RE: Shed of the Week: MG ZS180
Discussion
i was looking for the missing shark grille side air intakes (or outlets) on the front wings but maybe this was a mk2 version only thing.......
in profile i think these have a really nice shape to them as a 4 door saloon. yes I can see the appeal of such affordable motoring (in the right colour though like a metalic grey not the signal yellows or flat reds or blues)
people questioning the power must remember these were from a time when the power output was pretty good for 2.5 litres.although I would roll my eyes a little if the 7.3 sec 0-60 time in the brochures was to be believed.......
in profile i think these have a really nice shape to them as a 4 door saloon. yes I can see the appeal of such affordable motoring (in the right colour though like a metalic grey not the signal yellows or flat reds or blues)
people questioning the power must remember these were from a time when the power output was pretty good for 2.5 litres.although I would roll my eyes a little if the 7.3 sec 0-60 time in the brochures was to be believed.......
Round 1 of the ZS shed made me by my current MG. I still have it and it is going strong.
These do suffer from sticking rear brake callipers and annoying water leaks. However parts are dirt cheap and its all rather basic. The downside is timing belts are not cheap £600
Paid £1000 for mine with 29k miles on the clock, now sits at 56k miles and has had the following done:
Both rear brake callipers changed
Thermostat housing replaced (these crack and leak)
New Intake Manifold (the plastic linkage breaks and they rattle and lose power)
Water ingress into passenger footwell (Turned out Honda did a recall to fix a seam.....Rover did not)
Total cost to repair just over £300
These do suffer from sticking rear brake callipers and annoying water leaks. However parts are dirt cheap and its all rather basic. The downside is timing belts are not cheap £600
Paid £1000 for mine with 29k miles on the clock, now sits at 56k miles and has had the following done:
Both rear brake callipers changed
Thermostat housing replaced (these crack and leak)
New Intake Manifold (the plastic linkage breaks and they rattle and lose power)
Water ingress into passenger footwell (Turned out Honda did a recall to fix a seam.....Rover did not)
Total cost to repair just over £300
Top shed. A bit of tasteful 'tuning' and that could be cool.
However.....WTF with the Zonda thing.
1) how are they exactly the same??? Did Zonda go searching thru old Rover brochures for inspiration??
2) have i been blinded by the bling of a Zondas sparkley cabin and not seen the wood for the trees....and some of the actual detail is just gash??
However.....WTF with the Zonda thing.
1) how are they exactly the same??? Did Zonda go searching thru old Rover brochures for inspiration??
2) have i been blinded by the bling of a Zondas sparkley cabin and not seen the wood for the trees....and some of the actual detail is just gash??
I have this engine in a ZT-T.
It does sound good. It's fast enough most of the time (although can leave you feeling stupid if you missjudge a gear and end up trying to rely on the torque below 4000 revs. You need 3rd to get it to really take off from 50mph.)
The ZS is probably too hard riding for daily duties and seems unnecessarily large for a "fun" car.
The manifold rattle referred to in the article can often be sorted with new VIS motors (Approx £140 for both.) Worked for me.
It does sound good. It's fast enough most of the time (although can leave you feeling stupid if you missjudge a gear and end up trying to rely on the torque below 4000 revs. You need 3rd to get it to really take off from 50mph.)
The ZS is probably too hard riding for daily duties and seems unnecessarily large for a "fun" car.
The manifold rattle referred to in the article can often be sorted with new VIS motors (Approx £140 for both.) Worked for me.
Beejayhay said:
Top shed. A bit of tasteful 'tuning' and that could be cool.
However.....WTF with the Zonda thing.
1) how are they exactly the same??? Did Zonda go searching thru old Rover brochures for inspiration??
No. They probably went searching for an affordable, functional, readily available unit and stuck it in. They won't design or build that sort of thing in-house anyway.However.....WTF with the Zonda thing.
1) how are they exactly the same??? Did Zonda go searching thru old Rover brochures for inspiration??
400SE Dave said:
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:-
)
And to think Ford was slagged off over something not too dissimilar in the Mk1 RS Focus!
Anyhoo, had two of these, a facelift and pre-facelift model both to selll on
Not a bad steer, and quite quick but the build quality was, quite frankly, appalling
Anything that vaguely attached trim-wise seemed to hang on by a wing and a prayer, and these were low miles cars with either one or two owners.
I’d never considered one as a track car but I think that’s probably their best environment for someone like me I’m afraid.
As an aside, there was a set of correspondence with one of them between the first owner and MG, relating how the car had been delivered from new with 3 matching wheels and tyres and one that was an odd tyre size. And that is a true story...
Always had a bit of a soft spot for these. Quite a good looking car I think, especially in facelift form, with the more extreme styling.
A friend bought a cheap ZT-190 and we did a track day in it for a laugh. It was a bit of a boat to be honest, but quite good fun in a wallowing, bowl of jelly kind of a way. The one thing that let it down was the engine. It might feel more sprightly in the ZS, but it just felt under powered in the ZT.
A friend bought a cheap ZT-190 and we did a track day in it for a laugh. It was a bit of a boat to be honest, but quite good fun in a wallowing, bowl of jelly kind of a way. The one thing that let it down was the engine. It might feel more sprightly in the ZS, but it just felt under powered in the ZT.
ToothbrushMan said:
people questioning the power must remember these were from a time when the power output was pretty good for 2.5 litres.although I would roll my eyes a little if the 7.3 sec 0-60 time in the brochures was to be believed.......
EVO mag managed a bit better in their timed testToothbrushMan said:
people questioning the power must remember these were from a time when the power output was pretty good for 2.5 litres.although I would roll my eyes a little if the 7.3 sec 0-60 time in the brochures was to be believed.......
My 1988 XR4x4 had 150 bhp from a 2.8 litre V6cheesesliceking said:
Tyre Smoke said:
Sorry no. Delightful as it may be round a track, I can't get past the retired civil servant image. Badge it what you like, it's still a dated looking Rover underneath. Suspension, brakes and bushes, it's still a polished turd.
Odd words from someone who’s owned such cutting edge and delightfully dynamically imaged bundles of excitement as a Citroen Picasso and Renault Laguna...
ks, in fact!It is a Honda Civil underneath, with no Rover input. Respelndent with double wishbones and a multi-link rear, and pretty much the same as an Integra Type R. MGs dampers were better though (than any Civics).
Jex said:
ToothbrushMan said:
people questioning the power must remember these were from a time when the power output was pretty good for 2.5 litres.although I would roll my eyes a little if the 7.3 sec 0-60 time in the brochures was to be believed.......
My 1988 XR4x4 had 150 bhp from a 2.8 litre V6There was only one thing the ZS180 really needed IMO; more power. It handled beautifully, sounded lovely, had a huge boot and plenty of room in the cabin, brakes and gearbox were ok but it just never felt that quick, and to add insult the fuel consumption was pretty awful. I'm glad I owned one though.
s m said:
ToothbrushMan said:
people questioning the power must remember these were from a time when the power output was pretty good for 2.5 litres.although I would roll my eyes a little if the 7.3 sec 0-60 time in the brochures was to be believed.......
EVO mag managed a bit better in their timed testBennet said:
The ZS is probably too hard riding for daily duties and seems unnecessarily large for a "fun" car.
My experience is that this isn't the case. It's actually pretty small and - crucially - quite narrow, which makes it an excellent thing to throw around the local lanes. The ride was fairly firm, mind - akin to an Impreza WRX of similar vintage I'd say, but better damped.I bought this for the charity rally we’ve recently completed. Cost me £480, no history, tatty as hell and laughed at by basically everyone. It did over 1500 miles in 6 days and was absolutely brilliant. I’m totally in love with it. Now just trying desperately to convince myself it’s worth getting the belts done despite knowing it’s probably not worth it.
I had a Clio Trophy when they came out and driven a DC2 numerous times. The ride on the MG is nowhere near as good - although that could be because all the suspension needs replacing - but it’s still a fantastic fwd car.
I’ve got a new golf r and would take this for driver fun every day of the week.
I had a Clio Trophy when they came out and driven a DC2 numerous times. The ride on the MG is nowhere near as good - although that could be because all the suspension needs replacing - but it’s still a fantastic fwd car.
I’ve got a new golf r and would take this for driver fun every day of the week.
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