New MG ZS

[Lukeus101]

MG need something sporty in the lineup to survive imo

[Dan1971]

Originally Posted by Lukeus101

MG need something sporty in the lineup to survive imo

The thing is, I disagree.

For a brand to survive they need turnover. The MG3 is proving a success. I think the crossover - GS I think they have called it will bring in some money too. Low end cost with decent spec and will compete well for the private family money. This "ZS" will also compete with the Juke. Lets face it - there are mini/medium SUVs and Jukes everywhere. Once the accountants are happy, they will give the green light to the sporty little number that they put on hold.

For me though and we need to acknowledge this - this isn't the MG of old at all. This is a new business venture using the name of a company with history to create interest. Personally I'd have been far happier to see Roewe being used for these type models and for them to have left the MG designation for later sports models, or sportier variants - So for me for example the MG3 would be a Roewe 3 in normal guise but a 200bhp 3 would be an MG3. But, the bean counters have decided to make an impact and to generate the customer base they needed to use the name. So be it.

[Lukeus101]

No need to apologise Dan

The 3 has a lot of potential and you do see a few around and about. Its cheap, well spec'd and not bad to drive by all accounts.

I agree with you in that they need to swell the coughers and hopefully the GS will do that. Spending a lot of time on the road it seems like the Juke-like cars are very popular especially the cheaper ones, lately Ikeep spotting the Ssanyong Korondo everywhere so they can't be doing bad. I just feel like MG won't be that competitive in an already crowded market, I really want them too though

What made me post that comment was that I got rather up and personal with a GS at Gaydon on the weekend...it looks rather cramped, interior looks/feels very cheap (even by ZS standards lol) and I was quite underwhelmed as a whole.

I will more than likely be wrong in all aspects...so ignore the whole post

[p_b82]

I think the way that they tried to shoe-horn the MG into the new product releases, was just wrong, the way it has been marketed and sold has been poor as well throughout.

I agree, they would probably have been better to avoid using MG, as lets be honest very few existing MG fans have actually got a 3 or a 6 (or kept them long), so they would not have been any worse off starting with a new brand name.

As also stated, they could then do a 'sporty version' or 2 of each of the Rowe models that were slightly more upmarket/faster/better ride etc than. sales could then have been lower as it was the 'tuning arm' of the main parent company.

But that approach would only have worked if the cars were really quite good underneath, and apart from the 3, so far that has not been what the motoring press has said... they've not been bad, but there are better alternatives out there either in terms of ride/economy/spec/budget etc

[Lukeus101]

We need something a bit more like...

[R8NMG]

Originally Posted by Dan1971

So for me for example the MG3 would be a Roewe 3 in normal guise but a 200bhp 3 would be an MG3. But, the bean counters have decided to make an impact and to generate the customer base they needed to use the name. So be it.

Wouldn't it have been better to introduce higher performance MG3 like 200bhp to the existing model rather than rebadging to Roewe 3? Even the old ZR had smaller engines available like the 105 and 120 models.

[Dan1971]

Depends I guess on if you thought the lower ZR / ZS / ZT models were worth having.

I'm not saying re-badge them now. What I meant was they should not have been MGs in the first place. They should have been Roewe models from the outset then the MG models introduced as the performance tuned variants.

[Dan1971]

That "MG5" just looks like a 6 on lowered suspension, a bodykit and decent alloys. Smokey's will look like that once his warranty runs out I have no doubt.

[talkingcars]

Yeah but they could have done with a sporty version from the outset, even I'd consider that 5 above.