Hopefully it hasn’t escaped your attention that the fast MG is a thing again. No doubt the debate around the merits of cars like the Cyberster and the 435hp 4 XPower will continue for a long while yet, but it’s hard to dispute that the car world is more interesting with another sports car and loopy hot hatch in it. It would be a nice hook to say that the return of the performance MG has encouraged the yearning for an old one, but, in truth, not many days go past without thinking of the MG Z cars. Hopefully one or two of you are the same.
They’re nothing if not hard to find in 2024, however. The 25-based ZR was Britain’s best-selling hot hatch for a time, but with so many abused by scallywags over the years they’re now scarce; diesel-powered ZTs were worked into the ground, and the V8 arrived too late for a meaningful number to be made. Add to that the fact that even the youngest cars are now nearly 20 years old and it’s perhaps less of a surprise to find so few.
Then there’s the ZS, the MG-ified Rover that wasn’t all that popular in its day. Pity. It had the V6 in its favour, plus a decent chassis and even the glamour of being associated with the Team Atomic Kitten touring car outfit (yes, really), but the ZS just looked a bit dowdy. Even in yellow, even with the spoiler. And image matters for a hot hatch. At a time of rivals like the first UK Honda Civic Type R and smart, contemporary Ford Focus ST170, the ZS just wasn’t cool. And who wants an uncool hot hatch?
So at the time, nobody especially cared about the ZS, a situation not helped by their prompt depreciation. It’s not even that the big scrappage scheme was to blame; a peak of 6,900 cars on the road according to HowManyLeft was still 6,300 in 2009. It was still 5,000 in 2012, but that was also the time that there were good V6-powered cars for £750. It’s easy to imagine one big bill writing off many cars like that, because they just weren’t worth it, and at the last count there were fewer than 600 ZSes on the road. Sob.
The good news is that those now left tend to be pretty good, as the stragglers have fallen by the wayside. Purists tend to prefer the pre-facelift design, though the saloon always seemed to suit the look better than the hatch. This one is showing fewer than 60,000 miles and has been driven by just two owners in 20 years; there’s a recent cambelt change in its history, too. Despite never being renowned as the sturdiest car in the world, this ZS seems to have stood the test of time well.
The MOT is looming, and the dreaded corrosion has been mentioned in previous tests, which might be handy when it comes to doing a deal. The asking price is £5,995, or borderline extraordinary when the ZS was a SOTW regular. But with a crystal ball in the mid-2010s there were plenty of cars we’d all have snapped up. Still today it’s significantly less money than a comparable Civic, and available for less even than the Golf GTI that nobody likes. It might need a bit of saving, but the ZS has remained unloved for too long - who’s going to be its hero?
SPECIFICATION | MG ZS 180
Engine: 2,497cc, V6
Transmission: 5-speed manual, front-wheel drive
Power (hp): 180@6,500rpm
Torque (lb ft): 177@4,000rpm
MPG: 33.2
CO2: 227g/km
Year registered: 2004
Recorded mileage: 58,000
Price new: £16,790 (2001)
Yours for: £5,995
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