Zs180s not as quick as modern cars now??

[Mat C]

2.5 is hardly a large displacement! But that rattly Renault will show most cars a clean pair of heels, any time, any place! Plus the handling is extraordinary! Imagine if the engineers had been sober when they designed the top of the range ZS, we'd have had a cracking turbo 4 pot with at least 200bhp to shove it beyond the old 200 'Tomcat' turbo. A few hundred quid spent and we'd have easily achieved 250+ bhp. But no, they though a thirsty, unclean, heavy V6 was the way to go! It's a good thing that stuff like economy, power and speed don't bother me that much or my 180 would have gone long ago!

[Skillen]

So smooth though

Oh it's rapid.
Got the joys of taking it to work with me while he was on holiday.
It's a great car. The 19's took a bit of getting used to though. So harsh on bumps!

Makes 100 feel like 50 as it gets there too easily.
Throttle response is a lot different though its weird waiting for it on normal driving but when you cane it and turn it to sport it really livens up.

Still I prefer the smooth 6pot.

[Mat C]

I'd take the Renault any day! Though saying that, after driving around in a 350+BHP Audi S3 for a while that would win hands down! 0-60 was easily about 4.5 due to that awesome Quattro chassis, the 6 speed box had instant power at any time, any gear - even 6th at 'motorway speeds' - boot it and it's gone! Not bad considering 12K will get you a decent tuned one!

[stamford]

I quite like the idea of shoe-horning the engine and box out of a VXR Vectra into the ZS just for giggles. Soundtrack retained, turbo kick, good gearing and lots of potential. If I had the budget I would have bought the VXR Vectra estate rather than the Elite, but sense stepped in!

[R8NMG]

Originally Posted by Mat C

But no, they though a thirsty, unclean, heavy V6 was the way to go!

To be fair back in the late 90s when the ZS was being designed, no one really care much about economy and environment. Big engines were the thing to have.

[Maxfly]

A 180 vs a Clio 182 is very well matched IMO. Having chased one round knockhill they were very close booting out of corners and the ZS would feel in what gap appeared. Ended up sitting right behind on corners having to back off. Any time have had one in front it is same story acceleration wise.
Now am pretty sure they were 182's, 54 reg or younger with the twin exhausts

[peterzs]

After 10 years or so, no one can call the ZS dated, still looks mean and fast.

Wonder if the modern Euro boxes will look as good????

Doubt it.

[Dan1971]

Originally Posted by Mat C

There were a lot of family cars back in 2001 when the 180 came out that were faster, so now it's a fore gone conclusion! To be fair, and not wishing to down anyone's cars here (as i own a 180 after all!) the ZS180 never was fast!! 0-60 in 7.3? Yeah, dead fast!! Mid range is average at best, top end is poor too. A couple of weeks back i borrowed a 6 year old Audi S3 that had been breathed on a bit. Now that was fast, it would make mince meat of any MG ever made, puny SV-R included. I don't think you can state that since the 6R4 their has ever been a fast MG, not even the ZT260 was fast. Asthmatic is a better description!! They might be a bit quicker than the average car (I'm talking ZR160, ZS180, ZT190, ZT260 - sorry, but below them the average van will beat you) but we need to face facts, MG's are not fast and most family cars wont just keep up, they'll show us a clean pair of heels!

Can't compare a ZS with an S3 Audi. An average van .... Rubbish.

[petet16]

I don't see how you can compare the zs whose spec is as the same as it was in 2001 and has been out of production since 2005, with a car built in 2007 that probably cost a great deal more £££ than a zs.

Having made the above statement the 180 always felt short of a few bhp to me, and I'm sure had MGR had a decent budget available they'd have addressed that issue.

[kev mocko]

Very true pete-t,I think the same if mg-r had more money to spend it would have been made a little quicker than what they are,But i also think the engine design is quite old now still a quick car but it cant be compared to faster audis and things like that as theyre all a lot of modern technology gone into those car being newer builds where the zs dates back a lot longer but if im right is quite a reliable engine,just a tad on the thirsty side,but i do like it but time will tell if i can afford to keep the running costs and ridiculous road tax costs mine being the higher tax bracket,Ive even thought about selling it again and getting one before the rip off tax bracket so i can still keep one,Mine is £265 6 months :-@