Newbie looking at 220 turbo coupé :)

[s'neil]

Hello there rover people, I am looking at a 220 coupe as my next car (currently have a 2.2VTEC prelude) as i want something thats

> roomier in the back
> more torquey
> rwd or fwd with lsd
> more comfortable

Now i would like to know if the 220 coupé turbos generally come with aircon or not and how comfortable (and noisy) can they be on a standard motorway cruise?


Thx

[lav]

how much are you looking to spend?

Most air con coupes were only on imports, which have the last 3 letters FDH on the end of reg plate.

Someone was looking to sell an immaculate example FDH for around 3.5-4k, worth a search.

[MGJohn]

The best person to answer your questions is you - drive one and see for yourself.

I put off acquiring a R220 TC for years because I mistakenly thought it was really only a 2 seater. I was wrong about that. There is much more room in the back than I expected and four normal sized adults I can carry in comfort in mine. It is nowhere near as roomy and spacious as my MG Montego though which is to be expected as its a coupe and the Montego is well laid out and spacious.

Even on longer trips, can't remember any passenger complaints about rear space.

My car is getting on a bit ... being K-reg June 1993 with 115,000 miles on the clock. Had it three years now and the previous owner had it eight. He was stopped on the M3 @ 133 mph and received a hefty fine and long suspension. I can confirm that the car will do rather more than that.... with ease. I adore that T16 turbo performance.....

If it's a bit windy, at Motorway speeds I sometimes get noises from the removable roof glass panels. I can live with it and simply by opening one or both of them switches off that noise.

Apart from that, my unmolested bog-standard car is almost silent at the legal limit on motorways. I get the occasional 'creak' when going over some speed humps but then it is a dozen years old. For a year I used 16" Rover/MGZed hairpin alloys with Mich Pilots. This improved the stability of the car at high speed.... straight as a die ... and I do mean HIGH speed.

The car will cruise without effort at well over three figures all day if necessary. It can get up to those speeds with indecent haste and for an old Rover, surprises many the driver of so called modern 'faster' superior examples of re-arranged tin.

MY car does not have aircon.... I blow hot and cold on AirCon. Hey a Pun .. My ZS and 620ti does.

Fine on hot summer days (we do get some .. ), but, all that under the bonnet AirCon gubbins gets well in the way when working on my cars which I prefer to service and maintain myself. Plus, AirCon costs ... extra fuel and it also saps a considerable amount of the engine's power to run too.

I like the car very much but, as my two teenage sons are both over 6 foot tall now, I need something more practical with four doors and a useful boot ... such as the 620ti I just bought.

I'll use the TomCat turbo for a month or so then put it in the local classifieds. Anyone who drives this car will want it. Here's a picture I took of it today as I planned to put it on ebay. May still do that if the classsifieds draw a blank:

[NZ Rover 220]

> rwd or fwd with lsd

The Rover doesn't use an LSD - it has a Torsen (TORque SENsing) diff.
Gary

[s'neil]

does a similar job though?

does the 620ti have the torsen ?

[MGJohn]

does a similar job though?

does the 620ti have the torsen ?

Yes, here's what a TorSen differential looks like .. it's the one on the left. That on the right is a conventional PG1 Differential from an MG Montego Turbo which uses the same ratios and final drive as the TomCat Turbos.

[Gary]

Yes the Ti should have a torsen, this should applies to Coupes as well. Some people are cheap and use gearboxes from NASPs or old vits instead of repairing them, so it is worth checking if you are wanting a Torsen equipped car.

[karmatik]

Use the search function to find Tiff Needel of Top Gear test driving it years ago, he sums it up pretty well.

Having owned both the 2.2 VTec Prelude and coupe turbo, I would say I prefer the turbo, except I miss the VTec sound effects!

[MGJohn]

Use the search function to find Tiff Needel of Top Gear test driving it years ago, he sums it up pretty well.

Having owned both the 2.2 VTec Prelude and coupe turbo, I would say I prefer the turbo, except I miss the VTec sound effects!

Funny you should mention that, the induction noise on my 620ti is a delight to my ears. On the visually identical looking TomCat turbo set up, it's a much more subdued noise so much so I can hear the recycling turbo pressure relief valve make reasssuring 'Harrr' noises between lower revs gear changes. something I've not noticed on my other car under any circumstances.

[s'neil]

thank you for all your helpful replies

one of my basic requirements for my next car is aircon :p

its either a rover turbo or its "sister" the civic 1.8 VTi so far

[s0ck]

thank you for all your helpful replies

one of my basic requirements for my next car is aircon :p

its either a rover turbo or its "sister" the civic 1.8 VTi so far

It's younger, smaller, uglier, stupid sister?

[s'neil]

its a rover 400 underneath

so it inherited everything from its "parent"

[MarkCoupe]

The MB civic is an underated car at bargain price. Ive had both the prelude and the coupe turbo.Coupe is alot quicker even thought the gearing is way longer.But, it doesnt feel as well built, and is noisier at higher speeds.In mine if you go over 135 the wind noise from the air rushing over the targa roof is literally deafening.Id choose the coupe over the prelly, but purely due to the torque and cheap thrills it gives.

[MGJohn]

thank you for all your helpful replies

one of my basic requirements for my next car is aircon :p

its either a rover turbo or its "sister" the civic 1.8 VTi so far

If you frequently do your own servicing and maintenance on your cars, there may come a time when you'd wish your car did not have AirCon.

Working on the ti with AirCon, I speak from recent experience.