How did it all begin?

[StragglaSteve]

Sat here bored at work, i thought to myself.

"i really love my car, im glad i randomly spotted it at the car giant forcourt! otherwise i would have probably ended up with some german heap of junk!"...

and then i thought what a great topic to start!

So, who/what/when/why/how did you first come to realise that the MG ZS was the car for you?

were you a fan of the BTCC teams that were racing many years ago? was MG recommended to you by a friend? Did you spot it on auto trader and thought it was great value for money?

Whatever the reason that turned you into the enthusiast you are today, i'd like to know!

[Squeaks]

All started for me with my MGF Trophy, when i was at highschool someone was droped off in a red MGF and i always said by the time im 21 ill have one, few weeks after my 21st i drove down to eastcowes to post something and ended up ?5500 worse off than when i left home, why? because i spotted a Yellow Trophy and ended up buying it on the spot lol.

As for the ZS, was randomly looking at cars on the internet and spotted a black one, thought yeah not bad then did not think anything elce about it for awhile, as winter set in i decided the F was no longer for me and started looking for a BMW, while hunting i once again randomly found the ZS180, fell for it, went looked & braught it lol.

Now summers back.

Ive got 2 cars :D not selling eather unless someone offers me silly money :-D :mml:

[Glen290]

I had been after one for ages, saw one at a car car supermarket, was a mk1 diesel, but ended up driving away with a renaultsport megane.
Regretted not buying it for 12 months, until i saw an ad for a mk2 180, had that for 3 years and now just swapped it for an Astra, best thing i ever did lol

[andys1981]

had a y reg 2.2 vectra for sale on gumtree,guy from dundee asked me for a swap,so i did,it had the forums stickers on it,so came on here to find out it was craigs old car from this forum,a wee bit of luck there eh,been the best car ive had so far,in terms of looks,handling etc

[StragglaSteve]

I had been after one for ages

what was it that made you want one for ages mate?

been a fan since u 1st seen em?

[peterzs]

Always had MG's, midgets, MGB's trouble is they all rust away, was going to get a MGF, but the bones dont like folding up to get in and out of the two seaters.

Looking on Ebay saw the yellow ZS, decided that as it was a derv with the full 180 kit have best of both worlds. Always been a bit of a boy racer (now an old boy racer) anyway, put a deposit on the car and caught the train up to Kent, had a test drive and brought it home.

Love the car, meet some great guys, had a few chats with the boys in blue, but lifes too short not to.

Never thought I would have so much fun in a derv, and yes the BTCC did help making my mind up to get a ZS.

Worrying how many cars end up getting rear ended. Think they are so busy trying to make out what the car is, and not noticing its stopped.

[Nor]

It was the wedge 416GSi that got me into MG Rovers. Decided on it as the engine seemed way ahead of others in its class. Car looked quite nice, but engine was fantastic. Then got a couple of 420Gsi's and always liked them. Big fan of the new MGs when they were launched, but was quite happy with my 420 until it started to get old, then couldn't resist the idea of the 2.5 V6 ZS. One of the best styled MG Rover cars in my opinion and been very happy with it. An MG would be my next car if they still made them.

[Bobdope2002]

Family thing

My mother had one (Rover 416), Dad had one (Rover 25 Impression), Gran And Grandad had one ( A Mint Rover 214 with barely 10k on the clock)

So i had to have one Owned three At the minute

1) Rover 414 (Died A Painful Death when its gearbox blew into a million peices)
2) MGZS 120+ (Sold , Although i wish i never did :( )
3) MGZS 180+ MK2 ( Currently Own)

[caled]

i honestly don't know when I first started wanting an MG.

My dad has a BRG MGB with the rubber bumpers and I was always told that will be in the inheritance to me.
I think it was then whilst randomly looking around autotrader I came across the trophy blue mk1s and always intended on buying one of them, until I saw the mk2s and was just awe struck at how god damn cool they look.
When the money and insurance situation all finally fell in line (about last christmas), I went scouting around for a mk2 180 and my current beastie came up and a decent price not too far away. Couldn't say no, eh?

[daytona365]

The moment, I saw my first yellow ZS I wanted one. It had to be the V6 though, so I could have all the speed and the noise.
I ahve always liked fast expressive cars. My first was an ex works Escort MK2 RS, then Triumph TR8 convertible, Vauxhall Cavalier SRi, then married so, a fleet of Rover 214's.
Good cars but not fast or in ya face.
Have had to wait nearly 10 years. Got divorced, one less expense, kids grown up, less expense, council flat instead of private, and also moved closer to work.

All this added up to paying off debts and treating myself to the ZS.

I still want my Ferrari, (hence the nickname) but the MG will do me fine.

[Andyf]

Worrying how many cars end up getting rear ended. Think they are so busy trying to make out what the car is, and not noticing its stopped.

LOL, that is very true!

I remember seeing an advert in a magazine for the MK2 and thought it was a great looking car. Then a mate at work said he wanted a MK1 and then decided not to get one but that had planted the seed for me. I wanted a 4 door saloon with a big spoiler and couldn't afford an Evo/Scooby so was going to get a MK1 180, then thought i'd spend a bit more and get a 1 year old MK2. The salesman told the wife about the fuel economy of the 180 though so I got a MK2 120+.

I love the car, I love the fact it's British, I love the way it looks and drives and I love the fact you don't see many of them about.

[grimmy]

Wanted one from launch was driving a bubble 416 when they came out and i promised myself a ZS but settled for a mk1 120 until i saw a mk2 180 at a price that was to good to resist.

[Gazza]

I started out in the MG world when i was 21, i'd just finished my apprentiseship i hhad more money and wanted a hot hatch; so test drove the proton satria, civic type r mini cooper s and the MG ZR. I realy wanted the civic type r but it was gonna cost me ?350 per month for 5 years, so i decided to get the ZR as it only cost ?316 per month for 3years.

After i finished paying for the ZR i made the mistake and got a quote for an EVO 6 Tommi Mak and it was reasonable (?1600) after traveling the country and only finding ***** i went out and bought an TT which was/is the best car i've ever owned!!!! After getting a house i found it hard to pay a mortgage and run/pay for the TT so i sold it so i could buy something cheaper to run.

I'd always liked the mk2 ZS so i decided my next car would be a mk2 diesel with the 180 kit, so after i was looking for 6 weeks i found 1 for sale in preston so travelled from cov to get it and wrote it off 30 days later. I was determined i wanted another mk2 diesel so it took me another 6 weeks to find the 1 i have now.

[Phate]

Had a Saab 93 Turbo and was looking for another car as I was simply bored of it. Tried out the following:

BMW E46 330i
Audi A3 1.8T
Mondeo ST220
(and a few others, can't remember)

And whilst all of them were good, there were things about each that put me off. It had taken me a long time to save up, and I didn't want to buy a car that had something about it I didn't like.

Then Dad got a ZS smashed up over the yard, had NEVER considered or thought about one. Did some reading, saw they had a 2.5L V6. Went and test drove one and knew it'd be my next car. Went and looking at 4 others and came back to the original one and bought it :)

And I'm now on the hunt for another!

[Saint Bailey]

I've owned a total of 5 cars now. I got bored of them very fast and ended up selling them. Anyway, when i sold my last car late last year i decided my next would be around with me for a while. I decided my next would be a zs. I've always loved the appearence of the zs's, the fact it was British and they came in various engine sizes. Anyway, come december 1st 2009 i needed to save a chunk load of money as i had sweet nothing. I ended up doing 60+ hours a week to save ?1800 in 4 weeks for my baby. Hard graft but she's well worth the sweat, muscle strains and many sleepless nights lol.

[Maxfly]

After seeing the press releases for the Z cars i had to have a ZR, liked the ZS but wouldn't have been abble to run a 180. Got my TB120 in 02 and had her 5 fun filled years. By time those years passed I started hankering after something a bit faster and having seen the facelift on the ZS just thought it was the dugs baws but still not sure i could run one. However i changed my mind after some gentle persusion from Craig lol and after a good bit of hunting found my one in Dundee which Sammy checked over for me prior to driving doon from Inverness:)

[daveronimo]

RRead the autocar reviews when it came out. Couldn't believe they'd made an exciting car out of a rover 45! Whilst trying to sell my mercedes 190 2.5-16 cosworth (which is still for sale) I decided to buy a cheap runabout. Was looking for civic vti's etc when I came across the 54 plate 180 which I have now. Went to see it, was (and is) a bit of a heap but fell in love with the engine/chassis. LPG Conversion/cambelt/service all needed this year though!

[Ritchy]

well up till 3n a half years ago i was one to slate the rovers i have to admit, working in a ex rover dealer always saw them comingin with blown head gaskets and zt/75 non starts, then i was out a test drive with davie one day n he was saying how good they where, n i was like no theyre rubbish, n he said well what goes wrong with them instantly, "head gasket, zt tank sender splitting, zt plenum fills up" then had to think, then he said well whats all the problems you see on fords n i can list a lot there,

so got intrested in them a bit working on them, but i had already bought an orion for when i passed my test, a month before my test someone decided to launch a brick through the orions window, soo was contemplating getting it fixed or not,

week before my test i had decided....i wanted a mark2 zs, a 110, it had to have the full body kit, the extreme spoiler, it had to be a saloon, it had to have the 11 spokes on it, i wanted silver grey matrix seats, and i wanted it blue or black,
next day guess what gets traded in, mk2 saloon, full kit spoiler, alloys i wanted and its a 1.6. only thing is it was silver, but wow was that silver eye catching, so said tomyself, "self, if i pass my test im buying that" and passed and went straight down and bought it, half an hour later it was mine, had to wait 3 days though, and tbh ive never regretted buying it
i walk through our showroom everyday, 3 floors of cars, and ive never seen a car in there id rather have, that id say oh wish id bought that instead, n pretty certain il keep it unless something happens to it

[stamford]

My interest started in pre-production as I was the lead design engineer for some new airbag assembly cells. I was then doing the new Rover 75 and the updated 25 and 45. Later some MG badged samples came my way and learned that they were for a new range of models. Once I saw the ZT models I then came across the ZS which caught my eye due to the colours and that mean looking boot spoiler.

However at that time the ZS was too small as the family would have filled the car in no time. I was looking at the ZT and ZTT when that was launched, but was too costly. Some years later I was looking to change my Calibra V6 for something newer, as the wife had 'stolen' the new Picasso, and came across a really nice trophy blue 180, the rest is history!

[Glen290]

what was it that made you want one for ages mate?

been a fan since u 1st seen em?

Just thought they looked great...thought the zs was the nicer of the three zeds

[Hambo-180]

Been driving Rovers for years, i knew they had launched the MG "Z" cars range so looked at:-
ZR - to small,
ZS - wasnt keen on the 4 door,
ZT - to big.
Then i saw a 5 door MG ZS 180 in Trophy Blue in the carpark at the gym...2 months later i bought 1, a brand new MG ZS 180 5 door in Trophy Blue. That was back in 2002, its a 52 plate, and i've still got it. I love it, its a joy to drive and looks superb. Not had many problems with it, VIS motors, throttle body sensors, thats about it. As i say i love it!!
Here's a wee list of the Rover's & MG/Rovers i've had:-
1982 "Y" reg 1.6 MG Meastro
1986 "D" reg 2.0 MG Meastro
1987 "E" reg Ford Orion
1988 "F" reg 2.0 MG Montego
1990 "H" reg Rover 216 GTi
1991 "J" Rover 220 GTi
1993 "L" rover 220 GSI
2002 "52" reg MG ZS 180

[Rocket Red]

my first car was an MG meastro 1600 and i loved it had it for a year but sold it (always regreted that) and had a few different cars, mk2 escort mexico, opel manta, XR3, mini with metro turbo engine but i hankered after my meastro again found it and it was dead so bought an EFI version had it lowered 2" it looked great then it died sump got court on a rock, then i had a montego turbo again lowered five spoke alloys in white loved that car it really handled but it ate wheel berrings for brekfast then i had a 220 gsi which did 200,000 miles with no headgasket problems then i had a few alfa's and a nice bubble 200 then three years ago i bought my red car for a steal ?1600 when that got destroyed i bought the black mk2 180. always loved MG Rover very underated alot of car for the money and now my misses is in the MG club as well.

[Dan1971]

Swapped a Vectra and cash for a 53 plate TF. Did an internet search for a forum and found .org. as I wanted to sell the hard-top that I got with it.

My other car at time was a Scenic. It broke, and the TF ain't a good car when you've got 2 kids. Otherwise it's brilliant !

Anyway, was driving past a Peugeot main dealer and spotted the Black Mk2 180 and px'd the TF for it the next day. Then I got a dog - Bought a ZT-T. Then I realised I never took the dog out in it, so got a Mk 1 ZS180 for pennies off the 'Bay. Then a nice Mk2 came up but I missed out on it, but had the cash burning a hole and found my Red Mk2 180.

Now pottering around in a focus diesel as I do 50 miles a day. I have noticed though ....petrol's coming down a bit. :hmmm:

[p_b82]

For me it was funny, i wrote my fisrt car off and was looking for something to buy for around ?1500, looked at a 420SLI wedge, but was veoted by the parents who were acting as the bank role - family loans much cheaper than banks!
but that wa what opened my eyes to MGR

anyhoo, got a derv 205 puglet with 58 bhp and did about 500million mpg even when trashing the nuts off it, so decided that my next car would be a diesel.

Went to the thruxton BTCC while still at uni must have been 19 or 20 at the time and saw the stand there, with a trophy blue MK1 sat there in all it's glory and i fell in love.

for my 21st birthday my parents bought me an experince day at thruxton - i put off the present of cash towrads a new car till i could buy summit better - and got to drive the 180 round a track.

Did a year in industry, lived with the parents for that, came into some money due to death in the family and also the delayed money from my parents meant that just before my 22nd birthday - walked into a MGR dealer near my parents told them i wanted:
a diesel ZS + hatch model, any colour but yellow (sorry Peter, I did not like it on the MK1 and the MKII wasn't out) but needed to be a 115, under 1 year old but mileage not an issue.

the salesman nmade a few calls, while i wandered round the yard, and let me know he found one in birmingham, 9 months old demonstrator with 15k on the clock. it even had the full body kit, monaco part leather seats and 17" wheels but not the fogs - i got them fitted later.

put a deposit down without seeing the car and went back on my birthday to pick it and pay the balance - which i paid via a cheque and then drove the car away. that was 6 years 2 months and 14 days ago.

the car has done over 83,000 and I have done nearly 70,000 miles myself in the car, even with it being off the road more than on recently i never ever get tired of it. Hell i have driven 3000 miles in it with HGF and now i know how to drive round it, has not let me down!

I still hanker after a 180, but can't justify the running costs - even tho if i had bought one, i would not have sunk as much cash into the car as i have the derv... ah well. Maybe i will treat myself and get me a 260 instead at some point :D

[Jay-ZS+]

I had a XR3i as a first car which was pretty ragged and ended up written off, so wanted another car and my sister was selling her 200, so bought that and had an issue with the srs light, googled it and came across .org. Hung around there for a while and saw someones zs and thought it looked stunning.

After an accident in the 200 I was again after an other car but couldnt quite afford a zs bought an ibiza the same day as my crash off a guy at work and hated it from day one! Used the car as motivation to save up for a zs. I then bought my mk1 120 and loved every minute of it, do regret selling it at times. Although when I saw Murray selling his MK2 180 it was too good to resist. As had always wanted a 180 and here we are!

[carmadbaker]

i was trying to sell my mini one (horrible bmw rubbish!) and a friend at work came wondering in to the office and shouted "don't fancy a ZS V6 do ya?" to which i replied "i won't get insurance."
tried it later that day and it came up at a manageable price, so sold my mini and bought my mates zed! never looked back!

[tb steve]

well i was after a new car as my wrx just wrote off by a drink driver it was happy just sitting out side my house and then got hit by a carlton anyway
i was driving up the road behind a zs a thought that looks ok so i drove up the road (5mins) and i was at the mg dealers 20 mins spin in the zs and thought yer thats nice 2 weeks later i was driving a brand new zs 180 with about 3 miles on the clock 15k bargin lol

[haGGard]

Well my reply might seem quite strange. I'm not actually the owner of one yet, but im fairly sure by the end of the summer i will be, i've set my heart on one!

I've never even considered one before. My mate has owned an MG ZR for the best part of 3 years, i've always given him stick about it calling it a rover etc. One day he took me for a spin in it (his actually had a bigger engine in it, think it was the 1.8 120) and when he put his foot down it took off! Even when i mocked him though i knew deep down i was actually pretty jealous. I love the styling! I was actually looking at getting a scooby first but then i looked up about the high maitenance costs and no doubt insurance (im only 23). Then i drove past the MG ZS in blue (with a big wing on the back!) and thought, thats it! Thats my car! Its affordable, great looks (not too bothered about the dated interior) and from what you guys are telling its got great handling and puts a smile on your faces which for me is what its all about, a car i look forward to driving even if it is just taking me to work! :thumbsup:

[talkingcars]

Having had a couple of Vee engined cars (V6 espace and V8 range rover) I was getting bored of driving the Rover 114 I'd inheritted from my mum and my wife was about to need a car for work so we were going to get a "toy" car for me and she'd have the metty.

I was actually considering a wrx impretza and Mrs TC was surfing autotrader when she came across the ZS. TBH I hadn't even considered one despite having had several MG maestro/montego/metros but this ZS looked good, as I was passing near the dealer the next day I detorured and fell in love, I had a good look around, rang Mrs TC who arranged a test drive that evening, the dealer stayed open late just for us.

We agreed to pay the screen price as long as it had a full service and full tank, how lucky, it was the 60k belt service!

2 and a half years later I still love the car, indeed we have added my wifes ZR (she HGFed the R114), my sons R111 and the MGF to the stable and I still have my T16 maestro which is feeling very unloved but as a daily driver and family runaround the ZS has been the best of many I've owned.

There is currently only 1 car I'd consider as a replacment and that'd be a 260 ZT.

[roverdave81]

i was no my way back from the hosiptal as my misses had just had her 1st scan and i spotted the zs180 in a garage near to the hospital for sale. So i stopped to have a look at it as would make a great family car i as my 220 gsi turbo was ideal really and the rest is history just had to have it.
hear a list of all the car ive had in order
1. mini 1150
2. rover 214si
3. same car with 1.6 gti engine
4. metro 1.1 sport
5. 220 gti
6. mg metro 1300
7. mini 1000
8. same car but with a 1380 race engine
9. rover 220 gti turbo
10. rover 418 diesel
11. rover 620 gsdi
12. rover 216 gsi
13. rover 220 gsi turbo
14. mg zs 180

[peterzs]

Some great cars there, think No. 8 would have been fun.

:smile2::smile2::smile2::smile2:

[Jem]

My dad bought his zs from vospers i went over to the garage to pick it up as soon as he got it out of the garage he said do i want to drive back and thats when my dreams started,It felt so much better than my 414.

I would grab every chance to drive the zed,I just loved the feel of it and the torque,That was my first time driving a derv,Well i had been driving the works vans but thats not the same.

Two years later i had the dreaded HGF but i payed for it to be fixed,But after a week of getting it fixed a old man thought it would be good to drive out of a space while i was driving past so that was the end of the 414 as it wasn't economical to repair,So i went hunting around for cars but i just couldn't find anything i liked as i needed a car asap,So thats when my dad said about having his car as it wasn't a good choice for him to have the zed as it was quite low my grandad and other elderly relatives had problems getting in the car and out of the car,So we came to some money arrangement at that was the end of him driving the zed,He bought another derv (Rover Impression s).

[Hambo-180]

i was no my way back from the hosiptal as my misses had just had her 1st scan and i spotted the zs180 in a garage near to the hospital for sale. So i stopped to have a look at it as would make a great family car i as my 220 gsi turbo was ideal really and the rest is history just had to have it.
hear a list of all the car ive had in order
1. mini 1150
2. rover 214si
3. same car with 1.6 gti engine
4. metro 1.1 sport
5. 220 gti
6. mg metro 1300
7. mini 1000
8. same car but with a 1380 race engine
9. rover 220 gti turbo
10. rover 418 diesel
11. rover 620 gsdi
12. rover 216 gsi
13. rover 220 gsi turbo
14. mg zs 180

What was the 220 GSi Turbo like mate? I had the 220 GSi in BRG, had it for 5 years and loved the thing till i saw a MG ZS 180 and , as you said, the rest is history!

[RichZS180]

I wanted a ZS180 ever since i first saw one! My older sis had a ZR160 from new and let me drive it just after she bought it. I thought yeah this is nice, i love the looks of the ZS, and ever since my dad had a rover 416is (bubble) thats where my obsession started.
My cars to date have been
1. Fiat Uno - 1st car
2. Escort mk4 1.6 - loved that car but had a head on in it.
3. Astra mk3 1.4, probably the worst handling car i have ever driven
4. Fiat Punto HGT - My bro got me into these was nice but ultimately still a fiat and a blody expensive to fix, got rid of it after something started to break everyweek pretty much, which lead to......
5. ZS180 Saloon. This was an absolute bargain. Traded in the punto and never looked back. I love this car to bits, i almost sold it a while back but kept it and have since found a new joy to driving it. I am quite a grandad when it comes to driving and my mates call me Captain slow, but lately i have been burying my right foot more and it just puts a beaming smile on my face everytime i drive it.

[steve80]

I saw a ZS on some special forces program doing J turns and other cool stuff lol, at the time i thought a ZS was too big so got a ZR160, then when the missis dropped another kid, i upgraded to a ZS180, sold that a couple of years later then a few weeks ago i decided i was missing the MG's too much so bought a mk2 ZS120.

[Tommy]

I had a mk4 golf gti t, and after 6 months got pretty bored with it, so i was flicking through the autotrader looking for something fairly cheap but with great performance, spotted a couple of zs's and thought wow! how cheap are they! so i did some research, went and looked at a couple, but they werent in great shape, then a few weeks later spotted this green one a couple of hours away, at the time it was the only mk2 180 on the autotrader website (nationally) so as soon as i saw it i went and had a look, and drove away with it that day! its my 12th car, and by far the best!!!! it always puts a smile on my face. :D

[Stephen]

Grandads had Austins and rovers since for ever!. Grew up with them and i had a 416 SLI ( R8 Shape) and moved onto the (HHR Shape) had 2 of those, both 416 SLI's and moved onto a 45 1.8 and then found the ZS MK2!. All the 416's were when i was 14 - 16 and were insured by gramps:) Here i am with a MK2 ZS and im wanting a bit more space and power! What could my next car be!:shifty: