Rover 75
2004 2.5 V6 Contemporary SE 4dr Auto
Rover 75
2003 (03) 1.8 T Club SE 4dr Auto
Directly From the Main Dealers
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The Rover 75 is one of the few vehicles that's maintained an active road life after outliving their original carmaker. The Rover 75 Tourer estate is still a very good drive, thanks to its comfortable build and fine pedigree heritage. Its BMW roots make it intrinsically a German executive small car with a British badge and styling.
Even though it's closely linked to BMW, don't expect the Rover 75 to provide the same thrilling German-made driving experience as one. Whilst ensuring the Rover 75 didn't directly rival the BMW 3-Series, the German automaker helped equip the 75 with a nearly similar comfortable design. It grips well around corners and provides top-notch bump absorption, with relaxed and effortless motoring befitting of a limousine. Rover even introduced a limited-production 75 limousine variant.
The earlier releases of the Rover 75 came with a 1.8-litre Rover K-series engine. However, you'll rarely find one in the used car market nowadays, as the carmaker had to later recall and replace most Rover K-series engines due to consistent gasket failures. Rover replaced the K-series with a turbocharged 1.8-litre petrol engine. Later in 2002, Rover also introduced a new 2.5-litre V6 to its range. In 2003, the Ford-borrowed massive 4.6-litre V8 engine joined the Rover's range, giving the 75 a powerful Bentley-like driving performance.
Many recalled 1.8-litre K-series engines got replaced with BMW's 2.0 CDT engine. The German engine matched the 75's character perfectly well, as it was extremely quiet, frugal and punchy, but still very smooth. If you can find one, this is a great buy. In later year production models, the 75 packed 1.8-litre and 2.5-litre engines. However, both offered the same performance. As the former is more economical, it's a better buy, providing an excellent balance of refinement, performance and economy.
The final 75 release came with cream-coloured leather seats, padded leather and wood veneer. It was popular among drivers who prized elegance. The debut Rover 75 Classic trim had a cabin trimmed with walnut wood, but later, a lighter coloured oak trim became the standard. As a vehicle designed for long journeys, it has just what you'd expect for comfortable driving, including padded seats and plenty of passenger legroom.
Yes. The Rover 75 managed to survive decades without its maker because of the extensive network of supporting dealerships and aftermarket component manufacturers. However, when you purchase a used Rover 75, ensure you look into an aftermarket warranty to help cover unexpected mechanical issues.
Since 2005, standard safety features in the Rover 75 include driver, passenger and side airbags. Side curtain airbags were optional. Also, the Rover had standard fitted disc brakes, ABS with electronic brakeforce distribution, a speed-limit warning system and traction control. The Euro NCAP crash-tested the Rover 75 in 2001 before some of these features released, which is likely why it only received a 4-star safety rating instead of the full 5 stars.
