2022 MG ZS Reviews

This is the ZS, the smallest SUV in the MG range. It offers city-friendly size, but a bigger-than-you'd think interior. So, is it worth considering? And what about the safety factor? Read on to find out more...

But after spending a week behind the wheel I have to admit to becoming a big fan of the medium-sized MG, which gets the 2.5-litre V6 from the larger model but in a car that weighs 245kg less.The 180 part of the name denotes the engine output in brake horsepower and the result is some spirited performance from what is a real head turner.2.5-litre V6 devlops 133kW of power at 6500rpm and 240Nm of torque at 4000rpm. It's not the most powerful V6 we have tested but it does provide an excellent combination of power and economy.Transmission is five-speed manual only at this stage. #comThat's a shame because the more compact dimensions of the car will appeal to older buyers looking for something a little different, but not prepared to put up with changing gears.Don't get me wrong. The manual is just fine by me, although I hope the action loosens up a little over time. The Gertrag box has a decent set of ratios with a nice long first gear that doesn't run out of puff.The dash from 0-100km/h takes a brisk 7.4 seconds. Performance is generally sharp, but is dulled by a full load of passengers. Exhaust has a nice throaty note.Steering is quick, with nice turn-in and the car sits low and flat in corners. The ride is firm, but not uncomfortable. However it does become easily unsettled on rougher roads, with some jarring from the suspension.Fit and finish of the car is not quite up there with the Japanese, but at the same time it's not bad. A quick squiz inside the boot shows some inattention to detail, particularly the generic gray cloth lining with its unfinished edges.A full aero kit is standard, with some sexy looking side air vents on the front quarter panels. A full size rear spoiler is optional instead of the neat lip job on the boot lid, but that's best left for the kids.Car comes fully equipped. There's only a couple of options including full leather trim, but we reckon the cloth with leather bolsters is just Jim dandy.Standard equipment includes aircon, sport seats, leather trimmed wheel, power windows and mirrors and a CD sound system.Fuel economy from the 55-litre tank was excellent and it is happy to take ordinary unleaded. Official figure is 9.5L/100km and this is pretty close to the mark in the 900km that we chalked up, despite punting it hard.

The ZS 180 is the second of the MG-tweaked Rovers to reach Australia. This sedan comes off the donor Rover 45 and will soon be joined by the baby ZR (Rover 25) hot hatch.As befits a mid-sized sedan of breeding, the ZS has no look-at-me body bits. There is no prominent spoiler, no giant air dam, no outrageously flared arches and a distinct lack of eye-grabbing decals.Yet, it attracted a surprising amount of interest and comment during the road test. The styling was widely praised and the $39,990 price tag considered most realistic.The 2.5-litre quad cam V6 in the ZS, the same engine used in the considerably beefier ZT and Rover 75, is understandably less dozy in the smaller car.It is still no class leader and the issue of poor power/torque matching at lower revs remains, however the engine's need to be driven hard is well suited to the ZS ethos.Above 3000rpm the little six starts to settle into its work, from 4000 to 5500rpm it is in its element with little extra benefit from spinning out to the 6500-plus redline. Keeping the engine happy often necessitates chasing between third and fourth gear but the effort is rewarded. Fifth gear is purely for cruising with even moderate hills posing difficulties at suburban speeds.Clutch take-up in the test car was at the very bottom of the pedal's travel – nice for quick shifting but you need to be firm on the pedal to ensure a fold of carpet underfoot doesn't interfere.MG claims a combined cycle fuel economy of 9.5L/100km for the ZS. We averaged 10.2 but the ZS does demand enthusiastic driving – not a fuel economy touchstone.Dynamically, the ZS is a pin-up boy for front drivers. With the exception of the low-speed turning circle – atrocious – the chassis performs a treat. Ride is a good compromise between comfort and stability with the low-set suspension doing a generally sterling job over Sydney's testing road surfaces.The double wishbone McPherson front and independent multi-link rear – roll bars at both ends – are fairly standard fare but do work well.Turn-in is good without being exceptional but there is a comforting stability to the front geometry under load.There is a degree of understeer at the extreme but overall the ZS performs admirably. The interior fitment of the ZS is not particularly eye-catching but it is clean and neat.There is comfortable room for four adults – a fifth makes the rear a squeeze for short travel only. Luggage space is excellent and with the capacity to fold the rear seats flat it increases to a huge 930 litres.The sports-style seats are comfortable with good bolstering and most of the instrumentation is easily to hand.The locally fitted Eurovox radio has good quality sound with a CD slot hidden behind the drop-down face of the unit. In the test car the unit had the annoying habit of not retaining a sound level but rather returning to a pre-set soft level whenever the engine was turned off.There was also some difficulty in turning off the airconditioning to run fan-only airflow.A Motor Group Australia spokesman, importer of Rover and MG, says while the unit lacks an on/off button selecting the economy setting actually turns the compressor off.Quirky, indeed.