MG ZR road tests and consumer car reviews

MG ZR ZR+ TD 101 2003

A really enjoyable 18 months of ownership of this rapid machine that cornered as if it was on rails! Despite having over 100,000 on the clock when I sold it, everything still fitted and worked properly and the only repair needed was to be expected at that age and mileage (rubber gaiter on the driveshaft). With upgraded injectors fitted, the already great performance improved even further and I could still get almost 50mpg. Cheap road tax too. You read a lot of bad press about these cars, but then again, it has been ’cool’ to criticise British products for the last few years and much of the criticism is based on hearsay. This car was a far better buy than most of the alternatives (of similar age) on the market that seem to be popular and it did not suffer from the rust problems, electrical issues, and bits of trim falling off that some of those alternatives are well-known for!

MG ZR 1.4 105 2004

This car puts a smile on my face everytime I drive my MG, it looks and drives good. I have had it for two years now and no problems. It’s the best car I’ve ever owned. There is one little problem and it is the insurance, it’s a bit high for a 1.4.

MG ZR ZR+ 2.0 TD 113 2004

The biggest load of rubbish I’ve ever owned! If I could this would be getting 0 stars! The day I picked the car up from my old local Rover/MG/ Land Rover dealer (Brand new, 6 Miles on the clock) I had driven 15 Miles, it was a lovely day so I had the sunroof open and the windows open. Went to close the windows and they simply would not go up, then tried to close sunroof and of course it wouldn’t close either!! Brought it back to Rover and it took them 2 days to get it sorted. Then to add insult they were going to charge me for the work they carried out! All was fine until 2005 when she blew the turbo, then later that year once again the electric windows and this time the electric mirrors packed up. Then in 2006 it kept refusing to start, eventually got it fixed (Some faulty sensor). That of course went wrong again in 2009 and 2010. Currently the clutch is about to go and I can’t find a brand new one! Build quality is horiffic! The glovebox came off in my hand after 2 years, still to this day it’s broke. Then the seat dropped to the right which was costly to repair too. The driving position is very uncomfortable, it doesnt handle particualry well either. Honestly, if you are wise you will NOT even consider buying 1 of these! My brothers 1996 Peugeot 306 1.9 XRdt is a better build, more reliable, mechanically sturdy car, and its got 159k on the clock! My MG has 79k on the clock currently. BEST AVOIDED!

MG ZR 1.8i 2003

For a 1.8i it’s very quick, good on fuel too. I can get from Portsmouth to Manchester on a tank of fuel. very comfortable car, one drawback though, bizarrely it does not have electric windows???

Responses to this review

The lack of electric windows on your car will be down to the fact that MG made some very competitively-priced ’base’ models which gave all of the performance, most of the style, but not so many of the luxuries/frills. The ZR+ came with much more equipment, at a higher price of course - Paul V from Leicestershire