AS MANY farmers will tell you, an ordinary car will do most of their fieldwork for most of the year.
I remember a landowner who had a big farm in Northamptonshire and he never owned a 4x4, preferring the comfort of his Ford Granada!
And he very rarely got stuck, even though that car was often a mile or more from the nearest road, and so covered in mud that he could barely see out of the windscreen.
The poor garage which serviced it had to steam clean it over and under just to be able to find the bits they needed to work on!
Yet the car took all this abuse without bother and as far as I know, never let him down apart from the occasional time it bogged down when the mud was simply too deep.
But it's the chunky hunky 4x4 look that car buyers want - even though they almost never take their big bruiser into the slippery stuff.
MG Rover saw an opening in this to boost flagging sales of the 25, and they've come up with the goods.
The Streetwise looks the off-road part, with raised ride height, good looking plastic cladding to change the shape front and rear, roof rails and extra lights.
Underneath the skin it's standard two wheel drive 25, with the same series of engines ranging from a 1.4 to a two litre turbodiesel, the great comfort and handling and the high build quality and up-market feel.
By producing such a car the company has widened the range of the model's appeal at a stroke, and for very little outlay in terms of the redesign. I'll bet other car makers wish they had thought of it first, and I'll also bet it won't be the last.
The Streetwise, in turbodiesel SE form as we drove it, was great fun. The diesel engine is not the most refined, but once on the move its sound does not intrude and it has plenty of power in what is a fairly light car.
Unlike the latest diesel engines it does not pull from very low engine speeds, but instantaneously from just under 2000rpm. Below that it pulls reasonably well, but with a slight delay before anything happens.
To take off quickly then, it's necessary to use a little more accelerator than in other cars, otherwise it tends to hesitate slightly. Once warm, and between two and 4000 revs it gives excellent acceleration, with good overtaking speed in the fourth gear of five.
The clutch is reasonably light and the ABS brakes - not fitted to all models - excellent.
Good power steering is the same as that used in the 25 and 45 and works well, albeit with a strong centering action which takes a little getting used to.
I thought the comfort and handling might be compromised by the extra couple of inches (5cm) of ride height, but Rover has made sure it isn't. Cornering is still virtually flat, with excellent grip and balance even on wet and greasy roads covered by fallen leaves.
It also rides very well - a little jittery in town at slow speeds, very few cars are not - but smooth and unruffled at speed even when some others would be telling you how bad the surface is in no uncertain terms.
Instead of wood-look trim around the interior, the Streetwise gets aluminium, and it also has bespoke leather and cloth bucket seats in top SE trim, which give all the right support and also have height and lumbar adjustment.
Unfortunately, although there is steering column height adjustment, reach is not adjustable and that compromises the driving position to some extent.
Also, the standard seat layout gives only four seats and belts, although a bench rear seat with five belts is available as an extra. Rear leg and headroom is wanting for taller people, but the boot is a decent size and there's good storage around the cabin.
The Streetwise is chunky, good looking and fun to drive, and it's also excellent value, with hefty discounts of around £1,500 available if you are prepared to get in there and haggle.
FAST FACTS
Rover Streetwise 2.0 SE
Price: £12,795
Mechanical: 101bhp, 1,994cc 4 cyl diesel engine driving front wheels via 5-spd manual gearbox
Max speed: 110mph
0-62mph: 9.8 secs
Combined mpg: 47.1
Insurance group: 6
CO2 emissions: 159g/km
BiK rating: 22%
Warranty: 3yr/ 60,000 miles; 6yrs anti-rust; 3yrs paint
CAR STARS:
How does it compare with the rest?
****** = Best * = Worst
Comfort *****
Performance ***
Thirst ***
Handling *****
Safety ***
Equipment *****
Value ******
Fun Factor *****
Overall Rating: ****