October 1985 brought us two new basic Maestros, the new Maestro 'City' and the 'City X'. The 'City' had even less equipment than the 1.3 here, with the 'City X' replacing this existing 1.3 Base model. They both had the same cheap steel wheels. The 1983 launch-spec Maestro 1.3 Base model and the 1986 model year City came without the thick slab of trim inside a good part of the tops of the doors, they were very tinny. They didn't even have door storage bins, nor did they have a passenger door mirror or seat head rests.
The Collins family that were in the TV soap brookside had a maestro Vanden plas. The character Anabel Collins who was JP/ magistrate and a bit of a snob could be sometimes seen driving it in episodes. Complete with her leather driving gloves.
Another interesting vid, if I remember rightly the new 5 speed gearbox they mention was a bought in VW Golf unit, I drove a few Maestros in the early days and they drove OK. The problem was the competition, with their Escort’s, Astra’s and Golf’s etc just looked more interesting. The Maestro always had a very staid image sadly.
Not bad cars really the Maestros . Tended to get overlooked in favour of the competition as they just didn't have that stand out appeal and were probably launched a few years too late. I notice they'd managed to wring out 68bhp from the venerable push rod 'A' series by this time.
Really nice video again. I liked the Maestro, it was a nice car and had a nice ride when compared to the Ford Escort, when they were new the ride was slightly better i think on the Maestro 1.3L than the Escort Mk3 1.3L. The 1.6 engine was a nice one too but when compared to a Mk1 Astra it was lacking. They did have a nice amount of room in the rear though. Also the steeper rake of the rear window gave you a bit more room in there than the Escort. It always made me think it was an older persons version of the Montego, which i always thought was the family car. The MG version was a nice one. When the Turbo came out it was truly a hot hatch. Nice commentary along with the video.
An underrated car at the time although it sold in decent numbers. My peers thought it looked like a car for older people although I liked the styling for it's practicality and, I thought, good looks. These were roomy, airy and comfortable with decent engines and I wouldn't mind an example as a classic car for today; perhaps a Vanden Plas or an MG version although the poverty specs are tempting too if found in good condition. Thanks for the brochure review. 👍🏼
The MG 2.0 EFi had just replaced the MG 1600 at this time. My dad bought a used example of one of the earliest MG 1600s in 1988 and kept it for 5 years. It was looking a bit sad by 1993. It had the voice synthesiser and digital display and the 2 spoke steering wheel shared with the HLS. The dashboard creaked quite a bit. Post March 1986 Maestros got the Montego style dashboard which were better. I agree about why Austin Rover bothered with 'Automatic' spec when it could have just been an optional extra throughout the range on the Maestro and Metro. I couldn't see the point of the HLE either although the econometer was a cool feature.
Unusual the Maestro was five door only unlike the Escort, Astra, Golf either three or five door. Made until 1994 after the better Rover 214/216 replaced it in 1989 for those who wanted a cheap no frills car. There was even a diesel engine option towards the end, also in the Maestro van and Montego sounded awful. The Maestro van in yellow, the standard small van for British Telecom. The Maestro is very rare today only about 80 left, both hatchback, van and the MG models with red upholstery and seatbelts, but never really a boy racer's car.
Of course the plughole of doom prevented Aussies from having any access to the Maestro range. The MG Maestro 2.0i would be my pick for its performance. The five door hatchback and the double folding rear seats made it a more practical vehicle than any three door hot hatch. Nothing wrong with good performance in a rather understated car. If you had the sporty hatchbacks from Ford, Vauxhall and Volkswagen everyone knew that you were a hoon. I think I'd have kept the analogue dash, rather than going for the optional digital dash.
Good review. To me the Maestro is OK . . . versatile, capable and more than likely a nicer place to be than many competitor models. The main issue really was image. It looked rather frumpy and dated next to cars like the Mk2 Golf and Astra. The chunky proportions remind me of late-70s hatchbacks such as the Chrysler Horizon and Fiat Strada, no doubt a direct consequence of the protracted BL development process. The peculiar name and BL baggage it carried didn't do it any favours either.
I see the Maestro as BL's Sierra. It was a vast improvement on what had gone on before in terms of design, performance, economy and equipment levels. BL also knew how to get us interested with the voice synthesiser, digital speedo and trip computer. They also gave the first test drive to the Prime Minister. In spite of all this creativity ignoramuses in the motoring press gave the Maestro a mediocre write up.
October 1985 brought us two new basic Maestros, the new Maestro 'City' and the 'City X'. The 'City' had even less equipment than the 1.3 here, with the 'City X' replacing this existing 1.3 Base model. They both had the same cheap steel wheels.
The 1983 launch-spec Maestro 1.3 Base model and the 1986 model year City came without the thick slab of trim inside a good part of the tops of the doors, they were very tinny. They didn't even have door storage bins, nor did they have a passenger door mirror or seat head rests.
The Collins family that were in the TV soap brookside had a maestro Vanden plas. The character Anabel Collins who was JP/ magistrate and a bit of a snob could be sometimes seen driving it in episodes. Complete with her leather driving gloves.
Another interesting vid, if I remember rightly the new 5 speed gearbox they mention was a bought in VW Golf unit, I drove a few Maestros in the early days and they drove OK. The problem was the competition, with their Escort’s, Astra’s and Golf’s etc just looked more interesting. The Maestro always had a very staid image sadly.
The rover 213 had better switches but cramped in the back light weight tinny. I preferred the maestro to the 213 more space and grace
Not bad cars really the Maestros . Tended to get overlooked in favour of the competition as they just didn't have that stand out appeal and were probably launched a few years too late. I notice they'd managed to wring out 68bhp from the venerable push rod 'A' series by this time.
Really nice video again. I liked the Maestro, it was a nice car and had a nice ride when compared to the Ford Escort, when they were new the ride was slightly better i think on the Maestro 1.3L than the Escort Mk3 1.3L. The 1.6 engine was a nice one too but when compared to a Mk1 Astra it was lacking. They did have a nice amount of room in the rear though. Also the steeper rake of the rear window gave you a bit more room in there than the Escort. It always made me think it was an older persons version of the Montego, which i always thought was the family car. The MG version was a nice one. When the Turbo came out it was truly a hot hatch. Nice commentary along with the video.
Thank you so much and appreciate your views as always
nice too see this Austin rover brochure, maestro this Small city car that time, the best car in the market, in the uk now how many left now
An underrated car at the time although it sold in decent numbers. My peers thought it looked like a car for older people although I liked the styling for it's practicality and, I thought, good looks.
These were roomy, airy and comfortable with decent engines and I wouldn't mind an example as a classic car for today; perhaps a Vanden Plas or an MG version although the poverty specs are tempting too if found in good condition.
Thanks for the brochure review. 👍🏼
Thank you as always
Anne Cartaret drove a gold one in Juliet Bravo. In the last series they were also the panda cars.
The MG 2.0 EFi had just replaced the MG 1600 at this time. My dad bought a used example of one of the earliest MG 1600s in 1988 and kept it for 5 years. It was looking a bit sad by 1993. It had the voice synthesiser and digital display and the 2 spoke steering wheel shared with the HLS. The dashboard creaked quite a bit. Post March 1986 Maestros got the Montego style dashboard which were better.
I agree about why Austin Rover bothered with 'Automatic' spec when it could have just been an optional extra throughout the range on the Maestro and Metro. I couldn't see the point of the HLE either although the econometer was a cool feature.
Unusual the Maestro was five door only unlike the Escort, Astra, Golf either three or five door. Made until 1994 after the better Rover 214/216 replaced it in 1989 for those who wanted a cheap no frills car. There was even a diesel engine option towards the end, also in the Maestro van and Montego sounded awful. The Maestro van in yellow, the standard small van for British Telecom. The Maestro is very rare today only about 80 left, both hatchback, van and the MG models with red upholstery and seatbelts, but never really a boy racer's car.
The Metro Auto and the Maestro Auto were not the only automatics in these ranges. Auto transmission was also available as an option VP models.
Correct
Of course the plughole of doom prevented Aussies from having any access to the Maestro range. The MG Maestro 2.0i would be my pick for its performance. The five door hatchback and the double folding rear seats made it a more practical vehicle than any three door hot hatch. Nothing wrong with good performance in a rather understated car. If you had the sporty hatchbacks from Ford, Vauxhall and Volkswagen everyone knew that you were a hoon. I think I'd have kept the analogue dash, rather than going for the optional digital dash.
I remember Danny Kendall being found dead in the back of Mr. Bronson's Maestro in Grange Hill.
Haha I don’t remember that episode
Didn't remember that episode either.
Good review. To me the Maestro is OK . . . versatile, capable and more than likely a nicer place to be than many competitor models. The main issue really was image. It looked rather frumpy and dated next to cars like the Mk2 Golf and Astra. The chunky proportions remind me of late-70s hatchbacks such as the Chrysler Horizon and Fiat Strada, no doubt a direct consequence of the protracted BL development process. The peculiar name and BL baggage it carried didn't do it any favours either.
Yes that makes sense
I see the Maestro as BL's Sierra. It was a vast improvement on what had gone on before in terms of design, performance, economy and equipment levels. BL also knew how to get us interested with the voice synthesiser, digital speedo and trip computer. They also gave the first test drive to the Prime Minister. In spite of all this creativity ignoramuses in the motoring press gave the Maestro a mediocre write up.