Review
Awarded by Used Car Buyer magazine in its Used Car of the Year Awards 2002, the magazine's judges placed the Rover ahead of rivals such as the Volkswagen Passat and Audi A4, citing the 75's outstanding refinement, occupant comfort and ride quality. Further praise was heaped on the car with the magazine saying: 'At a stroke, Rover has established itself at the premium end of the medium market. The 75 is refined, comfortable and has an image you can be proud of. It also makes an excellent used buy.'
With a strong predicted residual value of £6,375/34% over three years/60,000 miles, according to CAP Monitor, Fleet News' 75 2.0 CDT Club is an excellent choice for cost-conscious fleets. Fuel consumption has been consistently strong on our test car with an average of at least 41mpg, although we have yet to get close to the official combined figure of 46.3mpg.
Our Rover 75 2.0 CDT Club has proved a success with editorial staff. It was put to the test on a recent family trip which included four adults, a baby and associated baby equipment, including a large pram, packed inside. Thanks to the huge boot and excellent rear legroom, the Rover coped admirably, with several comments about how comfortable it was.
After 4,000 miles with the car the only criticism I have - aside from the sluggish pick-up of the 2.0-litre direct injection diesel engine - is that the smallish rear window gets dirty in wet weather. Interestingly, the Rover 75 Tourer has both a rear wiper and a larger glass area - I wonder how it fares in the same conditions?
The classic looks of the 75 have really grown on me but the deep metallic maroon of our car doesn't show it off to great advantage. My personal favourite is the pale metallic blue - to my eyes, a light colour suits the 75 best of all.
I have also been attracted to the new MG models which have appeared in our car park recently. The stunning MG ZT is a superb transformation of the 75 theme, and certainly looks the part with its fat alloys, mesh grille and - on the one I saw - stunning bright red paintwork.
Those critics of the 75's image need only look to the new MG line-up to be assured MG Rover is doing some great things.
