History of the Metro

In 1980 a new car was brought into the world by Austin. It was to be the replacement for the ever successful Mini, but however hard it tried it never quite made it, (coincidentally the original style mini was made right up to 2000!) This was the miniMetro. It was also to be the car that BMC hoped would save them, and, to their relief their new supermini sold by the bucket load. Boasting lots of space for a car of its size (the boot was dramatically better than the minis) and 5 different models with varying level of trim and two engine sizes. Both engines were trusted 'A' series units as had been used in many British cars before (For a complete list click here), it was offered in both 1.0 and 1.3 litre forms boasting 44hp and 62hp respectively with 4 speed gearboxes. Suspension was dealt with by Austin's famous Hydragas units which offered good handling and a comfortable ride. (For a complete timeline of Austin Metro models 1980-90 click here) Next big change came in 1990 when Rover decided to give the metro a facelift, and a new name, no longer did it have the Austin badge it was born with but now wore the Rover emblem. Changes included new engines, a new look front end and general improved refinement and reliability. The new engines were 1.1 and 1.4 units (Rover 'K' series as used in the second generation 200 series Mid sized saloons) a timeline of the Rover Metro Releases from 1990-94 can be seen here. Sales began to dip once more as a new range of superminis from rivals were released. In response to this Rover gave the metro yet another minor facelift plus a major name change, no longer the metro it was now the Rover 100(Rover 100 Timeline). Boasting the same 'K' series engines but a changed front end, unfortunately the interior was almost the same as installed in the first metros to roll off the production line and in 1998, before its time in my opinion, the last Rover 100 past the gates of Rover.