The Rover 600 was launched in April 1993 and instantly received critical acclaim for its performance, handling and build quality and perhaps more importantly, it was praised for its superb styling and bold Rover grille.

The cars chassis was shared with the Honda Accord and the two cars were developed jointly, sharing engines, switch gear and some body panels, but were different enough to distinguish the two cars at a glance. The Rover 600 was initially offered with Honda's 2.0 115bhp and 2.0 16v 131bhp units and 2.3 158 bhp unit which were well proven in previous Honda's and were reliable and durable and offered good fuel economy.

The car came in i, Sli, Gsi and iS trim, the i model had awful black bumpers front and rear. Thankfully, these were soon dropped in favour of the more pleasing body colour versions.

In July 1994 the 623iS was replaced by the storming 620Ti, fitted with Rovers own T series engine with turbocharger and a licence losing 200 bhp, the same engine fitted to the 220 turbo and 800 Vitesse, but road testers felt that the engine had found its true soul mate in the 620Ti, which had the best chassis to cope with all that power, so no trips into the scenery with this car then!

January 1995 saw the 620 SDi/SLDi diesel variants being introduced for the frugal driver amongst you, this was Rovers L series 105bhp turbo unit and offered bags of torque but was criticised for being rather unrefined and noisy.

February 1996 and Rover introduced the 618 with an 1850cc 16v 115 bhp which was a smaller version of Honda's 2.0 engine and became a popular size with buyers, offering close to 2 litre performance without the fuel penalty. December 1996 and Air conditioning was now standard on all but the 618i models. Alloy wheels were also standard except, again, on the 618 models.
April 1997 and the ride height was reduced by 10mm, body trim was now colour coded, this included the mirrors, handles, rubbing and sill strips.

The 600 model range were all dis-continued in December 1998.

The 600 range has not been quite the success Rover had hoped for, producing only 275,000 or so units in its five year life span. (Audi produces this amount of A4's in a single year) but then I suppose it makes the 600 a little more exclusive, a little more likely to become a classic and all the more reason to want to own one.

My choice - 620Ti
Sensible choice - 620GSi - go for the gadgets!

Further Reading:
A book containing a full range of reprinted road tests & articles on the 600 range is available from:Transport Source Books Ltd.Price £11.70 inc postageTel: 01473 270376

There is also a good range of tuning parts available covering the engine, suspension, body and interior. Catalogues are available from:
Moss International.
Tel: 0800 281182
www.mossint.co.uk
Moto-Build Racing.
Tel: 0181-893 4553
Our thanks go to Kevin Davis for his assistance in compiling this feature. (02/99)

Here is a list of telephone numbers which may be useful if you are thinking of purchasing a second hand/used Rover.
1/ Used Car Inspection
RAC - 0990 333660AA - 0345 500610
2/ Driving Licence
DVLA -0870 240 0009
3/ Vehicle History
DVLA - 0870 240 0010
HPI - 01722 422 422
(outstanding finance check etc.)

Whatever model you drive, it will make you feel special and that's what makes owning a 600 all the more rewarding.
Article compiled by Steve Wright (Copyrightt ©copywrigh 2000+)