RE: Shed of the Week: MG ZS180
Discussion
Nick Young said:
400SE Dave said:
Yellow was a factory colour, we had a Trophy Yellow launch model and it was great fun.
We then did a special order car via the Monogram programme in Sunspot Yellow - very similar to Renault's liquid Yellow - there is a thread about it on here as someone bought it and did some renovation work on it. It was the first ZS in that colour and apparently only 14 more were made thereafter. Here is a pic from when we had it:-
Did you get the yellow interior too? (We did! We then did a special order car via the Monogram programme in Sunspot Yellow - very similar to Renault's liquid Yellow - there is a thread about it on here as someone bought it and did some renovation work on it. It was the first ZS in that colour and apparently only 14 more were made thereafter. Here is a pic from when we had it:-
)
I know where there is one of these that's been sitting for 5 years, and I could have it for scrap cost, if that. It was a well looked after, regularly serviced car that developed a radiator leak, and was parked up while a replacement was sourced (they are no longer available new for a V6 ZS). By the time a good replacement was found, the owner had found another car, and 5 years later, it's still sitting on the drive.
I got it running without too much trouble (and it sounds lovely), but it will need extensive recommissioning, plus the radiator swapping out. I did some cursory investigation, and by the time I'd priced up £100 for the car, plus four decent tyres, new brakes, a couple of hundred for incidentals, a new cambelt and an MOT, it was already more than the finished car would be worth, without my time and effort. That's all that stopped me, to be honest.
These are massively underrated drivers cars. Tiff Needell rated it as one of the best FWD chassis he'd ever tried when he drove one on Fifth Gear.
I got it running without too much trouble (and it sounds lovely), but it will need extensive recommissioning, plus the radiator swapping out. I did some cursory investigation, and by the time I'd priced up £100 for the car, plus four decent tyres, new brakes, a couple of hundred for incidentals, a new cambelt and an MOT, it was already more than the finished car would be worth, without my time and effort. That's all that stopped me, to be honest.
These are massively underrated drivers cars. Tiff Needell rated it as one of the best FWD chassis he'd ever tried when he drove one on Fifth Gear.
Edited by Limpet on Friday 3rd August 10:56
Limpet said:
I know where there is one of these that's been sitting for 5 years, and I could have it for scrap cost,
Limpet said:
These are massively underrated drivers cars. Tiff Needell rated it as one of the best FWD chassis he'd ever tried when he drove one on Fifth Gear.
They did get great reviews - sadly, the interior will put off the dash-strokersIf you like driving and fwd this is a really great car
sgtBerbatov said:
I owned, for all of 6 months, the Honda Civic version of these and apart from the Subaru Legacy I had up until a few months ago these MG/Rover/Civics are the best handling cars on the road IMO.
If this is a subtle troll, it might be the best post I've read on PH this year.If it's serious, then I feel very sorry for you.
I was at the press launch of the Z-series cars in Wales back in 2001 and this one stood out dynamically. I took a bright yellow one like the ones pictured further up in this thread for one leg of the drive and surprised myself by arriving at the tea stop way before everyone else.
A very rare occurrence for me as there were quite a few journos back then in those less politically correct days who not just did know how to drive, but were keen to show it off at any opportunity, and I sure wasn't one of them in either respect, but that thing was so perfectly balanced - despite that ruddy big engine in the nose of what was still a Civic underneath mostly - so agile and forgiving and the soundtrack of that V6 didn't have to fight through layers of soundproofing to bring one in the mood for a thrash.
Lightness and dynamics that are honed mechanically rather than by way of electronics, rock. I've driven much faster and more 'capable' hot hatches since, but none inspired me to exploit their capabilities to quite this extent. And for those quipping about 'image' - it's not like a silver, dark blue or black Golf represents a beacon of youthful vibrancy, does it? If it's got to be a boring hatchback, make it a yellow one...
A very rare occurrence for me as there were quite a few journos back then in those less politically correct days who not just did know how to drive, but were keen to show it off at any opportunity, and I sure wasn't one of them in either respect, but that thing was so perfectly balanced - despite that ruddy big engine in the nose of what was still a Civic underneath mostly - so agile and forgiving and the soundtrack of that V6 didn't have to fight through layers of soundproofing to bring one in the mood for a thrash.
Lightness and dynamics that are honed mechanically rather than by way of electronics, rock. I've driven much faster and more 'capable' hot hatches since, but none inspired me to exploit their capabilities to quite this extent. And for those quipping about 'image' - it's not like a silver, dark blue or black Golf represents a beacon of youthful vibrancy, does it? If it's got to be a boring hatchback, make it a yellow one...
900T-R said:
I was at the press launch of the Z-series cars in Wales back in 2001 and this one stood out dynamically. I took a bright yellow one like the ones pictured further up in this thread for one leg of the drive and surprised myself by arriving at the tea stop way before everyone else.
A very rare occurrence for me as there were quite a few journos back then in those less politically correct days who not just did know how to drive, but were keen to show it off at any opportunity, and I sure wasn't one of them in either respect, but that thing was so perfectly balanced - despite that ruddy big engine in the nose of what was still a Civic underneath mostly - so agile and forgiving and the soundtrack of that V6 didn't have to fight through layers of soundproofing to bring one in the mood for a thrash.
Lightness and dynamics that are honed mechanically rather than by way of electronics, rock. I've driven much faster and more 'capable' hot hatches since, but none inspired me to exploit their capabilities to quite this extent. And for those quipping about 'image' - it's not like a silver, dark blue or black Golf represents a beacon of youthful vibrancy, does it? If it's got to be a boring hatchback, make it a yellow one...
Enjoyed reading that A very rare occurrence for me as there were quite a few journos back then in those less politically correct days who not just did know how to drive, but were keen to show it off at any opportunity, and I sure wasn't one of them in either respect, but that thing was so perfectly balanced - despite that ruddy big engine in the nose of what was still a Civic underneath mostly - so agile and forgiving and the soundtrack of that V6 didn't have to fight through layers of soundproofing to bring one in the mood for a thrash.
Lightness and dynamics that are honed mechanically rather than by way of electronics, rock. I've driven much faster and more 'capable' hot hatches since, but none inspired me to exploit their capabilities to quite this extent. And for those quipping about 'image' - it's not like a silver, dark blue or black Golf represents a beacon of youthful vibrancy, does it? If it's got to be a boring hatchback, make it a yellow one...
This car always struck me as a bit of a silk purse from a sow's ear. Not that there was anything intrinsically wrong with the Civic, but it was hardly the last word in driving thrills or dynamic sophistication. To develop such an entertaining car on a shoestring budget, and with a less than inspiring parts bin to work with was a heck of an achievement. It makes me wonder what talent like this could have done with a proper, ground-up new model, and the associated development budget.
Typical MG Rover, I guess. Coulda, woulda, shoulda....
Limpet said:
Enjoyed reading that
This car always struck me as a bit of a silk purse from a sow's ear. Not that there was anything intrinsically wrong with the Civic, but it was hardly the last word in driving thrills or dynamic sophistication. To develop such an entertaining car on a shoestring budget, and with a less than inspiring parts bin to work with was a heck of an achievement. It makes me wonder what talent like this could have done with a proper, ground-up new model, and the associated development budget.
Typical MG Rover, I guess. Coulda, woulda, shoulda....
Thanks This car always struck me as a bit of a silk purse from a sow's ear. Not that there was anything intrinsically wrong with the Civic, but it was hardly the last word in driving thrills or dynamic sophistication. To develop such an entertaining car on a shoestring budget, and with a less than inspiring parts bin to work with was a heck of an achievement. It makes me wonder what talent like this could have done with a proper, ground-up new model, and the associated development budget.
Typical MG Rover, I guess. Coulda, woulda, shoulda....
One thing that did stood out when talking to the people behind the Zed-cars over dinner and breakfast, was that they were folks like you and me - well, if you disregard the levels of talent and formal education - proper, grassroots gearheads with an infectuous enthusiasm. I hope and expect all of them to have gone on to bigger and better things after MGR.
We were casting the usual BL badge engineering jokes when at the airport on our way to the event. I don't remember hearing anything of the sort on our way back
400SE Dave said:
FN2TypeR said:
I saw one of these on the motorway a while back and it was yellow, was that a factory option or has it been done after the fact? It looked ridiculous, I liked it 
Yellow was a factory colour, we had a Trophy Yellow launch model and it was great fun.We then did a special order car via the Monogram programme in Sunspot Yellow - very similar to Renault's liquid Yellow - there is a thread about it on here as someone bought it and did some renovation work on it. It was the first ZS in that colour and apparently only 14 more were made thereafter. Here is a pic from when we had it:-
J4CKO said:
Never driven one but if it had any other badge, given the reviews and praise it gets as a package, it wouldt be in shed territory, it would be six grand and climbing, still at least it leave something half decent for those with less of a budget.
Agreed, imagine an Alfa or Porsche badge - people would forgive it anything interior wiseGassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff