SECOND-HAND SENSE: It was a marriage doomed to failure and, like a lot of doomed marriages, it began when both partners lost a sense of reality and perspective. Ignoring obvious cultural and commercial difficulties, BMW and Rover ploughed on as the world looked on - mostly in amazement.
When BMW and Rover finally went their separate ways BMW had the Mini - which it has since marketed very successfully indeed - and Rover had the 75, a car I like a lot but whose sweetness had largely been wasted on the desert air. Its design was brave for its time, especially so in the risky commercial situation in which Rover found itself. But in the five years it has been around it has failed to find its market and been appreciated by very few. This is a pity because the combination of BMW engineering and Rover design gave us a car that was fun to drive, reliable and a good performer and had a lovely retro style to it.
Launched in 1999 the 75 was disadvantaged from the start. Here was Rover trying to sell a new car with a brave and bold design at a time when people were actually wondering if the company was going to make it into the following year. No wonder customers were not queuing up to buy it.
Compared to a car like the Ford Mondeo, the 75 shows its age. Its handling and performance are not as crisp. The car also seems cramped, especially in the rear which has quite big and comfortable seats. However, its comfort and great styling make up for a lot. The car came with a choice of three petrol engines - 1.8, 2.0 litre and an unwieldy 2.5. The 2.0 litre diesel is the one that featured in the BMW 3 Series at the time.
One of the most striking things about the 75 is that it achieved what few other Rovers had ever managed - it made it to a very respectable ranking in the JD Power reliability/satisfaction surveys. The 75 also rated four out of five in EuroNCAP crash tests, and if the side impact head protection airbag had been standard instead of an optional piece of equipment the car would probably have achieved a five rating.
The 75 is a fairly keen second-hand buy. A four-year-old standard Classic version, with a 1.8 petrol engine and 63,000 on the clock, has an asking price at one garage of 14,750. A two-year-old 1.8 Club version (slightly better specification) with only 11,000 on the clock has an asking price of €26,950. A higher mileage model with lots of equipment should be found reasonably cheaply.
The 75 is generally a good car but it does have its problems. Cylinder head gaskets are prone to go and this is a potentially very serious problem. Broken keys have also been a problem and tyre wear has been uneven on many cars. There have also been reports of suspension problems and water coming into the cabin has also been noted on some.