An estate — or station wagon — version was subsequently developed by Rover Special Products and introduced in the summer of 1994.

[2] Badged as the Rover 400 Tourer, this remained in production alongside the second-generation 400 until 1998, as no estate version of the latter car was built.

It would prove to be the final collaborative model between Rover and Honda, ending a partnership that had begun with the Triumph Acclaim in 1981.

Power came from 1.4- and 1.6-litre K-series, 1.6-litre Honda D-series SOHC (automatic gearbox only), and 2.0-litre Rover T-series petrol engines, as well as a 2.0-litre L-series turbodiesel borrowed from the larger 600 Series.

The Rover 400 might have been marketed as a small family car, as it compared closely in size and engine range with contemporary models such as the Ford Escort and Vauxhall Astra.

This was because Rover's only offering in the C/D segment at the time was the ageing Montego, and this gap in the company's line-up needed to be filled.

The 45 came equipped with the better seating of the 75 and whilst the 400 models handled very well, the suspension was tuned to give much better controlled ride characteristics with quicker steering.

The 45 was available with continuously variable transmission (CVT) supplied by the German manufacturer ZF Sachs which had previously been used in the MGF.

While the asking price was now in line with other small family cars, the Rover 45 began to lose market share, its chances of success not helped by its aged design.

Some of these changes were necessitated by the end of Domani production in Japan, as Honda refused to continue the supply of certain parts.

Honda swiftly terminated the licensing agreement with MG Rover - (thus ending the last vestiges of the alliance between the two companies that had begun in 1980 with the Triumph Acclaim) and removed the remaining tooling and assembly lines for the car from Longbridge prior to its sale to Nanjing Automotive, which meant that no versions of the Rover 45/MG ZS were ever produced by Nanjing Automotive.

The abortive SAIC Deal of August 2004 was to have included bringing a replacement for the ageing 45 to market, and the RD/X60 was a likely candidate for this.

After MG Rover's collapse, SAIC bought some of the company's intellectual property, and released a concept called the Roewe W2.