Cityrover

[Piggy Bank]

I'm breeding on a plan to add a Cityrover to my collection.
As far as I know there have not been any LHD versions produced so I have to bring a RHD British car to the continent and find some suitable LHD headlights.
Who has some advises for me to bring the car to The Netherlands on its own wheels and power?
What procedure do I need to follow to obtain an UK export registration which makes it possible to drive the car home.
Insurance, tax, typeaproval and Dutch registraton is not the problem but the transport is. On the other hand I have a family address in the UK.

[thomas]

I'm breeding on a plan to add a Cityrover to my collection.
As far as I know there have not been any LHD versions produced so I have to bring a RHD British car to the continent and find some suitable LHD headlights.
Who has some advises for me to bring the car to The Netherlands on its own wheels and power?
What procedure do I need to follow to obtain an UK export registration which makes it possible to drive the car home.
Insurance, tax, typeaproval and Dutch registraton is not the problem but the transport is. On the other hand I have a family address in the UK.

Please please drive one before you agree to buy.
I had a city rover as a courtesy car while my car was in the garage and it was the worst thing I've ever driven.
It's so flimsy inside and you can clearly tell it's not a rover product.
I will give it its dues it did seem quite peppy on acceleration but wallowed round corners.
Was glad when I got my own car back.

[Guest]

I think its a very good idea, one less off our roads take 2 so you have got spares

[CPL593H]

Happy to drive one over for you, I'm in The Hague once every couple of months, if you can find one in a convenient location to me.

With the regards to the cars themselves, I've owned one, which is now with a family member and Rich Gelder also has one.

I had a Style, which had leather and A/C so was a pleasant enough place to be for its market segment (shopping trolley). engine and gearbox let the car down, but then again. it was no worse than any other whiney citycar.

Rimmer Brothers are about the only place for parts

[Austin-Rover]

As a Cityrover owner, I have a couple of points for you to consider.

Do not buy anything other than the top of the range 'Style' model. Prices are broadly similar for each model so it doesn't make sense to buy anything but the best. Some of the low range models such as Solo and Sprite are pretty grim places to sit. Avoid the leather interior as it is of poor quality and discolours readily.

Mechanically they are reliable and until recently featured in the top 100 most reliable cars in the UK. Performance is good compared to other cars in the class with smaller engines. However, fuel consumption especially around town is poor in comparison. They drive okay but the gear change is vague and some of them drive like they are on choke until warmed up.

Watch for rear wheel arch corrosion and rotten rear suspention mountings. Also, electric window mechanisms fail easily, as does the rear wiper through lack of use.

Interior trim quality is poor, particularly the plastics which are hard and scratchy. However they are pretty free from squeaks and rattles and you need little more than a screwdriver to take the interior apart.

Earlier cars with the gray interior plastics are 'proper' MGRover examples (up to 05 registration approx.) Later examples with the black interior plastics are the improved version that arrived in the UK after MGRover had gone bust.

I think they would have come in for much less criticism if they hadn't worn the Rover badge and had such crazy prices. For a reliable budget car you can't really fault them.

They were simply another bad management descison towards the end. Interestiny the last car they ever launched so rightly or wrongly they have a place in history.

[Austin-Rover]

Also, there are no export registrations in the UK, just a portion of the registration document for this purpose.

The Tata Indica was widely sold in mainland Europe so it should be easy to find some LHD headlamps for one.

[Captain Slow]

Crap in the city, but show them an open road and there's not much that's as fun. It's the Mini principle of not enough power, not the best gearbox, and the desire to maintain momentum. I borrowed Rich Gelder's over a weekend. I hated it for the first ten minutes, then I fell in love with it and the smile stayed on my face overnight, then I had to use it in traffic and hated it again, then I had an open road and loved it.

Do try before you buy!

[Piggy Bank]

Happy to drive one over for you

That's a nice offer I'll keep in mind; Thanks!

[Piggy Bank]

As a Cityrover owner, I have a couple of points for you to consider.

Thanks Rich for your usefull and comprehensive information.

My drive is not to have a comfortable and ideal compact car but just to add this piece of Rover history to my carhobby. When you see what positive developments have happened to Jaguar and Land Rover under the Tata financial flag, I think MG Rover should better have bet on the Tata horse than on the Chinese dragon.

[CPL593H]

My drive is not to have a comfortable and ideal compact car but just to add this piece of Rover history to my carhobby.

here here... we all know the city rover isnt great, its our love of the marque that makes us consider these things.