The Rover 25 was launched in autumn 1999 as a facelifted version of the 200 Series which had been in production since the summer of 1995. The chassis had been uprated to give sportier handling and the front end had been restyled to give it the corporate Rover look first seen in the range-topping 75, but the 25 was instantly recognisable as a reworked 200 Series. The 1.4 L, 1.6 L and 1.8 L petrol engines as well as the 2.0 L diesel were all carried over from the previous range. From late 2000, there was also an economical but powerful 1.1 L petrol engine available in the 25 range.

Less than a year after the Rover 25 was launched, BMW sold the Rover Group to the Phoenix consortium for a paltry Ł10. By the summer of 2001, the newly-named MG Rover Group had introduced a sporty version of the Rover 25 - the MG ZR. It had modified interior and exterior styling, as well as sports suspension, to give the car the look of a 'hot' hatchback. The largest engine in the range was the 2.0 L 160 hp (119 kW) unit which had a top speed of more than 130 mph (209 km/h), making it one of the fastest hatchbacks on sale in the world.

By 2004, the age of the Rover 25/MG ZR's design was showing, so MG Rover gave the cars an exterior restyle to make them look more modern. Production of both cars was suspended in April 2005 when the company went into administration, although it could restart (possibly in a foreign country) if MG Rover is saved by a new owner.

Soon after news of the administration, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC) claimed to own the rights to the 25 model, which it claimed it acquired, among other MG Rover assets, for Ł67 million as a sign of goodwill. The full ownership was disputed by MG Rover's administrators, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Rover 25 Manufacturer: MG Rover Production: 2000– 2005 Predecessor: Rover 200 Class: FF compact car Engines: 1.1 L K-Series I4 1.4 L K-Series I4 1.6 L K-Series I4 1.8 L K-Series I4 2.0 L Diesel I4