Now Roverless

[AndyN01]

My last Rover has now gone to a new home with a member on here .

All my Rover bits and pieces have gone as well.

Feeling rather sad but I'll be keeping my eyes open in case another one turns up

I'll still be popping along to the Nano to clean the headlights and dropping into the forum regularly as it's brilliant.

To all those who have helped me, supplied bits and generally been good folks -

THANK YOU.

All the very best.

Andy.

[charlie 22]

Whats your new car going to be?

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

[AndyN01]

Those that were at the last nano saw her.

She's a 2008 silver Passat Estate 1.9 TDi that has just clocked up 131313 miles. Yes I did take a photo

Here's a few opinions on the differences:

The Rover is more "opulent" with the walnut dash etc.

Seats are more comfortable in the Passat which I wasn't expecting but the interior is rather bland while the ride the is very similar as the Passat is on 16" wheels

The BMW engine is more flexible than the 1.9 unit and a shade more economical. The 1.9 has a cam belt so that'll need replacing and, apparently, there's a stud that needs doing at the same time as they have a habit of shearing off .

The 2 litre engine is on a par with the BMW but the ones of the same age are the "emission scandal" ones and have a couple of real humdinger design flaws.

Gearboxes are pretty similar but the clutch is significantly lighter (but not as light as the Japanese ones I've used).

The load space "feels" bigger in the Passat but not by much

Cruise is way, way better in the Passat and the brakes are awesome - proper face in the windscreen stuff.

She has the Electronic Parking Brake which has taken a good while to get used to but with the "Autohold" feature is surprisingly easy once you've got to grips with it.

Lots more electronics - fortunately there's a good forum with members who have "VDCS" - read T4 - who will happily plug her in and read the fault codes.

Overall it feels like a slightly more up to date Rover, with German efficiency rather English charm.

Oh, and you can get decent quality spares but yes, they can be pricey .

Heart still says Rover...... There's just something about them.

Head says Passat as a daily driver.

Andy.

[Raven Black]

I had 2 Rover 75's in a row, then went to a RR, but now back to a 75. There simply isn't anything better or nicer for the money.

[grivas]

Originally Posted by AndyN01

Those that were at the last nano saw her.

She's a 2008 silver Passat Estate 1.9 TDi that has just clocked up 131313 miles. Yes I did take a photo

Here's a few opinions on the differences:

The Rover is more "opulent" with the walnut dash etc.

Seats are more comfortable in the Passat which I wasn't expecting but the interior is rather bland while the ride the is very similar as the Passat is on 16" wheels

The BMW engine is more flexible than the 1.9 unit and a shade more economical. The 1.9 has a cam belt so that'll need replacing and, apparently, there's a stud that needs doing at the same time as they have a habit of shearing off .

The 2 litre engine is on a par with the BMW but the ones of the same age are the "emission scandal" ones and have a couple of real humdinger design flaws.

Gearboxes are pretty similar but the clutch is significantly lighter (but not as light as the Japanese ones I've used).

The load space "feels" bigger in the Passat but not by much

Cruise is way, way better in the Passat and the brakes are awesome - proper face in the windscreen stuff.

She has the Electronic Parking Brake which has taken a good while to get used to but with the "Autohold" feature is surprisingly easy once you've got to grips with it.

Lots more electronics - fortunately there's a good forum with members who have "VDCS" - read T4 - who will happily plug her in and read the fault codes.

Overall it feels like a slightly more up to date Rover, with German efficiency rather English charm.

Oh, and you can get decent quality spares but yes, they can be pricey .

Heart still says Rover...... There's just something about them.

Head says Passat as a daily driver.

Andy.

I agree on the general comparison between charm and efficiency, I prefer the former, it is with great sadness that we do not have a major car manufacturer in the UK, that is to say a truly British one with the charm that only comes with British car coach building, nobody does it better, when it comes to efficiency the Germans are best, but for build quality (NOT over-engineering) the Japanese are in a universe all of their own.