Rover 75 LIMOUSINE
It Seems Many Of You Cant Get Enough Of The
Rover 75. The Long Wheelbase Limousine Model Could Well Be The Answer. Andy Enright Reports
If you want to fly from London to New York, youve got a number of options. You could search through the bucket shop ads and secure a
seat for less than £200, all taxes included. Alternatively you could ring a big carrier and get a quote for a superior grade than cattle class. I did and it came to £4,562.
Thats an extra £615 per hour for the privilege of more legroom, nicer nibbles and less chance of being seated next to a motoring journalist.
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Now, call me old-fashioned, but seven hours of simpering I could well get used to, but it would have to go a whole lot further than a warm towel and a cold Chardonnay to make me part with that sort of money. If you appreciate a good pampering but also have an eye for keen value for money,
Rover have something that may well appeal. The Rover 75 was already a fine choice for those who savoured the journey as well as the destination, and the long wheelbase Limousine model offers even more of a good thing. How much more? With an extra 200mm grafted into its wheelbase, the Limousine offers, well, limo-style legroom at a decidedly mainstream price.
Offered in Connoisseur SE auto trim for £29,995, that compares favourably with a slightly better specified standard length 75 Contemporary SE, offered in basic form at £24,295. Lets do the maths. That extra £6,500 will probably be seen by target market business buyers as a reasonable fee to upgrade to business class. You may not get the undivided attention of an orange floozy thrown in, but you can be sure your investment in British metal is going to last significantly longer than seven hours.
Theres also a CDTi turbo diesel version on offer in Connoisseur SE guise at either £27,295 or £28,495, depending on whether you go for manual or automatic transmission.
"The Limousine feels like the definitive Rover 75, concentrating on the cars effortless feel good factor and uncanny serenity"
This long wheelbase model marks a collaboration between Rover and the established vehicle specialist coachbuilders S MacNeillie and Son Ltd. Such is their expertise in building specialist vehicles that a wide array of exotic options such as occupant protection can be specified. That 200mm stretch means a considerable boost to rear legroom, additional interior lighting and provision for entertainment and IT systems. Available solely in right hand drive, the Long Wheelbase is finished in leather trim but the choice of upholstery and accessories can be closely tailored to individual needs.
Finished in metallic paint, the Limousine creates an elegant impression. If you can tear your eyes away from political correspondent Andrew Marrs increasingly bizarre hairstyle, you may well spot one swishing into Downing Street. Powered by the same 175bhp 24-valve 2.5-litre V6 thats found in the more sophisticated 75s, the petrol-powered Limousine model that most customers will choose will hustle visiting foreign dignitaries along the M4 bus lane with no little alacrity, although a determined paparazzo bike should be able to hold station.
The five-speed JATCO gearbox slurs its way smoothly through the gears and the refinement and packaging advantages of the 75s front engine and front wheel drive platform pay dividends in this luxury configuration. Whereas the standard 75 is slightly disappointing in terms of rear legroom, the Limousine allows room for the most gangling of passengers to get comfortable. The timbered fascia and chrome-rimmed oval dials look as if theyre from an H G Wells time machine, and its tempting to think of all sorts of arcane nineteenth century engineering contraptions like brass Watt governors, crossbeams, condensers and steam jackets silently chuffing and burbling beneath the long bonnet. Theres a sense of occasion with the 75 - which the Long Wheelbase serves to amplify thats entirely missing from equivalently priced German or Japanese cars.
The ride quality is predictably superb, the longer wheelbase car soaking up minor bumps and irregularities quite beautifully. Rover are at length to stress the engineering rigour involved in creating the Limousine, and even wheeled out one of the most stunningly baffling statistics Id seen for quite some time. The Limousine, they claim, utilises the considerable strength inherent in the production-saloon bodys torsional-rigidity of 24,000Nm per degree. Crikey.
Drive the Limousine and even the layman would swear they were dealing with at least 30,000Nm if not more! Lets just take Rovers word for that one. The Limousine stretches the Rover 75 portfolio in yet another direction. We have the cardigan wearing saloons and Tourers, the headbanging
MG ZT versions and now this definition of affordable elegance. Much as we love what MG have done, the Limousine feels like the definitive Rover 75, concentrating on the cars effortless feel good factor and uncanny serenity and opening a whole new sub-niche for cars that are longer in the leg for those without offshore bank accounts.
In truth, the Limousine will likely appeal to businesses. In fact it would make the ideal car for First Class air passengers to be chauffeured to the airport in. The passengers might be in store for several hours of indulgence at 30,000ft, but the driver neednt feel left out. Even at 4mph on the Heathrow Spur Road, deep vein thrombosis is not an option.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
CAR: Rover 75 Limousine
PRICE: £27,295-£29,995 on the road
INSURANCE GROUPS: 8-14
CO2 EMISSIONS: 163-286g/km
PERFORMANCE: [V6 petrol] 0-60mph 11.5s / Max Speed 131mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: [V6 petrol] (urban) 16.8 (extra urban) 32.8 (combined) 24.3mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: Twin front and side airbags / ABS
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Heightmm 4945/1970/1427
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