RE: MG ZT-T 260: PH Carpool

[myhandle]

Great article, nice car! I've had a 75 V8 from new, bought heavily discounted, about £27,000 I think, about 6 months after MG Rover ended production. It has about 30,000 miles and I've kept it looking good. I really like it. For reference, I drove an E39 M5 once and loved it; this could not be more different. It has extremely long gearing, and all the power is at the top end. Not actually that fast, but the chassis is good. It's only about the size of a new 3 series, although it has the presence of a 7 series. In petrol stations sometimes say "is that the new Rover? I thought they stopped making them" - it has aged really well. My car loving friends have all driven it, and between them they have driven everything you can imagine (including a D Type, 250SWB, F50, Porsche 917 and several F1 cars, really, everything) and they are generally impressed by it a bit more than they expect, but I don't think any of them would buy one. Reviews span from "you should scrap it" and "it's like an American car ... from the 1970s" through to "I have grudgingly come to rather like this car" and "if anyone ever knew it existed, they would have sold a lot more" I'll never sell it.

[myhandle]

[myhandle]

MG Rover left the Mustang badge on the engine, which is extremely amusing.

[QuattroDave]

Your article had me when you used the word fewer rather than less!

Good writing and great car.

[JulesV]

Good article. Thank you for posting. I used to own Vin 405, a ZT-T 260 SE. I still really miss it even though I sold it about six years ago. Think I will have to own another one day.

[CDP]

JulesV said:

Your car looks just as at home in that setting as the 997 behind it.

Surely a roof rack with the extra seats strapped to it means you wouldn't need a people carrier? Even if you're squeamish about the kids (who I'm sure would love it) at the very least the dog can take the top deck...

[aaron_2000]

If 7 seats is a need, then what about an E63 wagon? Pretty sure you could still get them with 7 seats, right?

[CDP]

Rare: check
Unique appeal: check
Extra seats: check
Ruinously expensive to run: check

[AntB]

tbh that Safari is the most likely contender (aside from roof rack usage) of those posted. New cars started to bore the tits off me in about 2009. The Tesla seems like a neat idea and better executed than many others.

I'll still have a 'cylinder count' but it will be older stuff. Irony alert!: new cars are too appliancy.

[Scvolvo]

Good cars and considered one myself, I opted for a V70R instead.

[Nick Young]

Made me all nostalgic now! Mine was number 211. A former show car for the facelift model, it had the Mk1 interior and Mk2 exterior! Expensive to run, slightly under powered and you always had the sense that something was going to go wrong. It was basically a not very reliable fuel to noise machine. But I loved every minute of my ownership and was truly gutted the day other priorities meant I had to trade her for a diesel Volkswagen.

Still, better to have loved and lost than to never have loved at all I suppose...

[AntB]

Nick Young said:

It was basically a not very reliable fuel to noise machine.

Wow, serious reliability issues aside, that's basically the ownership!

[GX337]

Had one in 2006. It was build no.337 hence my username!.
Sounded amazing but not really that fast but I was impressed with its engineering and handling and build quality was actually really good, felt really solid and loved the blue glow from the dials at night.
Didn't give me any problems, if I had the space I would have kept it for sure.

[Al 450]

myhandle said:

MG Rover left the Mustang badge on the engine, which is extremely amusing.

I remember we looked at a new badge but couldn't afford to tool one up so decided to leave the pony on the engine. Some cars had this removed and nothing in place instead.

[Alex P]

A genuine question, what are the reliability issues with these? Was it because the lowish volume and development budget meant that some unique V8 parts give trouble?

The reason I ask is that the car is a combination of a very reliable iron-block V8 with a car that is solid and known to be generally very reliable (1.8 petrol head gaskets excepted). I am currently daily driving a 100,000 mile + 17 year old V6 that has been in the family from new and has generally needed only maintenance and wear and tear items.

A ZT 190 or 260 appeals as a 'future classic' that can also accommodate a growing family.

[PGNSagaris]

CDP said:

Your car looks just as at home in that setting as the 997 behind it

Sorry to be pedant but that's a 996 Turbo behind

[Nick Young]

Alex P said:

A genuine question, what are the reliability issues with these? Was it because the lowish volume and development budget meant that some unique V8 parts give trouble?

The reason I ask is that the car is a combination of a very reliable iron-block V8 with a car that is solid and known to be generally very reliable (1.8 petrol head gaskets excepted). I am currently daily driving a 100,000 mile + 17 year old V6 that has been in the family from new and has generally needed only maintenance and wear and tear items.

A ZT 190 or 260 appeals as a 'future classic' that can also accommodate a growing family.

Most common when I had mine was the heater hose - I would expect most have had that replaced with the reinforced item now. And the fuel pump in the tank came adrift, which stopped it picking up fuel under 1/2 tank. Again, I'd be surprised if most (all?) hadn't been fixed by now.

Then there's the minor annoyances like the engine light that flashed on every now and again.

Mine had some major work done by the next owner after I'd sold it on - suspension and diff problems if I remember correctly, not sure how widespread those were.

The engine is (as expected really) rock solid.

Suffice to say, if I had my time again, I'd defintitely still buy one, something I wouldn't say about the pile of Volkswagen excrement that replaced it!

[AntB]

Nick Young said:

Most common when I had mine was the heater hose - I would expect most have had that replaced with the reinforced item now. And the fuel pump in the tank came adrift, which stopped it picking up fuel under 1/2 tank. Again, I'd be surprised if most (all?) hadn't been fixed by now.

Then there's the minor annoyances like the engine light that flashed on every now and again.

Mine had some major work done by the next owner after I'd sold it on - suspension and diff problems if I remember correctly, not sure how widespread those were.

This is what they all do. Those who have viewed my (nigh- on 100k miles) car don't have an issue with the price, or the condition, but everyone appears to want an £11k car with 30k miles which, as far I can tell, haven't always had those things done.

There is an argument that a 100k miles car that's been looked after and had the bits that go wrong fixed already is better than a 10k miles with an unknown history and still a list of tasks to complete.

[MGZTV8]

Another ex-owner here hence my username. I had no 88 for a couple of years (ZT) and unfortunately sold it during a troubled time in my life and have always bitterly regretted it.

Mine was flawless apart from the infamous heater hose bursting when giving it some beans one afternoon.

It was always an occasion when driving it knowing that it was something special and certainly raised a few eyebrows with the xpower exhaust.

At least it was sold to someone who was clearly an enthusiast.

It also featured on fifth gear although full credit goes to the guy who bought it off me for organising it:

https://youtu.be/Kp02nOeZ7xo

Edited by MGZTV8 on Wednesday 15th November 19:33