THE 25 hatchback is Rover's biggest sales success. Now the Metro is no longer with us, the 25 is the cheapest route to a new Rover.

Provided you don't specify too many extras a 25 can be had for less than the psychologically important £10,000 figure.

Your money still buys a driver's airbag, three inertia reel seatbelts in the back, a remote control alarm, power steering and a decent three-band stereo radio-cassette with auto reverse and security coding.

That makes the 25 good value, even if you do have to rather make do with the 1.1-litre engine, which takes a bit of work beyond the confines of town.

Maximum power is just 60bhp, a full 43bhp less than the 1.4 16-valve, and that really takes its toll on performance. Zero to 60mph takes 15 seconds and the top speed is 96mph.

Those sort of figures could make you look elsewhere. There are other cars in the Rover's price range that provide more performance for your pound.

But the Rover's hi-tech K-series engine is still a gem. It revs to an impressive 7,000 rpm and, what's more, it feels smooth all the way to the red line.

The engine's eagerness disguises its lack of performance and once you've reached 70mph on the motorway it'll hold that speed all day. Most of the time it is smooth and refined too.

You'll notice the smaller engine anytime you give four passengers a lift, but two-up the 25 has enough performance to hold its own in most situations. Overtaking means dropping a couple of gears but that's no chore for the sweet-shifting powertrain.

The only time I really would have appreciated more power was on the M62 driving back from Manchester when the lorry beside me started to move into my lane and I needed to get a move on.

In every other way the 25 is identical to any of its more muscular brothers.

The interior is a delight, all quality plastics and burr walnut veneer. The absence of electric windows isn't a problem but I'd have appreciated central locking, especially as the alarm operates on a remote key fob anyway. Once or twice I forgot the doors didn't open with the security and nearly wrenched my arm from its socket tugging on a still locked door. Power steering is standard

Passenger room in the back is a bit of a squeeze but at least everyone gets a proper interia-reel seatbelt, a feature not seen on some cars costing many thousands more than the 25.

The door mirrors are irritatingly small and the manual adjustment insufficient. You can't see enough to easily judge when it's safe to pull back in after an overtaking manoeuvre or spot the kerb when you're parking.

And, yes, the fuel tank, that bug bear of every Rover in recent times, offers a poor touring range of about 250-300 miles between fill-ups. Not enough, even for a car that's bound to be used for more than its fair share of short hauls across town.

It's hard to categorise the 25 and that's probably the key to its success. If you have a young family (or plan to start one) you'd be daft not to put the 25 series on your shortlist.

Until now the 1,100cc K-series was an engine looking for a car. The ancient Metro could never do it justice. In the 25 it has found a proper home