Good car shame about the dealership (MG ZR)

Member Name: leicesterfan

Product:	MG ZR
Date:	04/06/04 (4006 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Looks sexy, Good drive, Good Spec

Disadvantages: Handling not to my liking, Got hassle from dealership

MY CAR DETAILS. Ive gone for the 105+ model, which comes with the electric windows and sunny as standard (sorry but i dont do manual window lifting and lowering) i opted for the yellow version which some1 has decided to nickname custard (please give me an extra rating to ease my deep wounds lol).

MODELS & PRICES (list price). There are only 7 different models of the mg zr, they are the 105 3 door model (£8367.66 + vat), 105+ (10069.79 + vat) 120+ (£11325.11 + vat), turbo diesel (£9520.85 + vat) 115+ turbo diesel (£10882.55 + vat) 115+ turbo diesel (11350.64 + vat) and the 160 (12474.04 + vat) although the prices will change if you have the 5 door version.

HANDLING. Like the car alot apart from the handling. Seems to slip pull to one side sometimes under braking, doesnt seem to quite cut the mustard after having a vauxhall vectra 1.8 sri which i traded in for this new car. Aerodynamics come from the zr's from bib and rear spoilers which reduce lift.

LOOKS. Definately no problems in this department, alloys as standard (nice) lovely curves on the bodywork, looks the dogs danglies from the front, and the rear spoiler finishes it off a treat. But i now wish i had gone for the extra package, which included the 17inch alloy wheels, side skirt & yellow inserts to finish my seats off better.

EXTERIOR. The lights enhance the from image of the car with 2 circular lights instead of on most cars 1 light, these look very sexy. Alloy wheels come with every mg as standard (dont get this with many cars) you can either have 16inch or 17 inch, with the option to have low profile tyres added.

INTERIOR. I went for the electric windows/sunroof, which im glad about, the sports seats are comfy and seem to mould around your bottom (which is nice) the white dials on the dash as standard are a brucie bonus as im bored of the usual black ones, and you can see much better at night time. Could do with abit more colour inside as it is a little du
ll (but what do you expect for the price?) Seats are nice and comfy and close in around your posterier (bottom) seem to hold u steady when your going round those sharp bends. doors are drab and most of the interior is grey.

EQUIPMENT. All mg's come with a kenwood stereo, you can have different models, you could also as an added option have a cd autochanger or an mp3 player. If you had the money you could also add a navigation system to your mg, you can avoid congestion, navigate the quickest or the shotest route at the touch of a button. Unfortunately air condition doesnt come as standard on the lower spec models, this option could cost about £695 extra so beware.

POWER. Although its only a 1.4 16v it goes pretty quick, has beaten similiar size vehicles off the lights (not that im a boy racer but you have to open her up abit sometimes) acceleration is gr8 (0 to 60 in 10 seconds), it can throw you back into your seat if your not careful, slightly lacking in the top end but isnt too bad, im used to a 1.8sri so i guess ive been spoily a little.

PETROL CONSUMPTION. This is excellent (suppose it would be after having a 1.8 injection) tank holds about £38 of the old go go juice, as long as you dont put your foot down too much the tank will last ages, youll be looking at about 31.1 mpg urban, 51.1mpg extra urban and a combined total of 41.3.

SECURUITY. All mg's come with remote central locking as standard, as is a perimetric alarm system.

SAFETY FEATURES. All mg's come with side impact bars and airbags as standard, which is always nice to know, u can never be too careful.

PROBLEMS. lve had problems shutting the boot a couple of times, but after taking off rubber covers off the catch closes no problem. interoir has already started to get the squeeks and rattles of an old car (bit worrying)

INSURANCE. The insurance for this car is only group 7, so its cheap on the pocket too. After having the sri pr
eviously it was a refreshing change as this car was group 14 yes 14. I shopped around as i also found a big difference between insurance companies for this, some even quoted as much as £1500 which was more than i was paying for the sri (what a joke)

CONCLUSION. Although i would recommend the car on the whole but the sales/customer service is laking. I got a good deal from the dealership as it came with no vat at the time, a good £1500 off is nothing to be sniffed at, swallows up the loss from driving it off the forecourt anyway. I would also always buy from an mg dealership, have known a couple of people buy from private garages and have problems with them, 1 even offered £1000 less after only 2 weeks of having the car, after they had lots of trouble with the car.

Summary: