Austin Montego's

[JohnK]

I know nothing about them but I'm interested.

 

What is the good, bad and ugly?! I've been in a 2.0 petrol auto once. And a diesel estate. But that is it ...

[dollywobbler]

Like a Maestro, but just more saloon or estate shaped. So, pretty pleasant to drive, if not dramatically inspiring, pretty iffy interior quality on some, horrific rear arch rot which soon turns into all-over rot. To my mind, the Montego estate is one of the best looking load luggers ever built.

[JohnK]

I'm viewing a 1.6 HL saloon tomorrow ...

[EssDeeWon]

Sounds like a win.

 

I know these rust for fun but sod it, so do some German and Japanese cars!

 

Buy the Monty!!!

[vulgalour]

Having driven Captain Slow's lovely Montego, the automatic Maestro I borrowed from Skattrd and having owned a late Ledbury Maestro and now a Rover 414 I can categorically say it sits between a Maestro and a R8.

 

Build quality seems slightly better on the Montego than the Maestro though rust is just as much of an issue.  Interior plastics are okay but not as snug and refined as those in the R8.  Seats aren't as comfortable as the R8 and it has the slightly offset driving position of the Maestro which I don't get on with.  Power delivery is adequate, fuel consumption is pretty good for the age of the car and there's a good amount of parts-binnery.

 

1.6 HL is a reasonable combination of engine size and trim for the Montego, feels about where it should be.  Montego always feel more Austin than Rover to me too, even though they were badged as Rovers.

 

Given your love of the R8 I don't think you'll be too disappointed, certainly seeing a Montego and 400 side by side there's a stronger family resemblance than the Honda influence on the R8 might suggest.

[JohnK]

Yeah my main reason of interest is due to my failed buy of the 416 and I like a good saloon. The 2 x 214s will fill my hatchback need.

[purplebargeken]

I had a blue Monty estate. It was ace. 

[Forty-two]

Had use of a turbo derv estate few years back, keep fit windows and steering.  Went well for what it was, comfortable, un-offensive.  Yep, go for it.

[lisbon_road]

My parents had a beige (of course) B reg 1.6.  Was stir and hope at roundabouts, but ok apart from that.  They also had an E reg 2.0 which really wasn't a bad car.  

 

Good luck.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Good ride and handling, 1.6 S Series was okay if unspectacular. Absolutely horrific body rot - arches, sills, doors, boot lid, around rear screens. Very poor interior plastics, electronic control for the SU carb, VW box but ARG linkages that pop off. The S Series likes to leak oil - earlier ones had catastrophic rear main seal failures, soaking the clutch. Mark 1 Golf type suspension.

 

When new, you would have a Sierra or Cavalier over a Montynogo. If it's cheap and tidy, why not?

[anonymous user]

A mate bought one about 15 years ago as a stop-gap when his TR7's engine went, it did the job; the main memory for me was the headlining suddenly descending when driving with the windows down. He paid £80 for it (which I think was the value of the rfl on it.) and sold it a few weeks later for £77.50, without a headlining. The three blokes who bought it did so as it was cheaper than train tickets to Scotland and they hoped to recoup most of the money by selling it at the other end, I hope it got there.

 

Edited to add; the next time his TR7 played up I loaned him my Trabant, he soon learned to look after his car a bit better, the TR7 was eventually replaced by a 2cv

Edited August 11, 2015 by anonymous user

[Bear]

I'm viewing a 1.6 HL saloon tomorrow ...

 

Very robust when driven through plate glass windows. Excellent performance on two-wheels. Fantastic turning circle, including the ability to flip 100° into a parking space from nose-first.

 

(I've driven MG 2.0i and a Prima-powered forgettable one. The MG was fun in a slightly unpolished way, the Prima was just horrid. For BLARGH saloon shenanigans - none of which truly appeal to me - the underdog hero is the facelift MG ZS180. It's the only MGR-era car to have been given both decent cornering AND decent ride, the saloon one looks alright, and the V6 was amusing).

 

If a Montego is what you desire, then just get the best one you can find. If an enjoyable Britishish retro/AS car is the target, go for the ZS.

[brickwall]

Like a Maestro, but just more saloon or estate shaped. So, pretty pleasant to drive, if not dramatically inspiring, pretty iffy interior quality on some, horrific rear arch rot which soon turns into all-over rot. To my mind, the Montego estate is one of the best looking load luggers ever built.

 

 

Can confirm through personal ownage. Nothing advanced or fashionable with them as they were built for purpose.

[Bear]

Should be clearer there - owned MG, driven diesel.

Montegos were "good enough". I found the MG, like the MG Metro, was insufficiently competent to get power down aggressively. They are nicer to be in than a Maestro, but the Maestro was comparable to a Golf or Escort where it also had handling advantages over the Ford, and packaging/visibility advantages over the VW. What put me off was thinking I'd go more retro and get an Allegro, only to find that the Allegro, for all the craggy, nasty paprika interior and "trouble at t'mill" chatter of the engine, had arguably better ride and handling and felt like a more modern car.

 

The Montego goes up against the class above. It's not a Jetta, it's an Audi 80/Passat etc. alternative (at current prices, not when new).

[Angrydicky]

...slightly offset driving position of the Maestro which I don't get on with.  

 

Really? I've never noticed an offset driving position in mine.

[vulgalour]

Depends on the seats.  If you've got the earlier seats it's not so pronounced, but the later seats seem to push you more offset.  I found driving the Ledbury that I was sitting with an obvious twist, rather like you do in a Metro.  Not very comfortable.

[New POD]

When I first joined Lucas, our departmental pool car was a hand me down managers 2.0 HL estate. It went like shit off a shovel, and had massive torque steer in the rain - given that it was 1989 and all cars were shite, it was pleasant.

 

The only issue I had was that on a trip to South Wales, the drivers side wiper arm loosened and started to try to wipe the drivers side wing.  This happened on the m5 heading towards Droitwich, so I pulled off and went to the local Rover dealer and asked to borrow a 10 mm spanner.  The salesman sent for a mechanic, who fixed it, whilst I had a cup of tea. No charge, despite it being over a year old and out of warranty.

[raggerminder]

I had a B reg and then a D reg in the late eighties/early nineties and liked them both. They were both 2.0 HLs if I recall correctly, and in comparison to the Renault 5s we had owned for sometime before they were luxurious - but they did rust a bit...

 

Strangely, I actually saw one on the road today in Darlington, the first one I have seen in forever - I got quite excited even though I was in the last few miles of a trip from Surrey.

[JohnK]

Was it a silver D reg one, raggerminder?

 

If so, it is likely to be the one I'm viewing tomorrow - it was in for MOT today and is based in Darlington!

[raggerminder]

That was the one, it was wearing trade plates at the time. Saw it about 3pm near "George's Folly" (noe the rugby ground). Looked pretty tidy, I thought.

[Bear]

There are a couple of nice ones reputedly up for sale in the North East. One HL and one L, the latter with 27K on the clock.

 

One careful owner*, never raced or rallied. Not sure I'd sit alongside him on a test drive though.

[MarvinsMom]

the one's i've come across i've really liked.

 

liked more than a cavalier, and less than a posh sierra.

 

i found the monty and maestro to ride well, have a nice driving position but the vw gearbox in the 1600 had a crap gear change it was like a stir the pot and hope sometimes for the gear ratio i wanted, whereas the 2 litre one was a honda/pg1 (i think) gearbox and that was much better, and much nicer to use.

 

rust in the back wings and door bottoms, plus dreadful brittle plastic bumpers which crack and shatter easily.

 

and the indicator lamps in the front wings seem to fall to bits too.

 

i would have one if i had the space.

[JohnK]

17,000 on the L Richard - allegedly ...

[Bear]

Oh, yes - I was getting the Montys mixed up. I reckon the one that's been used would be the smart buy.

[Felly Magic]

I'm viewing a 1.6 HL saloon tomorrow ...

It's not a silver one in Ipswich is it?

[Partridge]

Talk to Captain Slow. He's not on here much though - would you like me to see if he can get in contact?

[warren t claim]

They're not as bad as their reputation. I owed a dizzler bought as a panic purchase for taxi usage to replace an unreliable (is there any other sort?) Vectra.

[Bear]

Montego. Better than a Vectra.

 

Now there's a winning advertising slogan.

 

"New, from Rover - MONTEGO. Boss won't let you have a 420GSi Turbo? Never mind, the Montego is better than a Samara saloon, better than a Vectra, and represented a useful improvement over the Ital when launched."

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I had one as a company car when I was a Unipart drone in 1994. It was a K reg 2.0D Countryman in metallic dark brown with beige velours and about 100'000 miles. Unipart company motors were always hand me downs from Rover next door. But it was a good car. Competent, very useful, brisk enough and insanely economical. It would do 50 mpg anywhere, anyhow. But it wasn't old enough to be rusty - that was 1998.

We also had Maestro vans - same dash, same engine sans turbo etc. Edmunds Walker drivers were always racing Escort D vans from Cafco and Rogers Motor Factors.

[burraston2006]

Had a 1.6 flavour when I was 17. Can't remember a lot about the driving experience as it was over 20 years ago! The thing I do remember is that it went like greased weasel shit! Used to average 60mph all the way back from Pompey to Axminster every weekend ( doubt if you could do that now!). Thank fuck it was a non interference engine as the cam belt said good night 200 yards from home. Popped on a new belt and resumed the weekly Pompey grand prix! Mate had a 2.0VDPlas and there was no way in hell you could drive it like I drove mine ( slippy leather!). Probably rose tinted glasses but it was an ace car for WINNAS!!