Sterling 825 and 827: Britain’s answer to the Acura Legend

The Sterling 825 and 827 were the American face of the Rover 800. Sold in the United States and Canada from 1987 to 1991 under a British marque revived for the purpose, they were Rover’s attempt to take on the Acura Legend with a car that shared the same Honda-developed platform but wore more wood, leather and British style.

Sterling 825 at a glance

Based on one source, the English Wikipedia article on the Sterling marque.

History of the Sterling 825

A British brand for America (1987)

Sterling was created by the Rover Group as a North American marque. The cars were marketed by Austin Rover Cars of North America, later renamed Sterling Motor Cars, and were on sale in the United States and Canada from 1987 to 1991, at a time when Rover was in collaboration with Honda of Japan. Only one Sterling model line was ever sold: the 800 series, a rebadged Rover 800 re-specified for North America and available there only with a V6 petrol engine.

825 first, then 827

In 1987 and 1988 only the saloon-bodied 825 was offered, in S or SL trim. In 1989 a hatchback joined the saloon and a new, larger Honda engine was introduced; the cars so equipped were called 827. The 1989 range was S, SL, SL Limited or SLi, in 1990 S, Si, SL or SLi, and in 1991 just Si or SLi. A limited run of 350 Oxford Editions was offered in 1990, based on the 827 SL saloon with upgraded interior trim and luxury items such as a built-in cellular telephone.

On the road and in the showroom

The Sterling’s British interior and clean exterior compared well with its sister car, the Acura Legend, and US sales peaked at just over 14,000 cars in 1987. All cars had real wood interior trim, while SL models added anti-lock brakes, power Connolly leather seats and two-tone paint as standard; motorised automatic seatbelts arrived for 1989. Because the cars shared the Legend’s platform, structure and power units, performance was broadly similar, but changes to springs and dampers made the Sterlings feel sportier and tighter. The shared Honda double-wishbone front suspension allowed a very low bonnet line, at the cost of limited wheel travel.

Build quality and the end

Early build quality was poor by the measure of J.D. Power surveys, with problems in interior trim, Lucas electronics and paintwork, and early cars suffered from corrosion. The Sterling fell to the bottom of those surveys while the Japanese-built Legend, its twin, ranked near the top in its first year. Instrumentation was changed during production, losing the oil pressure gauge and voltmeter, and quality improved year by year, but Rover was losing money and announced its withdrawal from the North American market in August 1991, having sold fewer than 2,000 cars that year. The Rover 800 itself stayed in production in Europe until 1999, when the Rover 75 replaced it.

Design and features

• Rover 800 origins: a rebadged Rover 800 built in Britain and re-specified for North America.
• Honda V6: the only engine offered in the United States and Canada, with a larger Honda unit in the 827.
• British interior: real wood trim in every car, with Connolly leather, anti-lock brakes and two-tone paint on SL models.
• Legend relation: the same platform and power units as the Acura Legend, but tuned to feel sportier.

Sterling 825 versions

• 825 S and SL (1987–1988): saloon only, with the smaller V6.
• 827 (1989–1991): saloon and hatchback with the larger Honda engine; trims changed each year from S, SL, SL Limited and SLi to Si and SLi.
• Oxford Edition (1990): 350 cars based on the 827 SL saloon with upgraded trim and a built-in telephone.

The Sterling name was also used by American truck makers in the same period and earlier; see the L-Line and the Sterling 360. More cars and trucks are in the Sterling collection.

Sources

• Sterling (marque), English Wikipedia: models, trims, sales, build quality, withdrawal