I'm thinking of changing my "daily car" to a Rover 600. (Don't worry I will still retain one or two R8s!)

However I am after some advice from anyone who might have owned or owns one.

Most of the range have Honda engines (618 and 623). However is the 620 always the Rover T series or was there a Honda engined 620?

Of these, are there any major things to look out for? For example, many R8 owners would say be careful with a K series because of the head gasket and that a Honda D-series is bullet proof - what can be said about the various 600 engines?

Which petrol engine is most economical? I appreciate that with them all being larger engined cars that they're going to be thirsty rather than thrifty.

Diesel engine is going to the most economical (Rover L series engine) I would imagine.

Lots more things, but these are the main queries at present.

I always liked the 600 and I've owned a couple myself and had them as demonstrators when I sold them. As I recall the 618,620 & 623's all had engines sourced from Honda (but I've been wrong about plenty of other things, so hopefully someone else more knowledgeable will help you out) the exception being the 2.0 diesel and the 620ti that had the turbocharged T series.

The 620ti was always fun to drive but would pull you around the road a little under harsh acceleration, the 618 had to work quite hard to move the car, the 620 was fine, but I almost always preferred the 623's as the engine seemed well matched to the cars.

The driving position always took me a bit longer to get comfortable in comparison to a 200, 400 or 800 and headroom in a car with a sunroof seemed a bit minimal.

I'm not sure about fuel economy, I'm guessing if you take the diesel out of the picture it probably falls between the 1.8 and 20.

Most of them have seemed to fall foul of corrosion, but then what doesn't!

Good luck with hunting one down.

(PS - if you end up selling your silver R8 I'd be interested )

Hi mate, thanks for the advice :-)

Yes, after consulting with "she who must be obeyed", the silver 216 and the cabriolet would have to go, and I'd keep the 416. (The 416 is by show car!)

The 216 is a brilliant reliable car, which I've taken all over the UK without a hitch. It's just getting a touch small to be ferrying 3 kids around in who are all getting bigger by the week!

surprise, surprise, i have a 620 sli as well with the honda engine.

Its that good a car, it's the mrs daily driver and bar the distributors they are a really good, reliable car. Changing front discs is a bit of a ballache as the bearings are integral with them.

If you want to have a play in a 45k miles one, give me a shout.

Most Economy - diesel every time.

Most Fun - Ti

Nearly as much Fun - 623, if you can find one!

Most Reliable - Honda engines....

Cheers John and Craig.

Seen a 620 SLi with full leather interior, 50k on clock, but it's a bit too early yet as haven't got any funds released.

When the missus found it was a 2 litre petrol engine she nearly had a heart attack. Surely not that much less economical than our 216?

Paul_1978_yorks wrote: When the missus found it was a 2 litre petrol engine she nearly had a heart attack. Surely not that much less economical than our 216?

Nope.

Keep the R8

I love the 216 John, but I fancy changing to a different "daily car", whilst retaining my 416 for the shows

I remember many, many years ago someone told me that Honda used the same 2 litre engine in the Prelude (penultimate bull-nose model), which was available in 2 litre standard, 2.2 VTEC ( ) and 2.3 litre all-wheel steer variants. Can't remember exactly, but I think that same someone said the engine is up on power in the Prelude and down a little in the 600 series, probably for tax, insurance or emissions purposes. I'm only mentioning this because it might be interesting to find a 2-litre Prelude ECU and plug it into a 620...

The problem will be that even the standard Prelude at that time had a valet parking key provided with the car (I think the ignition keys are chipped). The idea is that you gave that key to anyone who out of courtesy had to drive your car but that you didn't really want to - it detuned the engine via the ECU to about 60bhp

Anything without a turbo has a honda engine.

Anything with a turbo has a rover engine

Rover engines are generally regarded as the best/most reliable. They are also the least thirsty too - yes even the 2.0 Turbo is less thirsty than the bulk of the honda engines. However if you want an auto then you'll have to go honda.

Great cars and I love mine even though it is nearing 300k miles now. (its a diesel).

Corrosion problems usually show themselves on the rear arches (where they meet the bumper) and inside the rear door shut at the bottom where it meets the arch.

If I could find a good one I'd have another. Its more comfy, reliable, and economical than the ZTT I bought to replace it. It isn't any slower either.