MG ZT 190+ - Should I?
Discussion
I've had mine since April (best £600 ever spent) and it's been completely trouble free, doesn't drink oil or coolant, I do now have a closeness with the local petrol station but as Lancaster cover it as a classic my insurance saving well and truly offsets my fuel expenditure.
Having said that, next year it will be making way to let me scratch my Alfa or Jag itch that I currently have
Having said that, next year it will be making way to let me scratch my Alfa or Jag itch that I currently have
the only real downside of the kv6 engine in those, is that the cambelt is pricey to replace - takes a lot of man hours. iirc, the engine has to be dropped out the bottom.
Oh, and the economy isnt stunning - but my old mans one gets the same economy as my 325 - so its probably average for a large car with that amount of power.
£1000 is just silly - thats a lot of car for the price.
Oh, and the economy isnt stunning - but my old mans one gets the same economy as my 325 - so its probably average for a large car with that amount of power.
£1000 is just silly - thats a lot of car for the price.
Trickersson said:
What sort of mpg do you get out of it? I drive about 150 miles a week. Sometimes alot less. Pleasures of having a work van! Oh and the monthly 200 mile trip to and from Blackpool.
Around 30 local and 40 urban according to the mpg wiki; not that bad (in my books anyway). Trickersson said:
What sort of mpg do you get out of it? I drive about 150 miles a week. Sometimes alot less. Pleasures of having a work van! Oh and the monthly 200 mile trip to and from Blackpool.
To be honest I'm luck if I'm getting more than 25mpg......this may have more to do with me have a bit of a lead foot though. On a long journey though it is a great place to be, comfortable without being an armchair on wheels. But and this is the big but, don't think you are going to set the world alight with blistering performance, it's no slouch but it's also not really up there with other supposed performance saloons/estatesCurvaParabolica said:
Around 30 local and 40 urban according to the mpg wiki; not that bad (in my books anyway).
Optimistic. 27 avg for me over a year and a bit. If it sounds rattle, it will be the inlet manifold. There should be a discernible feeling when the power intake motor kicks in - if not the motor is stuck or shot. Neither are expensive to fix. Also the gearbox mount wears out causing clunky gear changes - again, a cheap fix.
Would have another one.
Very nice cars indeed.
The KV6 motor in these is a Rover engine, but it is not in the least fragile. The KV6 got a reputation of lowing headgaskets and other problems in its first incarnation in the 800 series of cars. However it has been massively revised for the 75/ZTs and is a very strong motor. There are plenty of high mileage examples about, which bodes well.
As others have said, the cambelts are a big job and does cost quite a bit to get done.
Other than that they're generally reliable cars.
The KV6 motor in these is a Rover engine, but it is not in the least fragile. The KV6 got a reputation of lowing headgaskets and other problems in its first incarnation in the 800 series of cars. However it has been massively revised for the 75/ZTs and is a very strong motor. There are plenty of high mileage examples about, which bodes well.
As others have said, the cambelts are a big job and does cost quite a bit to get done.
Other than that they're generally reliable cars.
Fordo said:
the only real downside of the kv6 engine in those, is that the cambelt is pricey to replace - takes a lot of man hours. iirc, the engine has to be dropped out the bottom.
It makes me laugh when these old gems get trotted out time and time again 
You absolutely to not have to drop the engine out of the bottom of the car. Changing the timing belts (there's three of them) is a fairly big job, but provided you have access to the locking tools (and you really do need them to do it properly) then a competent DIYer should be able to have it done within a day.George7 said:
I'm looking at these myself, and am very tempted. The economy isn't a big issue really, my dad's friend (who apparently drives very sedately) has one, and he reports 37-39 on a run, which isn't bad at all really.
He's either lying, unable to work out the numbers correctly or genuinely does no more than 55mph.You absolutely DO NOT have to drop the engine out to change the cambelts on the KV6 in the ZT/75. It's not even that hard a job. You do need a special tool kit though with various locking tools (different camshaft locking tool for various KV6 capacities and power outputs). There are 3 belts to do, but 2 of them are an absolute dawdle. The main belt drives the two inlet cams from the crankshaft sprocket at the front of the engine, and each inlet cam drives it's neighbouring exhaust cam from a small belt at the back of the engine.
The ZT is quite possibly the finest handling FWD car I've ever had the pleasure of driving. It has a nice solid feel to it behind the wheel too. It's a 90deg V6 so it sounds slightly different to a normal 60deg V6, but it's a nice engine and a nice car.
The ZT is quite possibly the finest handling FWD car I've ever had the pleasure of driving. It has a nice solid feel to it behind the wheel too. It's a 90deg V6 so it sounds slightly different to a normal 60deg V6, but it's a nice engine and a nice car.
Great cars, I really miss my ZTT and for the measly £1800 I got for it 2 years ago I wish I'd kept it.
Mpg is pretty poor though, I could muster 32mpg from a full tank if it was all motorway at 60-65mph. 27-28mpg was normal for a whole tank of motorway driving at 80 and for everything else I used to get 23-24mpg.
Super smooth engine but not quite as sporty sounding as some other V6s.
Either way it's a bargain at a grand.
Mpg is pretty poor though, I could muster 32mpg from a full tank if it was all motorway at 60-65mph. 27-28mpg was normal for a whole tank of motorway driving at 80 and for everything else I used to get 23-24mpg.
Super smooth engine but not quite as sporty sounding as some other V6s.
Either way it's a bargain at a grand.
KV6 is a decently reliable engine but not "bulletproof".
The most common failing is the variable inlet manifold - usually noticed by a rattle from the top of the engine. Sometimes it is the motors, sometimes the actual metal bits inside are rattling around. If the latter only real repair is a whole new manifold although if you can split it open you can remove the butterflys. I've seen some gone at 30k.
Also, some early ZT 190's are prone to the liners dropping giving similar results to a blown headgasket and the cooling system is prone to leaks near the thermostat housing.
Cambelt change is very conservative. The "inside" word seems to be that the engineers rated them to 150k but they set them to 90k to be very much on the safe side. On a lowish mileage cheap car I'd be tempted not to bother.
The most common failing is the variable inlet manifold - usually noticed by a rattle from the top of the engine. Sometimes it is the motors, sometimes the actual metal bits inside are rattling around. If the latter only real repair is a whole new manifold although if you can split it open you can remove the butterflys. I've seen some gone at 30k.
Also, some early ZT 190's are prone to the liners dropping giving similar results to a blown headgasket and the cooling system is prone to leaks near the thermostat housing.
Cambelt change is very conservative. The "inside" word seems to be that the engineers rated them to 150k but they set them to 90k to be very much on the safe side. On a lowish mileage cheap car I'd be tempted not to bother.
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