 |
Rover Metro
by Hurdenish
I bought my metro when I was 19, what I wanted was a crazy fast go cart that I could fill with stuff and not have to fix. 2 out of three isn't bad. My model was a metro advantage, a revvy 1.3 mini engine in a limited edition metro turbo body kit.
Essentially a large mini, the car handled great. The hydroelastic suspension was ... predictable if basic and when maintained correctly could out steer many more expensive cars of its time. An important thing as the engine was far less powerful than it sounded.
The interior was surprisingly good for such an old car, although the wheel is huge it can be changed easily and as the advantage came with bucket seats (like the later GTA) it was overall a nice place to be.
The Simple four speed box was sturdy even in old age. In fact the car required very little care over the 3 years I owned it.
The weakness was found in the general fit of sound and waterproofing, once damp, the car would remain so until very properly dried and a cloth for clearing condensation was an absolute must as the heaters were not quite up to the task.
I bought my car for £200, for hi price it was a bargain, if you find an advantage and want a cheap, low maintenence run around, try it out.
Read the complete review |
 |
General Car Care & Repair
by Katie T
I would like to say how pleased I am with the service I have received from F1 Autocentre in Chesterfield since September 2009. I bought an old BMW 518i (1987) which has needed a fair amount of work doing to it. I moved up to Chesterfield in September and found F1 Autocentre. Their customer service is excellent - everyone is unfailingly ... polite, helpful and really good at keeping me informed as to what is happening with my car.
I asked the staff at F1 for a full list of all the work that needed doing on my BMW and they provided it and identified the work that needed doing immediately, or fairly soon, and the work that could wait. They were prepared to spend time and effort to make sure I understood all the problems and the options for fixing them. If something went wrong with the BMW they could often fit it in at short notice at the weekend and in January, when my exhaust broke, a lot of garages might have charged me a fortune for a new exhaust. F1 had a look at it and assured me it could be repaired rather than replaced. This cost very little compared to the huge bill I had expected and I really appreciated their honesty.
Sadly my BMW has now become quite uneconomical to run so I've bought a newish VW Polo which I will be taking back to F1 for all the servicing and MOTs. If all garages offered a service like F1 in Chesterfield, it would make car maintenance a real hassle free experience.
Read the complete review |
|
|
Rover Metro
by thereviewman
Overall the K-series 1100 Metro/R100 is a good car for the money, but you get what you pay for. They are very lacking in refinement and safety, and have several defects in their design. If possible, try to avoid the 1.4 versions of the car with the 16v head, as these suffer from the dreaded K-series headgasket problems.
The ... 1.1 is actually a good unit that is very rev happy and, in my experience, very reliable. The gearbox is Peugeot and extremely smooth and easy. When pumped up the ride quality is very good, thanks to the hydrolastic suspension, but this is prone to leaking which causes the front end to drop causing the suspension to bottom out hitting bumps and generally making the ride uncomfortable. Beware; if you are looking at a car that has just had it's suspension pumped up the chances are it'll be down again within a month. Top ups cost around £40.
The handling isn't too bad; the car tends to under steer if pushed too hard into a corner although this is easily corrected. If the suspension has leaked the opposite starts to happen, especially in the wet, caused by a lower CofG at the front than the back which means that if pushed the back starts to swing out, again, easily correctable.
The interior is minimalist but functional and the seats are comfortable. They also tend to wear well; mine having covered 100 000 miles with no real signs of wear. Parts are cheap and readily available and there is good club support. While usable on the motorway wind noise does increase dramatically over 65 so it isn't ideal for long distance touring.
For a cheap run around or learner car I would recommend one thanks to the good fuel consumption (up to 50 mpg if you are careful) and very low insurance. Try to get the best you can, ideally with a low millage.
Read the complete review |
