Wednesday 9th July 2003

MG Jack it Up

High riding Rover 'Streetwise' taps into 4x4 craze

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The current craze amongst manufacturers for jacking up their cars and slapping swathes of grey plastic over them has finally reached Longbridge.

Since MG Rover regained its independence it has shown an aptitude for taking its basically dull cars and injecting a bit of pizazz to cater to modern tastes. The MG versions of the saloons have done wonders for the company's image.

Have they gone a step too far with this one? The MG 'Streetwise' is very much in the mould of the Audi Allroad and Volvo's XV. Where Audi and Volvo claim that the 4 wheel drive makes their cars genuinely useful as well as a suburban fashion statement, MG are unashamedly just making a fashion statement.

The Streetwise adopts an 'urban tough' look that more and more people are craving - usually in the assumption that tough looking cars are safer in the even of an accident. Robust moulded bumpers, wheelarch extensions, rubbing strips and roof bars complete the external makeover. Colour coding will be available on some trim levels. They've even modernised the Rover badge in an attempt to make it appeal to younger generation.

Wheels are 15 inch steel or fancier models will get 16 alloys. Ride height appears to be raised for no reason other than it looks cool. Could this mark the return of 'Jack up Kits'?

Link: Jacked up Cortina

[AndySA]

I hope this is a paint shop special!

[rev-erend]

Should make it easy to install 'cruise' lights...

[cerbman]

I think it's ok, a fair job.

[kooper]

good god, what an embarrasment.

[sidevalve]

It's a total joke. Who do they think they are kidding? They've taken a cramped, unrefined but reasonable-handling car, stuck ugly bits of dirt-prone grey plastic all over it, raised its CG to make it handle a bit worse, charge (I guess) more money for it - and they have the cheek to try to foist it on us without even fitting 4WD. If they turn out rubbish like this they deserve to go bust.

[dans]

aaaargh. bastard son of a rover 25 and a 1970's rubber bumper MGB

[victormeldrew]

Not what I was expecting of MG. I thought the tarted up ZX etc were stopgap until proper new models were introduced ... seems that MG is going to be just about tarting up Rover (or even worse imports). Disappointing.

[Superflid]

Hands up Ted, it's got to be one of yours...

[cdp]

As long as there are numpties with money.....

[Felix7]

FOCLOL

[andymadmak]

Oh stop whingeing!

MG Rover are only doing what every other mainstream manufacturer is doing and trying to produce niche type vehicles on existing platforms so as to maximise returns. Its a tough market out there right now, and I for one applaud their survival instincts. The MG versions are equally as niche as this psuedo off roader. You don't like this one? fair enough, don't buy it. I see no crime in them trying though. It's about image anyway for most buyers these days, so the lack of 4wd is no major hassle. Its not as if the idea is new - anyone remember the Matra Rancho?

The new cars to replace the 25 and the 45 are coming (slowly) The collapse of Mayflower (who were doing much of the engineering cos BMW left MG ROVER with not much more than the paint on the walls) has delayed the product a bit. Hopefully we will see them next year.

Come on guys, give them a break FFS! Do you want them to survive or not? I cannot imagine that the engineers at MG Rover are any happier about the purity of the concept than you are, and hopefully they won't have to do it once the new cars are launched and they are a mega success. But to get there they've got to survive now, and if that means cars like the jacked up 25 then thats a small price to pay IMHO

Andy 400se

[mrsd]

Sadly lightly modded existing models and that Tata effort could well be all we see from MGRover for a while. Hopefully they'll manage to get the high-performance ZTs out, but these will surely be vv niche models ?

187m loss last year 01-02 85m 02-03 IIRC. Unfortunately the second figure takes into account the dowry from BMW and original predictions were that they would be at break even this year

[Podie]

dans said:

aaaargh. bastard son of a rover 25 and a 1970's rubber bumper MGB

Maybe they found a stash of left-over parts...?

[DustyC]

Fun? Doesnt look half as much fun as that cortina!
(follow the link on the news story).

[jvaughan]

I like it.

[ultimasimon]

How big is that exhaust? Whats under the bonnet, a chainsaw engine?

[king arthur]

Basically, like Andy says, no-one's forcing you to buy one. I think it's a brilliant concept - a tough, urban looking car for the supermarket shopping, school run brigade who would otherwise have assumed that they needed to buy a Freelander to keep their kids and their shopping bags safe. How often have we all said that the closest thing most 4x4s ever get to going off road is when they put one wheel up on the kerb? Well, here's the antidote.

[bilko]

Tacky cheap crap and just when they were showing what they could do with the MG X power SV.

[king arthur]

sidevalve said:

It's a total joke. Who do they think they are kidding? They've taken a cramped, unrefined but reasonable-handling car, stuck ugly bits of dirt-prone grey plastic all over it, raised its CG to make it handle a bit worse, charge (I guess) more money for it - and they have the cheek to try to foist it on us without even fitting 4WD. If they turn out rubbish like this they deserve to go bust.

Why does it need 4WD then?

[sidekick]

Never been a particular fan of Rover's products, however fair play to them, they're doing what they can with very little money. I don't think I've ever heard Honda's HRV (what's the point of that then?) or Renault's Scienic 4x$ criticised this harshly.