I always wanted an MGF Roadster ever since I first saw one zooming down the motorway. Ok there are other cars I want to own in my life (namely a Aston Martin for one) but I am now the proud owner of a MGF Roadster 1.8i.
Let me tell you a little more. As the picture shows above this is ... Read review
Advantages: Sexy, Quick, Amazing, Looks good, Nippy Disadvantages: Drinks petrol like an alcoholic at a bar
I always wanted an MGF Roadster ever since I first saw one zooming down the motorway. Ok there are other cars I want to own in my life (namely a Aston Martin for one) but I am now the proud owner of a MGF Roadster 1.8i.
Let me tell you a little more. As the picture shows above this is indeed a small, nippy two seater convertible sports car. It is made by Rover MG (or MG Rover some might say) and is a good GB car. The engine size is ... ...around.
The MGF Roadster is a mid engined car which means that when you pop the bonnet up you are greeted with the battery and the spare tyre. There is a small space around the spare tyre that could be used to store a canvas holdall if you run out of space in the boot however the user manual does not recommend this. When you open the boot you are met with quite a spacious area in which to get a months shopping from Waitrose or a case ... more
I always wanted an MGF Roadster ever since I first saw one zooming down the motorway. Ok there are other cars I want to own in my life (namely a Aston Martin for one) but I am now the proud owner of a MGF Roadster 1.8i.
Let me tell you a little more. As the picture shows above this is indeed a small, nippy two seater convertible sports car. It is made by Rover MG (or MG Rover some might say) and is a good GB car. The engine size is 1796 and has a convertible roof.
The roof is the sort that requires you to manually lift it up and down but believe me it is not difficult. At the top of the roof adjoining the windscreen there are two large clips that in order to open the roof, you unclip at the hinge both sides and then literally push the roof back - it can all be done in less than seconds. Again to lift the roof back on you simply pull up one of the sides and the roof comes up with remarkable ease. Now I can only talk about my particular car and the experience and the interior that I personally have but there are lots of variations of it around.
The MGF Roadster is a mid engined car which means that when you pop the bonnet up you are greeted with the battery and the spare tyre. There is a small space around the spare tyre that could be used to store a canvas holdall if you run out of space in the boot however the user manual does not recommend this. When you open the boot you are met with quite a spacious area in which to get a months shopping from Waitrose or a case that comfortably does me for a week away. The boot on first viewing appears small but I have been amazed by just how much I have fitted in to it.
When you open the boot directly between the boot and the back of the seats you will find the engine. Now this is totally inaccessible should something go wrong. On the right you have a sliding lid that covers the oil, the dipstick, the water and the radiator cap so all basic maintenance like checking your oil and water is accessible but that's about it. If anything went desperately wrong with this car you would have to take it to a garage. In my last car the cam belt went and my dad changed it for me but there would be no chance with this car.
The two doors open wide and in you go, low to the ground. This is definitely a sports car with the fact that you are sitting with your bum nearly on the floor and your legs outstretched - saying that I drive from London to Halifax every Friday night and back on a Monday and it is remarkably comfortable. My particular version has leather seats and chrome interior but as I said various variations are available.
The dials for the speedo etc are all above the steering wheel as you would expect (which is also adjustable which is great for a shortie like me.) The steering wheel contains the horn and the airbag and the two branches that control the indicators etc but more to that later.
The dials above the steering wheel consist of a speedometer in miles primarily but also kilometres as well. You have the petrol gauge and a rev counter (or Tachometer to use the correct phrase) which never seizes to amazes me (I've never had one before you see.) There is also a temperature gauge on the left and a digital trip that displays either the miles done in total or the miles completed since resetting your trip and these go up in increments of .1 of a mile.
At the centre of the dashboard you have the stereo (CD in my case but I had that fitted it did originally have a cassette player) and the heating controls - three simple switches for this. The left regulates the force of the air 0-4, the middle regulates the temperature and the right forces either the air to the windscreen, the foot well or out from the four heating vents. There is also an oil temperature gauge and a clock which is a good old fashioned dial clock not a digital one, the rear fog lights switch, the heated window switch (for if you have a hard top fitted) and the hazard lights. I won't bore you with every switch on the car but the branches on either side of the steering wheel contain the indicators, the lights, the windscreen wipers etc. The dashboard directly by the steering wheel has all the usual lights with low battery, low oil pressure, rear fog lights, handbrake, ABS brakes, Power Steering etc and all these are self explanatory and not a whole lot different to any other car.
The gear stick is on the central mound that also contains the handbrake, the ashtray and a little flip top cubby hole that is large enough to hold sunglasses and other bits and bobs. Between the seats there is also a flip down cuddy hole that is wide and deep enough to hold 4 CD cases standing up. The glove compartment is very thin yet really deep and holds all my CDs and car manual etc and is not that much smaller than any other car I have owned.
Now to the good stuff - what's this baby like to drive? With the engine behind you as you accelerate you hear the roar of the engine and boy is this car responsive a tap on the accelerator and it roars into life, a tap on the brakes and they respond quickly and effortlessly with no noise and no excessive pressure yet the car stops easily, nicely and not a trace of effort. The power steering makes manovering the car easy with the minimum effort. The visibility with the roof down is great although with the roof up it leaves a lot to be desired but more to the bad points in a minute.
This car is seriously fast I can't comment on the exact top speed but I have taken it 110mph on the motorway (just for a split second you understand and the road was clear before you all tell me off) but higher than that I can't comment. With the roof up you get a little bit of wind noise but its fine to still have a conversation or have the radio on. Again with the roof down as long as the windows are up you can chat away with no problems.
There are however several bad points to this car. It can at times be hard to put the roof down in one push as it often sticks half way. You have to then lift it up and then it goes down straight away so not a huge problem but it is well known with MGs - so well known that the salesman warned me when I bought the car.
With the car having a plastic window on the back there is no way of demisting it or even scraping it so in the morning you have to reverse off the drive and either like it or lump it. The boot/engine or the back I'll say is quite high as you can see from the picture above and I find this difficult to reverse (well I am a woman so I can always use this as an excuse.)
Another point to note is that this car drinks petrol like an alcoholic at a bar - not surprising with the engine size but by the time I have left London and got to Halifax the petrol tank is well under half full - so not the most economical of cars - although it does have a catalytic converter which is supposed to be better for the environment. The official fuel consumption is according to the manual 27.8 mpg for urban driving, 49.3 mpg for extra urban driving and 38.3 mpg for combined driving. I have no idea if this s accurate just that I am at the petrol station a whole lot more than I was before.
You can also purchase a hard top for the car which retails at about £1500 from a MG dealer or £800 from other specialist garages and it has all the wires ready to connect for the rear windscreen wiper and the heated rear windscreen. I haven't bought one yet and will see how the car fares during winter but its always an option.
In a nutshell I love this car. I love the feel of the wind in my hair when the roof is down and if I put the rear fly screen up most of the wind is eliminated. The car is punchy, sexy, a bloody brilliant drive, responsive, easy to handle, looks amazing, has a built in immobiliser and alarm - need I go on?
I purchased mine from a garage and it was 5 years old and cost me £9500. You can purchase them cheaper privately but the garage I bought the car from was offering deals on servicing, MOTs and free AA cover so it was worth it for me. In a nutshell if you have hankered after this car or even hankered after a sexy little two seater with a convertible roof then I can recommend this with a whopping 5 Ciao stars.
Advantages: Quick, great road handling, beautiful Disadvantages: Im not Gay or a hairdresser
...THE CHASSIS
The MGF chassis was based on the chassis from the MG Metro, because of this the chassis is ‘loose’ and gives a bit of roll when being pushed hard on corners, but this allows for more grip as the car can keep all the wheels on the road at any one time. Whereas the Lotus Elise has a chassis that is ‘rock hard’, and they are prone to skidding on a bumpy corner. So a loose chassis is better for a less experienced driver who just wants to ... ...in the middle.
Whereas the MGF has what is called Hydrogas suspension which is like a piston filled with gas, and all the pistons are connected by pipes into a central reservoir, so the driver can adjust the ride height by adding or removing gas.
Because of this the ride is quite sloppy and I feel unattached from the road, although the ride is still very firm.
This is not a problem for normal road use. But I do like to take corners sideways, and ...
rowanskinner 11.08.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of MGF Roadster 1.8
Advantages: Sleek good looks, lovely leather interiors, maximum posing potential. Disadvantages: Small boot so can't fit in much shopping, pushchairs etc.
My opinion on the MGF VVC is based purely on female fancy so apologies in advance to any 'techie buffs' out there.
To set the scene; it was late on a rainy Saturday afternoon and after ploughing through the housework, dropping various kids off at various places and persuading the husband that it was in his best interests to leave the pub whilst he could still stand, we happened to drive past the local car dealership.
There she was!!
Even the rain ... ...owners of a 'P' Reg MGF VVC (apparently the VVC means it goes faster & has a higher specification than the normal MGF - whatever that means!), costing a grand total of £10,999.
I know that the car isn't, by any stretch of the imagination, a family car but for me, someone that is always practical, dependable and getting frighteningly close to 35, it is something frivolous and exciting. Something purely for me that appeals to my vanity and makes me ...
JillW 26.09.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of MGF Roadster 1.8
Advantages: Looks great, quick! Disadvantages: Can leak, back window can be 'cloudy'
...picked me up in the MGF we had seen! Sorry mate can’t have a lift home after all! We paid £7,500 for the MG, it was in fantastic condition, interior was perfect & the body was great, about 2 stone chips & a small scratch on the back, 4 new tyres (decent make too) and well worth the money.
How does it drive? Very well, it's very responsive and holds the road well, I will use the car for to & from work in the week and it's our fun car in the ... ...being a convertible it can get quite noisy, I can imagine long journeys would also be quite uncomfortable after a while. There isn't much space for luggage, the boot is deep but not very wide.
The one thing I must say that bothers me is people's attitude on the road, they go out of their way to be less courteous and are just down right rude!! If I had just paid £10k for a brand spanking out of the wrapper Ford Fiesta would they be the same??? NO!! ...
Redhead 27.06.2002
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of MGF Roadster 1.8
Advantages: Makes driving real fun Disadvantages: unless you can't get the hood down
...they only insure sensible cars, MGF doesn't fall into that catagory, as they quoted nearly a grand for fully comp. I had to go with a call centre led insurance company at about £500 fully comp. The story here is shop around. (I work in a call centre and I pray to god I never have an accident. Not because of the damage to a really nice car - but because my phone bill will rocket).
Servicing shouldn't be a problem if you take the car to Rover or an ... ...good name (BMW). The MGF is slightly cheeper than the opposition in the second hand market because of the bad rep a few people have given them. Leaks, engine and finish. But if you are buying second hand and older than 5 years - dont forget to ask about some of the common problems. If they haven't happened (and there's no evidence) then it probably won't happen.
Read a few of the owners web sites rather than the message boards and you will see what ...
moley1a 05.06.2003
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of MGF Roadster 1.8
Advantages: Good looking, fast, good handling Disadvantages: Requires careful maintenance
...convinced me to buy an MGF when I was looking for a new car in October 2000. Well he didn’t have to twist my arm that hard, but having always been quite ‘sensible’ in my choice of car, it was a big step for me to even consider being behind the wheel of a little sporty number!
I had in mind another small car to replace the Vauxhall Corsa I had at the time, and was considering a Ford focus, Renault Clio or similar. I reconsidered ... ...and we bought a 4-year-old MGF from a car supermarket in Birmingham.
We had the choice of three MGFs. We eventually settled on the Red 1.8 model, which suited our budget, and tastes in colour more than the slightly newer and sportier, burnt orange model parked nearby.
Our MGF cost us around 9,000 pounds, and we opted to pay by credit agreement, which the garage set up with the minimum of fuss. All we had to do was return a couple of days later ...
Shufflebum 02.10.2001 (24.02.2002)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of MGF Roadster 1.8
Road Handling
Comfort
Features
Fuel consumption
Looks
Similar reviews »
Reviews which might be of interest for "MGF Roadster 1.8"
Advantages: see opinion Disadvantages: see opinion
- 1,8-liter four-cylinder engine Rover of a series To power only 120 l. cross-section is established. With, aggregated with a five-step mechanical gear box.
Suspender elementary - double cross levers, springs and one-trumpet absorbers of a high pressure of Dutch firm Koni. Here even there is no rear anti roll bar!
But look, with what technological shine all this is executed! The spatial frame is made not of steel tubes, as usually at similar roadster, and from a light-metal alloy. Yes, the similar decision is applied on appeared hardly earlier spider Renault Sport Spider. Moreover, frames for both automobiles are made at same Danish enterprise Hydro Aluminium Automotive Structures. But at spider Renault a frame welded, and at roadster Elise - gluey! Strips from the aljuminievo-magnesian alloy, received by a method extrusion, forever ...
De_Niro 01.10.2001
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Lotus Elise 111S
Advantages: Supercar looks and performance at a reasonable price Disadvantages: Entirely impractical for everyday use
Thought I would update this opinion again as I've had the car about a year now and have about 15,000 miles in it. There is also an Exige 2 due to be unveiled shortly at The Geneva Motor Show (although it has a Toyota Engine, slightly less horsepower than an upgraded Exige 1 and a lower 0-60. I don't think it looks as good either; too much like an Elise in my opinion. FYI, in the league table at the end of this review, the new Exige would likely come in about 31 which is 16 positions behind mine ). I have been invited to a private test drive of this in about a month so I will report back if my opinion is changed. I hear they are planning a Motorsport version of it which may be worth buying if its faster than the current Exiges.
I bought this car to replace the worst buy I ever made (MGF1.8i Roadster) and I have to say, however ...
BladeRunner2003 21.02.2003 (03.03.2004)
· Read full review
Ciao members have rated this car review on average: very helpful Review of Lotus Exige
