Rover 620ti – The Ultimate Q Car?
Back in the nineties I used to read about my favourite car manufacturers in the various different car magazines. It wouldn’t take much time before I’d come across a scathing critic of Rover. It was a pretty common occurrence for Rover back then, build a car, splash the inside with leather and fake wood but forget to upgrade the mechanical side of things, which would in turn incite the fairly unforgiving magazine reviews.

The launch of the Rover 600 in 1993 stemmed the tide a bit though. It proved Rover could build a good car. It was designed to replace the aging Austin Montego which would be kept on after the launch of the 600 (primarily for fleet sales).
The Rover 600 was based on the mk5 Honda Accord which was similar mechanically, but significantly cheaper. Aesthetic differences inside and out made the Rover more special looking (and hopefully compensate for the higher price). The body was elegant looking and the grille design managed to be traditional without looking old fashioned. The interior had the familiar melted mars bar effect wood everywhere, but also had nice door cards and seats. Overall it looked like Rover were onto a winner.
To my eye the Rover 600 looked like a Rover should, with neat lines and subtle elegance without any fussy retro additions. The slight issue was that the Honda Accord was mechanically pretty much the same car, but cheaper.
Iron fist meets velvet glove
So, onto the main subject of our story, the Rover 620ti. A year after the launch of the Rover 600, the 620ti was introduced.
Despite having pick of the Honda engines, Rover decided to use its own T-series engine for the new 620ti. The “ti” stood for “Turbo Intercooler” and thanks to that the 620ti had 197bhp. To put that in perspective, the Sierra Cosworth of the same era only had around 20bhp more.
Previous fast Rovers, like the demented Tomcat and big engined 800s were all a bit unruly when driven hard. The 620ti was far more composed than both. This was thanks to the Torsen differential; which the Tomcat never had. The Rover 620ti also featured Honda’s double wishbone suspension.
Altogether this made the Rover 620ti a radically different proposition to the plain-Jane Honda Accord. The Rover 620ti was also cheaper and faster than much of the German opposition of the day too.
The powerful Rover engine and classy interior combined with Honda underpinnings created a car perfect for the “Iron fist, Velvet glove” metaphor.
When I came across the Rover 620ti car magazine reviews, it was odd to see so much praise heaped onto a Rover. I’d always remembered the “620ti” name since then and always had a yearning to buy one. Unfortunately not many were produced and the good ones rarely come up for sale now. The engines were popular in the modifying scene too, making it rarer still as working cars are harvested for various bits to keep others running.
Whether I get the chance to run one or not, it was always nice to see critics raving about a Rover, even if a lot of the input was from Honda. Even Clarkson liked it.
“The suspension is superb”
Jeremy Clarkson on the Rover 600
In Conclusion
Being a big fast Rover saloon made for comparisons with the old Rover 800 that Tony Pond thrashed around the Isle of Mann TT circuit. This wasn’t a modified special though, just a very good car that Rover had made themselves (finally).
The more famous relative of the 620ti was the Rover Tomcat. This had everything on paper but faired badly with magazine critics. In comparison the 620ti was less well known than the Tomcat, but it certainly deserves recognition for its power and performance capabilities. With its turbocharged engine, and improved suspension; the 620ti offers the driving experience the Rover Tomcat promised, but couldn’t deliver. It also represented a great “Q car” with only the alloys and interior trim showing it was the fastest Rover around. A glorious moment in Rovers history.
Rover 620TI | ||
Engine: | 1994cc i4 Turbo | |
Power: | 197 bhp | |
0-60: | 7.0 | |
Top Speed: | 143 mph | |
Price when new: | £19,995 | |
Production: | 1994-1999 |