Rover 600 Series

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Rover 600 Series" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (February 2009) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Rover 600 Series
Overview
Manufacturer	Rover
Production	1993–1999
Assembly	United Kingdom: Cowley, Oxford, England
Designer	Richard Woolley (1989)
Body and chassis
Class	Large family car (D)
Body style	4-door saloon
Layout	FF layout
Platform	Honda CB
Related	Honda Accord Honda Ascot Innova
Powertrain
Engine	petrol: 1.8 L Honda F18A I4 2.0 L Honda F20Z1 I4 2.0 L T-series turbo I4 2.3 L Honda H23A3 I4 diesel: 2.0 L L-series turbo I4
Transmission	5-speed manual 4-speed automatic
Dimensions
Wheelbase	2,720 mm (107.1 in)
Length	4,650 mm (183.1 in)
Width	1,727 mm (68.0 in)
Height	1,380 mm (54.3 in)
Kerb weight	1,280–1,365 kg (2,822–3,009 lb)
Chronology
Predecessor	Austin Montego
Successor	Rover 75

The Rover 600 Series was a compact executive car range that was produced by the British manufacturer Rover from 1993 to 1999.

The exterior of the Rover 600 was designed by Rover, a reskin of the European Honda Accord, also built in the United Kingdom by Honda in Swindon. The core structure and vast majority of the engineering content was sourced from Honda but the vehicles were designed at the same time, with a small Rover team on site in Japan. Colour and trim derivatives were also used to help separate the Rover from the Honda in the marketplace.

The 1.8, 2.0 and 2.3 litre inline-four petrol engines were all provided by Honda. However, the 2.0 litre turbodiesel Rover L-series engine and turbocharged T-series engines were developed by Rover itself, evolutions of units already available elsewhere in the Rover model range.

The 600's interior included wood and chrome trim, as well as relatively high equipment levels, although rear legroom was criticised by Parkers as rather constrained.^[1] The interior was similar to the Japanese built Honda Ascot Innova, except with a few cosmetic changes. Carpet was also not evident along the bottom trim of the dashboard, although it did feature there on the Innova.

The Honda derived chassis was reported to give a comfortable but unsporting ride. Given the Rover's equipment, prices were reasonably competitive in the large family car segment, and considerably lower than the price of such compact executive cars, such as the BMW 3 Series and Audi A4. Unlike the Montego, there was never an estate version of the 600 Series, with no direct replacement being launched for the estate version of the Montego when it was discontinued at the end of 1994. An estate would eventually resurface with the Rover 75 Tourer when it was launched in July 2001.