Rover Cityrover Hatchback 2003-2005

The CitiRover is one of the ill famed rebadged models of the now-defunct Rover. The CityRover, unlike the older examples, isn’t a Honda in disguise; it’s a Tata Indica in disguise – a super cheap car developed in India to meet the increasing demand for cheap and basic vehicles in Asia.

Pros and Cons:

• Spacious and practical interior
  One of the cheapers post-2000 cars on the market

• Unrefined and basic
  Inferior build quality
  Choppy ride and an enormous turning radius
  Unsafe and unreliable

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Exterior and Interior

It’s essentially a Tata Indica with a slightly redesigned front end, a Rover badge at the front and a Union Jack on the rear. The badges are cute, but concerning the rest of the design, the CityRover lacks any imagination and flair. It’s a very simple car that looks like it’s been designed in the 1980s. Size-wise it is similar to the Citroen C3, but is nowhere near as refined as the French mini.

The interior is spacious and practical. It has one of the biggest boots in its class but the advantages end here. The quality of materials and craftsmanship is well below par and cannot compete with more refined European cars. Although at the time of debut, the CityRover was a very cheap car, you still expect more from a car in the 21st century. It’s quite difficult to maintain the interior in a good nick. The majority of trims are executed in light-grey fabric, which marks and soils easily. The car looks old and worn after just half a year of use.

The interior of the car has got a lot of space and the practicality is amongst the highest in its class. Still, the car is quite cheap and the quality of materials used is poor. Even the drive offered is not cheerful. The refinement is awful, with the ride quality being terrible.

The car is available in four trim versions. With the Soho entry-level trim you receive a steering wheel and seats and are about as uncomfortable as seats get. One level up is a Sprite trim which includes a car audio system. The Select trim comes with electric windows and a faulty air con, ok not really, but it wont be long until it goes wrong. The top model Style is equipped with basic, but necessary safety features. However, as a new car it was clearly overpriced.

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Engines

The car is available with only one engine which is the 1.4-litre 83bhp Rover K family petrol engine.

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Performance and Economy

The only engine in the range is the old K family Rover engine. Although it has a solid design known to us for decades, it is rather old-fashioned and doesn’t offer too much power to play with. Its torque rating is really good, so the car remains quick and nippy at various speeds. It cannot, unfortunately, offer comparable fuel economy to more modern and smaller petrol engines. It’s does just 37mpg, so there are more efficient alternatives out there. Also, there are no diesel engines in the range, so you cannot call the CityRover an economical car.

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What it's like to Drive

The engine would provide a good drive if the car was a better overall package. The awkward layout of the controls and the rudimentary suspension ensures you simply cannot enjoy driving this car. The controls are not logically placed. Even the gear stick is placed in a difficult to reach position and the hand brake handle can only be deployed with the right hand because your left elbow physically doesn’t allow you to reach.

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Faults and Repairs

The CityRover is a very basic car and its mechanical parts are quite reliable. Despite being so basic, it still features some electrical systems and that’s where it fails worst of all. The electrical components will go break, one by one, or even several at a time. Considering they’re not making the cars any more, it would be a good idea to avoid the CityRover because sooner or later the spare parts will become hard to source.

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