VWscooby

Whats the general opinion on these?

Am half thinking of one at the mo.

51 plate, 24k, Electric blue, fully standard

£5995

What ya'll reckon?

I know that Rover has gone down the pan etc etc but surely this is the best time to buy when parts etc are so cheap?

Frazer

I think you mean MG ZS 180, a 51 plate like that is worth 5k tops from a dealer. Brilliant car, every bit as fast as a CTR/172, handles better than a 172.

tonner_notts

or do you mean zr 160? there ok cars for what they are for the money there at now quite good,
but crap made
used to have one but got annoyed at things rattleing and the **** build quality inside the car apart from that ther quite good, handle good to,

bluenose172

iTrader: (2)

Do you mean the ZS 180?

I've got one sitting on the drive at the moment(courtesy car), the P1 is getting the gear box fixed!

I've done a bit of research and the one you mention above is way, way over priced, I'd aim at £4,500. Arnold Clarke just sold a 180 for £8995, pre-registered with less than 500 miles on it. These cars are in a very niche market and garages will struggle to shift them so use that as a bargaining tool.

As far as the driving goes, I'm very impressed, it is easily a better handler than my old 172 or CTR. It corners very flat and has bags of grip, even in the wet, where, imho, it would run rings round a CTR, not so much a 172 though! Even taking off from a standstill(in the wet) it has simply stunning traction for a 180ish bhp FWD car.

This car has done over 60K miles and doesn't have a single rattle, I kid you not......granted it has EXACTLY the same interior as my 15 year old Honda Civic, but it's still impressive.

The engine sounds great, especially over 5krpm. As far as straight line performace it is probably on par with a 172, certainly no slouch!

IMHO a bargain if you can get it for under £5K, they were £17K new!

Andy M3

That is good to know blue nose. I would never have considered one on principle, but it sounds like quite a good package.

noobscoob

I wouldnt touch one of those blue rinse tarted up max power specials with a barge pole. and i fail to see how a 1990s chassis mated to a less powerfull engine could give either the ctr or a 172 any trouble on any part of a road.

rover/mg's are for smelly people who suck werthers originals!

bluenose172

iTrader: (2)

I drove the 172 for 2 years and the CTR for 6 months, I feel I can compare the three with reasonable confidence!

jonc

I raced a ZS180 on a dual carriage way when I had my MKII172 and I did edge away from it. came to a roundabout and we both booted it and again started pulling away from it. It was several car lengths behind by the time I got to 70 and a thumbs up all round as we departed at the next roundabout. Can't comment on how they handle, but I've not heard anything bad about it, though I also heard the v6 can be a bit thirsty.

bluenose172

iTrader: (2)

Anyone from ClioSport remember '172Slayer', guess what he drove? I reckon a mad man with the gear changes in both cars and they would be very even.

Duck_Pond

I like Werthers Originals. Try taking one out for a demo - you'll be surprised. The ZS180 is a great car, with remarkable handling and grip, and a good sound track too. I've been out in a few of them and I rate them.

I normally drive a flatcap, pipe & slippers Rover 420Di so I can see the difference in handling over the "base" car, and I also have a MY97 Classic Turbo Scooby, so can gauge the handling, performance and grip compared to that.

The ZT is even better than the ZS, if a little slower...

jonc

I thought he drove a jap import mitsi cyborg or nissan vzr or something? though I do remember him boasting about being the fastest car in the world and would race anyone but never rose to the challenge...

mg driver

excellent to hear you guys rate the zs 180 as thats what i drive ,,,yes its got faults build wise but the drive is the best i have ever experienced and believe it or not i used to own a classic scooby and a s14 200sx etc.
I raced a 172 tuned up to 212 bhp at pod twice ,it was stripped out with full roll cage the works and absolutely wasted him ,,i got 14.3 at 98mph.
i have done castle combe with a 182 with sport pack and i was faster quite easily ,,through the corners it was equal but my basic mods just pulled away from it when on the power,,,i did 1.26 and that was my first track experience.
Ive now spent some money on it and it really shifts its making about the same power as a standard bugeye but when i go on track it weighs 1110 kgs.
These cars are the bargain of the century,,,things to check include power delivery ,,should kick at 3k then be smooth to the redline,,the vis valve motors can be temperamental and give variable performance.
Apart from that clutch slave cylinders are a problem sometimes and thats it really.
ENJOY.
Im going to combe in 2 weeks with you guys so will be nice to meet some of you.


P.S i know 172 slayer and hes a very good driver with a great car.

Mike123

MG had no problem beating the CTR round Castle Combe when Autocar tried all the hot hatches there. MG was in turn beaten by the 172 ( but not by much )

Put that in your pipe and smoke it....

noobscoob

The only one smoking a pipe will be the owner of the MG.

I just see these cars as a warmed up rover 400 with a faux evolution spoiler on the back. they may drive well and cost buttons but for the money there are so many nicer options that don't have people thinking you are one of those people that has to have a ''bag change'' when you go to the lavatory.

they may come close or even nudge ahead of a clio or ctr but by god they have non of the character.

Dream Weaver

Depends if you choose your cars based on image?

I wouldnt have one just because of reliability (sisters MGTF is dreadful), but I think they look pretty good.

Mike123

Okeydoke, I thought we were talking about the car's on-road ability not other people's perception of it's image...........

But, yes I agree, most young lads would prefer the Civic Type-R or Clio than the ZS180.......

mg driver

Im sure most folk would say that a big part of the scoobies character is its flat four boxer motor,,yet you say the zs has no character????
NO CHARACTER!!!!!!!! how many other cars in this class can give you the sound and rush of a big v6 on full song whilst being able to outhandle most things on the road?? .....id sooner have the car thats slightly different to the norm instead of just following the crowd,,,,,,,,,,,,especially in this case as its a better drive.
to see these cars as a r400 just means you nothing about them,,,simple as that and its like me saying ,i see an sti as nothing more than a 2.0gl with wings stuck on it,,you know as well as i do that they are not even comparable!!!!!

zs 180's have no more reliability issues than any other similar car,,the problems relating to the k4 in the mgf have no bearing on the kv6 in the zs.

Andy M3

Totally agree - who needs to be a sheep in this day and age

Pug Paul

I personally like them i bought my 51 plate ZS (although just the 120bhp model) for £2500 with 28k on it half leather air con alloys 1 owner etc etc and tbh although its just a daily driver really i would deffo get the 180 my mate has one and its quick. I do feel £5k is alot of dough as you can get them much cheaper.

VWscooby

Lots of positives, cool!!

So the basic feeling is that I should look into one but not at that price?

Think someone mentioned £4.5k, this the sort of range I should be looking at?

And yes, I did mean the the ZS not ZR....doh!!!

Dream Weaver

How is the build quality though, I was referring to my sisters MGTF as a whole, which is just crap - panel fit is poor, interior is cheap, and for a new ish car (52 reg) it feels more like a 1991 Rover 200 - even my Pug 205 build quality feels strong after being in the TF.

And it had a new head gasket at 30k miles, I just cant get away from that even if the 180 engine is different.

sti-04!!

You can pick up a 52 plate ZS180 round my way for 5k, in the better saloon guise as ell

Dream Weaver

I am surprised at the prices of them

Just looked on the Trader website and Motorpoint have on ein for £5.5k with 19k miles on. Would suit me as the daily driver/business car, keeping the 205 for weekends.

Andy M3

A worthy example:

003 MG ZS 2.5 180 4dr Saloon,
Petrol, 17,000 miles, . X power Grey. 17inch alloys, Half leather sport seats, Drivers airbag, Passenger airbag, Side airbags, Remote central locking.lady owner, 17000 Miles. Sony CD player, Real head turner. £5,000. O.N.O.
Tel: 01928 723088 or 07985 301933

http://pictures.autotrader.co.uk/ATD...a?id=225543046

mg driver

Yes the build quality isnt great inside but thats not why you buy a car like this ,,,if quality were paramount no one in their right minds would ever have brought a classic shape scooby would they ,,and even the bugeye is only just acceptable.

kammy

Are these the 2.5v6 if so head gaskets are not an issue. Thats only an issue with k series. Top motors is you can get them in black, look cool ish too!
Kam

The Zohan

I think you will find the build quality is good, brilliant in comparison to an MG and or Rover. The materials and style are bland but after 60k in my classic i did not have a rattle or anything break which is more than can be said for most Rovers. Scoobs are quite well screwed together compared to a Rover or Vauxhall.

Example I had to photograh one a while back when doing some work for Rover, opened the door and the wood trim just came off. The car phone was wonky and loose and the materials where cheap to say the least. A shame really

Dream Weaver

Have to agree Jap interiors may be uninspiring, but they are high quality.

My sisters MGTF thing has the carpet coming away from the sills, the drivers window has dropped down and wont open, and all the interior trim is just crap.

bluenose172

iTrader: (2)

The ZS interior is the same as the same shape Civic, circa 1994/95. My old civic is 12 years old with 74K miles on it and the interior doesn't have a single rattle, the dash is very well put together(in the civic as well as the MG).

mg driver

my zs doent rattle anywhere but my scoobie did,the whole interior in my classic was pants the plastics were cheap and looked it and werent very well put together,,,i once read in a mag write up that folks only put up with the interior because it was a scooby turbo and if that interior was else where it would be laughed off the market.But like i said thats not why you buy one .