PRICING and specification levels for the Rover 45 will remain under wraps until just before the on-sale date of January 13. But details that the company has released support its strategy of creating a new family of cars, of which the 75 was the first-born.

The four separate headlamps, with the deeper grille and higher bonnet line, sculpted bumper and new door mirrors and housings are there from the 75, together with the chrome inserts on the new front and rear bumpers and the door handles. Inside the four and five-door saloon 45, the 75 influence is strong, with new seating designs and trim materials. The front seats are based on the seat frames from the 75 with standard fit adjustment for height and lumbar support on most models. The new seat frames, as on the 75, are engineered for side airbags, which will be standard across the majority of the range.

Under the bonnet are several new engineering developments. This includes the 2.0-litre 147bhp version of the all-alloy KV6 engine, first seen in the 75. In the 45 it is available with a five-speed auto transmission with the new Steptronic sequential shift manual control mode in addition to the fully automatic 'normal', 'sport' and 'winter' modes. Also new is the 1.8-litre four -cylinder K-series engine, available either with a five-speed manual transmission or with Steptronic. The petrol engine range is complemented by the 1.4 and 1.6-litre 16v K-series units, while the single diesel option is an uprated version of Rover's L-series 2.0-litre turbodiesel.