ROVER has slashed the price of models in its 200 and 400 range by up to 16% in an attempt to sell a surplus of cars before the arrival of the T-plate. With prices dropping by almost £3,000 in some cases, the range is now priced where many experts thought it should have been in the first place, with the 200 competing with the likes of the Ford Fiesta and the 400 priced against the Ford Focus and Vauxhall Astra.

This latest price shift, albeit temporary, further emphasises the huge gulf between the 400 and the new Rover 75 which will launch its base model 'Classic' at the end of the year priced at £18,275 on-the-road. Until then the lowest-priced Rover 75 available is the Club at £19,525. The list price of a top-of-the-range Rover 416SLi five-door has plummeted almost £3,000 from £17,345 on-the-road to £14,495. This compares to the similar trim-level Ford Focus 1.6 Ghia at £14,350, or a Vauxhall Astra CD 1.6i at £14,510.

It puts the top-of-the-range 416SLi at a lower price than the entry-level Ford Mondeo 1.6 Aspen, which is £14,850 OTR - the range Rover claims to compete with in the upper medium sector. The pricing shake-up for the first time puts the 400 at a lower price than its blood-brother Honda Civic - with which it shares much of its engineering - a car which is targeted at the lower medium sector. Rover says the massive price drop is only a temporary measure until the end of March on the old trim-level vehicles. The new T-plate model range with different specification will revert to higher prices.