around since 1980 (with a facelift in early 1986) and the Vauxhall Astra was unchanged from its 1984 launch. The only major European competitors that had been around for less than five years were the Peugeot 309, Renault 19 The R19 was the replacement for the 9 and 11, both of which were ageing and outdated by the late 1980s. The R19 was styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro, featuring Renault's new E-type 1.4 L engine and F-type 1.7 and 1.8 L versions. Base models used the OHV C-type Cléon 1.2 and 1.4 L engines, depending on the market and Fiat Tipo The Fiat Tipo is a small family car designed by the IDEA design house and produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1988 and 1995.
The Rover 200 was produced alongside the more downmarket Maestro, giving buyers a choice of two quite different products in the Rover range.
In early 1990, the 400-series saloon appeared, and by 1992 a cabriolet (convertible A convertible is a type of automobile in which the roof can retract and fold away, converting it from an enclosed to an open-air vehicle. Many different automobile body styles are manufactured and marketed in convertible form) and three-door hatchback body styles were available. The range was rounded off in 1993 by a coupé and estate ("Tourer"). The coupé, cabriolet and estate continued after the rest of the range had been superseded, but without the 200 and 400 tags — known instead as the Rover Coupé, Cabriolet and Tourer respectively, and without Honda power; the K-series 1600 replacing the Honda engine until production ceased in 1999. This 200 model is the most successful Rover ever made, generating a considerably greater number of sales than the original 200, and the Maestro that it was partially replacing.[citation needed] In December 1991, the Rover 200 was Britain's most popular new car of the month, and it featured in the top 10 during every year that it was on sale.[citation needed]. On average, anything up to 110,000 Rover 200 and 400 (R8) models were sold in the UK each year.
Mark III (1995-1999)
The third generation, codenamed R3, was smaller than the previous two cars. This was due to Rover's desperate need to replace the ageing Metro, which by now was 15 years old. Although some elements of the old 200-series were carried over (most notably the front structure, heater, steering and front suspension), it was by-and-large an all-new car which had been developed by Rover. Honda did provide early body design support as a result of moving production of the Honda Concerto from Longbridge to Swindon Swindon ( pronunciation ) is a large town and unitary borough authority in the ceremonial county of Wiltshire in south west England. It is midway between Bristol, 40 miles (64 km) west, and Reading, 40 miles (64 km) east. London is 81 miles (130 km) east, freeing up capacity for 60,000 units at Rover. At this point, the car had a cut-down version of the previous car's rear floor and suspension and was codenamed SK3.
Lack of boot space and other factors led to Rover re-engineering the rear end to take a modified form of the Maestro rear suspension and the product was renamed R3. By the time the car was launched, Honda and Rover had already been "divorced" after the BMW Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), (literally English: Bavarian Motor Works) is a German automobile, motorcycle and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. It also owns and produces the MINI brand, and is the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad and Husqvarna brands. BMW is known for its takeover the previous year. The new 200 used K-Series petrol engines, most notably the 1.8 L VVC version from the MGF, and L-series diesel engine.
Launched with 1.4i 16v (105 bhp (78 kW; 106 PS)) and 1.6i 16v (111 bhp (83 kW; 113 PS)) petrol engines and 2.0 turbodiesel (86 bhp (64 kW; 87 PS) and intercooled 105 bhp (78 kW; 106 PS) versions) engines, the range grew later to include a 1.1i (60 bhp (45 kW; 61 PS)) and 1.4i 8v (75 bhp (56 kW; 76 PS)) engines and also 1.8 16v units in standard (120 bhp (89 kW; 122 PS)) and variable valve formats (145 bhp (108 kW; 147 PS)). 'R65' Peugeot/Rover Manual gearboxes carried over from the R8 Rover 200 were available across the range and a CVT option was available on the 1.6i 16v unit.
The R3 featured a completely re-designed interior and dashboard to accommodate the fitment of a passenger airbag in line with new safety standards. Owners' main complaints about the interior ranged from relatively poor quality materials, to general fit and finish of trim although this is subject to personal opinion.
The 1.8-litre models earned a certain amount of praise for their performance, whilst the intercooled turbo diesel was claimed as one of the fastest-accelerating diesel hatchbacks on the market in the late 1990s.
Unlike its predecessor the R3 was not available in Coupe, Cabriolet or Tourer bodystyles. although Rover updated these versions of the older model with mild styling revisions and the fitting of the new dashboard from the R3, which was possible due to the shared front bulkhead. These models were no longer branded as '200' models, simply being referred to as the Rover Coupe, Cabriolet and Tourer.
In 1998 a limited edition model called the 200 BRM was offered, priced at just under £18,000, to celebrate Rover's history with British Racing Motors. Using the 200Vi as a basis, this model is noticeable by its orange lower front grille (sometimes sprayed silver by dealers)[citation needed] and quilted red leather interior with machined aluminium trim and switchgear. The car was limited to 795 UK examples and benefited from revised suspension, a limited-slip differential A limited slip differential is a modified or derived type of differential gear arrangement that allows for some difference in angular velocity of the output shafts, but imposes a mechanical bound on the disparity. In an automobile, such limited slip differentials are sometimes used in place of a standard differential, where they convey certain, larger wheels and close ratio gearbox.
The third generation 200 sold very well initially in the UK, with the model placed in the top 10 best selling list between 1996 and 1998, but it didn't sell as much as its predecessor. This could have been due to pricing above expected levels for the car. Essentially, due to the presence of the 100 range below it, the 200 became priced as a Vauxhall Astra/Ford Escort rival rather than a Ford Fiesta rival.
