MG Rover News…

Activity surrounding MG Rover continues to attract an inordinate degree of press attention, many with the attitude of vultures and hyenas, although most have moved off to find real carcasses to plunder. I expect most of you will have seen and read much on the recent new Rover small car, however here is some filtered information that may have been hidden in the smoke of higher profile news.

CityRover

July 8th was the unveiling of the new CityRover to provide MG Rover with a much-needed presence in the small car category, which accounts for 1.1 million units per year in the European markets. The previous Metro and Rover 100 models accounted for a third of the old Rover Group production so the demise of the Rover 100 in 1998 made a huge hole in production and market volume, which has never been recovered.

The new car is based on the Tata Indica (meaning Indian Car) and was originally designed for them by the Italian design studio IDEA in the mid 1990s and is a thoroughly modern design. Tata being a 9 billion-dollar modern conglomerate, just to dispel any misconceptions about back street engineering. Having been in production in its current form since 2001, and being India’s top selling model it has a proven and strong record.

CityRover features external changes to the front and rear bumpers and rear lights to help give the car an individual Rover look. Wheels are enlarged to 14″, brakes feature larger front discs, the suspension is lowered and features revised rates. There is but one engine a 1400cc 4 cylinder 8 valve, with Peugeot heritage, that provides a very punchy 85PS and similar number for torque married to a 5 speed manual gearbox. Inside the roomy and tall cabin is a new, and very comfortable, MG Rover designed interior plus attractive instruments. Equipment levels are competitive and initial static impressions are quite positive, especially in view of the projected on the road (retail) prices from £6500. Overall, this writer believes that the package should do well in the typical urban ‘shopping trolley’ and ‘school run’ environment and meet the target sales levels of 30,000 to 40,000 per annum.

MG Rover was at pains to point out that this is a single model deal done with Tata of India, but clearly our and other MG orientated press interest centres around what other variants can be created from this strong and flexible platform. Already there are clear indications in this direction as Tata sells the Indigo booted version, and has shown a 2 seat sports named Aria, in the mould of an MG Midget, at the Geneva motor show. The lips may be tight but the logic of closer collaboration and other projects is obvious should the CityRover meet or exceed its sales targets. The next piece of this jigsaw puzzle will be presented once people get to drive CityRover.

Streetwise

CityRover was accompanied at its launch by a new variation of the Rover 25 called simply Streetwise. This carries the tough look of what has become known as ‘soft roaders’, cars with the 4X4 look but with simple running gear often with just two wheel drive. Initial impressions were surprisingly positive and general comments from a wide range of non car people has been very positive too. The new front and rear panels together with the wheelarch and side rubbing strips give a very tough appearance and the raised ride height is further enhanced by the use of functional roof bars and chunky 16″ wheels. Inside there are a number of changes and overall there is an indication of the direction that will be seen with the whole 25 range for 2004, some of which will percolate onto the MG ZR too.

Available in 3 and 5 door forms with a wider range of colours including Trophy Yellow and Blue, they are sure to have a very strong presence. Engines will initially be 1400 petrol and 2000 diesel as seen in other models with a stated possibility of an 1800cc Stepspeed version later, plus other variants too. The larger 16″ wheels and the 205/50×16 tyres is reflected in minor lowering of the gearing to compensate for their larger diameter. Priced from £9500 and available later in 2003 this model should actually move quite well.

MG ZS 110 and ZT120

Almost hidden during the CityRover launch was reference to two new MG model options, the ZS110 and ZT120. Tax efficiency related to CO2 emissions creates a major pressure on product plans, plus a comment at the launch. “One thing we did learn from BMW was that they sold more 1600cc cars.” This provided the platform for these two introductions.

The ZS 110, available only in 5 door form, uses a 109PS 1600 cc K series engine found in the sister Rover 45 version, married to the responsive MG chassis fitted with new 5 spoke 15″ alloys running 195/50×15 tyres. The package delivers acceleration in the sub 10 seconds to 60mph and tops out at 119mph. In return it only uses fuel at the rate of 40.2mph on the combined cycle giving it an efficient 168 g/kg CO5 emission rate. The price is also a competitive £10995.

MG ZS 110

MG ZT 120

The ZT 120 was launched directly at the fleet market and is available in both saloon and tourer body styles. Using the familiar 120PS version of the 1800 K series engine fitted to many other MG Rover cars the combination provides a credible degree of performance for the very competent chassis. Bare figures are a top end of 121mph (saloon) 117mph (Tourer), acceleration to 60mph 10.9secs (saloon) 11.4secs (Tourer). Visually the car sports new 17″ 5 spoke alloys wearing 215/50×15 tyres, 1″ smaller in diameter than found on all other ZTs to date. Of more importance, since it is aimed at the fleet market, is an on the road price from £15995 allied to fuel consumption on the combined cycle of 36.4mpg and CO2 emissions of 184g/km.

To many these introductions are far from the theme that means MG to them, but equally there is a sizeable number of potential buyers of MGs who are locked down by other criteria that the extension of these models means that an MG will be within their reach. In the short term that sells additional car and hopefully long term some of these new buyer will become true MG enthusiasts and go on to buy a range of other MG cars, old and new.

Roger Parker

Additional news…
An MG SV, in near production spec, was at the Club’s national event at Brands hatch in May, and is seen in the July issue of Enjoying MG. The path of this model has seen some ups and downs with one of the most recent comments being the delays and lack of communication from MG Rover, especially to those who have ordered one. Having had the real pleasure of the company of Giordano Cassarini, the car’s chief engineer, with the SV at Brands he was able to speak with a number of potential owners and pass on useful information to placate some of their concerns. It has to be said that at the time of writing (July 2003) information is still very thin on the ground and MG Rover needs to address this failing if it is not to alienate committed buyers and lose them as a result.

After the press launch for CityRover was a dealer launch and once the press had departed two extra models were driven into the auditorium. This was a bright yellow SV and a dark blue ZT-T 260 Tourer, both apparently production spec cars. Seeing these two in an apparent finished state was very encouraging since there has been much comment and disappointment on the delays that have affected both cars and the implications drawn from their non arrival. What I saw here was very impressive and the ZT-T 260 especially is a car I would most definitely wish to own. In some eyes it will be to reserved, but the standard aggressive look of the ZT front is now supported by the two double tailpipes, one on each side of the car that is likely to be the view most will have! The sound these emit is just right, subdued for normal conditions but open the throttle and the deep roar makes the latent potential quite clear. The appearance of these two models at this venue bodes well for a public release in the near future.