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MG ZR ZS ZT Technical - Hmmm ..... I fancy one of them .. another ZS sold

Have to admit, for what is after all basically an ordinary production car, my Trophy Blue ZS looks the business with its 17" alloy wheels and gets many favourable comments. My wife frequently visits a relative nearby and parks on her drive. Guess what? The next door neighbour there admired the car so much that he too bought one for his better half...... That's one more MG and one less VW sold ......

I like driving the ZS. It's handling is a delight. Good as this little car is the ZS is just a tad too small for my needs. Lets hope that the R60 (or at least a Montego or Maestro sized car) in the same spirit of the ZSs appears in the MG-R line up soon. It's badly needed for both punters and MG-R alike. Put me down for one!

JMcF
John McFeely

What's wrong with the ZT John?

SF
Scarlet Fever

John,

I'm currently looking at a ZT, I'd value your opinion on the difference between the two (if you have had a go in one that is!)...

I am yet to line up a back to back test drive of the cars (ZT 190+ and the ZS 180 saloon), mainly as the local garages never seem to have both in stock!

I have driven the ZT 160+ and was very pleased by the handling compared to every other FWD car I have driven, and I love that v6 engine noise.

Anyway someone at work suggested considering the ZS in saloon form, and I'm just doing a bit of further research.

Ta, CH

PS anyone else's comments as always, welcomed!
C P Hawkins

SF Wrote:

>>What's wrong with the ZT John?<<

Nuffink Andy, as far as I know.....:)

The ZS was purchased primarily as the family runaround. We chose a 120+ as both the ZT and indeed the ZS180 was too much car for that purpose. Remember, my teenage sons will drive and from an Insurance aspect, young drivers and larger more powerful cars ...... nuff said.

BTW, SF's original alloys are still doing fine service on one of my Turbos ...;)

C P H,

Be patient and drive them all. Not a quick spin. Tell the sales people you really need to use the car(s) to reach a decision. They can sus out a genuine enquiry. In the past I've borrowed a demonstrator for sufficient time to really get to know it. Do the weekly shopping in it and allow other family members to drive it for their opinions. Resist any "must have now" impulses and sales tool arm twisting. Then think about the decision for a couple of days. When you decide what you really need, go for it and get a really worthwhile discount if no p/x is involved.

If I were say 30 years younger, single no kids so no need to compromise on car choices like I used to, I'd have a ZT like a shot.... and wait for a V8. Cracking good cars .... But I aint so I can't ...:(. Reality is a Cowson ...lololol

John.
John McFeely

Cheers John,

Just booked a test drive in a ZS 180 for saturday... our local MG garage is pretty good, when we test drove the ZT, me and the future mrs CPH had it for a couple of hours, both got a drive (no salesman with us either), only alarming thing was the difference between the fuel gauge at the beginning and end of the drive!

I guess they'll let us have the ZS in the same way... it's a colour flip one so mrs CPH loves it already!

Ta, CH
C P Hawkins

The ZT auto with V6 loves its petrol! While you can get over 30 mpg on the motorway, you can also get it into the mid teams with enthusiasrtic driving around town.

I don't think the ZS180 is avaialble as an auto so this should safe some consumptoin! Also it is a much lighter car (japanese vs German!)
Patrick

very pleased with my ZS180 - around 25 mpg driven hard, brilliant handling and plenty of performance. The 5-door is very versatile - tows the racecar & trailer with the back full of tools and wheels, big enough to sleep in the back at Le Mans, yet very chuckable and sporting in nature. Reckon I'd prefer a ZT-T V8, just a matter of cost.
David

Having owned a 420, and then a 75, that swung me in favour of the ZT over the ZS. Interior styling and build quality, along with extra features such as the ATC were too good to pass up on, although I would have liked the performance of the ZS180, but had to compromise the extra cost of the ZT by buying a 160V6.FWIW
Martin

Cheers all,

We'd be looking at a manual car anyway, and buying used, not too worried about the increased fuel consumption as by the time I've saved money on insurance, servicing etc, I don't think I'm likely to notice it too much.
On paper there doesn't look to be much between the two, and while I realise that this doesn't necessarily relate to the real world, I assume that they will suffer a similar amount due to driving style!

Depreciation is probably the biggest concern, so it's finding one which has taken the hit, but is still a good car (the ZT 160+ we test drove had 6k on the clock and was just coming up to a year old, on the forecourt for £14k), backed by a dealer warranty.

At the end of the day unless the ZS significantly outhandles the ZT (and I was very impressed on that score) it'll probably come down to which one looks better (and yes I'm very ashamed to admit that), has the better interior etc.

Lynne summed it up yesterday: lookswise the ZS is the 3-series competitor; the ZT the Jag S-type. We both really liked the ZT (rare), and I think I've finally managed to knock away some of the badge snobbery that meant it looked like I was going to have to spend another 5 grand to get the smae car with a different label!

Type, type, type, can you tell my boss is out today?!

CH
C P Hawkins

This thread was discussed between 19/11/2003 and 20/11/2003

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