What Mark is my Metro \ Rover 100?

The Mk1 Metro

The mk1 metro features a rectangular black grill which is the same height as the head lamps.

The bonnet also features a center line in the above the badge to near the windscreen. The front of the bonnet runs the same hieght over the headlamps and grill.

The headlamps with indicator built in are orange as pictured.

The mk1 was available is either 1.0L or 1.3L engine sizes

the mk1 is easily defined when looking at the interior.

it has a separate dash binical for the dials. the speedo on the mk1 is a full circle

The Mk2 Metro

The mk2 is very similar to the mk1 externally. The major difference is the bonnet now comes down lower than the top of the headlamps. The grill is shallower than the mk1 and now come in a variety of colours such as black, grey and colour coded. The headlamps with indicator built in are clear. New to the mk2 was plastic bumpers but some basic versions still had metal ones.

The engine cubic capacity remained the same as the mk1 with only minor electrical changes to the engine.

The mk2 Metro interior featured a all new dash. The mk2 has 3 large square buttons to the right of the dials for rear fog lamp, rear wiper and rear wash wiper. The last two are not on the most basic mk2's and are blanked off. The mk2 has the Heated rear window button very close to the ignition lock. Higher spec models such as the MG, Vanden Plas and Mayfair also featured foot well lamps which was only available on mk2's. The mk2 was also the only Metro to have a roof mounted digital clock on certain models .

The mk3 (Rover Metro)

The mk3 Metro featured a totally new front end to house the brand new Rover K-series engine. The cubic capacity was increase by 0.1L across the range which now gave a 1.1 & 1.4 engine sizes and impressive BHP figures to match. There was a new addition to the Metro range with the Metro Diesel in 1.4L. This features the PSA 1.4 TU engine.

Differences: - The bonnet on the mk3 comes down deep below the headlamps and features a Rover badge on all models. A separate grill is no longer present and the bumper meets the bonnet. At the top of the bumper is a long air vent which does the function of the grill for the radiator behind. All mk3 Metro's have the same head lamps and indicators a pictured. The rear features a new tailgate where the number plate has been move up onto the boot lid instead of under the bumper. New rear light cluster design were also added and full height bumpers which covered the lower valance which was previously on show on the mk1 and mk2..

The interior in the mk3 featured the same basic dash as the mk2. It now had a new colour of light grey. Some early mk3 can also have a dark Navy or beige colour but these are very rare.

The main difference to the mk3 dash was the new dial surround which was chunky and featured smaller more modern looking switches but the same basic layout remains.

The dial faces were modernized and featured better fiber optic illumination than the mk2. The digital clock was moved onto the lower middle center of the dials.

A new 3 spoke steering wheel with Rover logo across the whole range with sports models having side grips. Later mk3's featured a Rover alarm system with a 1 button fob.

The mk4 (Rover 100)

The mk4 Rover 100 as it was called in the UK featured a all new front end but identical underneath as the mk3 Metro.. The Rover 100 welcomes back the separate grill. The headlamps are much more rounded. They are one piece and feature clear indicators. The bumpers were a lot more curvy than the mk3. The rear of the Rover 100 was similar to the mk4 but the bumper is smooth and much deeper. The rear lamp clusters indicator orange plastic was changed to smoked and the boot lid number plate light handle became more curvy.

Engine size wise, the mk4 Rover 100 has the cubic capacity line up as the mk3 Metro but the Diesel version was uncreased to 1.5L

The interior remained much the same as the mk3 but with new steering column. The new steering column gave fitment to steering wheels used in other Rover models which meant a newer looking 3 spoke steering wheel could be used and also the Rover Airbag steering wheel could now be fitted to the top of the range models. The Airbag wheel was a cost option on all other models. The new steering colour featured the Honda/Rover indicator wiper stalks. These stalks also had the rear wash wipe function and the previous switch for this on the mk3 are redundant on the mk4. The chunky dial surround was changed from grey to black and the dash mat was increased in size and much more curvy design. The hazard lamp switch is moved to the left of the ash tray and the cigarette socket to the right. the seats also featured new patterns. All mk4 Rover 100's came with a Rover alarm which had a 2 button remote.

Note, UK registration letters are only a indication of year. The Rover 100 production line closed on the 31st December 1997 which means that a few are registered as 1998 cars as they would not have been registered on the day of production. This means there are S & T registration Rover 100's and even a couple as late as a 51 new style prefix.