I brought a copy today cause i was bored on my break. Just read it

"MG have stuck with the 1.8-litre engine... the one with the leaky headgasket. They've re-designed it to counter that problem but it's still noisy"


They've quoted it is "MG Total Flop".

 

I read it too, and i'd still buy one, orange with black alloys, or black with black alloys, shame i aint got £16/17k and £2k to insure it, lol

 

How about a TF on a 2008 for £12.5K ?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/MG-TF-Convertible_W0QQitemZ150277831189QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item150277831189&_trkparms=39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A3%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

If it had a German badge the review would be totally different. :cus:

MGR have always suffered a bad reputation due to the so called motoring press. At least we know that the products are ok.

 

If i was MG, a bad review from 'News Of The World' would hardly have me shaking in my boots, it's probably the second worst newspaper in this country, first being The Daily Sport/Sunday Sport.

 

I'm not so sure about that.... The Daily Sport has something in it worth looking at. :naughty:

Who actually does the road tests and car review write ups for the News of the World? I've never read it so dno't know if they're any good or not.

 

Its the News of the World for crikeys sake.. hardly known for quality journalism.. amazed anyone here is stupid enough to buy it let alone read it..

 

This has always been a problem i think with a lot of the british press not getting behind mg-rover when it was going so help to giving it its bad rep ! So prob gonna be the same story wit mg now !

 

Not wishing this discussion to turn into a heavy & heated one about nationalism, but there is something seriously wrong with the English press as typified by the News of the World. They constantly berate and disparage any automotive good news story, and have never been supporters of the car industry here - particularly MGR. It's very sad, as the News of the World is a big seller and does influence opinion, whether we like it or not.

In Scotland, the reports about the relaunch of MG have been very positive. The Daily Record ran an excellent piece last Friday with a fab pic of an orange TF LE500 in all it's glory along with an advert for AutoEcosse in Dundee who is the only MG dealer north of the border.

MGR products sold well in Scotland right up until the closure (despite the Union Jack badges!), and I believe will do so again, especially when the new metal starts appearing.

 

...MGR products sold well in Scotland right up until the closure (despite the Union Jack badges!), and I believe will do so again, especially when the new metal starts appearing.

just as a factual question - don't Scottish people see themselves as British any more, then?

 

James Foxall is the motoring journalist - who? exactly!

I have just read the article this morning and its particularly bad journalism. This guy doesnt seem to have a clue - its badly written and imo pretty amateurish - almost like he is trying to be a Clarkson wannabee but failing miserably.

Its a shame as the other reports I have read have been quite promising and even The Sun was a balanced review - Isnt the Nudes of the World run by the same people?

I may drop them an email and see if I get a response.

 

James Foxall is the motoring journalist - who? exactly!

I have just read the article this morning and its particularly bad journalism. This guy doesnt seem to have a clue - its badly written and imo pretty amateurish - almost like he is trying to be a Clarkson wannabee but failing miserably.

Its a shame as the other reports I have read have been quite promising and even The Sun was a balanced review - Isnt the Nudes of the World run by the same people?

I may drop them an email and see if I get a response.

I would say he's called Foxall because that what he knows.

 

Its the kind of article I expect form the news of the world, it sums the paper up. crap.

 

OMG.. you guy's make me WEEP...... this is WHY Rover/MG/BL/BMC etc went under! Take off your rose tinted spectacles....the reason Rovers/MG's got bad reviews was that they were overall pretty crap compared to modern cars from other manufacturers! The 25 and 45 were CREAKINGLY ancient.... the 75 stood up but had an old man look and image...the ZT was like a halfords conversion of the 75! and a 'NEW' TF... ancient ancient ancient..... so they have changed the dials and fixed the engine that should have been sorted YEARS ago.


If anyone ever gives a bad review of an MG or Rover then we hear 'the crap jurno crap press... it closed MG Rover *******S' ....NO IT DIDNT.....MG Rover did it themsleves. If MAYBE the 'new' (chinese!!!) owners too heed of bad reviews and made a car that made u go WOW rather then YET again rehashing old stuff, then MG MAYBE would be worth inversting in again.. untill then....



Now ill wait for the abuse!!!!!!

 

the reason Rovers/MG's got bad reviews was that they were overall pretty crap compared to modern cars from other manufacturers! The 25 and 45 were CREAKINGLY ancient....

Spoken by somebody who obviously has never been in one. Drive a 45/ZS and then get in a BRAND NEW astra for example, and it just makes you realise how good a 45/ZS really was. Yes it was an old design, but a good one never the less. Everybody is entiltled to their oppinions, and nobody on here will try to say that every car that MGR ever made was 100% good, because they wern't. However most negative stuff you read is written by people who have never driven an MGR product, or who have been unfortunate to get a bad one.

 

You're totally wrong about the ZT mate, IMO it was a subtle, and very competent, the MG version suited the styling, and the ZT was pretty popular with buyers.

As for this review, it seems to go against the mostly positive reviews, if MGR released a bad product most of us were big enough to admit it.

 

Ok I owned a r200 ( R8 ) a 800 400 75 and now a R8 cabriolet so I have experience!!!!!!!!!!! and there NOT up to the mark... get real!!!!!

 

carn't see a 25/ZR 45/ZS in that lot, and they were the ones you quoted. If you have no experiance of the models, SHUT UP

 

Oh so a 45 was transformed from the 400? mmm new lights... same engines same interior ( untill the very last model had a slihjtly newer dashboard...) same basic shell....oh and project drive deleted all sorts of bits .. no i am real the problem with MGR was OLD undeveloped models...and sticking an MG badge on the front wont change that!

Sadly I new id get these replies that just proves it to me that MGR was never going to succeed with attitiudes like this!


ho hum

 

You asked for it. Rubbishing MGR products on an MGR fansite is like wearing a copper suit and standing on top of a mountain in a thunderstorm and shouting all Gods are b******s

 

Obvioulsy like all reviews of things... cars/films/music/etc can be good and bad. I just hate the reaction here that IF its a bad review then the jurnos are crap biased inbred mental cases... etc etc... just take it on the chin and realise that sometimes they MITE be right! I can;t say im bothered about a chinese company thats bought a name TBH.... Id rather a proper RIver/MG owned and run IN this country.... its nit going to happen so sadly thats it!

 

The problem I have with the review is the sensationalist statements, with no sign of objectiveness.

While I expect that sort of thing from the main body of the rag, I don't expect it past the centre pages.

Personally, I think they would be better off dumping Foxall and getting Ken Gibson who does the motoring pages of The Sun to do it instead.

They may get articles that are factual that way, rather than regurgitating incorrect information, gleaned from what a man in the pub said.

 

The problem I have with the review is the sensationalist statements, with no sign of objectiveness.

"Sensationalist statements" - where

MG Total Flop

Its like stepping back into an old nightmare.

The famous MG badge is short for Morris Garages-but their latest model is, fankly, just short on everything.
And the TF in MGTF is easy to work out-in this case, Total Flop.

For after pitching it against its feircest rival, Mazda's MX5, i can only assume anyone spending their own money on one of these is nuttier than a bag of cashews.

The TF is the first model to come out of the 'new' Chinese owned MG - although it's a rework of Britains best selling roadster from the nineties.
Other than being assembled at Longbridge in the west midlands out of parts made in China (old ones were built here from scratch until 2005) this TF's little different from the previous model.

It gets a new grill, they've tarted up the interior with new materials, and beneath the body they've tweaked the engine and suspension. But getting in it is still like stepping back in time.

O rather its like having another version of the same bad dream. The one where you sit so high up you feel like you're perched on the car rather than snuggled into it.

Its the same nightmare that sees you clinging on to a steering wheel thats too far away but still jams your left leg onto the clutch.

The pedal box traps my size 10s and the buttons on the dash look like they've come from as far back as British Leyland, let alone British-owned MG.

NOISY.

Shockingly you can see daylight through the gaps around the edge of the sloppy fitting hood which leaked like a colander.

In the back, MG have stuck with the 1.8 litre engine...the one with a leaky head gasket. They've redesigned it to counter that problem but its still noisy.
Never mind. You don't hear the racket because of all the road noise-which means you won't be nicked for going too fast on the motorway because you won't want to go over 70mph.

 

I know the car is a limited edition and has mainly been reintroduced to kickstart the MG brand but once the initial excitement has died down i cant see many being sold at all. You can buy a near identical MGTF for £7000-8000 for a mint one so why buy new?

 

But that could be said for most cars.

Why buy a Ford KA now, when it looks the same as a 1997 P reg one?

I bought several Rover 75's, even though they were the same spec, albeit different colours, and an extra option or two chosen.

People buy new cars because they want something new and different to what they already have.

 

That's true - I'd forgotten about that.

 

Interesting - i'm at a loss to understand how an instantly forgettable piece of minority journalism (or attempt at journalism) caused this spat??!!! Answers on yesterdays discarded and forgotten copies of NOTW please........

 

theres always the rose tinted glasses argument but if you love a car or manufacturer then take the rough with the smooth i say

 

The pedal box traps my size 10s

I find that odd, unless he wears size 10 clown shoes as the pedals are some of the best laid out on any car I've driven

 

well I only wear size 8 and it catches me occasionally however despite being able to see daylight through my hood edges it never leaks and i don't find it all that noisy at 70+(...where legislation allows ) (why would a law abiding journo be bothered about that anyway?)

 

**stands by for a flaming**

Is it me or are MG-Rs (& 'hopefully' their successors) the 'new' Alphas???

When you read the reviews, they are full of bad points about the mechanics, about the build etc..... the depreciation makes Zimbabwes inflation look good etc etc

But if you own one & your driving down a twisting country road..... it 'Just Works'!!! :2c:

Even Clarkson cant hide his joy sometimes & he's renowned for his belittling of MG-R. His amazment of the relentless power of the ZT V8 (0-120 (or something) in 4th gear!!) & the pure excitement of the SV (he was smiling like a kid in a sweety shop during that review!!).

The feeling i got driving my 'bubble' is something ive NEVER got with any other car ive owned/hired/driven!!
If you want a car to take you up & down the motorway everyday, fair enough, go for a nice reliable (& totally VACANT) BMW..... to get a bit of passion, a bit of feeling.... to get that silly grin on your face when it all works perfectly..... sometimes there has to be imperfections! :2c:

 

But if you own one & your driving down a twisting country road..... it 'Just Works'!!!

The feeling i got driving my 'bubble' is something ive NEVER got with any other car ive owned/hired/driven!!
If you want a car to take you up & down the motorway everyday, fair enough, go for a nice reliable (& totally VACANT) BMW..... to get a bit of passion, a bit of feeling.... to get that silly grin on your face when it all works perfectly..... sometimes there has to be imperfections! :2c:

I found some twisty country road last week, and I fancied a drive down it. Needless to say your absolutely right.....theres summink about it. Something I could never get from my 1.4 astra!

Oh and by the way.....I also drive 20 miles down the a27 3 or 4 times a week, sometimes motorways. Done 400 miles last week - never any issues.....I dont need a bmw.

 

I dont see how people can get exited about the new TF, its design comes from the mid 90's a few mod cons wont help it sell for 16k you'd be better off with an mx5.

 

What, an MX-5 that dates from the '80s? Well 1989 anyway...

Nice 'modern' motor that MX-5, what with it's 1980s technology...

 

it doesnt really matter what era its come from, if its good and fun to drive, i dont see why you wouldn't get excited.
Remember a lot of people probably dont even realise that MGR went under, and the TF doesnt look out of place next to a new MX-5 in terms of looks and desirablility. It was ahead of its time in that respect.

its placebo at the end of the day, hence why the marketing has got to be spot on. A bit like the Jag XF ads which after a quiet period seem to be on every other ad break at the moment.

 

The only fun people will get is when they have a good laugh at the Chinese for continuing a car that is essentially from the mid 90's, how can they be taken seriously? Its a primative design, tweeking and adding some mod cons just seems pointless, why not start again and provide something thats new, creative and can compete in all aspects with others in its class. Lets face it, its not going to set any new banchmarks.

I know this is a MG-R forum and I would like to see the car do well, but I seriously dont see how can it can.

Rob

 

The old one sold very well - better than the MX5 - and the LE500 is nearly sold out.

Why do you think it will be a flop? Have you ever driven an F or TF? IMHO they are great fun to drive, and that's the point.

 

The new TF LE500 may well be selling good in the UK, but in China its another story altogether!

Build numbers for the MGTF are as follows:
July 23 MGTF's built
June 74 MGTF's built
May 68 MGTF's built.

Guess the price, around 250,000rmb after various discounts, is still too high for most Chinese sports car lovers.

They should drop the price to Hyundai Coupe territory, and watch them fly out of the factory.