1990 Rover 414 SLi 'R8" goes for a Drive

today I'm driving Rovers answer to the booted escort to the Orion yes I'm in a rover 400 r8 so the rover 400 or 4 and for SLI in this case born of the type between Honda and Rover back in the early 80s first appeared to us as the SD 3 200 series back in 1984 product of the Austin Rover group and then revamped as the iights as we now see it here and the first product of the rover group as it then became as a privatized venture that was in 1989 after 200 and then a year later in 1990 we saw the 400 when it gained a boot this chunk if you're watching in America now although both the 200 and 400 share exactly the same wheelbase of two thousand five hundred and fifty millimeters the 200 is a little bit shorter overall it's only four thousand two hundred and twenty millimeters which is four point two meters whereas the 400 series with the boot on it isn't extra 30 or so centimeters long at four thousand three hundred and seventy millimeters it's about four point four meters so just a little bit more junk in the trunk going on over there in front of this point though everything is exactly the same car people had kind of imagined somehow the 400 was a bit grander bit more Pasha grown-up but at the Iran in the escort really but it's all a big marketing trick because even the rear doors and this quarter glass are the same as in the five-door hatchback if it's real pressing here that changes everything and turns into rather a nice-looking refined saloon car so moving around the car we've got the same bonnet same grill area same bumpers same lights indicators badges wipers glass same wheels same trims and alloys this is only a hubcap its allies sort of middle range quite well equipped but not that well but same plastic cladding you got on the upper mid-range cars then Rover badges red inserts and SLI though quite nice so mirrors and door handles oh she has three and five-door 200s did have different length doors because otherwise that would be crazy now if this clever design of parts sharing commonality comes from the penny-pinching perennial east skint engineers are always up against it in rover or these shrewd accountants in Japan from Honda but ran the back even though it's been completely different boat area you've still got a lot of common parts if the same taillights you'll find in any other 200-400 apart from these states i think the same insert in the boot there's plastic bit I'm actually not sure about this bumper I think bumpers unique to this because obviously it's a large area but same same filler cap even though it's a different panel it's going into oh they're very clever thing that the rover badge over here genius genius but perhaps that should be expected though because although the rover and the Honda r8 and concerto were designed and conceived together designed in Canley engineered in Japan assembled in Longbridge as well for the European UK markets they actually shed eighty percent parts commonality I think the word is between the two cars so the fact they're putting components from the four door and the five door on the same cars really shouldn't be a surprise should it now around the back of the car in this truncal area you will be hard-pressed to find any means of opening the boot beyond putting the key in that hole there because like on all the other alright series is suraíh cars there is nothing on the boot apart from that key there you have to go and put a little tag by the driver's seat which despite having owned an r8 for better part 10 years still catches me out almost every time along with the fuel filler cap which is the same place to open that and every time I stop to capella petrol I have to walk back from the pump to the driver's seat anyway pop the tailgate clunk boot lid everyone call it depending where you watching there's quite a decent sized boot for a four-door sedan it goes back a long way but there is quite a lot of wheel encroachment because the the wheel tubs were only called the wheel arches do come fairway into the boot and interestingly because even things like the coupe a have got fold down rear seats this doesn't appear to I've been scouring the release catch is to see how you'd put the seats down but unless they have hidden them really well I can't see any means of putting the back seat down to fold it flattened to get a longer load space but there is an aperture to view the backseat so it looks like it maybe as an option that wasn't ticked on this particular car perhaps I thought it was standard I'm sure someone will tell me otherwise if I'm wrong now beyond that in terms of equipment in the boot we've got a little light under here showing your your way we've got the same bit of hardboard under the cardfight carpet as every other rover RH but this is where this gets interesting on this particular car it's only got about 26,000 miles on it from new and most of that was done by the first owner only sold it on very recently to the second owner who didn't keep it any length um at all so this is the original Dunlop spare tire on it and there's the original jack pack still in the cellophane it's never had a puncher it's never had to use the jack or anything because he only got steel wheels haven't had to open it for the locking wound up this is just astonishing I love this kind of living history here under this rather elegant bonnet it's the first use of Rovers really really very very good case there is engine it's much maligned up to the head gasket thing is a real issue but only after they cost cut it later on the life these early ones are really good at 13 96 CC 1.4 4-cylinder normally aspirated feel injected twin cam engine makes 114 horsepower a middle-sized car like this it's fairly reasonable performance given nought-60 in 11 seconds and a top speed of 106 here in the 1.4 it's got the r65 gearbox attached to it on the 1.6 Honda engine and the 2-liter T series it got the PG one so I think there's probably the better bet to be honest so we've talked about Rover rx on this channel a couple of times before and generally what I will refer back to is the fact that they are remarkably well made cars for the the sector they sit in the escort Astra but trying to be a bit plush or a bit pushy or a bit more Cut Above really they they nailed it they absolutely nailed it the fit and finish of a good one if you get one that's not a rope II example on my coupe a you will find it's a really well scroot together car everything from this ok this is only a rubber wheel on this one but a leather option was available it feels firm and solid in your hands there's no squeaks and rattles in the dashboard and the door shuts with nice thump everything just feels really solid and well-made the switches have got a nice positive click it's all good quality materials they've used so yeah above all it is a rover and it feels good for it as you open the door you notice this beautiful rover sill finisher whoever you wanna call it tread plate which gives it whole thing an air of quality the exposed screw heads might make you think it looks cheap but it's actually if you're a rover arty into your Rovers this throws you back to that the stainless metal tread plates of p5 and p6 is which head exposed screw heads in the same kind of pattern it's a nice throwback even though not everyone will get it Brit mind this is an SLI so it's mid-range so it's got a few nice bits but it's not got all the good bits you might expect from a rover so let's have a look and see how it compares with other cars in the range and you know what it hasn't hasn't got well first of all the wood it's got really really nice glossy wood 1990 was clearly a good year for for wood in Rovers this is very very fine condition still burn mine 27,000 mile car probably being garish there's not a lot of UV damaged some of the later ones and so many other models didn't get door wood they only got - wood so this is nice this chrome metal door handle is real metal not plastic metal is beautiful quality it's a really solid there bit of equipment here it doesn't break nice solid door handle and big big carpet on exterior lined door bin it's not wide but it's full length of door so you get a lot of bits and bobs in there the door speakers and acing get some pretty nice audio sound now this is really interesting you've got electric window switches up here on a handle this car has got electric windows but you can see where'd Windows word deleted because of the blanking plug here in the door that's really odd and the window switches themselves like on a BMW e30 but down here they look they look a lot like BMW e30 switches as well to be honest so I'm slightly baffled as to whether this car came from the factory with manual windows and it had been retrofitted with electrics I'd be amazed if it did this is admitted dealer for option perhaps or just in 1990 this is how they did it this is an anomaly I've not come across before so if anyone knows the answer to that comments below please so everything is blue this car is a really unusual it's got a Mantic blue it's an unusual color but it really looks good on the thing and interior is a matching deeper blue with this kind of real 80s 90s /li pattern in the fabric she looks more clear here on the door cards and it doesn't in the seats it's a bit like the coupe a is kind of triple slash logo the unofficial brochure logo gives if it was sporty vibe because the SLI is that the directions getting more of a sporty than a luxury so then you got the steering wheel as I say it's a nice solid nice-sized chunky rubber item in the decent horn horn test nice or one let's trace the wheels got two big tiles rev-counter on the Left speedo on the right big clear big numbers big clear white needles I've said it before Rover r8 dials are a masterclass in getting simple clear legible information straight to the driver in a hurry forget heads up information forget anything else pair of these dials are what you need you've got Tim gauge on the Left fuel gauge on the right a few warning lights around the outer edges of it and the fence that blanked off panel which if it was an automatic that would be your Park reverse Drive parental indicator I like the wood print I learnt it here that day and below that you've got four switches well three switches this one in a blanking plate hazards rear screen heater rear fogs and if this had front fogs that's with a switch would be for that this is again standard r8 stuff is good quality buttons which last and don't break this is when Rover were really good and moving on down we've got air vents this is really good ventilation in an r8 series this panel here in the centre that for the console here just so basic and simple direction temperature fan speed and it's love you little rover thing of recirculate fresh air on your left and then you can switch the two Center events to being fresh air from outside which goes back to sub p5 p6 even older days it's a real Rover tradition but it's lovely because if you want to have just refreshing fresh air blowing in your face keeping your alert while the rest of the car is nice and warm and then you can do that and I think only maybe few BMWs do that as well I've already seen it many other cars down here we've got a couple of interesting things we've got the electric mirror switch down here which is a nice square joystick contraption next to it a coin tray which is carpeted I actually noticed there's a 2p piece in the glovebox which explains the rattling noise I heard on the drive disk off box on there put the coin in the coin tray however that might be a mistake because underneath the coin tray there's a fuse box there you might not think there's anything to link these two items however there was a stage in my Coopie ownership yr8 coupe a but every time I turn the car on the rear light clusters would just pop instantly and I change the fuses and they go and I was baffled at the lights out at everything apart I'll figure it out eventually took the entire dashboard apart get into these fuses and realize that to be peace had fallen out at the back of the coin tray and wedged into the back of the fuse box so that was just yet shorting across all the contacts every time turn the car on so yeah not maybe the best place to quaint ray you've ever seen anyway back across the left of the wheel we've got the original Philips are 670 radio cassette with auto reverse and security code this looks like quite a Smike radio for 1990 because as well as your big on/off and volume switch in the bottom left you've got fader balance and toad on separate little dials this is quite a nice-looking Radio 4 and it really ties nicely in with the design aesthetic of the car but like that you've got a big cubby hole thing which is big enough for few cassette tapes or bench puckers of sweets and that kind of stuff and between the radio in the cubby you got your cigarette lighter never being used on this car always very nice to see that fresh unsullied metal and ashtray or sweet repair tray as I like to call it yes all very practical very well-thought-out very usable and back up to the top we mustn't forget this obviously 1990s no cup holders but up here we do have one of the best tea shelves in the market a rover emblazoned tea shelf perfect size for a mugging at two mugs here get biscuits and things here and it's also lifts out to shake any crumbs or teaspoons you might have what's better than a wood-paneled rover logoed tea shelf that is possibly the pinnacle of tea Shelfari I mustn't forget the little digital clock here in the center which just tells us the time it'll flip down thingy here too to reset it if you want and the wood on this car is just exceptional and I mentioned it already on the door it's really common for this veneer lacquer so just peel off and crack and look horrible but in this case it looks lovely it looks like it rolled up the factory well so we got okay we've got an okay size glovebox just fold open Zout quite nicely feels a little bit plastic that's everything in the interior that feels plasticky down here we've got the 5-speed gearbox stick it is a manual car so the r65 gearbox has discussed down in front proper handbrake with a very short throw in this particular car whenever I look in an r8 it looks like this panel means you're missing some exciting equipment but it's not it's just hiding some screws to hold this panel down and high spec cars got a little armrest with a lift up top with just a cubbyhole log set holders in there there was even a cup holder option which I've only seen once and I didn't buy it Oh favor if anyone's got a rover or eight cup holder insert for that arm cubby hole drop me a message because I really want one this one doesn't have that SLI spec and all that it has got a latch trailer instead for rear occupants the seats themselves really quite firmly sponged and so they're quite supportive you know sink into them too far nice bolster action going on so it's quite buckety because it's too sporty ish version so you're well supported and the pedals are nicely laid out as well and there's even a nice big footrest for your clutch but we're not changing gear I like let's have a look in the back Yeah right No so first of all I'll mention the front seat is in my driving position I'm 510 511 ish and I've got reasonably okay legroom here surprisingly considering this isn't a lengthen chassis from the hatchback to the longer Salutin this is actually pretty decent there's also my feet aren't trapped underneath the the base of the city lot lots of room to to lift my toes up and move my feet around so this is this is nice the rear seat back is a little bit upright but other than that it's got same nice sort of thick firm padding I like it or not I got grab handles here coat okay people might well have picked this car up as a company car so you want somewhere for you your jacket on the way to a meeting notably in the back of this car you have got the wind up windows still are present you have got the wood is willow and the nice fabric and nice solid grab handles no no map pocket so I'm surprised that very nice for lure backing on these seats it's kind of a valour --is-- on the outer part like if it was a part leather seat this pot leather bit is got a nice valour and there's a hard wearing material in the center it's a central locking which is a nice touch works up the key works off the driver's door clicker so we got locked all around we all secured three seat belts cross back tee three points one black belt as I mentioned this back seat doesn't appear to fold down in the particular car they do get a photo an armrest though nice big passive shot her in the back slightly hollow feeling because of the structure of that it's actually goes down quite on the way if you could engineer some kind of flap into the back on these possible shelves you know a huge storage area area in there and these big speakers are the same 8-inch circular ones you have in I think most other Roh to be honest when they are in good condition that have really nice sounding speakers but they do tend to crumble off for a few years and bear in mind these cars were since 1990 this is a 30 year old car now so I haven't turned the radio on yes I don't know what they sound like it might be amazing I don't there's no no door pockets in the back doors but there are nice carpeted area at bottom so it kind of protects the door from any errant feet as they kick as they get in so if you've not driven a car with a case series in it before you're in for a nice surprise there's surprisingly quiet there quite refined they pull well even in 1.44 man they did a 1.6 or 1.8 no one point eight VVC later on going into things like the coupe a and the MGF and all kinds of things on those populist engines ever made really everything from sports cars to four-wheel drives to hovercraft have had these and even the head craft have had them as well anyway yes I was saying yeah it's a nice refined engine it pulls well it gives great MPG is about 40 point 9 to the gallon I think the average and one of these things is which is more than respectable for a car of this size that course has helped in this case for the fact that car is so low mileage is currently mercilessly maintained by a very very caring owner it would appear it's not exactly a I wrote behind my that this is kind of if you're going into a Rover dealership in 1992 or 93 looking for a good used for one for this is kind of a car you would of bohr's in this exact condition so yeah all the plastics are good the woods good everything feels time now we've got the same Australia but you will never get electric windows now on this car we've got the same pull-up aerial as we had on the rover 200 we've rescued about a year ago that was a 2-1 for as well and at the same manual area we thought the radio was broken at first when we turn the radio on nothing happened i'll robocode in austin damn forget these Rovers of this generation have a four figure code which you have to type in if the Year powers been off in the car the battery's disconnected that's like a security thing so it's on Nixon radio they can't use it they have a code that's written in the handbook which will be back at the dealer so I can't try that at the moment speaking of the dealer this car is currently for sale stone-cold classics that wrote him in Kent and it's a lovely car they've done loads to it the previous owner has done a ton to it so here in the market for possibly the best r8 left in existence in certainly in terms of four one four and four hundreds in general this may well be the car after looking under the bonnet earlier you might have noticed there weren't many bottles of things to fill coolant brake reservoir and windscreen washers basically it because this being an estranged point in the range because abs and power steering of course were options this gets neither of them so basic mechanical steering you've gotten this and try not to crash brakes they're over gearboxes the PG one especially can be a little bit ropey the linkage goes bad and it's all a bit nasty this one though I'm changing gear for the sake Kabir should be a fifth still it is actually quite nice it's so very short throat even though it's quite a long lever to get your hands into just the right place it's a fairly short throw between the planes and it's a nice positive action it's not too rubbery a little bit of plasticy rubberiness feeling it's not like rovers of old where you feel like you're doing something with a finely honed machine it's very very much more they're opposed plastic in there but 90s cars often tend to feel that way they're progressing in so many ways but going backwards in others now with no power steering interference this is a really nice way pinwheel if nothing stepping between you and the road feel and it does feel very direct a real kind of connection with the car the naught to 60 on this car is around 11 seconds which is an earth-shattering but for a car of this size and this size of engine is actually quite respectable really it feels as much as that doesn't feel rapid rapid but it feels quick enough you're not gonna get bored driving it by any means and the suspension ride on the thing it's it's sort of sporting ish is it it's that funny sort of mixed it between a very comfortable car which gives you a kind of a luxurious ride it corners with a bit of lean but not too much lean if that makes sense overall it's a nice composed ride hello perhaps could do with a sixth gear because sometimes the fifth gear isn't quite enough and perhaps when you're going to look faster than we are on the area roads where we are at the moment an extra ratio might be quite nice but cruising at 60 miles an hour on an a road now it feels it was comfortable it feels composed it feels very much in control the wind buffeting that's quite a windy day today as I mentioned earlier to perhaps an extra gear ratio wouldn't hurt because I do feel like the engine is just ribbing a little high say about three and half thousand rpm but just sounds like it's just singing a bit loud at the moment so the 400 was very much built like the Orion to give a a different car at different market of buyers to the 5-door and three door hatches that it was based on the difference really with the Rovers is that they already felt like a quality product and were quite grown up and mature even without adding the boot but there was always a market who are always going to favor that kind of car of any other and it did reasonably well much like B&W have done now with the three and four series they've split the the number of doors and the body styles around the name so with two hundred you've got the three door the 5-door hash she got the coop a in the convertible and the four hundred was the four-door saloon and the estate car I'd like Interstate 400 series Lee the estate only went up to four one six there was a four twenty which was the rapid ones sporty halo car of the four hundred range the estate car which you'd think actually deserved or needed the two liter power only got the one point six throughout his entire life so don't thinking there was as I first mentioned when I climbed into this car to have a look around the cabin you do get an overwhelming feeling of quality from these cars we're just cruising on a a road but we've not got much road noise we've got not got much wind noise intrusion because riding really comfortably and smoothly the car feels like a a nice luxury car feels like a quality car put in context of nineties cars in particular it really does feel well made well engineered compared to say an Astra or escort which were fun cars but they were not patched on this build quality and this kind of interior quality so in the market or over 200 the r8 as it became known after the VSD 3 it looked so new and so exciting and so fresh compared to the competition the escort had been around as a mark 3 for well 6 7 years by then the mark 4 faced if it had been a couple years but it's still essentially the same car but looking a bit newer and nicer the Astra have been around a while nothing exciting from Renault and Persia at the time really there was looking new or fresh so this was okay there's a period when we're over 200 our rates in particular were really looking a bit old-fashioned a bit tired and they were absolutely banging money for becoming bangers but now suddenly there's been an awakening people are realizing these are really well engineered cars that actually the design has come into its own they are elegant and pretty understated beauty on the road something we don't see enough of anymore and now they're becoming collectible during that dark but some of the pit in the period it was easy to forget that at one point thirty years ago these were aspirational you might go and look at the escort Astra a Renault 19 I guess it would have been but the back you mind was well can I afford a rover and even because of the slightly peculiar size and pricing structure of Rover cars if you're looking at maybe a Sierra or a cavalier you might actually sit and look down the size category into the 400 because the pricing put it kind of well into the the next size of car arm well thank you for watching today I hope you've enjoyed another yet another Rover on the channel I know I've enjoyed driving this one it's a real pleasure and a treat if you like to drive a car with such low mileage and in such great condition that it really is how we should remember them I do hope that someone who's a rover enthusiast or a classic or brick road is yes by this car and gives it the care it deserves because this is a wonderful sort of one-off thing that deserves to be kept nice thanks for watching I hope you enjoyed please hit like and do hit subscribe if you haven't already because that matters to the channel it makes a big big difference to how YouTube views my output and whether I can people making in the future so like subscribe to say you liked it it makes a big difference and I really do appreciate if you do I'll see you again next time in something very different today I'm driving Rovers answer to the booted escort to the Orion yes I'm in a rover 400 r8

Channel: furiousdriving

Views: 36,324

Rating: 4.9298244 out of 5

Keywords: Rover, R8, Rover R8, Rover 400, Rover 414, 400, 414, SLi, sedan, saloon, mid size, 90s, 1990, 1990s, car, cars, driving, review, road test, test drive, nostalgia, British car, blog, vlog, posh, upmarket

Id: BgGplezC7eg

Length: 25min 57sec (1557 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 06 2020