Hi and Welcome.
tis good if your considering an MG ZS180 especialy in the current economic climate.
As for the differences between the cars, there isnt that much, but in terms of modern looking the Mk2(Facelift Model) it wins it hands down.
As for handling wise, well the 2 cars are the same althought the Facelift model has different width of wheels (7.5') these are not just to look wider but they acutally make the facelift model handle slightly better too.
As for the build quality, MGRover went into a period of cost reduction(Until they went into liquidation) this was called project drive and a lot of items started to disappear in all of the cars built buy MGRover, so things like sound deadening and even not fully painting the shells were part of the cost saving.
As for spare wheels they did come with a full size spare, but it was a cost option and a lot of the cars came from the factory with a Instant Tyre Repair kit (A tin of tyre weld stuff, googles and gloves plus a small air compressor).
The only things to look out for as problems and is well documented on all the MG forums are:
- Plenum Chamber Rattles (can be caused by the V.I.S Issues)
- V.I.S Problems (both Power and Balence)
- Clutch Master and slave Cylinders
Also, the ZS 180 inparticular can if not setup properly have problems with scrubbing the inside of the front tyres, this is due to the suspension geometry and the weight of the heavier(although Lightweight) V6 engine.
These are only the few in not minor problems the car has, it is probably one of the best front wheel drive cars currently on the roads, and has a fantasic suspension setup too, what other car has a double front wishbone type suspension as a production class car, not many!