MG ZT sports 2002 Review

MG, the British marque better known for its small two-door soft tops - has entered the sports sedan market as part of wide ranging expansion of its product lineup.

The badge has been applied to sedans before, but the MG ZT is just one of a raft of new products hitting the streets from MG Rover, the company that emerged from the ashes of the failed BMW Rover ownership.

When BMW sold the company to John Towers' Phoenix consortium in 1999 for £10million, many pundits had MG Rover written off, unable to see how it could survive with just the MGF soft-top, the BMW-engineered 75 mid-sized premium sedan and the smaller and rapidly aging 45 sedan and 25 hatch.

But within two years, the company turned around its fortunes and put a renewed focus into the heritage-laden MG brand, seemingly entering every form of motorsport it could - including Le Mans, rally, British Touring Car Championship and Indy Car - to push its sports image.

That image and the driving force behind it is now being fed into a whole new range of road cars that MG Rover hopes will put the familiar octagonal MG badge on the shopping list for a whole range of buyers after sporty satisfaction.

In Australia, the new lineup of MG cars in the short term future are limited to the Rover 75-based ZT, the next generation small two-door MG TF and the forthcoming Mangusta-derived large two-door codenamed X80. The Mangusta was a car produced by the tiny specialist Italian maker Qvale, which MG Rover bought in June last year.

In Europe, the MG range also extends down through the 25 and 45 Rover-based cars but these are rapidly aging and according to the local distributor, currency exchange rates would make them too expensive for our market.

This may change in the future, however, with MG Rover recently forming a joint venture with Chinese indigenous manufacturer, China Brilliance Industrial Holdings, to jointly develop and manufacture the replacements for the 45 and 25. With much greater economies of scale and the cheaper manufacturing costs in China, the 25 and 45 replacements and their respective MG-ed versions may become available in the future.

In the meantime, though, it is the Rover 75-based ZT that is flying the flag for MG's "outrageous fun for all" proposition.

At present, the car is available in four models - two sedans and two wagons - priced between $59,990 and $66,990. Just one engine is used across the front-drive range - a warmed over version of the 75's 2.5-litre V6 - which is offered in two states of tune depending on whether it is mated to the five-speed manual or automatic transmissions. In manual guise, the engine generates 140kW and 245Nm, while automatic drivers are limited to 133kW of power and 240Nm of torque.

About March next year, more models will be available when the rear drive ZT hits the streets, priced from about $100,000. This car will use Ford's 4.6-litre V8 engine from the Mustang to drive 195kW through the rear wheels, while a top of the range supercharged version producing about 270kW will go on sale about September with a sticker in the $150,000 region.

This top-spec engine will also power the 2+2 X80 Coupe which is likely to cost about $180k and is expected on sale at the same time late next year.

Apart from the engine, the ZT has had its steering and suspension fully worked over - it sits 20mm lower than the 75 - features bigger brakes and big 18-inch alloys shod with 225/45 tyres, and a significantly restyled exterior and interior.

From first sight, the car is very definitely a different beast to its 75 sibling. Gone is all the chrome, leather and wood of the 75 and in its place are aggressive looking body coloured moulded plastics, mock suede and silver interior finishes.

Likewise, on the road, the car's differences and qualifications to carry the MG badge quickly become apparent. The thrust from the engine, while strong, is nothing exceptional but it does get the car off the line in a reasonably brisk fashion.

However, it is the ride and handling that emerge as the biggest factors. With significantly stiffer springs and dampers and solid suspension mounts, the ZT feels very firm with a payoff in the handling that sees the car cornering flat and inspiring confidence in its sporting abilities. The big tyres offer plenty of grip in the dry and the tighter steering rack produces a more direct, responsive feel.

Over smooth roads, the ride is comfy enough but head off the highway onto poorly maintained country c-roads and the stiffness of the car starts to make itself felt through the hip-hugging sports seats. There is still a degree of compliance, but harsh ruts and potholes do become more noticeable.

This is also where some of the car's lack of refinement and build precision start to become more obvious. Our test car had a constant rattle in the driver's window and when pushing through corners you could hear the body and doors flexing. There was also a constant whine from the steering pump and a whistling through the air vents.

While these two latter problems would be fixable, it seems the stiffer suspension has emphasized some shortcomings in the build quality and overall noise vibration and harshness levels are not up to the standard of the car's European competition.

Like the 75, the MG ZT is reasonably well equipped with six airbags, ABS, aircon, cruise control, power windows, remote locking and CD audio. Despite the impression of a reasonably large exterior, there are compromises inside with narrow footwells in the front courtesy of a very wide transmission tunnel and limited rear leg and headroom.

For some, the MG badge may be appealing and the car's dynamics offer a good driving prospect but there are probably better all-round vehicles for the money if you are after a sporty prestige sedan.