2004 MG ZT260SE Saloon
Discussion
Had the car just over a year now, haven't regretted a day. Hasn't been a perfectly smooth year, but I knew there were likely to be niggles when I bought the car.
So, first a couple of photos
Spec-wise mine is standard apart from a K&N air fliter, MG7 mud guards (not in the pics) and a newer nav disc.
SE trim so there's the BMW sat nav and CD changer, cruise control, climate control, trip computer, power and heated front seats, traction control, rear parking sensors, power rear sunblind, xenon headlights and auto wipers.
As you can see from the photos mine has cream leather seats but a dark interior with a carbon wrap on the dash and the exterior window frames. As far as I know, and as far as guys from the owners' club have told me, mine is the only one like this.
The known niggly bits I've had to sort are the aforementioned air filter, the K&N doesn't need to be changed as often, meaning the bumper has to be removed less to get to it (yes the bumper has to come off to get to the air filter easily). I've also had to change the heater diverter valve, as this always fails on the V8 cars, leaving the heater stuck on full! I've also changed the handbrake cable compensator so that the handbrake actually works, which most 75s and ZTs have issue with too.
The unexpected niggle was a gearbox issue, the pin that holds the gear lever joint to the linkage was popping out and grinding on the top of the gearbox casing, which had the result of making selecting first gear nigh-on impossible, luckily this was repaired without major expense.
So why did I want one?
My previous car was an IS200 sport, I wanted to move on to something quicker but sticking with rear drive and sticking with a manual box. I was originally looking at an 346 330Ci sport, but then knew every day I drove it I'd wonder why I didn't buy an M3. The M3 search went on but I never did find the right one, and price-wise I never did find one that I'd have bought in confidence within my budget. I was also unsure of driving around in what was a very big jump in power from the IS200, and quite a flash car (in my eyes anyway).
I then remembered a car I'd hard of when it was launched, and really like the look of, the ZT260. I love sleeper cars, and the 260 is certainly one, and with a Mustang engine it fulfils a life-long dream of mine to have a V8!
An Autotrader search left me with 4 options (!) so I picked the best of the bunch and made some calls whilst googling and checking forums for things to check for.
This ended up with a 13-hour sleeper train ride up to Scotland and a 10 hour drive back to South Wales!!
I love the ride and handling, and while the car isn't neck-snappingly fast it certainly makes enough progress in a way that makes me grin on every trip. The 500 mile run home from Scotland also showed how comfortable it is on long journeys, I arrived home tired but with no aches or pains.
I don't plan on modding the car, it has a very nice balance as standard and I'd like to keep it that way. I'll never rule our uprating the throttle body or induction, but I think I'll stop short of supercharging, even if that's always what MG intended to do themselves. I also plan on leaving the exhaust alone, nice as they sound with aftermarket systems I think it takes away from the sleeper nature of the car if it burps and pops everywhere.
Oh and I average 20mpg before anyone asks, nearly 26 on a long run, and a fun blast through some twisty bits costs £15 or so if I leave it in 3rd and use the top end of the rev range.
So, first a couple of photos
Spec-wise mine is standard apart from a K&N air fliter, MG7 mud guards (not in the pics) and a newer nav disc.
SE trim so there's the BMW sat nav and CD changer, cruise control, climate control, trip computer, power and heated front seats, traction control, rear parking sensors, power rear sunblind, xenon headlights and auto wipers.
As you can see from the photos mine has cream leather seats but a dark interior with a carbon wrap on the dash and the exterior window frames. As far as I know, and as far as guys from the owners' club have told me, mine is the only one like this.
The known niggly bits I've had to sort are the aforementioned air filter, the K&N doesn't need to be changed as often, meaning the bumper has to be removed less to get to it (yes the bumper has to come off to get to the air filter easily). I've also had to change the heater diverter valve, as this always fails on the V8 cars, leaving the heater stuck on full! I've also changed the handbrake cable compensator so that the handbrake actually works, which most 75s and ZTs have issue with too.
The unexpected niggle was a gearbox issue, the pin that holds the gear lever joint to the linkage was popping out and grinding on the top of the gearbox casing, which had the result of making selecting first gear nigh-on impossible, luckily this was repaired without major expense.
So why did I want one?
My previous car was an IS200 sport, I wanted to move on to something quicker but sticking with rear drive and sticking with a manual box. I was originally looking at an 346 330Ci sport, but then knew every day I drove it I'd wonder why I didn't buy an M3. The M3 search went on but I never did find the right one, and price-wise I never did find one that I'd have bought in confidence within my budget. I was also unsure of driving around in what was a very big jump in power from the IS200, and quite a flash car (in my eyes anyway).
I then remembered a car I'd hard of when it was launched, and really like the look of, the ZT260. I love sleeper cars, and the 260 is certainly one, and with a Mustang engine it fulfils a life-long dream of mine to have a V8!
An Autotrader search left me with 4 options (!) so I picked the best of the bunch and made some calls whilst googling and checking forums for things to check for.
This ended up with a 13-hour sleeper train ride up to Scotland and a 10 hour drive back to South Wales!!
I love the ride and handling, and while the car isn't neck-snappingly fast it certainly makes enough progress in a way that makes me grin on every trip. The 500 mile run home from Scotland also showed how comfortable it is on long journeys, I arrived home tired but with no aches or pains.
I don't plan on modding the car, it has a very nice balance as standard and I'd like to keep it that way. I'll never rule our uprating the throttle body or induction, but I think I'll stop short of supercharging, even if that's always what MG intended to do themselves. I also plan on leaving the exhaust alone, nice as they sound with aftermarket systems I think it takes away from the sleeper nature of the car if it burps and pops everywhere.
Oh and I average 20mpg before anyone asks, nearly 26 on a long run, and a fun blast through some twisty bits costs £15 or so if I leave it in 3rd and use the top end of the rev range.
Edited by Scourge151 on Monday 17th December 16:24
I do like the facelifted ZTs, and what better than a manual V8? Good work OP 
Lovely car! Had mine 8 months or so and am piling on the miles. It's not blisteringly fast but it certainly thumps along in a very enjoyable way.
Not seen a cream interior on a ZT, any more pics?
Oh and where did you get the sat nav disk from if you don't mind me asking?
My car: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Not seen a cream interior on a ZT, any more pics?
Oh and where did you get the sat nav disk from if you don't mind me asking?
My car: http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Cheers guys!
I'll definitely keep the thread updated, sure I took some pics of the underside last time I changed the oil, I'll have a rummage.
I'll do some shots of the interior too once sun's up!
I'll definitely keep the thread updated, sure I took some pics of the underside last time I changed the oil, I'll have a rummage.
moribund said:
Not seen a cream interior on a ZT, any more pics?
Oh and where did you get the sat nav disk from if you don't mind me asking?
http://www.satnav-updates.com/ had the CDs, has software updates too but they won't work on our units. I got the one for the Mk3 system and the maps work very well, only confused by some very new roads.Oh and where did you get the sat nav disk from if you don't mind me asking?
I'll do some shots of the interior too once sun's up!
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