1984 Rover 200

Rover 200 SD3 (Saloon), 1984-1990

The Rover 200 SD3 was in production from 1984 until 1990. Styled in house, it is a front-engine, front wheel drive saloon range seating four adults.

The 200 SD3 replaced the Triumph Acclaim, and held a broadly similar position in the company. The car was targeted at a premium market, above the Austin range but also aimed at older buyers who would prefer a saloon body style. Much like the Triumph Dolomite that the Acclaim had supplanted, the 200 SD3 was marketed as a premium proposition; taking the Rover name as the company sought to rationalise its brands into as few entities as possible. Initially the 213 model used the same Honda 1.3 litre engine as the outgoing Acclaim, later models would also be made available with the S series 1.6 from the Maestro in carburettor and EFI variants.

418367 SD3 Rover 200s were produced over the course of a six year production run, its increased popularity over its predecessor paving the way for a future in which all models would be sold as Rovers and the Austin name would be retired. Replaced not by the R8 200 series hatchback but by its saloon R8 400 sister car, the SD3 cemented Rover in a position upmarket of Ford and Vauxhall and allowed the R8 series to become an aspirational car for 1990s suburbia. Today, the 213s are seen as the purest examples, but the EFi equipped 216s with their improved trim enjoy a wider audience.

Obvious rivals to the Rover 200 SD3 range include the Ford Orion and the Vauxhall Belmont - smaller than average fleet cars but with a saloon body shape that makes them less appealing to customers of hatchbacks like the Austin Maestro. With that said, more prestigious variants of the Maestro might be seen as alternatives by many, especially the Vanden Plas. Rover itself believed that the 216 Vanden Plas EFi and Vitesse models might compete with the BMW E30 316, and by extension with the Audi 80 1.6. However, as a German rival the Volkswagen Jetta might be more appropriate.