As an excellent second hand car, the Rover 25 is one of the best in its class and there are plenty of them around on the used car market. They are also very cheap; many people were put off buying them after Rover went belly up in 2005, but there is no problem getting the car serviced or with spare parts. In terms of positioning, the Rover 25 is a little smaller than a Ford Focus and a little larger than your average city car.
Engine options start with a 1.1 litre petrol unit which delivers an extremely modest 84 bhp and whilst fine for pottering around the city it is not recommended for motorway driving. The 1.4 litre petrol engine delivers 103 bhp which is just about adequate, but if you want to enjoy any sort of performance then you will need with the 1.6 litre or 1.8 litre petrol engines – and if you really want a hot drive then go for the 1.8 GTi, which uses the same variable valve VVC engine as the MGF. The 2 litre diesel engine is adequate and economical though a little lumpy and dated.
Driving the Rover 25 is a lot of fun, particularly the sportier versions. It has a good level of grip, is responsive, the suspension is quite stiff which means that it is stable under reasonably ambitious cornering, and the brakes work well. If you just want to get slowly and safely from A to B that is fine too; the car is reasonably comfortable though a little bumpy on rough road surfaces.
Inside the car isn’t exactly spacious. It is quite cramped in the rear and even taller drivers might find it a little uncomfortable, but it is not too bad; plenty of other small cars are worse. There is a reasonably sized boot.
Expect around 50 mpg from the diesel and 40 mpg from most petrol versions, a little less from the GTi.
If you want to find a rover 25 for sale you can check out the Motors website.
