MG ZS 180 or Mondeo ST220, bit of advice sought?
Discussion
Morning all,
I'm new to the site, have been lurking about reading the posts for a while. Everyone seems really knowledgeable, so I figured I'd be making a good choice in asking this here.
As the topic header says really, I'm looking at buying either of the cars mentioned. The ZS 180 is going for £1990, 55 plate, 72,000 miles, in silver with half leather/alcantara trim. Nice looking car.
The ST220 is going for £3489, 04 plate, 74,000 miles, in blue with full black leather interior. Again, great looking motor.
These are just the two examples i've been looking at, but I'd really like to get some opinions on the two from anyone who has driven and/or owned either of these, any information you can offer is appreciated, anything regarding handling, possible issues (maybe a rought estimate of cost for repair, might be able to use that to haggle on price), possible or recommended modifications. Anything you can tell me would be appreciated. If you want, you could suggest other alternatives, from other manufacturers to look at.
I won't be doing much more than 30-50 miles per week (use company A4 for the daily commute), the odd longer distance trip, but looked at the two cars as they are practical, but still have plenty of grunt and (so I'm told) handle well.
I've looked at online reviews from parkers right the way through to a couple of independant reviews on various forums, but figured knowledge is power, so wanted to get opinions here also.
Look forward to your replies.
Thanks all
Morti
I'm new to the site, have been lurking about reading the posts for a while. Everyone seems really knowledgeable, so I figured I'd be making a good choice in asking this here.
As the topic header says really, I'm looking at buying either of the cars mentioned. The ZS 180 is going for £1990, 55 plate, 72,000 miles, in silver with half leather/alcantara trim. Nice looking car.
The ST220 is going for £3489, 04 plate, 74,000 miles, in blue with full black leather interior. Again, great looking motor.
These are just the two examples i've been looking at, but I'd really like to get some opinions on the two from anyone who has driven and/or owned either of these, any information you can offer is appreciated, anything regarding handling, possible issues (maybe a rought estimate of cost for repair, might be able to use that to haggle on price), possible or recommended modifications. Anything you can tell me would be appreciated. If you want, you could suggest other alternatives, from other manufacturers to look at.
I won't be doing much more than 30-50 miles per week (use company A4 for the daily commute), the odd longer distance trip, but looked at the two cars as they are practical, but still have plenty of grunt and (so I'm told) handle well.
I've looked at online reviews from parkers right the way through to a couple of independant reviews on various forums, but figured knowledge is power, so wanted to get opinions here also.
Look forward to your replies.
Thanks all
Morti
I got a 04 plate ZS 180 just under 2 years ago. I paid £1800 single owner 39k miles full service history.
The car is very nice to drive you can chuck it about very well. Point to point I would proably say its quicker than the Tuscan that I had (although no where near as fun), it really does give you the confidence to push on and an alarming rate. Mine is the hatch back model so pretty practical when it comes to clearing out the garden, managed a weekend paintballing trip 4 up with camping gear and paintball gear without any issues at all.
I am getting around 30mpg but then I mostly use it for town driving and the odd long run so probably not the best example.
If you are looking at one make sure the belts have been changed, they should be every 60k miles or 8 years, it is a pricey job to do on the KV6 I paid just under £700 for new belts and waterpump.
So far the only thing that has let it down is:
Thermostat housing leaked, £70 and a weekend to fix
Letting water in - not a common problem but quite annoying lol. Still trying to fix
The car is very nice to drive you can chuck it about very well. Point to point I would proably say its quicker than the Tuscan that I had (although no where near as fun), it really does give you the confidence to push on and an alarming rate. Mine is the hatch back model so pretty practical when it comes to clearing out the garden, managed a weekend paintballing trip 4 up with camping gear and paintball gear without any issues at all.
I am getting around 30mpg but then I mostly use it for town driving and the odd long run so probably not the best example.
If you are looking at one make sure the belts have been changed, they should be every 60k miles or 8 years, it is a pricey job to do on the KV6 I paid just under £700 for new belts and waterpump.
So far the only thing that has let it down is:
Thermostat housing leaked, £70 and a weekend to fix
Letting water in - not a common problem but quite annoying lol. Still trying to fix
Personally, although biased I'd go for the MG ZS, Having had one myself albeit only the 1.8 120 version, i reslly did enjoy owning it, was very good looking, practical and when pushing hard a very well balanced car and It also recieved a lot of positive press comments when it was launched!
However the Ford ST220 is also a cracking motor also, but looking at the prices of some parts for it can be a tad expensive still ,whereas the MG was pretty cheap to maintain and parts are still readily available, and parts from other MG / Rover group cars can be fitted / swapped / retrofitted as you wish, I'm sure the Ford will be like this too but I've currently got a Focus ST 225 and the cost of parts are so much higher than when I was an MG Owner!
But OP it's up for you, the bonus with the Ford is that when you come to sell, they still fetch a good price, whereas MG doesn't really anymore, unless it's a TF in the middle of summer! The prices have really plummeted! But thqts not a massive issue for most!
Best thing to do is take both out for a drive and see what you think, the MG Will feel a tad spartan next to a ST220 but the driving experience will make up for it
However the Ford ST220 is also a cracking motor also, but looking at the prices of some parts for it can be a tad expensive still ,whereas the MG was pretty cheap to maintain and parts are still readily available, and parts from other MG / Rover group cars can be fitted / swapped / retrofitted as you wish, I'm sure the Ford will be like this too but I've currently got a Focus ST 225 and the cost of parts are so much higher than when I was an MG Owner!
But OP it's up for you, the bonus with the Ford is that when you come to sell, they still fetch a good price, whereas MG doesn't really anymore, unless it's a TF in the middle of summer! The prices have really plummeted! But thqts not a massive issue for most!
Best thing to do is take both out for a drive and see what you think, the MG Will feel a tad spartan next to a ST220 but the driving experience will make up for it
I used to have at ST220. It was a fantastic piece of kit, comfortable, quick, loads of space. I had to get rid of it because I took a job 50 miles away and the company refused to cover the fuel on anything other than a diesel.
Watch the bottoms of the doors in early cars for rot, but otherwise them seem pretty bullet proof. I haven't driven the MG but I genuinely can't see it being even half as good as the mondy.
God I miss that car. I haven't driven anything made in the last 10 years that was in the same league dynamically.
Watch the bottoms of the doors in early cars for rot, but otherwise them seem pretty bullet proof. I haven't driven the MG but I genuinely can't see it being even half as good as the mondy.
God I miss that car. I haven't driven anything made in the last 10 years that was in the same league dynamically.
Thanks for the replies all,
very informative stuff, and just the kind of information I was after.
Any thoughts on running costs? Though to be fair, i'm not too concerned with this as it is not going to be for regular long journeys.
Any ideas for tuning and modifications?
thanks again guys
very informative stuff, and just the kind of information I was after.
Any thoughts on running costs? Though to be fair, i'm not too concerned with this as it is not going to be for regular long journeys.
Any ideas for tuning and modifications?
thanks again guys
Used to have a Mondeo ST200 followed by a ZS120 and then a 180. MG is the car to cain around the countryside in but the Mondeo (even the older one) is a far better car in general. Mondeos do rust more though, and though the MG still drank like a fish, the Mondeo was even worse.
Mondeo much more refined, where the MG had an awful ride but played the hooligan card amazingly well for a V6 hatch.
Mondeo much more refined, where the MG had an awful ride but played the hooligan card amazingly well for a V6 hatch.
Thanks all.
As far as modifications are concerned what would be the best route?
I know that for the ZS 180, CAI in the inner wing, better exhaust system, chip/remap are standard or common mods to opt for, but how about the Mondy? Same route perhaps? CAI, exhaust and bluefin maybe?
Some of the reviews i've read say that the brakes are a little poor on the Mondy, so i'm guessing it would be good to upgrade those?
Keep em coming
Morti
As far as modifications are concerned what would be the best route?
I know that for the ZS 180, CAI in the inner wing, better exhaust system, chip/remap are standard or common mods to opt for, but how about the Mondy? Same route perhaps? CAI, exhaust and bluefin maybe?
Some of the reviews i've read say that the brakes are a little poor on the Mondy, so i'm guessing it would be good to upgrade those?
Keep em coming
Morti
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff