There used to be the saying that a Rover "was a poor man's Rolls-Royce" - I haven't heard that for a long long time. It's a real pity to see Rover go but to be honest, they've not made anything I'd want to drive since the 3.5 V8 SDi of the 80's.
ISTR that after that time they started using imported Japanese components (not that the design of the classic V8 wasn't itself imported) and lost their identity and any claims to their heritage almost overnight.