In this week's issue:

• The Emperor's New Clothes
• Car Sales Start 2004 in Top Gear

  The Emperor's New Clothes

This is getting ridiculous. Watching MG Rover over the last few years has been akin to watching Terminator 2.

Every time you think the Schwarzenegger character has been finished off, he rises again having taken on a new form to live another day. Such is the way with the Rover 25.

Rover is seriously short of money at the moment and doesn't have the funds to develop a new car by itself, hence the partnership with Indian carmaker Tata to make the diminutive CityRover. Until it can find someone else who can supply cars it can adapt into Rover or MG form, the Longbridge company has to make do with daytime TV-style makeovers. The trouble is, one of these days we're going to take a very good look at what the emperor is actually wearing.

That is because the Streetwise is essentially a Rover 25 with a few extra plastic mouldings stuck on and a rearranged interior. The 25 has already been adapted to create the MG ZR, and is itself essentially the old Rover 200.

Having said all that, MG Rover managed to steal a march on the competition, no small achievement given its financial situation. It calls the Streetwise an ?urban on-roader' and we suspect this is a genre we'll be hearing a lot more of over the next few years. You basically take a standard small car, give it some butch ?soft-roader' style looks and then market it as a youthful, fun car.

Ford was the first to create such a car in the shape of the Ford Fusion, although the Fusion is a genuinely different model from the Fiesta it is based on. The Streetwise is much closer to the 25 and VW and Citroen are this year following the MG Rover approach with the Polo Fun and C3 Extreme.

Urban Gas

Anyway, what's the car like? We drove the 1.6-litre version, on sale from January, fitted with an LPG conversion. The K-Series Rover engine can never be criticised for being lethargic, and in the Streetwise it is as willing as ever. This isn't hot hatch territory, but the 1.6 is a confident over-taker. On the downside, it's not exactly the most refined of engines either, but then again the Streetwise isn't the most refined of cars.

The LPG conversion means that you can press a button mounted on the dash to switch the fuel supply over from petrol to Liquid Petroleum Gas. This happens fairly quickly and there's no noticeable difference in performance. Some commentators have described a jolt when the changeover occurs, but I had no problems in this respect.

The LPG conversion normally costs £995 after a 60% rebate in the form of a Powershift grant, but as funds have dried up until March, it's not worth the £2,195 it would cost to fit LPG now. Furthermore, the Chancellor announced in his pre-Budget report that LPG duties will rise over the next three years. The price of LPG is currently half that of petrol.

In terms of styling changes, there's a new front bumper incorporating the new Rover badge, rear bumper, wheelarch extensions and side rubbing strips. The roof rails can carry 65kg of weight. The Streetwise sits at a higher ride height than the 25, but has managed to retain the 25's superb capabilities around corners. It can really be chucked about the place, but again refinement is a let down thanks to the stiffer ride quality. The pedals feel a little heavy too.

New Car. Old Interior

While the Streetwise is competent as a driver's car, the cabin is very disappointing. You may be one of those people who manage to get comfortable in the driver's seat. If you are, I suspect you are in a minority. You can adjust it for height if you pay extra for the option, but not by very much and the position is definitely awkward for any taller driver. The view isn't much better. There is a new centre console but it still looks hopelessly outdated.

As does the equipment list. The small car sector is extremely competitive at the moment and the Streetwise is way off the pace. On safety matters, the car manages a driver's airbag and that's it. You have to buy an ?S' model or above to get ABS and while a passenger airbag is optional on all models, don't bother asking about side airbags - there are none. As for comfort, the entry model lacks electric front windows and electric rear windows are optional on all five-door models.

The rear seating arrangements are unusual for a car of this size. Two individual seats are fitted as standard. They work quite well and can be folded down individually. It's not a bad idea. Alternatively, a more conventional three-seat bench can be specified for an extra £150. The Streetwise is a brave and imaginative effort from MG Rover given its financial circumstances, but no matter how good it would be to see the company stand proud once again, it would be very difficult to recommend the Streetwise for your shopping list.

Written by Ian Summer

  Car Sales Start 2004 in Top Gear

New car registrations revved up six percent last month from a year earlier to 197,591, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders says.

The figures follow a record 2003 which saw sales rise 0.6 percent on the previous year to 2.58 million.

"January's new car market continues a trend set over three consecutive record years. Fears over interest rate rises are not affecting registrations which remain strong on the back of a positive economic backdrop and a raft of attractive new models," said SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan.

"We can expect 2004 to be another year in which the UK consolidates is position as the second largest European market (after Germany)," he added.

The SMMT said last week that solid fleet and business registrations led the strong January performance, rising 9.0 and 7.2 percent respectively. Private registrations rose 2.5 percent. Strong consumer spending, low interest rates and falling car prices have boosted the car market in Britain for the past three years and the SMMT said it saw sales of around 2.5 million this year -- just short of last year's total -- in spite of expected rises in interest rates.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee raised interest rates again on Thursday, by a quarter point to 4.0 percent, in a bid to rein in rampant consumer spending and house prices. Economists expect interest rates to finish the year at 4.5 percent.

The SMMT said the Ford Focus remained the best-selling car in Britain last month, as it has been for much of the past five years, with 12,630 sold. It was followed by the Vauxhall Corsa on 8,842 and the Ford Fiesta on 7,631.

Ford increased its market share in January, by over one percentage point to 16.76 percent. Renault expanded its sharply, to 7.14 percent from 5.57 a year ago.

Citroen Skids

Citroen, however, saw its share skid to 4.0 percent from 5.66. The other major car marques, like Vauxhall, Peugeot and Volkswagen saw broadly steady market shares of 13.7, 7.3 and 7.2 percent respectively.

Sales of diesel-powered cars were up 20 percent last month from January last year to account for a record 31.2 percent of the market. The Ford Mondeo was the best-selling diesel. Diesel's popularity has been growing rapidly in Britain, thanks to the new type of economical but fast direct-injection turbo-charged engines.

Diesel's British market share, however, is still a lot lower than in many other European countries where diesel fuel is much cheaper, due to lower taxes. In Britain, it is slightly more expensive than petrol at around 0.78 pounds pence a litre.

Car prices remain under control in spite of the high demand, however. The latest car price index from building society Alliance & Leicester shows prices down 0.6 percent year-on-year in November, the latest month for which figures are available.

Written by Ashley Seager

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