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Anyone know when the V8 rear drive ZT is due out? I thought it was supposed to be this summer. My money is burning a hole in my pocket.
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The last I heard was the ZT260 was due for release in Q4 this year. The ZT385 six months later. The tooling on the 75 line is completed and they are running through training, mock cars, pre-productions and shakedown of the hand-builts.
There was a problem when TWR went bust leaving MGR high and dry with its RD/X60 project (Rover 55) and they had to pull engineers off ZT V8 development and issued a 90-day catch up on RD/X60 at the start of the year and that pushed V8 development way out.
It has nothing to do with much else although the rumour mill is rife with other reasons. The cars are regularly seen around Warwickshire sporting twin exhausts, ZT190 badges and thundering V8 soundtrack.
I've not much idea on prices but was told to expect £28K upwards.
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Oh dear,how many of those do they expect/hope to sell?
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Hmm... especially when "Above all, its a Rover"...
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Neil
You obviously don't own an MG. My ZT is superior in every way to my previous Passat. It is utterly reliable and well screwed together. Don't knock it till you've tried it.
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Oh, but I have - not the V8 obviously - and my carefully formulated opinion was based on that. And - obviously - the pile of poo that every other Rover product has become within a scarily short period of time - and the parts supply situation now, and if... No, I'm glad you like yours but don't think I'll be joining you. Not this decade or next, anyway!
Neil
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What did you have, Neil, and what was the problem?
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I didn't OWN it, I'm delighted to say - we had a ZT 190 on demo loan - and it was just outclassed in every respect by the usual suspects - mainly the S60, but also the Mondeo ST220. The handling was okay on smooth roads when did you last see one of THEM!), to be fair but the ride and hadling over broken surfaces was awful and the engine feels breathless compared with the ST 220, BMW 320 etc. Each to their own, of course but I'm far from convinced by the ZT - I cannot think of one aspect of the car I regard as class-leading or even within the same bracket as the class leaders.
Neil
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I can see where you're coming from with the ST220, which has a very well-honed chassis, but not the S60, which even in T5 form is cruiser not bruiser. The S60 is very comfy (great seats etc) but can't hold a candle to the ZT on the handling front.
The point about the ZT is that it's set up is surprisingly hard core and will come across as uncompromising in some circumstances. But don't confuse that with crude - it's solidly screwed together and has the Bee EM Z-axle at the back. It might fidget but it's very stable.
Ignoring the hyperbole in Rover's ad campaign about the ZT beating a 318 on a track, don't miss the underlying message. It's better than you think.
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Well... goes back to what I said earlier... chacun a son gout, or something like that! You think the ZT is 'hardcore and uncompromising' - I think its a dog, albeit one with an occasionally interesting bark. I've sampled one back to back with the S60 over a range of roads I'm very familiar with - and I'm still convinced both the ST 220 (also 'hardcore'!) and the S60 - which is comfortable and gives the impression of being less 'focused' (Mondeo'd??!) are far more agile and able than the 75. Oops, ZT.
Neil
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Oh dear,how many of those do they expect/hope to sell?
Less than they'd like but more than you'd think. It's a headline grabber designed to make people look at the lesser models.
And on that point I'd advise anyone who's never tried a ZT 190 to give it a go. You would be pleasantly surprised.
It's far better than the doubting thomases think, and more solid and entertaining than quite afew exalted names.
British it might be, but don't knock it.
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There's an ad in this week's Economist from our friends in Brum saying that 100 people tried a MG ZT against a Beemer 3 series and most prefered the MG.
Obviously they didn't have a long-term ownership experience otherwise the numbers might have been slightly different...
mike
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Yes they might....the bmw owners would probably get fed up with their bland sterile expensive motor car!
/me hides from the scrum of bmw owners waiting to lambast me for that comment
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I went to Blackbushe on Friday. There was specific MG Rover sale. All 75's (whether Rover or MG Z's) weren't partcularly in demand by the trade. One Trader i spoke to said that they are quite hard to shift second hand.
The BMW's however had a swarm of eager traders with the bidding quite frantic.
Regards to 'British it might be, but don't knock it' - i have to say why not? Its an average car in a competitive market that does nothing exceptional and doesnt win many tests. Its looks are very 'blobby' and isnt that quick. Resale isnt great and reliability isnt exactly top 10. So what is there about it to praise it for?
I think the large V8 will go the way of the Rover Sterling Coupe. Thats if you remember it....
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I think the large V8 will go the way of the Rover Sterling Coupe. Thats if you remember it....
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I doubt that very much. There are a lot of people looking forward to the arrival of the ZT V8.
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