I`ve had 2 75`s in the space of 6 months.

First was a 1.8 turbo club SE which I liked but could not live with the poor economy, harsh engine and poor spec.
Second is a CDT Conn. SE which I love. Much better economy, smoother drive and much better spec......it has all the toys which add to the driving experience.
Although not as quick as my turbo, it is somehow more satisfying to drive and a lot quieter......you cannot hear the engine at motorway speeds.

One tip I would give is if, like me, you like the smell of leather get some Gliptone Liquid Leather and give the seat facings a going over with it. The smell is divine and resores the aroma of finest English hide....it is used by Rolls-Royce and other luxury car manufacturers. After a few applications the seats permanently take on the smell. I use the conditioner only and keep the applicator cloth in the car.....open the door and you could be sat in a Bentley!!!!!!!!. It really works and is not expensive.

 

PUgwash

So I am not the only gliptone cloth sniffer, I love the smell, I keep mine in the middle cubby box.

Stuart

 

Beautiful ain`t it !!!!!!!

 

I sat in and lusted after, a Connoisseur model when the 75 first came out. I thought it was fabulous. I had a 620 GSi at the time but never thought I could ever afford a 75. I now have a silver 1.8 Conn and I love it. Park next to a low spec BMW and the Bavarian Sierra is the one that looks ineffectual. How people can love a badge so much is beyond me!

 

IMO the nasp 1.8 is better than the turbo version, which I found had a harsh feel to it. Yes the turbo is quicker but you don`t buy a 75 as a quick performance car, you buy it for refinement which it provides in bucket fulls!!!

 

Did months of research before finally getting a ZT-CDTI. Am obsessive over things like value for money yet being different rather than cheap...

Always feel I should drive a British car (as when I eventually go home I know I'll just have to go Jap because cars are so blooming expensive - pure cost control will be only criteria) and MG is as Brit as it comes.

The ZT/75 is the last modern chassis they came up with before B*W shot them in the back. It's well respected, stable and balanced and basically took a bend faster than my MX6 (prev car) on the test drive!

Fuel consumption 45mpg vs 25mpg...and this was while things were under 80p/l!! Servicing interval longer, insurance cheaper than the MX6.

The CDTI is essentially the B*M 320d prev generation - much as we hate them, it is a rather good unit overall. Better residues I think. And got it at a good price too after the collapse (and loss of warrantys, fears of no spare parts etc) but before the (hopeful) ressurection. Ish. You know what I mean

In summary - a beautiful modern British car with an excellent chassis which can handle far more than I'd ever throw at it and almost B*W quality without the follow-the-crowd stigma for cheaper (eventually) than my previous car but newer, safer, more practical and classy.

Want me to go on?

 

Fell in love with them (CDT) when given one as a courtesy car a couple of years ago for the day when my previous car (420 SDi) was in for a service. Did my homework on them and decided to go for the Conn SE CDT Auto. Best car I've ever had. Just 2 year old with 50k trouble free miles on the clock. I usually keep my cars for 7 to 10 years and this one will go beyond that cos everyone who rides in it say its a fantastic car.

 

I bought mine for two very distinct reasons.........

Firstly, I needed a car for long distance work, something that would eat the miles and not ruin my already rather fragile spine in the process. So I'd been looking at a whole scope of vehicles and wandered into the local MGR showroom to have a nosey. Sat in a Conn. CDT and it was very very nice indeed but not in a colour spec I liked (personally I'm not fond of green). Out of idle curiosity I decided to walk round their patch outside and there, in the corner under a tree, was a midnight blue 75. V6, auto, beige interior, alloys, windows, digital air, all the toys I was happy with.

It had come in a few weeks earlier and was a Rover Manager's car, not even a year old, unmarked but distinctly manky and unwashed, unloved and ignored. I'm a sucker for those and paid for it in cash 45 minutes later after it had been cranked into life and gently driven along a dual carriageway to check it wasn't crabbing. What comfort! What sheer silence!

That was 4 years ago, and 100,000 miles later there's still nothing on the market to touch them for the combination of silence and speed. She's not been the most reliable car I've had, but she's had a hard life and still looks utterly gorgeous. I'm going to Cambridge this afternoon from the office in London and then back to Shropshire. In anything else I would dread the journey.

 

My turn!

First of all i fell in Love with the R75 back in 98/99. Working for Land Rover at Solihull there were pre launch cars moving around the plant undergoing some emmissions tests and QZ audits and some benchmarking exercises against competitor vehicles. At the time I myself was working in the QZ department (audit). I remember seeing it for the first time hidden around the back of south works partially covered and disguised. The shape was clearly visible and it looked nice even then with all the tape stuck to it covering the lights up. Then about a week later when we started auditing some of the pre production cars i had my first ride in a fully loaded 75 across the plant and it was then that i really fell in love with it.

Anyway at the time of launch and for a couple of years they were still far to expensive for me and my wage at the time. So when i wanted some refinement i got myself a 600, when the time came to part with it i went on the lookout for a fully loaded 75 as i could now afford one after a couple of payrises and second hand prices dropping a little. So i went to my local MGR dealership and somehow came away with a ZS180....how did that happen? Cracking car and im glad i had it but after 12 months of racing around i realised i needed to slow myself down and save a bit of money. So i was back on the hunt for a fully loaded 75 but this time it needed to have everything to make up for the speed and handling of the ZS.

After some searching i found what seemed to be the car for me. A BRG 75 Con SE CDT with Sat nav and everything....an early 01 Longbridge car. The only problem ...it was nearly 200 miles away in Kent. Had someone view my ZS in the morning and leave a deposit. I was in Kent for 15:30 that same day to see my dream car and after i saw it in the metal and had a drive i was smitten.

The journey back was a dream! Now i offer to drive on any long journeys!

 

I've always been a big fan of Rover, I love the 'Britishness', the wood, the leather and the chrome.

I have always considered Rovers to be a 'bit posh' and as soon as I passed my test in 1997 I had to have one !

Ideally I would have loved the 800 Sterling but obviously as a new driver that was out of the question so I settled for a 200vi followed by a 416SLi, 25iS and 420 Executive.

During the time I owned my 416SLi I attended the launch of the Rover 75 at the 1998 Motorshow and instantly fell in love with the most beautiful car in the World, it was everything I thought a Rover should be, BMW had got it 100% spot on !

From that day I just had to have a Rover 75 and in December 2001 my dream came true when I became the proud owner of a 75 Club SE, 2.0 V6 in Atlantic Blue (the best 75 colour).

As much as I loved my Club SE I really wanted a top of the range model with all the toys and those vital leather seats as all 'proper' Rovers should have and in September 2004 I became the happiest person in the Universe as the owner of a 75 Connoisseur SE, Automatic in White Gold :bgrin2:

 

I bought my ZT after owning a ZS and having an urge for more quality and something a little classier/less boy racer like.

I like the sound proofing, I like being pushed into my seat when I floor the V6, I like the fact 130mph sounds like 70mph (alright, maybe a bit louder) I like the fact my family say "nice car", I like the climate control when it's blisteringly hot weather, I like it's road presence, I like being able to drive half the length of the country and not feeling 80 years old when I arrive.

I don't like the cost of the 18 inch tyres - although they seem to have dropped in price recently - and the alloys are a nightmare to keep clean. Fuel economy could be better but that's mostly my heavy right foot.
My ZT is the best car I've ever owned. I bought it for the class, power, looks and value for money.

 

For me it was the only logical upgrade from my 620ti. Considered a ZS180, but wanted something a little bit quicker

 

For me it was the only logical upgrade from my 620ti. Considered a ZS180, but wanted something a little bit quicker

Love those pics of your car Reverie-very nice

I have a 75 Connoisseur 2.5 V6, bought at two years old with 15k on the clock. Bit of an accident really as I had been testing Honda's but didn't like the latest Accord, got the snotty treatment from a VW dealer and was off to look at a Saab when I drove past the MGR dealer.

Recalled seeing a few 75's so dropped in for a look. They tried to sell me a brand new silver 1.8T but too much £ so they said hang on and drove R40 round from the back. Fell in love Big engine, massively comfortable, real wood and leather and distinctively British. Took a few days to clinch a good deal (I waited to the last day of the month when they wanted the sale a bit more ).

Never regretted it. Brilliant car (though it's a Rover so it can be petulant and needs looking after with £) and now have a few trophies above the fireplace and lots of memories like the Auto Express shoot and the Austin Centenary Cavalcade.

I aim to keep her as a classic so already collecting bits like a Magpie :lol: I'm always on ebay looking for more though prices have got silly recently.

Regards

Mike

 

When the 75 first came out I was one of the uneducated who pointed and muttered the usual about pipes, slippers, fake wood and rip-off of the S-type front end. A few years later I was able to consider buying my first brand-new car and, being of a certain age and mentality, considered a 3 series. Then, while flicking through Top Gear(!) I came across a rather warm review of the oddly-named ZT+190 and worked out that for the price of a zero-spec 318 I could get something with the equivalent of a 325 with all the toys; the test-drive then clinched it. A heart-warming moment came when I went to the petrol station for the first time, there were 12 pumps there, 11 of which had identical 318s lined up alongside with identikit execuclones filling them up. My car stuck out like a cheerleader at a Kathy Burke lookalike contest (however I stand out like Kathy Burke at a cheerleading constest!).

I see many more ZTs these days (usually CDT ZT-Ts for some reason), but it still feels an exclusive car during the nose-to-tail Teutonicness of the morning M3 jams.

 

We're on our 2nd ZT-T 190 now. Though how long that will be the case, who knows. (some of you may know the story about our cars being involved in accidents, the latest one is still up in the air as to whether it will be a write off again).

Anyway, my wife and I have always had rovers, from a couple of Metros (1.1 and 1.4 GTA) and a 420 SLi. When the family grew, we needed a bigger car, and fell in love with the new ZT-T's (this was 2001). Unfortunatley, the budget wouldn't stretch, so we bought a 2.5 V6 Mitsubishi Galant estate. Fantastic car, very rare on the roads and virtually unbreakable. We decided to trade this in last year and got our 1st love, a BRG ZT-T 190. The sound from the exhaust, the sturdy feel and quality of the interior sold me on it immediately! We had nearly 7 months of motoring heaven until it was trashed by a dustbin lorry in June.

We could've gone for another make, but nothing else measured up to the ZT-T. We eventually sourced a cracking '04 ZT-T in July, in the colour and with all the toys we wanted. Heaven! Now our beloved car is in limbo land, waiting to see if the parts to repair it will show up or if the insurance company is going to cut their losses.

If this one goes the way of the 1st, I honestly don't know if I can go with another ZT-T. I don't know if we can take the strain and worry of yet another car search for the perfect car.

In short, I love the power, the refinement, the noise, the ride, the looks from envious drivers in their fords, beemers, etc, the space, the H&K sound system, almost everything. The only things I don't like are the new front end. Our '02 ZT-T had a more sinister look about it, wish MG had kept it. I also don't like the chrome door handles. Nothing else on the car is chrome, they sort of look out of place. Fantastic car, period.

 

I needed an estate so that I could whisk the new baby around in comfort and style and still manage to lug a fair amount of luggage around. I was completely underwhelmed with the majority of the estate market in the UK and hugely impressed with what the ZT-T had to offer. I plumbed for a MY2004 1.8T 160+ 2 weeks before MGR went into administration. I still reckon I got a reasonable deal at 9 months old

Performance of the 1.8T is, IMHO, under estimated. I love the handling of the car, the general performance and the excellent amount of torque steer! :lol: The ZT-T is a well put together car. I intend to keep mine for about 2 more years. I have absolutely no intention of buying a car built in China/by the Chinese with an MG badge on the front so even if a new ZT-T is available, it wouldn't be on my shopping list unfortunately

Things I love about my ZT-T:

Build quality
Performance
Fair amount of toys
Style
Size
It's British
The stealth element (it suprises lots of little chavs!)

Things I don't like about my ZT-T:

Cleaning the 18" alloys
Worrying about parking it away from the general public
Fuel consumption (but that's really my fault)
Noisy brakes (probably need the pads checking)
Poor residuals (although this may even out over 2 years)

Things I hate about my ZT-T:

Er...

 

I first owned a Rover 75 1.8 Club SE 2000W saloon. Paid for some extras..wood rimmed steering wheel, Colour co-ordinated mud flaps and would you believe door handle chrome escutcheons.(anybody else have these? What a great way to stop damage to paintwork from rings etc when opening door handles!) I took it to France on holiday in 2001 and I was amazed at the interest the French chappies gave it...plenty of "Mon Dieus!!" and "Vive l,auto rostbeef!!"

Car had to go though! It was a saloon and petrol.(Not enough load lugging capacity and too thirsty!)
I needed a Tourer and a Diesel so I ordered a MGZT-T.CDTi 135+ in Anthracite way back in Oct 2002. Had to wait until 20th Feb 2003 for it to be built though. 1 week before the 53 REGISTRATION PRE-FIX commenceduch: .

I absolutely adore the car even though I have suffered several electrical faults - ECU failure(Bosch- Germany), Air regulator (twice)(Bosch - Germany), frequent headlamp bulb replacement(made in Romania).

I, like many of the contributors to this Forum, strongly believe in supporting British Industry, put beeing biased aside, having driven many different hire cars in the course of my work, I still prefer MGR products. I intend to keep my ZT-T for as long as is practicable, as it meets all of my driving requirements.

PS. I used to run a small manufacturing company for 10 years producing components for classic Triumphs. The rise of imported copy parts (Taiwan,China,India) eventually assisted in my decision to close my business.

Paul

 

I have had this ZTT 160 since April, done 12,000 miles and has not had any serious problems. This is my second ZT, I had a 190 Auto before.

I needed an estate car that drove like a sporting saloon, and the ZT fits the bill perfectly, it is more excluseive than a Mondeo and better value than an A4 or 3 series.It will be sad if I am not able to replace it with a new one in a year or so time.

 

I first owned a Rover 75 1.8 Club SE 2000W saloon. Paid for some extras..wood rimmed steering wheel, Colour co-ordinated mud flaps and would you believe door handle chrome escutcheons.(anybody else have these? What a great way to stop damage to paintwork from rings etc when opening door handles!) I took it to France on holiday in 2001 and I was amazed at the interest the French chappies gave it...plenty of "Mon Dieus!!" and "Vive l,auto rostbeef!!"

Car had to go though! It was a saloon and petrol.(Not enough load lugging capacity and too thirsty!)

Bought our Moonstone 1.8 Club SE saloon in early 2002 at 8 months old and with 5,500 on the clock. It had belonged to an old gent who I imagine fitted the Rover stereotype! To his credit he had specified some essential extras such as the wood rim steering wheel, matching gearknob (both good), chrome escutcheons (which TBH probably show scratches more than the paint would but still look good), mudflaps (which ground out occasionally), chrome tailpipe (not sure!) and a full size alloy spare (good idea).

It also had what was then an unusual option of the folddown rear seat which we used as the self justification to buy the 75 rather than some dull old hatchback.

Was quite tempted with the idea of a 1.8T and possibly a tourer. Test drove both, loved the 1.8T engine, couldn't quite get over the fact that the tourer boot was smaller than the saloon though, albeit probably more versatile. Also much prefer the sandstone interior to the grey, but sandstone seems very rare in more recent cars - was it dropped?

Still love the car and have no idea what we'd replace it with!

 

I had a 620 si lux, and when time comes to buy a new car I only have 2 options, Alfa and Rover ,and i must admit that i did not like a lot the face lift model I got my second Rover, a conn se cdti,Tomorrow the 15th he will be ONE YEAR OLD and , like a father , i am really pround of this marvellus car He is the most beautiful car in the world to me

 

Saw the 75 launch at the Bimingham motor show in 1998 or 1999.

I was actually looking at the S type Jag which was making its debut, and only happened to glance across at the Rover stand.
Up until this point Rover hadn't built anything that interested me for as long as I could remember, but I had ( and still have ) a passion for the 'P' series cars of the fifties and sixties.
Then I saw the 75 !
I think I probably walked to the Rover stand open mouthed, forgot all about the Jag, and decided there and then, this was the car for me.
A perfect combination of all the best bits of the classic Rovers in a world beating modern car.
Three years later I could finally afford my 1999 1.8 club, in Atlantic blue.
Three years on again and I still love this car, and still think the 75/ZT is one of the best looking cars this side of a Bentley Continental GT.

These cars should have been the start of a great new era for the Rover company, but then these cars never had much of a chance.

 

I always wanted a 'good' Rover but could never afford one until the last few years. I bought a new 45 but as soon as I bought it I realised I had made a huge mistake and traded it in for my 75. I got a good deal and bought a 1.8t Starlight silver conn/se with just under 7k on the clock. Since then I have put all the badges on which were left off under cost cutting and I now have the wood steering wheel, gearknob and handbrake. My only regret is not getting it when I had the original choice. Just one thing annoys me though, my wife doesn't like the 75 because the doors 'feel to high' takes all kinds I suppose!

Ken

 

I've always been keen on BL cars - the Morris Minor, Mini Minor/Austin Seven, the 1100/1300, the Maxi, Triumph Vitesse, TR5/6, Stag, Triumph 2500 PI Saloon and Estate, Dolomite Sprint, Metro (Austin and Rover), Rover P5, SD1, 200 Mk2/400 Mk1, Maestro and Montego - not that I've owned many of them. When I parted with my Montego GTi Estate, I was told I had to get a diesel so I bought what was probably one of the best at the time, a Peugeot 405 Hunter TD; that converted me to diesels. By this time, I'd begun to lose my interest in Rover because it was sold to BMW - I'd rather by a Honda if I had to get anything new (and in fact my wife has now got a Jazz - fantastic little motor). However, when the 75 came out, it did turn my eye. But when BMW sold out so that Rover became 100% GB again, I developed an interest in Rover again and the chance to get a 75 as a diesel estate became a pipe dream. Anyway, after my Pugs radiator dumped its water and wrecked the engine, the search was on. Rover had collapsed and so had prices so I managed to pick up a 2001 75 CDT Conoisseur SE Tourer with 74K (peanuts for a diesel) for £7495. OK so the radio doesn't work all the time, the ABS has an intermittent fault which makes the speedo and fuel gauge a bit eccentric and there are a few rattles, but I have never driven such a beautiful and comfortable car. I can get out after a 300+ mile trip and still not feel jaded.

BTW, what about THAT challenge diesel heads?

 

only rover

hi i am now 43 years young and have owned a few diffrent models of rover (2600 sdi,3500,sdi.metro diesel.214, 800,825,auto 75,20l v6,now a zt-t 190.i am in the motor trade and wont let anyone bring down rover. most of the cars were good i cannot ever remember one letting me down,look after them and they will serve you well.the zt is not the best allround car that goes to the 75 .i wish there would be more in the future ,i am going to get withdrall symtoms . ROVER IS THE BEST. :_poke:

 

The original 75 brochure sold the car to me. As you all probably know, inside was an A4 two page photograph of the dashboard with sandstone beige leather, wood rim wheel & gear knob and sat nav. I can remember gazing at this picture for hours at a time! Nothing else came close. A 214Si turned into a 25iS 1.6 before I could afford my first 75 - a Cowley 2.0V6 Club SE in copperleaf red/ash grey. The lure of the sandstone beige leather in that first brochure became too much - an early Longbridge 2.5 Connoisseur SE with serpents & woodrim wheel & gearknob followed. Now there was only one thing missing - that lovely sat nav screen. My dealer had my ideal 75 waiting in the showroom - Royal blue 2.5 auto Connoisseur SE, sandstone beige, serpents and every factory fited option. Like MikeM, I don't ever intend to let this one go...