Discussion
I owned one for 3 years (1999-2002) it was a solid little car for 1 year old, and drove pretty well.
It is less sporty than an contemporary (Mk2) MX5 and rolls a bit more in the corners, but had good traction and on long journeys was more comfortable. It's mid engine layout didn't make it that much fun on the limit for me at the time as an inexperienced driver though, once it starts moving you have to be quick to catch it.
Overall an MX5 is probably a better bet as a drivers car, and I'd agree that the build quality wasn't up there with the Mazda at the time so not sure they will have aged well.
The one to look out for is the 160 Trophy version, which is a genuinely quick little b road stormer if you can find one in good nick.
And yes the HG did fail but with the correct mods, and proper specialist (rather than Rover dealer) servicing after that it was no trouble.
It is less sporty than an contemporary (Mk2) MX5 and rolls a bit more in the corners, but had good traction and on long journeys was more comfortable. It's mid engine layout didn't make it that much fun on the limit for me at the time as an inexperienced driver though, once it starts moving you have to be quick to catch it.
Overall an MX5 is probably a better bet as a drivers car, and I'd agree that the build quality wasn't up there with the Mazda at the time so not sure they will have aged well.
The one to look out for is the 160 Trophy version, which is a genuinely quick little b road stormer if you can find one in good nick.
And yes the HG did fail but with the correct mods, and proper specialist (rather than Rover dealer) servicing after that it was no trouble.
They're pretty reasonable to drive, although more prone to understeer than the MX5 or MR2 and not as easy to induce controllable oversteer. Build quality was questionable and the driving position is very odd. They are prone to leak, although as with just about any car, I suspect that's fixable. If the head gasket hasn't gone already it probably will at some point. If has gone already, check that the liner heights were corrected when it was done, otherwise it will probably go again. Getting the gasket done properly, including liner heights, etc., should be around 500 quid unless the engine has been allowed to overheat and warped the head.
MGFs had hydropneumatic suspension which gave a pretty good ride but let the handling down a bit. TFs had normal springs and dampers so they didn't ride as well but handled better.
All in all, the F wasn't actually a particularly bad car, it just wasn't as good as the MX5.
MGFs had hydropneumatic suspension which gave a pretty good ride but let the handling down a bit. TFs had normal springs and dampers so they didn't ride as well but handled better.
All in all, the F wasn't actually a particularly bad car, it just wasn't as good as the MX5.
Edited by kambites on Sunday 25th April 11:41
I bought one a few months ago, I even had a thread on here somewhere, basically I set myself a budget of 1k to get myself something a bit fun for the summer and an mgf was what I ended up with.
The car I bought is a 1997 model in silver with 78000 miles on the clock and came with no tax or test. It has seen some paint on the rear end and has a few small dents and paint chips. So far I have had to replace the ball joints and track rod ends to get it through the mot and tommorow I will be rebuilding the brake callipers as the car pulls to the left under hard breaking. As for the headgasket situation I check the water levels every other day and i have driven the car hard, so far with no loss of water or oil touch wood.
They are quite good to drive, especially with the roof down but this is my first rear drive mid engined carso I'm bound to be a little biased. However they are very noisy on the motorway and not particuarly comfortable.
One aspect of the car that is a mixed blessing is the use of a LOT of metro pieces in the running gear, on one side this makes the mg very easy to work on and parts very cheap, on the other hand it is basically a metro underneath.
Hope this helps the op a bit.
The car I bought is a 1997 model in silver with 78000 miles on the clock and came with no tax or test. It has seen some paint on the rear end and has a few small dents and paint chips. So far I have had to replace the ball joints and track rod ends to get it through the mot and tommorow I will be rebuilding the brake callipers as the car pulls to the left under hard breaking. As for the headgasket situation I check the water levels every other day and i have driven the car hard, so far with no loss of water or oil touch wood.
They are quite good to drive, especially with the roof down but this is my first rear drive mid engined carso I'm bound to be a little biased. However they are very noisy on the motorway and not particuarly comfortable.
One aspect of the car that is a mixed blessing is the use of a LOT of metro pieces in the running gear, on one side this makes the mg very easy to work on and parts very cheap, on the other hand it is basically a metro underneath.
Hope this helps the op a bit.
One problem for me is that I wouldn't be doing any DIY on it (apart from the basic weekly checks).Its certainly a great looking little car - its another BL/Rover "could have been" car - I want to stick a toyota or Honda lump in one - B16a should drop straight in as dimensionally very similar to the K series.
Having worked on many and councelled many heart broken owners along the way I really can't recommend one - but the rivals all have their problems too - MX5's rust like f
k and mk2 MR2's are a bit of a ste drive compared to the mazda - so its unfair to slag the MGF off completely. Picking one, it would be an MX5 1.8 for me provided the bodywork is sound
Having worked on many and councelled many heart broken owners along the way I really can't recommend one - but the rivals all have their problems too - MX5's rust like f
k and mk2 MR2's are a bit of a ste drive compared to the mazda - so its unfair to slag the MGF off completely. Picking one, it would be an MX5 1.8 for me provided the bodywork is soundShadownINja said:
Silent1 said:
ShadownINja said:
Thanks for the additional posts. I do want a "driver's" car after my wobbly experiences with my current one.
VX220 FTW
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