MG ZT-T, the 2.5 190+. Yay or nay?

[968CSReading]

I had a CDTI for over 3 years from new and it was totally reliable until I sold it when the fuel pumps went.

However, it was well built, well equiped and handled very well for a big car. It was also a great crusier.

However, unless mine was a poor example it was terribly slow and the MPG was rubbish. Rover Ron (he can be found on the forums) produces an excellent tuning box for a fraction of the price of a Tunit/superchips etc. He also has a booster for the MAF sensor which is a weak point (mine went twice).

Unless you are doing huge miles get a 190.

[sr-performance]

Hi, i had a drive in a customers zt-t 260 v8 a few days ago. i did some work on his 75 2.5 v6. so after he saw me drooling over his v8 he took me out in out. got to say i loved it, that engine is awesome, and sounds great. he say's he has had no probs at all with v8 and i have to do a remap on it in next few weeks..


steve

[Geoff Eldridge]

New to the forum. I've had an MGZT 190 for 4 years. Nice car, enjoyed it. 42500 miles on an 03 plate and the dealership demonstrator. Sadly the engine has gone kaput - camshaft belt gone and no one has ever heard of this before - although it has been properly serviced by the main dealer. Sadly I'll have to leave the MGZT fold. Nice car, enjoyed it, but not practical to repair, unless anyone has a better idea.

geoff

[GTMSpyder]

I've had a ZT 190 for 6 years and over 110,000 miles. It has been exceptionally reliable, the only thing being a lower engine mount at 90,000miles that took about 15 minutes to replace. I've had BMW 325s before and they weren't as reliable as the MG has been.

If you want to see how well they go on track see my vids on YouTube.

Video 1 - the Integra Type R is on track-day tyres and is one-up compared to me being 2-up
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LH02B-a3pz0

Video 2 - the Audi RS4 Avant has over 450bhp
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_0HNq8UMl4Y

Video 3 - the red Porsche was black flagged and sent home for this blatant and dangerous rule breaking
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=d5joVbSCqqo

Video 4 - the Skyline has approx 375bhp according to the owner
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LxRP9SXu5cc

Believe me they are very good - totally underrated, especially with the early suspension (or the later sports suspension option)which is pretty firm but makes the handling absolutely brilliant)

[Robert060379]

Why not buy the shed of the week and a few MG badges? You'd save yourself over a grand.

[MGJohn]

GTMSpyder said:

I've had a ZT 190 for 6 years and over 110,000 miles. It has been exceptionally reliable, the only thing being a lower engine mount at 90,000miles that took about 15 minutes to replace. I've had BMW 325s before and they weren't as reliable as the MG has been.

If you want to see how well they go on track see my vids on YouTube.

Video 1 - the Integra Type R is on track-day tyres and is one-up compared to me being 2-up
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LH02B-a3pz0

Video 2 - the Audi RS4 Avant has over 450bhp
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_0HNq8UMl4Y

Video 3 - the red Porsche was black flagged and sent home for this blatant and dangerous rule breaking
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=d5joVbSCqqo

Video 4 - the Skyline has approx 375bhp according to the owner
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LxRP9SXu5cc

Believe me they are very good - totally underrated, especially with the early suspension (or the later sports suspension option)which is pretty firm but makes the handling absolutely brilliant)

Some smooth driving there Spyder ~ nice open track. I agree that like so many Rovers and MGs before them, these last of the line British MG ZEDs are massively underrated.
.

[derestrictor]

I had the use of a 2.5 V6 a while back, for a week. It was, to shamelessly coin a Clarksonism, a perfectly respectable old Hector.

Bizzarely, I found it's ability to sustain trafpol eyebrow-raising lepton remarkable, almost Germanic in the nature of a soporific Bavarian 6 loafing.

I quite liked it but you would be clinically insane to spend £2-3k accordingly when so much vastly superior Bosch hardware awaits your samplement.

[smilerbaker]

derestrictor said:

I had the use of a 2.5 V6 a while back, for a week. It was, to shamelessly coin a Clarksonism, a perfectly respectable old Hector.

Bizzarely, I found it's ability to sustain trafpol eyebrow-raising lepton remarkable, almost Germanic in the nature of a soporific Bavarian 6 loafing.

I quite liked it but you would be clinically insane to spend £2-3k accordingly when so much vastly superior Bosch hardware awaits your samplement.

yep but 2-3k will get you a much newer, much higher spec barge then from the germans

[Geoff Eldridge]

Trouble is, I DO like my ZT. Maybe 'cos I'm an old git. Still don't know what to do with it so spare Fiesta is the current transport.

My other great pleasure is my 2.8 Reliant Scimitar that I've had for 24 years! Don't take the pee... the Scimmy is great fun, well maintained. and exceeds the legal limit by big numbers!

[Grizzly_Law]

I have a 02 plate ZTT 2.5 190+ . I bought is as a stop over car and also have loved it so much i am keeping it. It has just had the 65k mile service which is a big one, three new belts etc and came in over £800. So beware of this service when buying.

Andrew

[andymadmak]

Grizzly_Law said:

I have a 02 plate ZTT 2.5 190+ . I bought is as a stop over car and also have loved it so much i am keeping it. It has just had the 65k mile service which is a big one, three new belts etc and came in over £800. So beware of this service when buying.

Andrew

You were robbed mate. The big service is the 90k (thats when the belts need doing) (its a 15k service interval) and I got mine done at lates for less than 600 quid, all genuine MGR parts.

Andy

[MGJohn]

ALWAYS shop around to compare prices if time allows. Not all professionals have the correct information available or can be bothered to check properly.

Ask friends, work colleagues etc for their recommendations rather tha go to the same old outfit time and again.

Above all, beware of those with the "They all do that mate" mentality.
Mainly because they don't all do that...
.

[Kermit power]

MGJohn said:

Above all, beware of those with the "They all do that mate" mentality.
Mainly because they don't all do that...
.

Unless it's a ZT V8 blowing the top heater hose. Then they really do all do that!

The fact that the owners' club has been able to get a (so far, for around 150 members) perfect replacement made for less than the cost of the MGR original which lasts 15k miles at most is quite amusing.

[welshbikerduck]

I just thought i would chip in on this. Now i have only owned mine for less than 24 hours admitedly, but i bought this estate from a commercial auction site today while i was there looking for a small crew van. The next thing i know is this bright yellow car was all done at 1400, my wife out of the blue said she liked the look of it, keep in mind we had not even seen the car prior to that 10 seconds of us coming back with our cups of tea while waiting for the vans, and i must be honest i had no idea what the car was worth. But at 1400 quid it seemed cheap to me so i quickly asked the wife if she wanted it, she gave a nod and i raised my hand. The next thing i know the auctioneer is telling me over the mic i have just had a great deal (he would tho wouldn't he) and to come up to the rostrum.

I have only ever been in a 75 saloon once before and that was for no more than 5 minutes as a passenger, so i had no idea what to expect, i just thought this will do instead of a crew van, so my expectations were not high at all. My wife drove our Range Rover home and i jumped into the MG. All i can say is WOW ! they kept this car quiet.

As i say i had no idea about these cars before, but as i drove off i could tell right away by the lovely sounding growl that it was a V6, and while not break neck quick it was no slouch by any stretch of the imagination. The drive home was around 30 miles and i must admit i could not take the smile off my face all the way home, the car is awesome. The down side is the banana yellow it is in, but what the hell it was supposed to be a plain white van so with the sign writing that will go on it i think the colour is now an asset.

To the guy that kept going on about why Rover never went bankrupt becayse the cars were so good, maybe you're right. However i would say more likely they probably went bankrupt because of lousy marketing of their awesome cars. I only wish i knew about these things years ago, they have to be one of the best kept secrets in the motoring world, and i have owned most "big name" cars.

Edited by welshbikerduck on Sunday 10th May 02:58

[MGJohn]

welshbikerduck said:

........and i jumped into the MG. All i can say is WOW ! they kept this car quiet.

As i say i had no idea about these cars before ........ the car is awesome. ...............

I only wish i knew about these things years ago, they have to be one of the best kept secrets in the motoring world, and i have owned most "big name" cars.

It's all part of the very self-inflicted British disease. Over the years, Rover and MG have produced some really well kept 'secrets' .... However, not everybody has missed out.

You Sir Welshbikerduck, are the umpteenth car driver who has made that discovery about these cars. I have personally lost count of the folks I know of personally that have for whatever reason, stayed away from these Tru-Brit type cars for decades and having given them a lift in one of mine over the years, have opened their eyes as to just how good some of them are. Indeed a number of drivers have been so impressed they've changed a lifetime's car buying habits and have been pleased with the results.

Car ignorance is still widespread within far too many UK car consumers circles. Numerous reasons for this.

A neighbour Boxster owner frequently castigated me about my choice of cars ~ going on about superior teutonic build quality and reliability. Then told me sometime later the sad tale of being stranded on the M5's hard should whilst his superior teutonic car had a superior terminal engine burn out! He then asked me how my still newish MG Zed was going ~ I told him the family had just returned from a touring Contenental holiday where the car never missed a beat, including when my son let slip he cruised it fully loaded at well into three figures on their no limit roads ... the rascal!

Know what Boxster owner said.... ?

"Ah that's those fabulous Honda engines for you"

Yet another brainwashed car consumer .... we're all doomed... ... we really are ... .

I have bought new Hondas in my time ... but, none of my Rovers or MGs ever had a Honda engine in them!

Yes, self-inflicted and there are those that know it's deserved ..... these include foreign car manufacturers who have formed queues to sell their stuff at inflated prices to us Brits for decades.


Does you good to have "one" occasionally ~ well it does me ...

By the way, that sounds like some snip you have there ~ Although it did not cost you much, do give it a thorough onceover and renew or replace whatever it needs ~ provided it has been reasonably looked after prior to your ownership, it will replay your smallish outlay and then some.
..

[Nigel Worc's]

I wish the owner of the estate luck.

@ MGJOHN , you don't quite get the same response from me do you ?

I too bought one of these cars, and it was everything people said it would be !

And not in a good way.

With hindsight (which is a wonderful gift), I think Rovers inability to accept something was wrong, and deal with it, was their downfall.

My 75 is still the worst car I've owned to this present day, and I've had a few with Longbridge origins.

[welshbikerduck]

Nigel Worc's said:

I wish the owner of the estate luck.

@ MGJOHN , you don't quite get the same response from me do you ?

I too bought one of these cars, and it was everything people said it would be !

And not in a good way.

With hindsight (which is a wonderful gift), I think Rovers inability to accept something was wrong, and deal with it, was their downfall.

My 75 is still the worst car I've owned to this present day, and I've had a few with Longbridge origins.

It sounds to me like you may have just had a Friday afternoon car.

I have just come back in from being out all day for the obligatory Sunday drive in the MG, which when you consider we have a Porsche and a Range Rover vogue SE on the drive is not a bad recomendation.

Having said that the damn airbag light cam on just as we got home, Grrrrr but the drive was fabulous and i am looking forward to next Sunday already.

[Nigel Worc's]

The drive of mine was fabulous too, I loved the style, and the interior, well, it was like a blast from the past (I'd got the top spec one with full black leather & grey piping), it was more what I'd expect from Jaguar than a Rover.

Work regularly it just didn't, I wont bore you with why (unless you actually want to know), just keep a very close eye on the coolant level (for the one issue, if yours is the 1.8), one of the silly issues I could bother you with is it doesn't have a coolant level sensor, this is due to the design of the bottle, it kept false alarming when you went around corners, so instead of fixing the design problem that had come to light, Rovers finest took the sensor off !

Tha "main" reason for coolant loss (excepting aging hoses etc) wasn't actually the head gasket, it was the inlet manifold.

[Kermit power]

welshbikerduck said:

The damn airbag light cam on just as we got home, Grrrrr

That was almost certainly just down to the connectors under the seat. The wires are fairly short, so it's not uncommon for them to pull on the connector and trigger the light. Should be a quick, simple fiddle, although some people just cut out the connector and patch in longer wires.

Either way, unless you're very unlucky and there actually is something wrong with the system, it should be a very quick, simple and cheap fix.

[Kermit power]

welshbikerduck said:

However i would say more likely they probably went bankrupt because of lousy marketing of their awesome cars.

As an example, how many people know MGR set the World land speed record for an estate car (228mph iirc) with a ZT-T V8 on the Bonneville salt flats?

If it had been BMW or Audi, how many people would know?

To go to all that trouble and then not even market it! Utterly, utterly dreadful.