Shed Of The Week: MG ZT-T / Rover 75 Tourer
Both ends of the Rover wagon spectrum explored by Shed this week with a 75 diesel and ZT-T V6
Both our Sheds are from 2001, the year in which George Bush was sworn into office, quite literally probably; Stanley Kubrick had his Space Odyssey; and Shed discovered that Mrs Shed had a vestigial tail.
The thing that rescues this Rover from the usual curled top lip and sneer of disdain is the oily lump under the bonnet. There can't be many people who don't know that this is the same BMW 2.0-litre turbodiesel unit that has been thrumming busy execs up and down the world's motorways for who knows how long.
Actually, that's not quite right, there are some people who aren't aware of the gold ahead of them thar sills. A pal of Shed's picked one of these CDT Rovers up last year for buttons and has been serenely motoring on since then with a gratifyingly small number of diesel receipts in the glovebox and zero repair bills to spoil his fun.
Admittedly, from an engineering design perspective this engine is about as fresh as last week's Fyffes banana or Shed witticism. But let's take nothing away from it, for many years it was the undisputed king of the donks. That knowledge has always kept CDT prices pretty buoyant. Even now there really aren't that many in the three-figure bracket.
The miles are highish on both cars but perhaps just high enough for them to have leapt majestically over most of the major hurdles that might have blighted their lives up to now. With the diesel engine of course that will be injector trouble and the dual mass flywheel clutch. When it's running well the 2.5 petrol six in the MG is a refined and composed unit, much like the car itself. You may encounter any, all or none of a myriad of problems affecting head gaskets, coil springs, brake master cylinders, thermostat housing seals, cambelts, coil packs and clutches. Don't expect much above 25mpg, but opening the story out to all 75s/ZTs do expect a wide range of pleasure and horror stories in almost equal measure from angry or ecstatic owners. Water ingress through the tailgate was a problem on early estates.
The ads, particularly for the Rover, are typical dealer fare, grammatically odd mixtures of capital letters and commas and each in their own way a splendid triumph of content over flow, but at least they give you a good idea that these were decently specified cars. Well built ones, too. Even the appalling sticker underneath the Rover's tailgate can't take away from the still sound finish fourteen years down the road. Looking at that sticker you suspect the owner of the Rover either had a brilliant sense of humour or none at all.
The MG of course is rather less smelly looking. Give those Brummie lads their due, they knew how to slap paint on. Shame the chaps at the top weren't quite so diligent.
Which one would you have? The shiny money in every sense is on the MG but Shed suspects that a significant underbelly of PHers looking for a tool capable of most things and with minimal running costs would sign up for the Rover.
Anyway, here are those ads. Try and read the Rover one out loud in one breath. That's how it was written.
Here is the ZT-T ad and here's the 75.
Blue, LONG MOT, HPI CLEAR, CALL FOR MORE INFO, 5+ owners, Air-Conditioning, Alarm, Alloy Wheels (18in), Electric Windows (Front/Rear), In Car Entertainment (Radio/Cassette). 5 seats, WE'VE CHNAGED ADDRESS! AS OF 1ST MAY WE ARE AT MAULDEN GARDEN CENTRE, A507, MK452GP, £895
2.5 190 + 5dr
Zircon silver
Insurance Group 8, Part exchange trade clearance, ABS, Air Conditioning, Alarm, Alloy Wheels, Body Coloured Bumpers, Central Locking, Drivers Airbag, Folding Rear Seats, Front Electric Windows, Front Fog Lights, Height Adjustable Drivers Seat, Immobiliser, Passenger Airbag, Power Steering, Radio/Cassette, Rear Electric Windows, Remote Central Locking, Roof Rails, Service Indicator, Side Airbags, Steering Wheel Rake Adjustment, Steering Wheel Reach Adjustment, Trip Computer,Tel: David : 07511 667260
The MG did interest me though, I like the mildly sporty styling and the road tests of the time showed they were a good steer. Plus the tourer version could probably handle a healthy jaunt to Ikea once in a while. So, it's still on the list but I'd like something notably faster than what I have. And I don't yet have the need for a more practical motor :-P
The standard 75 is a little bit old hat to me. It suffers from what a lot of journos used to say Jaguar suffered from before the XF appeared on the scene - but with faker wood. And then there's the massive rear number plates...
Anyway, the MG gets my approval.
Untitled by Nicholas Horne, on Flickr
It had it's faults and troubles (Leaky boot, clutch went, digi display temperamental etc) but out of the 30+ cars I've owned it's one of my faves. It was frugal and comfortable on a long journey and yet you could wind it up an a B road and really hussle it along. I loved the interior, the seats were very comfortable and I still think the styling is good. People were often surprised it was a cheap runabout and one co-worker mistook it for a Bentley, ha ha.
The ZT T is a good car. I ran one (190 V6) for several years, and put more than 100k miles on it. The guy I sold it to took it to more than 160K miles and then he sold it on again..... They do take the miles well so long as you put in the right coolant, oil, etc. Handled well too.
Pulled out of London after a bad nights sleep in central London at 05.30 and was having dinner in Viena at 19.30 without any aches and feeling more refreshed than when I started - not much other than a full size luxo barge would have been better than the 75.
The rover just looks nasty and it is being sold by Derby Car Centre too? No thanks.
look very dated now but i don't think that's a bad thing with the current Solidworks/maya/autodesk/catia etc designed generation.
If i needed a banger i'd have one. But not the 75.
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