Just been in one. Quite impressive I must say. Interior isnt exactly glamourous but its well put together and doenst rattle. It feels a lot bigger than the punto - as it is.

From the outside its definately a rover with a body kit and a big spoiler. But I dont mind that, it has 5 doors as well, but can be forgiven as I've started to like the touring car style and will eventually do something like the modball or the nurburgring so space is good. Its comfortable inside, the leather seats grip on as the nose bites into corners. And bite it does! The handling is fantastic, a very slight hint of understeer when hammered but otherwise really crisp.

The noise from the KV6 engine is excellent, it put it higher than a beemer I6 but behind an alfa V6. Alledgedly they have head gasket problems, being a K series. But this model seems to be tarred with the same brush as to be honest, not a lot else goes wrong with it. The electronics are sound, the chassis is very well built. So people have latched onto a stereotype. Sure the HG aren't the best out there, but looked after and it wont go any more than any other car.

Its torquey as well, not needing to have it above 3500rpm like the K-series in the ZR, its got grunt from the go and sixty comes up in just 7.3 seconds, and feels faster due to the howl from the engine. Basic breathing mods are effective and manifolds (not cheap as you need 2 for a v6), exhaust induction ad remap regually see the car to 210 bhp and 60 sprints in the high 6's. Add four cams to that and you can hunt down a stock scooby and make them wonder why they are paying 2 more insurance groups (plus a premium for being a theft target) and suffer about 5-8 mpg less. As well as paying the same money for a 10 year old car. It'll win, but it'll be damn pissed off that it didnt win by much!

The brakes and suspension give a firm and safe feeling ride but without ripping your chest out and smashing your teeth together. The front discs especially are enourmous.

The close ratio gearbox is only close ratio between 1-4. 5th gear as normal for a rover, is for motorways. 70 mph sitting at just under 3000 rpm.

And the final bit that I like, is the price. The one I was driven in was an 03 model had ABS, power steering, leather interior, electric everything. 60k on the clock with FSH and all belts just changed. For £4000 - which was promtly haggled to 3800 cash. I'm starting to want one!

What are other peoples views

http://www2.mgcars.org.uk/cgi-bin/gen5?runprog=mgbbs&access=&mode=tlist&subject=114
Have a look here. I know the 4 pot K series is nothing to be scared of now as Ford sorted it with a new HG and re-designed oil rail (this locates the through bolts in the sump. ) This was for use in the Freelander. The K series is very tuneable 180 from the 1.8 is easy. I do not know about the KV6 except changing the plugs in the 3 buried cylinders is a bit major. I do know lots of peeps in the MGCC/OC with Zs of variuos flavours, they are as well built as anything and seem to have less probs than the MGF/TF where the mid engine front radiator gives it an extra hard time. you would be elegible for MGs on Track as well:slayer:

the problem with K series head gaskets, other than the stretch bolts and stupid mechanics not knowing about the sandwich construction, is the dowels that locate the head, on some they are plastic which is no good at all, metal ones as fitted to very late cars are very good at keeping everything together.

The original 2.5 KV6 that was in the 825 was a terrible monster of an engine but the later ones which are of course 100% different, are pretty damn good as long as coolant changes are annual and oil changes frequent.

I had a 120 for the day, the 1.8 K, and found it pretty nice although very very noisy at motorway speeds, and the turning circle is pants. I cant really get along with the 80s Jap interior though but they are so cheap for a nice V6 now I cant criticise anyone for having a punt!

great engine, as you say, make a better noise and are more happy to rev than the BM straight 6's (which don't appear to like more than 5k), but still not the same as a alfa 6. or better yet, an earlier audi 6

What are MGs like in general? Now that they're owned by the Nanjing Automobile Group, would that have an effect on its build quality, brand image etc etc?

are they even manufacturing just now?i know they bought the brand but i dont know if they are using it at the moment

MG-TFs are rolling of the line at longbridge right now. Gonna be pretty similar to how they used to be.

Mg/Rover have been through a lot, both Honda and BMW has applied a lot of knowledge to the cars and engines. But they still have a stigma for being unreliable. The old rover 620 had a vtec engine in - 14 million units and not one faliure over 20 years but as it was in a rover, it still got called unreliable?

IMO the are no worse than Alfas - and I would own one. Prices are good at the moment, as proved by my mate getting a fantastic v6 4 year old car for 3800.

TBH rovers biggest(recent) mistake was snubbing honda by selling to BMW

I agree, they would have been much better sticking it out with the japs. they would have got great engines and more modern designs and the bad reliabilty would have faded into a complete myth

Randomman said:

The old rover 620 had a vtec engine in - 14 million units and not one faliure over 20 years but as it was in a rover, it still got called unreliable?

Click to expand...

One failure of the VTEC unit, not of the engines....LOL.

The Negotiator said:

One failure of the VTEC unit, not of the engines....LOL.

Click to expand...

Thats what I meant, I'm sure a cambelt has gone, or an oil pump has seized, or a valve has bust or a crank.

But the vtec system is renowned for its reliability

problem I've seen is garages are trying to sell used rovers at similar prices to other marques, when in actual fact they're typically worth well less than half.

we NEARLY bought a ZT v8, was £26 pre-reg'd in candy red had about 40miles on it.
guess how much...
























...nope, not even close, £8,995 that was as the dealer was being cleaned out.
now that same car would be worth £15k, bloody madness :bang:

we didn't buy it simply as there was no backup, no manufactuer is not a problem, but no dealer, and no supply of parts (esp for such a rare beasty) makes it a bit daft.

Prolly right to pass on the ZT, no dealer etc no probs, it was a bitsa and plenty of Mustang experts around, all the Rover 75 body panels are available, however its a bit like the 4 door F400 and the Maser Quatroporte, they will never make real money. (If you ever bend one of those cast wishbones in a big crash I do agree they may not have them ex-stock at your local Halfords)Honda and BL had a very good relationship and the Japs are on record with the debt they owe to the British engineers for the ride/handling thier cars now have. The villian here was British Aerospace, Margaret Thatcher sold it cheap to them to get it off the Govt books, they asset stripped it (and did all the firing needed )and then sold to BMW behind Hondas back. Honda felt betrayed and as it turns out so were BL or MGR as they were by then. I expect the N engined MGTF to be a hit, it will be a good car at a compelling price with a veneer of Britishness. You could argue that only OHC pre war cars are really MGs, that did not stop, 500,000 people buying MGBs.

only 500,000, thought there was more than that! I see one everyday, and still dont' like them :yuck:

well maybe a sebring 6pot special :yum:

the whole way british automotive ventures have gone over the last 2-3years is partof the reason I changed from auto engineering at uni to a business degree. yeah I could come out with a first in something that I won't be able to get a job in, unless I live in..

germany.
india
eastern europe
korea

Thats pretty much it Jug, unfortunately

Randomman said:

Thats pretty much it Jug, unfortunately

Click to expand...

did i say something





rover/mg have long been a recycler of parts and cars. but its not through choice, they cant afford R&D and havent been able to for a long time.

when i first saw an mgf many years ago the first thing i said was "thats posh metro!". i love them, and i wouldnt mind owning one, but it was all ancient stuff 15 years ago never mind now.

as much as i want to hate rover/mg for their lazy ways an unforgivable k series HG issues, i cant help but like the cars and the brand. they're a lot better than you'd expect, both to drive and work on. add the bargain prices and they're hard to ignore.

Aswell as Fiat we are also an MG rover dealer still!

KV6 180 engine is a strong unit!

Common faults to look for:

Clutch Hydraulics (master/slave)
Inlet manifold/vis valves rattling

Cambelts are a big job 3 belts!
servicing the rear 3 plugs is an arse but only recomended every 60k

Well its good to know they got it right with one of there engines!

I had heard that the 6 pot was a stronger unit than the 4 pots in pretty much everyway. Just tends to cost a little bit more to maintain!

or less if you read what he's written. if you service the car yourself the only thing thats gonna cost is the cambelt job, and I'm sure theres plenty of rover mechanics hiding in backstreet garages nowadays so don't worry.

the kv6 is just a couple of 3pot k series engines stuck together. thats why the kv6 is so good, but also why it suffered head gasket problems, especially on the larger applications like the 800 and freelander. but it did make the freelander feel nippy, unlike the rest of the engines used on it. i like it from a drivers perspective, but owning one can be painful. i've been told the revisions made for the rover75 improved the reliability a lot, but i've still heard of 75's with head gasket failure so personally i'm not convinced.