MG IN THE MORNING, MG IN THE NIGHT… MG BABY, BABY… MG WHEN YOU HOLD ME TIGHT!
Why do Rovers have a pipe and slippers image? Post 1995
cars have been quite sporty to drive and whilst not cutting edge nor design icons they deserved a bit more credit than they were given.
Then of course Rover got in a spot of trouble and we had the whole BMW fiasco, but I won’t go into that. Since then standard Rovers have been pretty good (especially the Rover 75 which is the car the MG ZT is based upon), if not class leading. MG for those who don’t know is part of Rover, at least in a working relationship… I’m not sure if BMW kept MG for themselves, I know they kept Mini. Anyway…
MG’s current range of cars are all based on standard
Rover cars (apart from the soon to be replace
MGF). All are seriously sporty alternatives to the standard Rover models and very reasonably priced in comparison.
The small hatchback ZR, a fairly average pocket rocket based upon the Rover 25 hatchbacks
The ZS, a 5-door medium sized
sports saloon, very impressive compared to the regular
Rover 45 on which it borrows its underpinnings.
Then there’s the ZT (the car I had), it’s available as a sports saloon as well as a tourer (that’s an estate to you and me). Both of which are based upon Rover’s executive saloon the 75.
THE STORY
I was recently talking to a nice young man from MG at a party; he had something to do with encouraging companies to use MG’s for their company car schemes. Anyway at the end of the evening he offered me a 7-day test drive of the MGZT.
Not one to turn down a freebie I jumped at the chance… I like to be a bit different when it comes to cars; my current car is the only one of its kind in right hand drive (I’m sure I’ll write an opinion about that in the future). There aren’t many of the new MG’s on the
roads in this part of the country (Surrey, lots of BMW’s!), I wasn’t sure if that was a good sign or not, but didn’t really think of that until later.
The following week a bright red (not my favourite colour) MG ZT was delivered to my work, it certainly got a lot of attention, which in my line of business is always a good thing.
THE CAR
Well the car they gave me was fully loaded, clearly to try & impress me so that I'd pick it as a future car.
Model: MG ZT 190
Engine:
2.5 V6 24v
Kit: Sports Suspension, Heated Leather Sports Seats/Steering Wheel, 18 Inch Alloy Wheels, Body Kit, Climate Control, Electric Mirrors/Windows,
CD Changer in the glove box,
Satellite Navigation with GPS, Removable Electric Cool Box in the boot & a pretty average remote
central locking system with alarm/immobiliser.
All sounds pretty damn good for a car like this doesn't it? Although I'm sure it pushed up the list price I've stated quite a lot.
Insurance is expensive at group 15D, but in the same group as many competitors. The
CO2 emissions comes in at 235, I’m not sure what group of tax that will make it, but it’s certainly won’t near the lower end.
Servicing is every 12 months/15,000 miles
Warranty covers Mechanical for 3 years; bodywork for 6 years
Build quality looks good, although I didn't have it for long.
It probably isn't quite up their with the German cars... but then it is cheaper!
Part cost examples:
Parts Costs Air Filter £10.61
Oil Filter £7.50
Spark Plugs £8.93
Sump Plug Gasket £0.28
Timing Belt £64.93
APPEARANCE & DESIGN
MG are mainly associated with
motor racing, so you’d imagine that they’d bring some of that classic MG styling & handling from the race track and carry it over to their road cars. The handling is definitely of MG quality, but the styling is an evolution of the current Rover line up. It’s certainly got a sporty look about it, but not in the same classy styling that many past MG’s have proudly flaunted.
EXTERIOR
Well what can I say; it's one hell of a mean machine! If you want a car that stands out like a TVR (well almost), but has practical luggage space like a Volvo (well almost)... look no further.
It's lost all the elegance of the Rover 75 (voted the most beautiful car in the world in 1999), which it's based on; the chunky
body kit has covered this up. All that chrome’s gone from the bodywork, to be replaced by big chunky bumpers and slightly flared wheel arches.
The front looks fierce especially with the quad lights sunk deep into the chunky bumper. They've added a huge air vent to keep the modified engine cool & some styled indicators & fog lamps.
The rear is a bit more subtle, with a nice spoiler & chrome surrounding around the twin exhaust. Build quality looks good, everything seems to have been made out of high quality materials. Everything’s been colour coded, including the rather chunky yet streamlined mirrors. It attracts a fair amount of attention, mainly from men and the police. It looks like it goes fast… perhaps slightly faster than it actually does!
INTERIOR
This is where it goes downhill a bit, the first problem is the fact that whatever colour your exterior is (in this case bright red!), your interior gets the matching treatment. If you choose a nice colour then it won't be a problem, but sadly I had a red & black interior. That's red & black leather seats, steering wheel, carpet & door styling... but not the actual dashboard thank god!
It also looks a bit dated next to the Audi’s, it manages to carry over a little bit of Rover’s grandpa image. Still it’s very roomy in the front and everything bar the stereo is very well laid out. Rovers have never really had a problem with ergonomics and it would appear MG’s parts bucket is just as versatile.
The driving position is excellent, the pedals are thoughtfully laid out and the steering wheel can be adjusted for both reach and rake and the drivers seat is also adjustable in just about every direction possible. It can be electrically adjusted to go up and down and also for the back support. Then of course you can move the entire seat forwards and backward, add all that to the fact that the seats are heated and you shouldn’t find it very hard to get comfortable. I’m not the tallest of people and I had no problems at all.
The dash has the normal things you’d find in a car of this size… a speedometer, rev counter, oil and engine temperature display, fuel tank level, and a
digital display that kindly informs you of your mileage, current mpg, doors open and any other malfunctions.
The rest of the dashboard is covered in buttons or devices of one kind or another. Whether it be the temperature display for the
climate control or the anti mist button for the windows.
The stereo is pretty nasty though, it’s poorly laid out, quite cheap looking and the sat nav screen that’s built in to it isn’t very big. Personally I’d buy a pioneer one separately rather than having it as an option or I’d delete it from the standard equipment. Also I’d get some better speakers fitted, they’re a bit tinny and don’t produce enough of an output to silence the wind and engine noise.
Rear space is fairly good, tall people can easily get comfortable… although the horizontally challenged people may feel a bit crushed. Rear passengers also get their own air vents, which is quite useful for keeping people in the back happy on longer journeys. The sports seats make this a very bad car to even consider getting if you’ve got kids. You’ll have a lot of trouble getting the comfortable and
baby seats are almost out of the question.
HANDLING AND PERFORMACE
This is fairly mixed in my opinion. As far as sports cars go, it handles very well. MG has given the suspension a full going over, it's fine when you're travelling at say 70+ mph along the
motorway or along nice national speed limit country roads, but anything else is a nightmare!
You see the suspension is incredibly stiff, put this with the enormous 18-inch alloy wheels and the result is masses of grip, hardly any body roll and some pretty tidy cornering at speed, although tyre noise is excessive (more on that later!) This is all wonderful on fast roads or on a track somewhere… some of the best handling I’ve ever seen in a car of this size, I’d even go as far as to say that it’s the best handling performance saloon this side of a BMW.
The problems start at lower speeds, the slightest bump or pothole in the road results in a sharp judder being sent through the entire car and right through everyone’s backs. You may think that I’m exaggerating, but sadly I’m not, it only takes a wheel going over a cats eye to seriously unsettle the ride.
Then there’s speed bumps or ramps in car parks! I seriously wouldn't recommend tackling these at any more that 5-10 mph; otherwise the ZT will either nosedive into the surface or you’ll whack one of the exhaust silencers at the rear. If you had a full car or shopping in the back I’m sure this would be even worse, so as a load lugger, something for the weekly shop or taking in to town you should definitely look elsewhere.
Saying that… parking is very easy, the steering is very precise if a little heavy. Visibility is acceptable all round and the shape of the car doesn’t cause any problems, although because the car is quite low I wouldn’t recommend swing the front over kerbs.
Reversing is great fun! Have I gone mad? No I haven’t! I found out just how brilliant the ZT was at reversing when I was confronted by a stretch limo done a single-track road in Albury. The speed at which you can reverse is immense!
If you were to put me next to a Fiesta (or similar) at some traffic lights, them facing forwards and me in reverse… I’m positive I’d have no problem outrunning them! It’s incredibly fast, whilst remaining rock solid and stable. But then I guess you don’t really buy a car for it’s reversing capabilities…
As far as performance goes MG claim that you can get 141 MPH out of the 190 version that I had (that’s 190bhp). 0-62 can be reached in 7.8 seconds… although the more equipment you have on board the heavier the car gets… but mine was still quick enough to pin you me against my seat. There are certainly faster cars of this size (generally more expensive though), but lets face it… unless your going to take it out on a track somewhere, you’re never really going to need all the power under the bonnet. It’s nice knowing it’s there though! Big, fast cars need good brakes, the ZT’s are excellent. They’re very sharp, so only a slight touch is usually needed… but in an emergency I’m sure it the responsiveness of them could make a vital difference.
Everyone who drives knows that the harder you push a car the more fuel you use. Each car has it’s own “G Spot”, basically when driving conditions permit, a certain speed when optimum fuel consumption can be reached. MG claim that the average fuel consumption for the ZT is just 28.7 mpg. Certainly not great when you compare it to a Porsche, but it does have a lot of weight to carry. Personally I’d say that I was averaging about 30 mpg on most trips, around town you can expect that figure to drop to as low as 18 mpg, which is more of a figure I’d expect from a Chrysler Voyager or something.
Then of course there’s the wind and tyre noise I was talking about earlier. This is partly due to the huge
tyres. When travelling at speed it sounds like a volcano is erupting underneath the car. It’s enough to give you a headache after a while… really! The wind noise isn’t as excessive, but just adds to the noise.
MG really need to do more to soundproof the wheel arches, they’ve done a fairly good job on the engine… leaving just enough of the engine note to be heard.
CONCLUSION
As a performance saloon it’s a great car, that’s reasonably priced and does what it sets out to do. But as an everyday car it’s flawed. I certainly couldn’t live with it. The market MG are aiming for is quite competitive and there are better alternatives out there. They may be a bit blander, but the German cars won’t feel troubled by MG. It’s encouraging though… I hope they continue to develop road cars, if a couple of year’s time I can imagine them being one of the better brands in the performance car market.
I’d only really recommend the MG ZT for young businessmen and women that don’t have families and do the majority of their miles on the
motorways.
FURTHER INFORMATION
www.
mg-rover.com
This is the official site of MG. Here is some of the information you will find on the site:
- Current vehicles and information
- MG News (company and events)
- Future cars and concepts
- History
- MG Motorsport
- Your nearest Dealer
- Arrange a Test Drive
- Get sent a brochure
www.
mgcars.org.uk
This is the site of the official
MG owners club. If was formed in 1973 and currently has over 50,000 memembers making it (in their words) 'the world's largest single marque car club'.It costs £28 to join with a one off £5 joining fee. For your money you'll get a membership pack, monthly
magazines and access to all this discounts and features. These include:
- New car discounts
- RAC membership deals
- Member events
- Racing News
- Travel Club
- Insurance Deals
- Advice and deals on maintaining your MG.
A SERIOUS PAIN IN THE ARSE 
Super review, I own an Mg ZT and understand what your saying about road noise, but i think its something you live with quite easily in a short time, its comfortable but feels and sounds as it should, a sports car with class, overall though, a very well written review well done.