ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

As some of you know i'm on the hunt for a cheap fun daily with reasonable economy thrown in.

I'm a bit of a Rover fan (for my sins) as they tick a my cheap skate boxes and are what i call a throw away car, the current mrs/kid/dog/skip is a 1.4 rover 25 which has been relatively trouble free for some 30,000 odd miles, good on fuel at around 40mpg overall and costs nothing to service.

So i'm now being tempted by the 160 bhp version as the stats below look good.

Urban.. 27.1
Extra urban.. 48.7
Combined.. 37.6
0-60 7.4
Top speed 131 mph

Which is not too shabby considering they can be had for as little as £800 although i'd be looking for one with sub 60k miles and around the £1500 mark.
So any experience of these in the real world would be useful, what to look out for ect, whats the brakes/ handling and gear box like and if there is any further tuning potential.

And any comments about it being a Rover can be kept to yourself thanks.

BULLITT

I had a ZR for about 4 years, though mine was a 105 but still a good car. Decent car to chuck about, the 160s are pretty quick for what they are. Obviously build qualityy isnt great, but its not an Audi/BMW/Honda, but for £800 it shouldnt be a concern.

If its had the head gasket done, make sure the reply is the updated /landrover head gasket has been used on the rebuild and not the standard Rover one, you won't have any problems with it. Parts aren't as hard to get hold of as many would want you to think, the parts production was subcontracted out to Catapillar after MGR went under, places like Rimmer Bros have just about everything in stock that you could possibly need.

My ex has had hers for 5 years and has no intention of selling, she loves it, if you need any extra info etc I'd suggest signing up to the MGCC forum, there is a section for the Zed range of MGs (Zed Register) which has plenty of guys with a lot of tech info.

Handling is very good for a FWD, it was broadly promoted as having the widest track in its class, they are quite wide for a 3dr hatch. Brakes aren't bad either but you can always upgrade them if you feel ey don't have enough bite, it's worth noting that the 160 is the only version to have vented front brakes, the rest of the range have solid discs. The 160 isn't as tuneable as the 120 unfortunately due to the VVC system but there are still lots of things you can do , have a look at ptp-ltd.co.uk for tuning parts. The 160 VVC unit is the same used in early Lotus Elise & Exige and also Caterhams so power upgrades should be interchangeable. The ZR cup cars are tuned to 190 - 220bhp.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Cool thanks for the info, is it the 120 that gets tuned to 190/220 or the 160.

I was turned on to these quite a few years ago when i got given one by a body shop that was repairing my company car, it was a 1.6 and really impressed me as our company policy was to have lease cars for 10,000 miles so i got to try loads of cars and if i didn't like any of them just had to go to an airport and change it for whatever they had and i fancied,those were the days, so i drove just about every rep mobile available, and the humble rover was soooo much more fun than i thought possible.

I wasn't aware there was a 160bhp version so i think i may well give one a try if i can find the right one at the right money.

PAS

iTrader: (4)

Not got one as a road car but I race a 160 in the castle Combe saloon cup championship in standard power form and it does go fairly well

BULLITT

No MG ZR was ever a 1.6.

MG ZR 105 - 1.4 16v
MG ZR 120 - 1.8 16v
MG ZR 160 - 1.8 VVC 16v

The 120s are more tuneable and can push around 190 - 200bhp from them.

The cup cars use either JUDD engines which are special built non VVC k-series for competition or they build 120 engines (1.8 non VVC) up to VHPD spec which is k-series version used in the early Lotus Elise & Exige and Caterham.

A common mod for power increase on the 120 engine is to replace the cylinder head with the 160 version cylinder head as it has bigger valves but replace the VVC unit with a VVC deletion kit, usually done with replacement cam kit. More torque and with a few other mods will see you upto 180bhp.

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I had the 200 BRM which was similar, loved it but the HG went and that was the end of that.

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

lol, i should have made myself slightly clearer, it was a normal rover 200 1.6, it was the handling and long gears that impressed me, in particular 3rd gear was good for an indicated 98mph, which was fantastic for all the country roads i was driving around as an engineer covering notts,derby, lincolnshire, leicestershire.

All the modding sounds expensive and fiddlesome for 20bhp, think i'll stick to the 160.

Thanks for the advice, i think i'll see if i can get a spin in one.

500

Or go for the BRM, they are a bit rare and are going up in price

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

Whats a brm??

scoobygaz1

iTrader: (3)

Limited edition think they are green with red/orange grille don`t kow about spec.

BULLITT

Rover 200 with a 1.8 VVC motor. Think of it as an erly version of an MG ZR. They aren't as powerful as the ZR, I think they're about 145bhp but still pretty quick.

All came in British Racing Green with an orange lower front bumper grille.
Special edition wheels
RAF style badging specific to the BRM
Red quilted leather interior, don't wince it's nicer than you think. If you're after a sporty feel inside the car then maybe this isn't right for you was seats are more like armchairs lol

As typical with MGRover, the BRM was a limited edition produced in limited numbers and they are getting very rare now so values are actually going up!

ditchmyster

iTrader: (7)

I think it's a bit too 70's ***** house for me.

The Zohan

Parts can be a problem, a friend had one written off - nice car, decent spec and low miles - slight rear end impact after 2 months the parts could not be sourced so it was deemed a write-off.

keljon

iTrader: (10)

i had one of these a few years back in fact i had the ultra rare MG ZR 160 Express (basically a small van so no back seats and no back windows)
it went very well, brakes were great and good handiling (in fact the handling and brakes no doubt saved my life when i narrowly (inches) missed a multi car pile up on the motorway a few years back.
Head gasket went on mine and i thought no problem, got a local trusted garage to do the work and they used the land rover head gasket, new bolts, skimmed the head etc but it was never right after that so i sold it.

I had a MG ZS180 a year or so ago and that was a brilliant car with an almost bullet proof V6 engine (need to replace / modify the motors that control the variable intake) similar chassis setup to Integra type R and easily tuneable to a genuine 200bhp