Rover CityRover

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Rover CityRover
Manufacturer MG Rover Group
Production 2003-2005
Class Supermini
Length 3.60 metres (141.7 in)
Related Tata Indica

The Rover CityRover is a hatchback car from the MG Rover Group, launched in autumn of 2003 as a rebadged version of the Indian Tata Indica. With a length of 3.60 metres (141.7 in), it was considered either a large city car or a small supermini. Its interior space was good for a small car.

[edit] Criticism

The CityRover's running costs were rather high, and its asking price was high compared with newer, better built and better specified rivals such as the Fiat Panda.[citation needed]

MG Rover was reported to be paying Tata £3,000 for each car and, despite each model featuring a Rover corporate nose and revised suspension settings, the buying public was not impressed by the £7,000 starting price.[citation needed]

In the summer of 2004, just one year after the CityRover's launch, MG Rover announced plans to replace it with an all-new model within two years. Rumours of a sporty MG variant also appeared in the motoring press.

Sales were well short of MG Rover's targets, so the CityRover was given an upgrade for the 2005 model year, with more standard equipment. Prices were slashed by £900, confirming that the car's previous prices had not been competitive.[1]

The CityRover made the media again when Rover refused to lend one to Top Gear to test. In order to answer the question of "just how bad could it be?" James May went undercover and test drove one at a dealer while carrying a hidden camera. He subsequently declared it to be the worst car he had ever driven on the show.

Along with the rest of the MG Rover range, production of the CityRover was suspended in April 2005 when the company went into receivership, the last vehicles brought into the UK being purchased and sold on by a non-franchised discount dealer group. The CityRover is not part of Nanjing Automobile's plans for the revival of MG Rover in 2007.

[edit] Achievements

Despite the media criticism of the CityRover, one (the upgraded 2005 version) was chosen in 2006 to be used as the reconnaissance vehicle for the 2007 Himalayan Challenge Endurance Rally. With only minor modifications, the car was driven over the 7,000 mile planned route from London to Delhi by University of Southampton students Chris Cardwell and Nick Clarke without any major problems, including crossing significant distances of desert and a number of mountain ranges. The reasons given by the event organisers for the choice of vehicle were that it is "the cheapest brand new car you can drive in Britain", and to prove that the route could be driven in an ordinary small car, without the need for a large four wheel drive vehicle. Following completion of the race, the car was shipped back to the UK and sold to a prospective competitor, with the intention of using it on the event in September 2007.[citation needed]


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Rover and related brands car timeline, 1980s–2000s
Type 1980s 1990s 2000s
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
City car Mini
Supermini Austin Metro Metro Rover 100 CityRover
Small family car Acclaim Rover 200 I Rover 200 II Rover 200 III Rover 25
Allegro Rover 400 I Rover 400 II Rover 45
Mid-size car Austin Maestro
Morris Ital Austin Montego
Large Family Princess Ambassador Rover 600 Rover 75
Executive car Rover SD1 Rover 800 I Rover 800 II
Coupé Rover 200 Coupe
Sports Car TR7 RV8 MG F MG TF
MG SV
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