2003 MG ZS 180 from UK and Ireland - Comments

The speedo stopped working at 1700 miles, fixed under warranty.

This car is in stark contrast to my previous car, a Honda Civic Type R. I got fed up with everything rattling and squeaking on the Civic so, after reading all the good reviews of the ZS, I decided to flog the Type R and get one of these.

I was a little sceptical of this car when it was launched and therefore decided to buy a Civic, but now, I wished I had bought one of these in the first place.

I chose to go for the hatchback (I need the space) in X Power Grey and it's amazing how much meaner it looks when compared to ones in Trophy Blue. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't resist the high rise spoiler.

I gave it 1300 easy miles and then I took it out one sunday morning for a good thrashing (that is, after all, what it's built for). At first I couldn't get the best from it as it was so different to the Honda. I hit the limiter a few times and it took me a while to adjust to the fact that it doesn't rev to 8,000 rpm. However, when you do get it right, it's great. The V6 sounds brilliant and doesn't feel strained at the top end of the rev range. The ZS is far easier to drive quickly than the Honda and far more rewarding. The wet conditions actually suit the MG as well as the dry, it's really confidence building.

The fact that the MG develops less power than the Civic (175 bhp as opposed to 197) doesn't mean it's any slower. In the real world, on any give and take road, a Type R driver just cannot get away from an equally well driven ZS 180.

There are naturally some things wrong with the MG, like the fact that the cabin just looks so old when compared to a new Corolla (the T sport was also on my list) or a Focus.

But, if, Like me you love a good hot hatch, you'll love one of these ZS 180s. Don't be put off by the fact it looks like a 45, this thing will make mincemeat of most other standard hot hatches when the road gets twisty. It's pretty good away from the lights too. Just don't expect it to be too light on your wallet when it comes to fuel though. When I put my foot down, I get about 25mpg.

Why did you wait 1300 miles before giving it good thrashing?

My right foot was twitching from the moment I stepped inside on the forecourt and I nearly trashed it in the first 5 minutes of ownership when I'd (thought) over-cooked it on a twisty near the garage!! The car stuck to the road like chewing gum to your shoe and this boosted my confidence ever since! I bought from new and it has now done 60000 miles without fault and the engine purrs like it's just run-in. That is until I slam down the accelerator and get that throaty roar coming through the bulkhead letting me know I'm in the 20 mpg zone!!!

Mg has siemens cms2000 learning ecu, so if you add mods it teaches itself how to remap so it will run at optimum performance without tuning, so it will keep getting quicker, how cool is that? only works with minor mods though i. e air filter, exhaust and fast road cams.

My MG ZS in yellow, the best, brightest and smartest looking of them all...

When I was choosing a car I decided I liked the new look to the MG’s, like a Rover with style was my thought.

My first step was to test drive the one I thought suited me most, the MG ZR 160 it claimed to have all the extras you need in a car with the added grunt of 160 BHP. As soon as I saw it I knew I was going to buy an MG, in Yellow. Once I was inside it was a different story, I realised it was not to be this model.

I need a place to put my left foot when it isn’t on the clutch. And I need a central console for more than one great reason, an arm rest and storage.

So the ZR was out of the question, but at the price I was looking, the ZS was affordable for the same year.

The ZS 180, offered everything I needed and to top it off it looked even more like a stylish Rover with a V6 under the hood.

My Trophy Yellow MG ZS 180 2.5L V6… I just love it. glue is the description, and well fast too...

Basically I love my 180, and the only reason I will move on is because of fuel ££$$££, my foot is made out of lead, what can I say, possibly I need grants from the government to aid my disability... or free fuel to those of 2495cc/V6 and above...

Respect to those who still own their Zs and keep up the great reputation.

Chris.

They're top notch aren't they.

Zs 180 = head gasket failure!

Zs 180 = head gasket faliure!

Get your facts right before comments like the above please.

There is no known head gasket problem with the 2.5 V6 engine

in the ZS 180.

What can I say? Purchased a 2003 MGZS 180 V6 January this year!! 17,000 miles on purchase, now at 24,000.

Used every day for work and I still look forward to getting out of bed in the morning to step inside and hear the engine roar - it's then a long wait till 5pm to get back and hear the roar!

Only negative is the ££££ on fuel, but wouldn't it change it for the world... worth every penny!

Leaves most hothatches standing... not to be messed with.

I've had my ZS 180 from new and done 42,000 miles in 20 months. Much of that was motorway, but now drive down the lanes to work. I've raced with all sorts of modern hot cars such as mini coopers, Audi tt's, focus St's, civic r's etc and while they're all quick in a straight line they just can't match the MG around twisty lanes. In fact, never buy a golf GTI as they're just too bouncy. I once followed a focus which twitched and skidded dangerously whilst the mg felt like it was just playing. It's great to see them back off and go past them. I always get at least 33 to the gallon. I used to run a company car scheme and have had lots of cars. The MG is not the best built or most solid, but it is definitely the most enjoyable car I have ever driven!

Zs 180 4 door saloon, 05 plate, pearl black, big spoiler, 18 months old, 46000 miles...stonking. Not ultimately as fast as my wife's impreza wrx, but better around the twisties. I ran a 99 V plate Rover 400 Diesel saloon for 5 years and 142K miles and all that went wrong was both the top and bottom turbo hoses (one @ 90 odd thou, the other at about 110k) Good solid well built motor (Clarkson and co. have a lot to answer for given the negativity shown towards MGR for years before it went down the pan). The ZS180 is better. So much better. Test drove a civic Type R and got bored with revving the nuts off it before the end of the 20 minutes - decided there and then that I couldn't live with it (all that buzzing from under the bonnet) even before having to pay an extra 2k for a model with air con! ZS is just as quick without all the noise and fuss and the 180 bhp Seat Leon Cupra (not cupra R - couldn't afford to run one of those) was just bland and felt heavy. Since converting the car to run on gas it only returns about 23 mpg (combination of poorer combustion value of gas and a heavy right foot) but given the 39.9p per litre cost it's equivalent to about 55mpg running at diesel prices. Had a problem with a pulley on the front bank of cylinders that cost me the thick end of £200, but is more than offset by the laughably simple and cheap regular servicing required (which I carry out myself as the former MGR dealers wamt silly money to fiddle with thirty quids-worth of parts and fluids). This was the best 'bang for buck' car available when I bought it new in March 2005 - and second hand models are now a complete bargain. I just won't sell this car, it's got to earn it's money from the company car scheme over the next four and a half years and 110k miles, which includes a £6k surplus (although a big chunk of this is going towards the cambelt change at 90,000 miles - about £600 - £900 depending who does it for you - a big consideration for anyone looking at a second hand model coming up to the 90k miles mark).

Cheap to buy, cheap to service, good build quality, as quick as golf gti's and civic type r's, really good around the bends, room for 5 adults and just collected 8ft lengths of skirting board from the diy store courtesy of the folding rear seats -where's the down sides? - fuel consumption (have achieved 40mpg on motorway runs and 33mpg day to day short haul running, but don't worry about this since converting to LPG).

Cracking cars - not 'good considered they started out as rover 400's', genuinely good cars in their own right.

Please can you help me in finding a front mask for MG ZS 180.

I'm from Romania and I cannot find this piece, if you can help with a price too or a link to an on-line site, thank u, Alex.

Try http://xpart.com/

I have a Dec 2004 ZS 180. Bought it about 4 months ago with 9000 miles on the clock. Best car I've driven, and one of the lowest prices I've paid for a motor. Unreal value for money, and I still love the look of it every time I see it.

Took some pics late last year, you've have to past them into your browser.

http://i12.tinypic.com/2hcfguu.jpg.

http://i12.tinypic.com/2d8fewz.jpg.

http://i11.tinypic.com/317k51e.jpg.

http://i10.tinypic.com/2z40dgm.jpg.

Hi,

I'm a 30 yr old female who has a passion for driving, I had a Mg ZS180 and sold it for a Fabia Vrs, I'm much happier with the Fabia as I feel its faster to 60mph and to 100mph also its much better built and handles in my opinion just as well.

To the woman who say that the fabia VRS is faster to 60 or 100. she doent no what she is talking about a zr 105 would be faster than that.

'To the woman who say that the fabia VRS is faster to 60 or 100. she doent no what she is talking about a zr 105 would be faster than that.'

I think she does. I too own a Fabia VRS, and it is a well known fact that the 9.5s 0-60 time stated by Skoda was done with a fully laden car, so the realistic 0-60 time is about 8.2s. (read Autocar review if you don't believe me)

Also as the vrs is a diesel and has masses of torque, it isn't particularly quick off the mark, but has mid-range power that would leave a ZR160 struggling, never mind your 105.

Oh, and while your ZR105 is at its limit at about 111mph, the vrs will still be accelerating on its way to nearly 130.

P.s. I suggest you do some research before writing comments on cars you know nothing about.

I wrote the review about the zr 105. I don't own a 105 I own a MG ZS 180 bhp. She should get fact right she said that the VRS is faster than an MG ZS 180, which does 0-60 in 7.3 seconds.