RE: SOTW: MG ZS 180

[Benjaminbopper]

If I were to win the Euromillions I'd feel obliged to buy this and drive it straight into Jessi-j's tour bus, thus achieving 2 acts of kindness for the general public.

[Oddball RS]

300bhp/ton said:

MadDog1962 said:

There are quite a lot of (nasty) stories about that KV6 engine. I don't think I'd risk it unless those concerns could be addressed. I really don't like these cars very much at all, although I have to say that I only drove one (lesser example) in Malaysia 9 years ago. However, this is Shed, and I guess the point is how much fun car (with a valid MOT) can we find every week for a grand or less. It's certainly not a fail, but I don't think I'd be tempted unless the price was even less.

Others here may know if the KV6 used in the ZS 180 had the gremlins sorted or not.

Curious, but what issues have you heard of with the V6? The KV6 in the ZS isn't the same as the early 800's. I believe Rover developed it over the years. Besides early ones where all hand built, the latter ones weren't.

The biggest thing Rover did wrong with them was they set them up for comfort, so soft squidgy suspension. But the platform is good, although it's nearly all Honda. Rover had little actual input to the design of this model and merely restyled the exterior bodywork.

Its amazing isn't it when a 'K' appears in an engine suffix it must be crap.......... I wonder if 'Special K' is poisonous too?

[monzaxjr]

Always thought these were underrated. Go well and decent handling. Cambelts a bit of a pig of a job and while your at it its advisable to change the water pump as these as notorious for failing on the KV6 and both require replacement far before the advised 90k change. If you're handy with the spanners though whats not to like for £750!

[Dave 500]

Benjaminbopper said:

If I were to win the Euromillions I'd feel obliged to buy this and drive it straight into Jessi-j's tour bus, thus achieving 2 acts of kindness for the general public.

Benjaminbopper said:

If I were to win the Euromillions I'd feel obliged to buy this and drive it straight into Jessi-j's tour bus, thus achieving 2 acts of kindness for the general public.

Benjaminbopper said:

If I were to win the Euromillions I'd feel obliged to buy this and drive it straight into Jessi-j's tour bus, thus achieving 2 acts of kindness for the general public.

Benjaminbopper said:

If I were to win the Euromillions I'd feel obliged to buy this and drive it straight into Jessi-j's tour bus, thus achieving 2 acts of kindness for the general public.

Benjaminbopper said:

If I were to win the Euromillions I'd feel obliged to buy this and drive it straight into Jessi-j's tour bus, thus achieving 2 acts of kindness for the general public.

You might want a new computer/ phone first

[grosserbaby]

I quite liked the saloon with the big spoiler, both original and facelift. We had a Subaru Turbo 2000 hatch when a mate worked at the local rover franchise and ran one as his co car, I took it out for a local blast on known roads, and whilst the ru was quicker and better all round the MG was still an enjoyable drive, the brakes held out better than the ru after a couple of big stops and the steering had a some feel, no I wouldn't have swapped but if the MG had been ours I wouldn't have minded.

I also had a 400D company car which was the biggest pile of p**h for press on driving, mind it did allow for Trilby wearing with plenty of room for cushions on the parcel shelf and laser printed wood on the doors proper wood on the dash. I well remember that the damping was so bad it used to have residual bounce for ages after hitting a bit of uneven road and no the shockers were fine.

[Dr Imran T]

300bhp/ton said:

If a Golf Tdi was pulling on you, then logic would suggest it was probably heavily mapped and tuned. And considering an MGZS180 puts up the same stats as a Clio 172 and many other hot hatches, then that same Golf would also have been pulling on them too.

You can't apply logic in this thread. We are talking about an mg/rover here!

[andymadmak]

monzaxjr said:

Always thought these were underrated. Go well and decent handling. Cambelts a bit of a pig of a job and while your at it its advisable to change the water pump as these as notorious for failing on the KV6 and both require replacement far before the advised 90k change. If you're handy with the spanners though whats not to like for £750!

Thats not quite right. Agree on the water pump (thermostat housing too) but whilst the belts need changing at 90k, when I had mine done they were unmarked and had no cracks. I mentioned this to the mechanic (Lates 600 - great guys) and he said the belts assembly on the KV6 was massively over engineered and could probably go twice the mileage without risk of failure provided they were kept free of contaminants. Keep in mind that many GM, Fiat Group and VAG group belts really do need changing at far lower mileages, I think the KV6 belts really are not an issue. VIS motors though can be a pain - I went through 4. But they are soooooo easy to change, (ten minutes with a screwdriver) and often can be repaired. They often just need a blob of solder on one of the connections inside, plus a clean out of the oil vapour crap that gets in them.

[SuperHangOn]

With a decent set of tyres these are bloody great cars.

3 cambelts is a bummer though.

[richb77]

SpudLink said:

300bhp/ton said:

richb77 said:

Dated design and ageing tooling didn't help the cars at all.

Some people wheel out this line again and again. But I'm curious in design terms (in 2002) what exactly is out dated? Or are you simply referring to styling rather than design.

Not sure what the tooling has to do with it either if I'm honest.

At the time I though it was designed to appeal to buyers who remember when Rover was an aspirational brand (P5 or something of that era). Not so much an 'old' design, more 'olde worlde'.

It was more of a comment that the interior had been around since the wheel was invented and hadnt aged well.

personal preference but thats what an open forum is for

[varsas]

A friend went for a test drive in one of these back when MG/Rover main dealers still existed. The salesguy immediately annoyed me by arguing with me that it had a BMW engine in it (no, really not) and when I questioned the really quite terrible ride he said that it was because of the big wheels, needed to cope with all of the torque.

Needless to say we didn't buy it. I am curious though, what is the ride like on these? The one we went in has still go the worst ride in any road car I've been in, it was like being in a track day special. I believe Autocar gave these a good write up even near the end of production. The main points being that the engine was a cracker and that the car felt nice and sharp.

I happen to like these, I even think they look quite good...

[monzaxjr]

andymadmak said:

Thats not quite right. Agree on the water pump (thermostat housing too) but whilst the belts need changing at 90k, when I had mine done they were unmarked and had no cracks. I mentioned this to the mechanic (Lates 600 - great guys) and he said the belts assembly on the KV6 was massively over engineered and could probably go twice the mileage without risk of failure provided they were kept free of contaminants. Keep in mind that many GM, Fiat Group and VAG group belts really do need changing at far lower mileages, I think the KV6 belts really are not an issue. VIS motors though can be a pain - I went through 4. But they are soooooo easy to change, (ten minutes with a screwdriver) and often can be repaired. They often just need a blob of solder on one of the connections inside, plus a clean out of the oil vapour crap that gets in them.

I served my time on these andymadmak. Just luck of the draw regarding the belts, some I changed were like new after 90k and some had obvious wear. Possibly due to Rover chopping and changing suppliers due to credit issues as there were a couple of companies who supplied the belts so they may have been of differing quality. Any belt failures I seen were always due to the water pump failing around the 60-70k mark though. VIS motors are another notorious weakpoint but the KV6 engine is nowhere near as bad as some are making out on this forum. PDI'ing them when new was always a laugh though, whoever was in charge of QC at the factory should have been shot. Cars fitted with both manual winders and electric switches for the windows and mirrors, insides of doors left unpainted, oil leaks or no oil in the engines and boxes, the list goes on lol.

[300bhp/ton]

richb77 said:

SpudLink said:

300bhp/ton said:

richb77 said:

Dated design and ageing tooling didn't help the cars at all.

Some people wheel out this line again and again. But I'm curious in design terms (in 2002) what exactly is out dated? Or are you simply referring to styling rather than design.

Not sure what the tooling has to do with it either if I'm honest.

At the time I though it was designed to appeal to buyers who remember when Rover was an aspirational brand (P5 or something of that era). Not so much an 'old' design, more 'olde worlde'.

It was more of a comment that the interior had been around since the wheel was invented and hadnt aged well.

personal preference but thats what an open forum is for

I suppose it's ironic you should state the interior. During the 80's when the Rover/Honda relationship first started, Rover pretty much dictated and designed the interiors as it was something Honda admitted they weren't good at. The culmination of this success was the Rover 600's interior.

For the 400 Honda had already done the interior design work before Rover was part of the project. So the interior is 100% Honda, but the irony is, they followed the lead and design ethos that they'd learned from Rover over the previous years.

[SuperHangOn]

richb77 said:

It was more of a comment that the interior had been around since the wheel was invented and hadnt aged well.

personal preference but thats what an open forum is for

Its not the last word in style but then neither is a MK4 Astra or MK1 Focus interior. Fantastic chassis, V6 and it only costs 750 quid. Whats not to like?

[X5TUU]

300bhp/ton said:

why why why

or maybe

no no no


or

lol ... to me they are ugly hateful boyracer-esque rovers ... and a really blot on the name of MG

and i dont know if this is the same across the country but most rogues up in the Norf' seem to pick up a 25/47/75, and whack a few cast off bits of the MGs on them and all of a sudden its an MG ... Dross IMHO

think i would rather walk than drive one of these, especially as its the most ugly out of the ZR/ZS/ZT range

[Waynester]

Great shed, so much so...I bought it!

Flippin brilliant. Very few cars have made me chortle out loud when stamping on the loud pedal, but this did...& still does!

I gave her a wash & polish yesterday, & very good condition bodily she is too! The interior may be a little dated but it feels like a good place for me to be. The seats do not look or feel like they have had 10 years worth of use, & they cosset rather nicely.

Everything works, even the AC is icy cold.. Suspension is on the firm side, so pot holes are best avoided, but on smoother tarmac & the rpm at 3k+ she handles a treat.


Best part so far? The noise. Wind on the rpm & she sounds glorious, and this is with a standard exhaust! I am already shopping for a sportier pipe or back box! Nothing to outrageous, just something to let the V6 sing a little more.

Replacing the 3 belts can be a little 'spicy' on the wallet but it is something I am going to do sooner rather than later.


Couple of pics

[Itsallicanafford]

Oddball RS said:

Its amazing isn't it when a 'K' appears in an engine suffix it must be crap.......... I wonder if 'Special K' is poisonous too?

..well actually, i've been eating special K for years thinking that it will make me live forever and my wife pointed out last night that it's full of sugar...

[300bhp/ton]

X5TUU said:

lol ... to me they are ugly hateful boyracer-esque rovers ... and a really blot on the name of MG

and i dont know if this is the same across the country but most rogues up in the Norf' seem to pick up a 25/47/75, and whack a few cast off bits of the MGs on them and all of a sudden its an MG ... Dross IMHO

think i would rather walk than drive one of these, especially as its the most ugly out of the ZR/ZS/ZT range

Your opinion is of course yours. I truly don't understand the bravado of claiming you'd rather walk. Surely that's just internet hyperbole???

As for MG's, again I just don't get why people think these can't be MG's. Remember MG made these too:


Saloon/family cars and sporting saloon cars are very much an MG trait IMO.

[SuperHangOn]

On the plus side, those moronic "its a Rover, its st, wouldn't be seen dead in it lololol" comments mean the car buyer with half a brain can pick up bargains like the ZS180. If it were to wear a Ford or VW badge, it would be known as an icon in some goofy scene and be worth 5 times as much.

Edited by SuperHangOn on Friday 17th August 12:32

[Defconluke]

The Honda twin with its vtec is just as anonymous.
Link

[Daston]

Picked up a ZS180 a couple of months ago as a daily driver.

Not had any issues from it and found it to be a good cheap family car that you can have some fun in. It isnt going to set the world on fire but the V6 sounds nice and it does push on quite well for what it is.

I don't find the ride to be a problem at all it's a little firm but nothing too bad.

Belts need doing every 6 years or 90k miles. I had to pay just shy of £700 to get them changed as it's also recommended you get the water pump and thomostat housing changed at the same time.