As I may have mentioned before, I seem to have a penchant for acquiring old Rovers, which turn out not to be very long good long term investments... This 1995 Rover 216 SLI automatic (registered 1996) was a low mileage late model 'R8' Rover 200 series, which had done just 44,000 miles when I bought her in 2015.
With a Honda four speed automatic transmission and the same 1.6 litre engine which used to power the late 1980s Honda CR-X sports car, this gentleman's club on wheels (complete with burr walnut door caps, and comfy armchair style seating) would nevertheless accelerate quite fast. Despite being an automatic, I would frequently get wheelspin in her when exiting from junctions, and she also returned up to 40 mpg, which for a 20 year old automatic car with a relatively large engine, was not that bad. It's not hard to see why I liked her so much (as did my lady wife, funnily enough).
She also had a reasonably practical boot, excellent visibility (no need for any parking sensors, as you can see all four corners easily), was very maneuverable in town and even had an electric sunroof (just as well as there was no air conditioning). Sadly, she had to go, as she just got to the stage where she was going to cost more to keep going than her value (I paid just £650 for her, and kept her for just over a year), but I do very much miss my old 'classic'.
In their time, these 'R8' model Rover 200s, based on the Honda Concerto (a type of Civic from the late 1980s and early 1990s) were well loved and received by the motoring press and public alike, but these days are seen as a bit of a joke. This is something of a shame, as they are inexpensive to buy, quite practical, and do exude a fair bit of nostalgic charm.
