I owned my 220GSI Turbo for 2 years. Previos to buying it I had a modified MG Maestro turbo. The Maestro was a classic and stood out with the Tickford body kit. However the GSi Turbo was a wolf in sheeps clothing. most people thought at best it was just a 220GSI. It would beat most cars away from the lights - and considering the only cars that would beat it would have a 20k receipt to go with it it makes you feel VERY chuffed! Mine was a 95 model with a reinforced head gasket, during the period i owned the car i had no reliability probs. My mate bought thte car off me when i took out a mortgage and could no longer afford to insure it. Since then he claims to have got 260-270bhp from it - uprated turbo, fifth injector, uprated intercooler, brake conversion - the b****x!
I owned a 220gti turbo 93 for 16 month bought for £400 since that time i melted the 4 pistons,cracked the head,crashed it into a stream and cracked the chass, a good start to the car i thought i'd be in love with for a life time. When looking in depth to why these probs happened found it was boosting at 18-23psi which caused the pistons to melt,had a cheaply fitted piggyback chip on the ECU,the belt had snapped on the water pump the second day i had it not knowing when i got home i cooked the head and mine. being a lover i decided to rebuild the engine myself replacing pistons,rebored,all bearings,turbo unit,second hand head from a'95' model,new ECU,cost me around £1600 just for the engine,then i went and bought a rover 220 gsi'95' for £450 about 3 months ago and now i have replaced the engine in that with the turbo engine,all work completed by myself running really well the turbo engine is now boosting 10-12psi giving it around 200BHP yet to be tested though. oh yes the first car ended up in the stream due to over fueling of LAGER.
i have owned my 220 gsi turbo for 3 years in which time i have managed to go through 4 gear boxs 5 clutches 20 sets of tyres. i got my car to pull 13 psi and there is not in my area to compeat against. i have heard that rover 220 turbos will only do 140 mph but i managed to pull 140 and have more on the floor i got band for it but i f i had keep going the police couldent keep up i cleared 7 miles in 3 min at midnight. only problems with my car is brakes,oil leaks and gear boxs. the brakes worp and crack. gear boxs the seals go in diff and diff bearings go. oil leak always headnear side front corner always leaks oil.
I've owned my Rover 220 Turbo for 6 months now. Bearing in mind you can pick a good one up for 2 grand, this car represents excellent value for money. It will absolutely blow an RS Turbo or a Calibra 2.0 16V away, even modified ones, and unlike many Fords and Vauxhalls the interior isn't flimsy plastic rubbish. The engine is amazing, 200BHP with the potential for about 230 without major mods, the only critisms I would have are that I've had quite a few reliability issues with it, and the handling and braking are very poor. Even if you aren't into modifying cars, seriously consider getting uprated shocks and springs, and better brakes as it gets quite dangerous at high speeds. Another problem is lack of parts, and parts that are available are expensive. Also the Rover badge isn't the cutting edge of fashion at the moment, the fact it is a real sleeper is part of the appeal.
glad you liked it and have been converted from vauxhalls! I am a massive Rover fanatic and adore everyone ever made and the 220 turbo is a spectacular example as is the Rover 200 BRM LE, which i am hoping to get by the end of the year:D
enjoy your motoring everyone and keep killing those boy-racers at the lights! hehe
bye for now! ;)
Never owned
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed February 2004.
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The 220 turbo is a manic car, when i first bought it I thought the engine had been modified, but no its completly standard. When taking friends out in the car they cant believe that its a Rover! what a car!!!
Owned for 6 months.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed January 2004.
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Rover 220 turbo,What can i say, a car with a bucket load of potential that was never really harnessed by rover. This car is surley a classic, it would have made a great rally car given the correct tweaks. Lets hope the boys at MG/Rover use the 220 turbo as a template for a future production sports car, because if they do, there surley onto a winner!!!!!!!!
Owned for 2 years.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed October 2003.
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I bought my Rover 220GSI turbo from Mr Guthrie who said it had had 1000s spent on it. I was soon to find out it had'nt and it also had loads of faults on it too,which I only had myself to blame but he knew children would be going in it which is a bit unfair on his part, but I could see the potential of the car. So after really spending 1000s on it is now the muts nuts and a show winner and overall Im well impressed with the car.
Owned for 6 months.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed June 2003.
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your car is bad
Never owned
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed April 2003.
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I had a Nissan Silvia before I bought my 220GSi Turbo and I thought that was quick! The 220 turbo in standard form is a manic car, it looks like it should be doing the dial-a-ride from a distance. I bought the car for £1800 two years ago and haven't had any problems yet. Just love that "what the hell was that!" look as the RS kiddies tell their girlfriends that their car isn't running "on chat".
Owned for 2 years.
Preloved Visitor
Reviewed March 2003.
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ELLO MY LAST CAR WAS AN ASTRA GTE 2L, IT WAS A GOOD CAR BUT THE BODY WAS FALLING APART SO I STARTED LOOKING AROUND FOR SOMETHING A BIT NEWER THAN A G REG, BUT STILL WANTED SOMETHIG NIPPY, JUST BY CHANCE WENT PAST A GARAGE SELLING CARS AND RIGHT IN THE CORNER WAS A VERY NICE LOOKING ROVER 220 GSI TURBO, NEVER HAD A ROVER BEFORE AND DID NOT THINK THEY WERE UP TO MUCH BUT I DID LIKE THE LOOK OF THIS ONE AND I WENT TO ASK ABOUT IT, SO THE FUN BEGUN :-) THIS CAR HAD LOTS SPENT ON IT BY THE LAST OWNER, HE MUST OF BEEN MAD TO SELL THIS CAR AFTER SPENDING £1000S ON IT. THE CAR DID 0 TO 60 IN 5.9 SECONDS AND A TOP SPEED OF 150+ I HAVE NOW HAD THE CAR FOR 18 MONTHS AND ITS STILL KICKING THE ASS OF ALL THE BOY RACERS IT KILLS RS TURBO'S 5 TURBOS ECS ECS ECS ITS OUT OF THIS WORLD FOR PERFORMANCE, EVEN THE SEARRA COSWORTH CANT GET ME OFF HIS ASS HE HE HE, THE LAST OWNER OF THIS CAR NEW HOW AND WHERE TO SPEND THE MONEY ON THIS ROCKET. BUT THE FUNS OVER NOW AND ITS TIME TO SELL UP AND GET MY NEW DREAM CAR BMW 740I. [Log in to view email]
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