Rover to cut CityRover prices

Rover plans to slash up to £900 off the price of its CityRover and update specification levels.

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Rover plans to slash up to £900 off the price of its CityRover and update specification levels.

The manufacturer admits that the current CityRover isn’t competitive in the city car market and hopes the changes, along with claimed improvements in quality, will help sales. The updated range will be available from April 2005 and will no longer include Sprite models.

Entry-level Solo cars will drop £500 in price to £5995 and come with anti-lock brakes, power steering and a split-folding rear seat as standard. Driver’s airbag, alarm, immobiliser and radio cassette player will still be included.

The Select models will fall £900 in price to £6995 and feature anti-lock brakes, passenger airbag and extra body kit. Air-conditioning will no longer be standard but specification is otherwise unchanged, the car offering remote central locking, air-conditioning, electric windows and CD player. Rover has not yet decided how much it will charge for air-conditioning.

Top-of-the-range Style CityRovers also fall £900 to £7995 and, as before, include alloy wheels, fog lights, air-conditioning and a higher-quality seat fabric taken from the Rover 45. Leather upholstery will be available as an option but no price has yet been given for this.

Rivals still undercut the CityRover. The Kia Picanto LX matches the equipment levels of the £7995 Style for just £6245.

Rover said that the CityRover is a bigger car with a more powerful engine that tops the class in acceleration and top speed. The 85bhp 1.4-litre petrol takes the car to 60mph in 11.9 seconds and on to 100mph. Combined fuel consumption of 37.9mpg is worse than competitors’, however, trailing the Kia by 16.4mpg.

Rover said the updated car benefits from 50 improvements to boost quality, including new interior materials.

A diesel model will also arrive some time in 2005, although no details are yet available.