Rover 25 1.4 16v 103ps Streetwise S

Arguably the best version of Rover 25;- good compromise between normal 25s & 'in your face' overtly sporty MGs.

Never mind the list price, dealers sold these for £7,900 brand-new (NOT pre-registered!);- a grown up car for less than one of the higher spec Ford KAs!

Powerful 103ps engine means no cheap tax & dearer insurance than similarly priced smaller superminis;- HOWEVER compared with overrated, slightly larger foreign rivals like Golf & Focus, the MG ZRs & Rover 25s are an absolute bargain;- about HALF the price of a comparable specification Golf or Focus. £7900 would buy a mid to high spec 5-year-old 50,000 mile Golf or Focus!

MG ZR & Rover 25 are tragically underrated;- they should've been consistent top-five best-sellers & as big worldwide as Golf & Focus are.

It's particularly galling that current Focus looks like a second-rate Korean copy of a Rover 25;-yet it's MG-Rover, not Ford that have gone bust & are having their production lines switched to China.

One minor complaint is MG Rover's quality control at Longbridge wasn't up to Nissan's Sunderland standards:- My 25 Streetwise had a gearknob that can come off in your hand, loose rubber trim on the nearside rear door when I picked the car up & a load space cover attachment broke at less than 3,000 miles.