rover 75

[pabmks]

hi just can,t seem to find a good towing var for money i have to spend am now looking at
rover 75 zt or ztt estate 20litre cdti any one any info please

 

[emmerson]

My neighbour has just bought one, and I was just about to ask if anyone knew the noseweight for a ZT-T estate with the 2.5 v6 motor?
It seems to tick all the boxes for him, although,like me, he's wary of the front wheel drive, but it does have traction control.
We're going away on Friday, so I'll let you know in a couple of weeks what its like.

 

[NigelHutson]

I had two 75's (both diesel, one a saloon, the other an estate - the saloon was the 114 bhp version, whilst the estate was the 131 bhp version). They were both very good, but the estate was brilliant. I rue the day I got rid to be honest. I wouldn't hesitate in recommending one. The most common fault is the iffy Bosch MAF sensors, but they can be replaced with a Pierburgh MAF and a Roverron Synergy (can be found on tuning-diesels website I think).
The noseweight limit for all the 75's and ZT's (saloons and estates) is 100 kg. Another good point!

 

[emmerson]

That's good to know, Nigel. My pal's is the MG version, with the 190 engine, so he should have no problems, then!

 

[Mikey_74]

I too had a Rover 75 Tourer (estate) mine was the 114bhp model but I had it remapped to approx 150bhp, the car can only be described as Fantastic, I wish I still had it if I'm honest, superb fuel economy, around 50 mpg (up to 32 towing) and never put a foot out of place, our van is a 26ft twin axle and even when on muddy fields we never had a traction problem, I personally wouldn't touch a petrol one, 1.8 and 1.8 turbo prone to head gaskets, and the 2 V6's are thirsty, but the diesel is fantastic, as already stated the only real problem with the diesel is the mass air flow meter (maf) the only thing I would say is mine was a manual, I always regretted not waiting to find an automatic, I've driven one, well you don't,you just sit there and enjoy the view

 

[Tony_5041742]

We had a 75 and a ZT, both diesels and both saloons. As others have said they are excellent towcars, plenty of power, stable, decent noseweight etc. Good fuel economy too. The only issues we had with both of them was parts availability, and this was back in the days before MG went under so I'd want to be convinced about this before buying another one. Otherwise, felt the cars were light years ahead of similarly priced competition.

 

[NigelHutson]

We only got rid of our last one in 2009 (new caravan a bit too heavy), and never had a problem with parts. X-Part are the official suppliers, and as most Main Stealerships were hopeless (I couldn't convince them that my diesel had a cruise control!), but persistence and teaching them to count to 5 and to learn A, B, C, usually got a result. However, there are a number of other suppliers, the best I found was Rimmer's at Lincoln, and I even got the occasional bit from BMW (many of the 75's bits have the BMW badge and part number on them). The only problem with the latter was that it usually meant double the price for the same part!
I would agree with the previous post. The 1.8 petrol is prone to head gasket failure, and is pretty gutless for towing. The 1.8 turbo has more go, but again, that head gasket. The 2.0 and 2.5 V6's are very smooth, but quite thirsty. Strangely, the 2.5 is the better of the two, and has more go. The diesel, IMHO is by far the best for longevity, economy, and probably towing. It also has a chain driven cam shaft, so no belts to change (or snap!), unlike the petrol versions.

 

[Surfer]

Steve in Leo a forum member has recently purchased one and would be a good source of information.