@@matty6848 I think it was really a good car. Not bad looking, spacious, comfortable, well equipped in the VP models. The problem was, that Austin/Rover bouilt the so poorly. So everyone just assumes it's trash even though it's not the original one. Even though I'm from Czech Republic, dunno how, but ever since I was a kid I had a leaflet book on the 80's Austin/Rover (my uncle used to work in West Germany, so he probably brought it here from some car show, because it's in German) and I really liked these cars ever since. The Metro, Maestro, the Montego and the SD1. I was so amazed that the Montego Estate could even be a seven seater. It just shows, especially after seeing Quentin's bit on the Metro on Top Gear, that these cars not neccessarily have been badly thought out, they were just so badly put together thanks to the sooo bad working morale. I mean even though the UK is widely regarded as the most "western democracy" state together with the USA, the Austin/Rover company succumbed to all the problems that we, in Central and Eastern Europe had everyday under the Soviet Union rule. Only with one exception - our so laughed at car industry made it out and survived to be thriving so well now (though the polished shit policy of the "technology" and electric cars makes it a joke now again, but that goes for the whole VW group cars), the British industry went bust.
The older I get, the more I love a maestro. As a kid, my friends mum had one and it was always really comfortable and felt huge inside. Say what you like about them, but they are fantastic cars 👌🏻
My uncle had the Vanden Plas automatic Maestro and it was so comfortable and refined. Even though it was just a Maestro because it had the wooden trim, valour interior, automatic gearbox and I think it was the 1.6 efi so it was fairly quick as well as it was fuel injected, unlike the carb fed A series engine.. it was little thing like rear head rests, fold down arm rest with a inbuilt drinks holder and touch carpets made it feel very Jaguar or Rolls Royce type car. Then he sold it and brought the M.G Montego 2.0 Turbo and man alive was that quick. I don’t think it handled that great but on a strait went like the clappers. They nicknamed them the Exocet. Think it did 0 to 60 mph in 6 seconds which was in the Cosworth territory..
I remember Arnold Clark selling brand new old stock Maestros in Glasgow in about 1995. I'm pretty sure they were going for £3000. While I was picking up a '91 Mk Micra there was a guy in the office loudly complaining that he'd just pulled the door handle off the very first time he went to open his "new" car!
One of our family cars! The ride wasn't smooth but the Maestro tackled all the potholes on the Bulgarian roads with ease. Overall quite good car, few technical issues, cheap plastics but satisfactory build quality. It`s really nice you are reviewing one of these - it brings back so many great memories from my childhood.
I bought a Maestro HLE back in '85 at 14 months old and 10k on the clock from the main dealer in Chatham. Keep it until late '93 when I p/x'ed it for a 3 month old Escort. Nice car to drive, well built and no rust anywhere even though it was kept outside 24/7 for the first 6 years of my ownership. I don't get the lack of love for these cars.
My uncle had a Maestro 1.6 efi Vanden Plas, and it said it was one of the best cars he ever had. Owned it for 5 years and never had any problems or let him down. And it was well posh inside. Electric windows front and rear Valour interior with thick carpets, rear head rests with fold down arm rest with drinks holder. Wooden trim digital clock, automatic gearbox in Metallic silver and you felt posh driving in it. One thing Rover did well was in their car interiors which we’re always more welcoming and typically British comfort, more so than Fords, Vauxhalls which felt really cheap and basic inside. Then he sold that and brought a M.G Montego 2.0 Turbo and it went like the clappers. Think it was down for 0 to 60mph in 6 seconds, that’s Cosworth territory..
What a wasted opportunity the Maestro was. I made the mistake of buying one and spent several years suffering from poor build quality and unreliability. If they'd made it properly and had a sensible range of models it could have been a major success. As it stands, it was the worst car I've ever owned and I vowed never to touch another Leyland product again (and didn't).
Brings back memories of my first company car - a 1.3 Montego. Total poverty spec that I inherited from my predecessor in the job. Boy was I happy when I finally got my choice of car. 1.3 Cavalier L. Red with a sunroof, tinted windows and four speaker stereo radio/cassette. Loved that car 😍
Wow, no idea such a thing existed as a Maestro but glad it does! Thanks for telling the story. That's a good car for the owner to bring back to life and full cosmetic health, and also such a glorious curiousity to own.
That dashboard is actually a late Montego spec. The bank of four switches where rear wash/wipe are was never fitted to Cowley-built Maestros, they always had the older version with the ashtray there. Heater controls were where you had your cigar lighter in that model.
Interesting it's a later white-needled binnacle with an earlier yellow-needled speedo fitted. Obvs they just literally bought the speedometer module to swap out the original km/h dial rather than buy a whole replacement binnacle and didn't care about matching the parts up.
It's a bit like 1950s farm trucks in N. America. They were not engineered for motorway speeds, And the gear ratios had to be updated. The steering Boxes redone , and brought up to modern spec/ Then, they were Bullet proof,As long as the truck didn't rust away. What an interesting story.
I remember a number of these kits being available at a very cheap price in the nineties . They were advertised as build your own new car . It did go onto say that before they were road legal you would have to have them assessed and passed etc . Never took up the offer but interesting take on a " kit" car
after 1985 the maestro dashboard which originally was a multi piece item which was subject of lots of complaints on the early cars it was replaced with the one piece moulded montego dash and steering wheel so the two cars had identical dashboards then when the change happened the voice activated onboard computer was deleted
I vaguely remember these being mentioned in the press at the time. The rarity of survivors must make them an interesting, if not necessarily financially valuable retro vee-hicle. Fascinating story. In a cock-eyed kind of way, I quite fancy owning one. In my days as a biased and proud owner of a "don't breathe or something will fall off it" Alfasud 1.5 ti, I was lent a 1.3 Austin Maestro while the Alfa was having yet another visit to the repair centre. A lovely comfy car. 0 to 60 in about 3 weeks, compared to the Alfa, but still a fairly competent performer.
The Tickford Turbo Maestros were a tad nippy. Definitely quicker to 60 than three weeks..... 😉 I still clearly remember Motoring Magazine adverts for them with words on the lines of "Faster than a Ferrari" ,,, The NASP MG Maestros had another clever worded advertisement. "The Golf GTi will be along in a second." Actually a shade more than that. A German MG Maestro 2.0i owner correspondent back in the day told me he was puzzled that so many Brits put the ordinary Golf GTi on so high a pedestal ... "along in a second".
Great little video - I have an Apple 2000, a very late one, registered on a "Y" plate, in 2001. My wipers are the "correct" way round for RHD too. Plus mine has a catalytic converter - more of an oddity than this one :-)
maestro's weren't that bad apart from the fact they rotted away. Like most Austin Rover products. Had a tuned MaestroTurbo in the mid 90's and it was shockingly quick, but you guessed it, rotten
My home town Sliven's policeforce got a dozen of those Maestro's built in Varna, but since nobody produced or imported parts for them, they were a shortlived joy. Infact i remember till i graduated around 8 years ago, our police force was still using some Lada Riva's, but no Maestro to be seen. I guess that Britain and the EU shot Rover in the leg, since it was their idea to demand our new neo-liberal traitors, to drop tariffs on all second hand western tech, including cars and parts - which killed our industry prematurely, and also made buying barebones homemarket made new cars meaningless and unappealing compared to buying a ready more luxurious used german car. Our factories were already producing many key parts for soviet cars - infact "Dinamo" in my hometown still makes Lada starters and alternators. So having them start making parts for the Maestro would have been easy, if the american "economists" (overlords) didnt outright demand since the very start of the 90s, our industry to be dismantled, given out to nobodies to just scrap it and take the money, or completely liquidated on purpouse.
Regarding the NXXX DRP registration.... Though they were sold as 'new' in 1999, because they were built as new 'Rover' Maestros presumably from 1995/96, they would have got an age-related plate, so were registered on an N-plate. The 'DRP' waa the area they were registered in. The number was just sequential. The 'Ledbury' Maestros were all 'RXXX RVJ', the 'RVJ' part being the Herefordshire registration area. Interesting video
Presuming both companies block reserved the registrations for the number of vehicles they bought, hence the consecutive numbers, the same as main dealers do. The DVLA knows how many vehicles will be registered for each year before they are actually sold and registered. The date on the documents will be the date of actual registration but may be the previous period registration plate. Dealers often apply them to vehicles they want to shift before a model update, often at a discounted price with included dealer fit optional extras. Any registrations they don't use get returned to DVLA for use as age related or sold as cherished numbers if the combination is worthy. They and dealers don't like doing that as all the sales/registration figures have to be altered.
What a fabulously basic and old school car. My grandad had a 1983 Maestro HLE 1.6 in an odd pinky/red colour and it had the infamous talking dash. He had a succession of Montegos after that as he worked for McAlpines and the main supplier of company cars was Austin Rover, especially at their office here by us in Chester. The A+ engine is just wonderful… Awesome video Matt.
I remember these being heavily advertized in the media in early 90's Bulgaria, then the ads suddenly disappeared. The economic and banking crisis of 1995-1997 could have also played a role, but wouldn't explain why they hadn't restarted production of the same or a new vehicle from 1998 onwards. Nice to hear it wasn't for the lack of skill in Bulgarian workers, because that has been my assumption ever since. Either way, from what I see, this automobile is no match for the Favorit, let alone the Felicia.
The Bulgarian workers certainly could not have been worst than the British. The British had been building vehicles for a century and still couldn't build them well for a majority of their manufacturers.
At the right price it was as good as a Skoda Favorit or Felicia. I owned two Favorits and two Felicias from 1990 to 2014 ( plus five other Skodas since). The Maestro was roomier, handled just as well and was fairly robust. The 1.3 A plus engine is perfectly OK, if dated. If Skoda were given import duty advantages to Bulgaria and were backed by the might of VW, then those factors alone would have killed off the Maestro quickly enough. Shame about the van gearing which rather spoils it for the UK. Maestro was not that bad a car overall, though nowhere near VW Golf standards, but then neither was anything else on sale at the time.
I had never heard of these, thank you for the history lesson Matt. I know these were built for Bulgarian roads but that ride height and 14" wheels would come in handy today with Lincolnshire's pot holes.
This car seems like a Hubnut special. Very interesting backstory and incredibly rare but unexceptional. Just the kind of car I'd be interested in if I lived in the UK.
When I was a kid our neighbour had an ex Telecom Maesteo van in yellow. It got a bit scabby so rather than get it resprayed, he got some colour matched paint from a diy store and roller brushed the entire thing on his driveway. I distinctly remember the very textured finish 😆 Great vid of a rare car for sure 👍
In July '95 (whilst on work experience at a Rover dealership) I swear you could still buy Cowley-built Maestro diesels, so there can't have been much gap between UK & Bulgarian production
Matt the red fluffy dice are probably more rare than the car and love the red matching sticky tape 😂 pure perfection and Bulgarian families are big so definitely had to be a 7 or more Tea cup shelf minimum.
I have an Apple 2000. It is a great car. Sadly, as rare and unusual as it is I have to sell it. Now I have read this review it makes me even less keen on letting it go. MOT to September next year if anyone is interested.
I worked there 1995-96 ,I think .I remember, there were also vans and diesel engine cars,2.0 perkins .The bodies came finished in red , black , blue and white .Nice memories from another world.
The original Maestro was the death knell of Austin in Ireland. Even the Church of Ireland clientele had moved away by that point. And this yoke is even worse.
Every day's a school day. Didnae know these existed. i wid be dotting about in my Toyota Corolla 1.3.(the one wae the bug eyes). Good vid. thanks for that. This would be down there with the Allegro/Fso and the Riva..🤓
That was a blast from the past! 😳 I used to work for Apple 2000 in Culford in 1998/99. These all arrived from Bulgaria in Red, White and black as a left hand drive. I used to remove the storage wax from these, then steam clean and mop the paintwork, ready for the forecourt/showroom. Some were converted in house as right hand drive (as per your example) dash and pedals, but things like mirrors, headlights were forgotten about and when a customer complained that they couldn't see in their mirrors, or cars kept flashing them, it was my job to go to the breakers find Maestro RHD mirrors and headlights, clean them up like new, then fit them. You will probably notice that the wipers go the wrong way and the mat is stitched in the passenger side. O miles on a N plate, however the last handful were sold on an X plate as they had a cat fitted. I would actually love to drive one of these once again, been a good 22 years since! My first car was a horrible clove brown Maestro, for £40! But to see these in 98 in mint condition was something! Apple 2000 had some rare beasts on offer including the Kia Rocksta, brand new classic minis with a/c, pas and a rover 1.4 engine and a Perodua Nippa. Great vid, interesting! 👍👍
Looking forward to the follow up episode where Furious Driving is in China to drive an (Off the top of my head, without looking it up) Etsong Lubao CA1610 😄
It is mind blowing to think that at one time this country ruled most of the world but today we seem to be unable to do anything properly we was one of the first building nuk power stations when I was you they said that electric was going to be almost free it makes me feel sad to be English the way we balls everything up
Re the quality of the cars coming out of the new factory in Bulgaria vs in the home market: does that say more for the quality of those cars, or the quality of those being built in England?
Absolutely fascinating. Watching after spotting a LHD Apple 2000 around the corner from my house. It’s in immaculate condition, would love to talk to the owner.
@@hunchanchoc8418 you are correct in less room but it was more refined and comfortable and better built, the xud/td could not match the perkins td in economy tho not a large difference. The maestro diesels could have been even better if they had vp trim or mg trim. Why i sold both cars on is a pet hate of mine….rain water ingress…maestro leaked into front footwell and 218 leaked into tailgate and rear light units
A fascinating combination of a defunct model and a defunct Socialist system. BL meets the Eastern Bloc, what could possibly go wrong 😂. Don't think the Land Rover production in Varna would have worked either. Bulgaria was still very close to old mother Russia after USSR fell apart so Nivas were the default 4x4. Twice as good and half the price of a LR.
I was fortunate enough to own a 1986 Meastro Mayfair in late 80s and a VP in early 90s,They were miles away from this one Matt! Lots of soundproofing ,bit of chrome on door handles,grill,plush box velvet upholstery,Walnut veneered doorcaps roomy interior,etc,etc.Lots of room,a decent ride and performance.I liked them a lot.Thanx for interesting and imformative video..
Imagine that! Bulgaria could've been the Slovakia car manufacturer of the day. In fact, Land Rover would've had a head start into Eastern Europe and Russia where go-anywhere premium 4x4s were starting to gain prominence.
When I got rid of my South African Escort pickup Wor lass was pregnant so needed a 4 door , bought a 1300 Maestro cracking car quick in all I was told it used the 1275 GT motor to compensate for the extra weight , bought it from a dealer as trade in £300 took it to a mate who said don't drive it's a death trap , put new struts on , put new rear wheel arches and sills for an MOT , ran it for a couple of years sold it to a mate for £150 , I was thinking of sticking a Montego front end on it but needed the scuttle panel replace , figured to much work LOL .
Yes the French appeared to buy quite alot of Montego Estates fitted with the Perkins Diesel engine, and as a nation they appeared quite fond of BL cars despite their shortcomings.
Interesting that the diesel box is shorter than the petrol on that model. I bought one for £100 while my Mk 3 escort xr3i was getting bodywork done. Accidentally smashed it into the back of an old duffer sat stationary on a blind bend adjusting his hearing aid. My front door hardly opened after the crash and the inlet manifold was snapped clean off by the slam panel intrusion. I was fine. It went to the scrappy soon after that of course.
"Even cruder than Birmingham..." your pushing it there Matt😂I've learnt something new today I did not know these existed, a suspect down to single figures based on it being one of 300ish!
Those 1300 engines worked better without the electronics of the original Maestro. They were of the same family as the engine of the Morris Minor. It was aptly name as for a musician, especially a guitarist, it was the only car you could fit a 4x12 speaker cabinet on the back seat with no issues at all!
Always had a soft spot for these things, in spite of all the negative press the Maestro got. I remember getting a lift a couple of times in one with the 2.0 diesel - Massey Ferguson levels of noise, as I recall all too well, and our local council used to run a fleet of increasingly ratty Maestro vans with that engine for years. Seeing that dashboard reminds me strongly of Dad's old Montego. Nice to see such an odd survivor.
I actually have never heard of either of these companies, so a big thanks for educating us on them Matt. I think if it were my car I'd look for full bumpers and some better wheels.
I was a child at the time and I remember these were advertised in newspapers and magazines. I even think they were fleet cars for the first Bulgarian private telecom company. But I remember them by being not very well built. I can't imagine what the UK built cars were like. But "western" cars were already a thing when the maestro arrived so they were not only compared to ladas and moskvitches.
I live in Bury St Edmunds so great to hear a mention! Never knew about this so was really interesting to hear this happened just down the road. I do like the Maestro. It's like an updated Allegro style wise and I love Allegros! Cool fluffy dice too 😄 😎
To be fair to it only the rear arches and the fuel filler are which are the two main places they go, the rest of it is very solid, especially underneath :) It will all be repaired via a proper welder and body guy next year. (Will, the Owner)
@@WillThePlank Yes, it's reparable, but i cannot notice rust not even on rear arches, but also on the front left door and on bootlid area. Also is fair to mention that only audi's of that age are rust free (my 1992 vw is affected under doors, at bootlid area and around windshield)
Very interesting, thanks. Good to know there are some of these left. Hopefully this one continues getting fixed up by it's enthusuastic owner and sees many more miles.
Well this was certainly interesting. I knew that various British models were built elsewhere, but the Bulgarian connection was a new one to me. Thanks as always!
Wipers are still LHD but tbf well done on going down the kit car route! What a shame Rover went the way it did. I wish BMW's CEO had not made the comments he made at the time of the 75 and maybe we'd still be driving new models today.
@@furiousdriving really great to get the mention by two influential presenters and all your other connections, really enjoy your reviews and your attention to details and knowledge,Always feel well informed and often tell others my new found information Keep up the fantastic work
My first car is 1991 was a 1.6HLS in Clove Brown. Registration was A501XWB. That had the famous modular rattle dash. Interior was brown!! All my mates had XR-3’s, Astra’s, but I preferred my car. The engine was the R series, mated with a five speed VW gearbox. Eventually after many scrap yard visits, the interior was swapped out for the grey MG type, with red carpets and seatbelts. Exterior had all the MG spoilers and lips. I even fitted the digital dash, though getting the electronic speedo sender working was a pig!!I loved this car, and still maintain today that it was one of the best cars I’ve owned. Sadly it got rear ended by a Golf Clipper, but fear not, back down the scrap yard, I bought a B reg silver 1.3, and literally swapped everything over, and back on the road in a week!! Made me chuckle Matt when you slammed the bonnet. You think that was bad! My A reg had no sound proofing in the roof. Slamming the door sounded like being in a cave. Eventually I’d had enough, and lined it with bitumen sheets.
Myself and a fellow taxi driver bought one new between us to run double shifts in Manchester from Alex Mead, a 1988 F Reg with the Perkins Prima diesel, can’t remember if it was a turbo or not. I recall all the squeaks and rattles, steel bumpers, after 3 years out with the stone chip to cover the bottom of car every six months, that car worked hard for its keep. After 7 years and nearly 400,000 miles we part exchanged for a new shiny Mk 1 Mondeo.
Hand built Maestros ... now there's a thing. Old technology has its advantages. A Carb with Manual Choke control. British car production tooling sold out of the UK is nothing new. Schoolboy me remembers seeing Morris Cowleys for short period back in the day. Then no more. The tooling was sent to India and they produced their version called the Hindustani Ambassador which had a very long production run and were everywhere in India often used as Taxis. Mike Brewer brought one back from India and Edd sorted it. Sold to a couple of UK based Indian ladies if I remember correctly. CORRECTION. They are NOT head rests. They are Head Restraints. Whatever next, you'll be calling Suspension Dampers "shocks" next .. poor form doncha know.... 😉 Good information there. The last time I saw a "Ledbury" as it happens it was only a few miles from Ledbury.. Long time ago. Enjoyed that Mr Furious Driving. We still have a Maestro in the family. It has an O Series Petrol Turbo in it... Very cool Hot Hatch.
Once saw one of these on an X-plate in Kings Lynn. That's a 2000-01 reg! I blame Rover for the diversity of terrible drivers: when they stopped producing the Maestro, those people dispersed into other cars.
I was once forced to drive a Maestro, as a company car. I was 22, and was diagnosed with the rare condition of PCCCSD (post crappy company car stress disorder) I managed to get out of therapy 2 years later 1988, after an intense course of Vauxhall Cavalier SRi 130. Although it was an automatic it did have the, uncommon at the time, aircon upgrade. My woes remained in remission until my company changed over to Ford Sierras. I had to change jobs to avoid a relapse.
My first car was a Maestro. I couldn't keep it though as the insurance was too high. I honestly thought it was great, big inside and drove well. A genuinely underrated car, in my opinion.
@@furiousdriving yeah i heard that info in your video but i really never EVER saw one of those here.. maybe they are all hidden in tuscany were all brits come for holydays 😆
@@ianjenkins4641 every "awful" car has an history i think.. even some italians hates the 126, that has a big historic importance for Poland.. think about the Trabant: made from plastic and resin, 2 stroke 2 cilynder engine, 4 speed.. but its part of history and its rather cool in a "Nerdy" sort of way 😁 cheers
bought a second hand primera with both the electric door mirrors destroyed so priced up replacements from Nissan ,much too dear.Then located a pattern pair from a local spares shop but when fitted could not get them to adjust correctly.Then the realization struck, sat in the passenger seat voila perfect ! Of course they were for a left hand drive car ,who knew there was a difference .
I had a Ledbury Maestro 1.3 that I got for 200 quid. Mine had Rover badges on it for some reason. I had a lot of fun with it. It was surprisingly big inside, bigger than the Fiesta I learned to drive in. I put decent headrests in it and a good stereo, aside from that the only other change was a K&N filter.
Back in the days it was possible to meet those cars even in Russia. Saw a black Rodacar Maestro in Moscow in 2016. Sorry, the Defender was way too pricy for Eastern Europe. And not that reliable actually.
