The Best Value Performance Car In The UK?
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- Опубликовано: 26 авг 2024
- Everyone loves a bargain, and I think I've found one! Does this car represent the best combination of performance and handling you can find for less than the UK's average weekly wage? I hope so, because I bought it!
Title music:
"RetroFuture Clean"
Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
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![The MG ZS 180 is a British Integra Type R DC2, With a V6. Honestly. [VLOG]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/OPuIjROif3s/mqdefault.jpg)
I have one of these.. can 100% confirm they're great fun to drive and can also 100% confirm even my 70k mile example has had (or still has) all the common issues covered! Mine's also got saggy headlining, the heater fan doesn't work below number 3 and bits of the interior keep falling off, and probably more that I've forgotten about. Can totally forgive it just because of the way it drives though! And I'm totally dumbfounded that you managed to pick one up so cheap!
Rob Oldacker was MG's suspension guru, who did all the suspension modifications to the Z's and MG TF. Anyone who has driven a Rover 25, 45 and 75, then got out and drove an equivalent MG ZR, ZS and a ZT will very quickly realise there is no comparison in how the cars handle and drive.
The car new was only £16k, that and the Octavia vrs, very good value for money.
Interesting car! They never sold these in my part of the world, so I've never seen one before - from the outside it almost looks like the designer's brief was to reproduce the e46 BMW from memory, but give it a more Japanese rear end. At £300 it's a steal!
The headlights were an effort to give all the models a similar "face" after the 75 was introduced. They aren't actually twin lights, it's one unit moulded to shape and covered by the bumper to look like they're separate.
Funnily enough, I don't think the UK got the Honda Domani in this saloon version, just the hatch badged as a Civic, though the Rover and MG derivatives were available as both. Hatchback ZS doesn't get as large a rear wing though.
It is based if the Civic
Always loved these! That KV6 is an amazing sounding engine
Ditto that. Once you sorted the induction and manifolds out it could really sing.
Cracking video, looking forward to the series. Thanks very much.
I owned a Mk 2 version of this car in X-Power grey and added an induction kit which gave it a very nice note on acceleration. I lived on the Isle of Lewis at the time and everybody knew me by the car and the sound it made. The 1st time I drove it onto the ferry to return home the guys loading the cars mistook it for a Subaru. The only down side of ownership was it drank fuel at an alarming rate 5 miles per Litre and fuel on an island is or was 15p a Litre more expensive. My previous car was the ZR Mk 1 another brilliant car even in the Diesel variant in the way it handled. A good few years before I also had a Rover 418 SLD but sold that for an Escort 1.8 Si. My ZS 180 is probably my favourite car of all time in the way it looked, handled and sounded but my Mini JCW ran it close. My current car may run it close in the years to come as I evaluate 400ps 4 wheel drive and a pure electric drivetrain.
After owning one now for nearly a year I would have to agree. I paid £850 for mine and all I've had to do is replace the battery and a bulb for its mot. But to drive its so much fun. Given its not the quickest thing I've driven, but it ain't no slouch either. I was even more amazed how it handled when I took it on the track and really pushed it, and that was with standard tyres and brakes. So with a few more mods it will be even more of a hoot.
Amazing Car. Need one for our collection because We already have a ZR and ZTT so a ZS is still missing
I met a guy at a car show last year who had one of every MG of this generation -TF, ZR, ZS, ZT, and ZT V8, all in the biomorphic green that was available in the monogram paints programme.
I own the facelift version of this. I love it. You are right in it being a great handling car and fun to drive.
Subscribed. Look forward to further videos.
Good to see you've got another project, really enjoyed your previous videos
when I only saw the spoiler I thought that it was a Japanese car, then I saw the engine and I thought: Yessss a MG!
I have a VVC powered one of these, it’s a dream to own
Sweet vid! I have a 180 too and can see your videos coming in very handy. Keep it up!!
they changed the upper arms in the front to change the geometry and poly bushed the track rod ends
Top video Iam currently fixing up my mg zs 180 keep the videos coming pal
I think im going to have to get mine back on the road over the winter after watching this. 👌
And am sick of people saying " engines are shite in them" . The 4 pot k series head gasket will go . Fact. The kv6 is totaly different . Mayo in the engine is always manifold gasket failure or oil cooler failure. Machanics mad a killing of the v6 models and gave them a bad name . I wont mention the plastic clutch hydraulics😂😂
Loved my mk1 2003 ZS180 saloon. Had it 6 years and 70k miles from new and it literally cost pennies in terms of repairs. Despite the comments about these things being unreliable, all of the common faults were easily fixed. My VIS motors needed soldering, the slave cylinder went on the clutch so I fitted the Honda Civic version and other than that it was just tyres and brakes. I modded it to around 200bhp with Janspeed manifolds, BMC CDA induction, hi-flow cat, stainless exhaust, X-Power springs etc and uprated the stereo and speakers. Very dated by modern standards but they handled really well and were very light. Ropey build quality spoiled them but that was mostly bits of interior trim, lock mechanisms and window actuators etc. To be honest though, Fords and Renaults and other budget performance cars of the time weren't built any better. Miss mine a lot and at sub-£1000 I'd be tempted to get another one as a weekend toy one day 😀
MGs still have either old man image or boyracer. Even though it's market have mostly moved on I still see the brand that way. That and being the poor man's jaguar.
those things can be overlooked but the thing that discourages me the most is the reliability. it's a rover. and rovers were pretty much shit. i mean every single ZR has had or will soon need a head gasket. what does that tell you about rover engines
The 4 cylinder K series is fundamentally a good design, but let down by some poor component choices (notably the thermostat design and plastic head locating dowels used in some earlier engines), and not necessarily put together as well as it should have been in many cases.
It's a pity really, as they were in many ways well ahead of their time compared to other mass market production engine designs.
You'll need the "shedist" clutch mod, and the VIS motors will be knackered, a Google search should point you to sites for replacements/improvements
I got a mk 2 180 hatchback , pbt black , ztt 190 engine, clio 200 rear diffuser , remapped , very fast and sticks like shit 😉real head turner and ill never sell it . So underrated cars.
The first sentence left me cold. 🤣
Dark ice design clutch hydraulics and a metal thermostat and housing and it will last the life of the engine with regular servicing.
Another video 🙂 nice
Hi Dave great video, I have mk2 facelift , they are commanding over £3500 now even your model £2000 upwards . Regards mark
the only car I've looked back on and wished I hadn't sold it.
Nice car
I had one of these.... The only car I regret selling.
brill video mate keep it up
Nice review you've made. :)
For the preview I think it was a sti
The zs is amazing like the 2l kv6 out of the rover best engine ever made they do have issues with timing and rattling intakes for a fwd naturally aspirated it’s is really fast
The TF was terrible. But I like the ZS and design of the cars too
Im interested in both the TF and ZS. Why was the TF terrible? Can You explain? :D
Kamil Taberski honestly speaking. Personal experience. Everything kept going wrong with it. The amount of money spent on the car was nearly the cost of the car. Cut to the point, if you find a good one by all means get it. Mine wasn’t looked after I’m guessing from previous owner so .....
From my experience they are cool but awful, the interior falls apart, they are horrible to work on and they are not that fast, the front goes light at speed and like all mid engined cars are hard to correct if you lose traction on the rear. They are not that fast either.
I had a 180 and loved it, but then I found a 220 GSI Turbo that was for sale so the 180 had to go
Yes, the R8 200s are really good cars, I had a coupe many years ago. The turbos are strong money now, as well
You could review it when it's finished if you'd like
@@josephdurling2565 Hey, thanks, I'll keep that in mind! Good luck with it!
I thought it was a Mitsubishi Lancer, but I didn't know about modern MG cars cause they don't sell them in America
I dont know if anyone will see this but my question after watching this is why on earth are they now worth about 6k on average
I guess they're getting to the point where all the cheap ones have rotted away or been turned into track rats, so a combination of increasing scarcity and the ones available are better.
I use one as a track car. awsome cheap car to run.
"Quick Version"
Do you realise the ZR has 1.4 and the ZS has 1.6 variants? xD
I could be wrong but possibly 1.4 ZS's went to Ireland as they have crazy tax bands.
I've had various MGRs over the past 10 years. When I do not drive one I miss it.
The love I have for it is strange, but they make me happy.
Got a zs 120 Lemans which Handles like a dream and that for 300 euro s all dealer serviced
I note 'InitialDave' your piece on the ZS was done back in Sept. 2019 - any developments on the items you said you'd be showing on the car? Regards from a subscriber.
Apologies - just found all the links!
Yes
Are we going to see a video of the timing belts being replaced? 👍
Might do - they're probably about due to be done. As much anything, it depends how long I keep the car for.
@@InitialDave that'll be interesting, as these are not the easiest of belts to replace especially the rear belt 👍
Spoiler on the back is not good for traction in a front wheel drive car.
Depends, all the weight at the front, you need something to push the rear down to keep it stable
To be fair it didn't make any difference. Just cosmetic to make it look like an Evo or a Scooby that were all the rage at the time. Oh it also made the bootlid very heavy so it fell down on your head 😀
Great handling, average engine with lots of inherent design flaws. Vis motors and inlet manifold flaps. Loved all of mine but you can tell it has a heavy lump up front
I wouldn't say it was an average engine. Yes it had its niggles, all of which were easily fixed, but no engine is perfect. At 175bhp they were pretty much the most powerful 2.5V6 available in a production car at the time. Very dated my modern standards of course.
@@johnstringer9037 it certainly felt average on the road. Handling was sublime but the power delivery never was exciting other than the soundtrack which came to life with an itg filter or bmc cda
I have a zs120 saloon with a vvc 160 swap, much more exciting than my zs180s I owned. Lightweight engine up front with nearly same power and has a short ratio box fitted so it's always eager to rev and punch out of corners.
God I miss mine so much
moar daihatsu please
180bhp from a v6 good lord
At the time 175bhp from a naturally aspirated road car was pretty good. Being the 2.5V6 it had decent torque too so it was a lot faster in real world driving than the weedy 2.0 16v high revving hot hatches of the time. They were also light too (around 1250kgs) so they weren't sluggish. Of course nowadays pretty much everything is turbocharged so 175bhp doesn't sound much.
Put a turbo on it
The internals wouldn't take a turbo without a lot of other mods. If you wanted a lot more power there were a couple of supercharger kits you could get. 260bhp was the result.
ruclips.net/video/4VpPjMNvqxM/видео.html funny you should mention the Integra I was thinking the same thing as you spoke that the Integra has many similarities to this Rover, Probably why people get confused with your car being a Scooby- they were really thinking of the Integra,
headgaskets galore.!!!
Zs180 doesn't really do headgaskets, mine are running strong at 107k, lasted longer than the engine itself. (Fuel pump went and borewashed the cylinders lol)
K-series 4-pot had the head gasket issues. This was a totally different engine that rarely had that issue.