2003 MG ZT 190+ 2.5 V6 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Very good - BUT READ UP ON THE CAR!

Faults:

Major fault caused by water getting into the ABS unit \ wiring loom and causing serious corrosion, which took out the whole car at 31000. Garage quoted over £2k to do the work, I did it mainly myself for £700 though (yes I'm nuts).

Fuel pump came apart at 28000. Garage didn't put the seals on properly after screwing it back together and it dumped fuel all over the petrol station. They also charged me £220! Read up on this fault.

General Comments:

I had the upgraded suspension. The car was excellent in the main, everything seems well put together. Lovely to drive with a quality interior, decent stereo and nice looking too. Usually understeered when pushing it too hard so very predictable handling.

Now here's my word of caution, there is a lot of info out there detailing the common faults on this model. Read up on them and know them like the back of your hand!!! Get on the MG ZT forums and avoid the problems. Here's a few...

ECU gets drowned due to plenum chamber blocked (clear it!).

1.8's blow head gaskets - avoid at all costs.

Fuel pump comes in two, fit a screw into it to stop this happening.

ABS wire (sensors) come loose and rub on the wheels, make sure you're haven't come off.

VIS valves go causing tapping in the engine (replace).

Cam sensors go causing problems starting when the car is warm (replace).

Buy a Haynes manual

Main wiring loom attached to the ABS unit gets wet and the whole car is stuffed (all electronics are routed through this). Take the battery and cage out and have a look. AVOID upward firing car washes at ALL costs. Take it the loom off (use a screw driver to slide off the loom locking catch), don't just pull it upwards it won't work. Spray with De-ox and Pro-gold to prevent problems.

Good Luck!!!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 18th November, 2007

2003 MG ZT 190+ 2.5 V6 from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Fantastic value for money and the ride of your life

Faults:

The car has blown rear brake bulbs at an alarming rate which is annoying as the dash indicator keeps telling you to change the bulb and over-rides any other messages you wish to view.

General Comments:

I am so pleased I bought this car.

Very unfortunate the history of the company, but the quality of the car is fantastic, the drive, acceleration and feel to the car is that of how Rover always used to be in there high.

The handling is purely down to the Tyres you fit, this can turn the car from a cow to a train on cornering.

All the gadgets fitted to this car make it a better buy than any BMW or Lexus in my mind and when I change, I will probably go for the V8 version and fly the British flag!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 19th December, 2005

3rd Nov 2012, 16:35

Ref, to bulbs blowing is common due to water ingress on the rubber seals on the lense, also filling up the spare wheel well with water. Cured mine with silicon, the rear light units don't fit flush to the body; this is where silicon makes the difference.

29th Apr 2013, 04:35

So what is the best tyre for the ZT?

2003 MG ZT + 180 petrol from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Extremely well made, fast large saloon, which never fails to turn heads

Faults:

Temperature gauge has never worked properly. it rises quickly to the mid-point when first started, then just stays there. It has now been back to the dealer three time, twice for faults and once for 15k service, but they have not fixed it.

Boot lock stopped working from button inside car, it clicked away merrily, but did not unlock the boot, only way to open boot until fixed was to force lock to stay open with key - was always worried was going to break key doing it this way!

Coolant leak (not sure whether air con or engine, as was spotted by dealer during service and was fixed, although had to wait two weeks for parts and take back)

Front bumper/spoiler section not aligned properly with bonnet - also still not fixed - has caused NSF wheel arch liner to pop out.

Biggest problem whilst driving (it's an auto) is a serious flat spot (gear box in normal/economy mode) at about 75-80 mph. (or between 2,500 & 2,900 rpm) really HAVE to change down to get any decent acceleration.

General Comments:

This was my 1st new car for 10 years, having had a Cavalier prior to that, which I had purchased nearly new and put an additional 160,000 miles onto the clock. Cars prior to that had always been Vauxhalls and Fords.

When I first picked up the car, I ran it in, then drove it down to Rome, at first I was not that happy with it, the acceleration was poor, as was the top speed and it seemed to suffer from power loss when pushing it hard over the Alps. I cannot be sure that this due to over-heating, as the temperature gauge did not work properly.

However, the car just seemed to take a long time to run in properly and after a few thousand miles started to show its full potential. However hard I have pushed it it has never broken loose and its cornering capabilities are fantastic, considering the size and weight of the car. As long as the revs are kept above 3,000rpm it accelerates incredibly quickly.

The drive, the handling and the acceleration of this car have more than compensated for the faults, which especially when you consider this is a British car are not significant.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 16th October, 2004

20th Mar 2005, 11:14

I have a 03ZT+ 180 sports for 2 weeks now and I have also noticed the temperature gauge goes up to the half way mark very quickly. Apart from that I'm very pleased with it. Every time I go out in it I love driving it.

4th Apr 2005, 14:34

The temperature gauge rising to the midpoint is working correctly and is not a fault. The handbook could be clearer on this point and it is disappointing the dealers did not know this either.

16th Apr 2005, 03:07

All K-series engines, including the KV6 have a tiny coolant capacity to give an ultra quick warm up. Your car's temperature gauge is behaving exactly as I would expect it to.

2003 MG ZT 2.5 from United Arab Emirates

Summary:

You're getting much more for what you're paying

Faults:

A small problem with the brakes, an annoying noise would come every time I braked.

Fixed it at the dealer for free and it's been working great ever since.

Not a problems other than that.

General Comments:

This car is amazing.

The best car I ever bought.

It's not as fast as my last car (BMW 330), but of course it has a smaller engine.

Extremly reliable, I have a 5 year unlimited mileage warranty on the car.

Great sound system.

Very comfortable seats.

Amazing control on the car.

The best turns in any car I have ever driven.

This car was about 15000$ US cheaper than my last car, and it's 10 times better.

Buy it, you won't regret it.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 28th October, 2003