Rover COMMERCE VAN RANGE
The
Rover Commerce Is A Commercial Vehicle Progression From The Marques Accomplished 25 Supermini. Can The Originals Refined Qualities Be Retained After Transformation To Van Form? Steve Walker Takes A Look
You cant buy class, youve either got it or you havent. Its a pearl of wisdom, the kind that a particularly brash and unsophisticated relative might smugly bestow upon you after one too many strawberry daiquiris at a dreary family reunion. They might have a point too. Its difficult to put your finger on class as a quality - some people and things just have it, some dont.
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If, therefore, you should ever manage to hit the nail on the head and produce something that displays this elusive attribute, youd better make the most of it. This was
MG Rovers intention when they released the
Rover Commerce - a commercial vehicle version of their elegant, classy Rover 25 supermini.
The Rover 25 might not be the most modern, best packaged or top performing supermini on the market but its spacious, comfortable, refined and solidly-built using quality materials. Its got a touch of class thats proven to appeal to the more discerning small car buyer. A recent facelift has also helped matters, by further improving the quality of the interior while introducing a more modern grille and
BMW-style headlamps. The success, or otherwise, of the 25s commercial cousin, the Rover Commerce, hinges significantly on the nations small van buyers displaying a penchant for the finer things in life.
Sensibly deciding not to trust solely to the average CV drivers burning desire to project a stylish image, however, MG Rover have ensured that the vehicle makes good sense on a number of other levels as well.
"There are higher-grade materials than youd expect used throughout the cabin and everything feels solidly constructed."
The Rover Commerce is a car-derived van and the car from which it is derived is the Rover 25. It mimics the 25 precisely until you get to the area behind the two front seats and find that the Commerce is without the 25s rear seating provision. Instead, theres a flattened, carpeted load area complete with four steel lashing points, panelled-over windows and a partial bulkhead that will stop any unruly cargo from sliding into the back of the front seats. Being so closely related to the small car that spawned them, car derived vans have a limited load carrying capacity when compared to larger, purpose-built commercial vehicles.
The Rover Commerces is well above average for the sector, however, with a 979-litre volume and a 520kg maximum weight capacity. This should be plenty for couriers, small businesses and tradesmen, anyone who needs a van but rarely requires all that extra space for bulkier items. The Commerce arrives propelled by one of two engines and the choice, in the end, comes down to petrol or diesel - although approved LPG conversions are available. The 1.
4-litre petrol option offers a maximum of 84PS at 6,000rpm, while the top of its torque curve is to be found at 4,500rpm where 100 Nm/ft is being generated. Prices for this unit start at £8,795 on the road and the fact that the diesel costs from £10,595 might make some economy-minded buyers lean towards the green-handled pumps. Before you do the same, check out the performance of the 2.0-litre turbocharged oil-burner.
With 101PS on tap at 4,200 revs and 240Nm/ft of torque available at just 2,000rpm, the Commerces diesel engine is altogether a more relaxed and capable option, especially in a start-stop urban setting. Day to day, it will prove cheaper to run as well, its just a matter of whether you can afford the extra expenditure up-front to secure one. At this point, it might be worth mentioning that the Rover Commerce is also available in sporty MG Express form. If the Commerce is all class and refinement, the Express is brazen brute force incarnate.
Lowered, spoilered and offered with a 160PS 1.8-litre VVC petrol engine, its the fastest car-derived van you can buy in the UK today. For the more reserved, its also offered with a 103PS version of the Commerces 1.4-litre petrol engine or a carbon copy of the Commerces 2.
0-litre turbo diesel. Youll find the MG models priced a touch higher than the Rover Commerces across the board. Back to the task in hand and the Rover Commerces interior: Step in and take a
seat behind the wheel, if youve been inside a car-derived van before, youll start to understand how MG Rovers offering gets one up on the competition. There are higher-grade materials than youd expect used throughout the cabin and everything feels solidly constructed as a firm thump on the dash will demonstrate. Standard equipment isnt mind-boggling but the sensible things are present and correct, including remote central locking, an alarm, cup holders and a rear wash/wipe. Theres also the TrafficMaster traffic alert system as standard to help you swiftly negotiate those congestion-clogged streets.
Items like ABS, air-conditioning, satellite navigation and a CD player are to be found, amongst other such niceties, on the options list. On the road, the Commerce retains the Rover 25s relaxed driving characteristics with well-insulated engine noise and little by way of vibration. The handling isnt as sharp as some competitors but theres a predictable feel to the steering and other controls that makes it pleasant to use. You may actually feel like youre driving a larger vehicle, such is the Commerces composed, steady nature.
This is no bad thing of course, especially when the vehicles compact size and tight turning circle combine to ensure theres plenty of manoeuvrability when you need it. With the Commerce, Rover have injected a little touch of style into van land and theres no reason why buyers shouldnt warm to it. Image can be increasingly important for modern businesses and if you feel like yours could do with a classy shot in the arm, this could be the vehicle to do the job. Its competitive in every area, excelling in terms of build quality and load capacity.
You cant buy class but there is, it seems, such a thing as class by association.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
VAN: Rover Commerce Van range
PRICE: £6,887 - £8,419 (+VAT) ENGINES: 1.4-litre 16-valve petrol, 2.0-litre TD diesel. PAY
LOAD CAPACITY: 520kg (1.4 16v), 485Kg (2.0TD).
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (2.0TD) (urban) 36.7mpg/ (extra urban) 67.3mpg/ (combined) 51.
5mpg.
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE?: Length/Width/Height, 156/66/56"
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