MG set to return.....finally......well actually maybe.....they have a

johnos1984

Well folks the MG6 is finally about to be released onto the British market.
By finally I mean nobody actually knows when but my sources confirm Autocar will (again) be doing the first test of the car next month when it is revealed to the motoring press.

Today a new website and badge have been launched, and they have a lovely facebook page.

Now I'm not very popular at the minute with most of the MG crowd as I may of leaked all the details of the launch two days early and told them how epically rubbish the marketing plan is.

Anyway the new website is www.mgmotor.co.uk. and you can find them on facebook also.

My question is this: would anyone actually buy one?

I'd like to but even I would have great concerns (N-series engine, a light reworking of the K-series) Chinese quality control and the fact it only comes in petrol and has a 3 year/60K mile warranty.
Oh and depreciation

freighter

Arent they glorified Rovers???.

johnos1984

freighter wrote: »

Arent they glorified Rovers???.

They used to be generally badge engineered British cars of various makes throughout the years.

this model is their own but it is heavily based underneath on the 75 floorpan and running gear.

I understand Kcgarages are the official importer in Churchtown

freighter

johnos1984 wrote: »

They used to be generally badge engineered British cars of various makes throughout the years.

this model is their own but it is heavily based underneath on the 75 floorpan and running gear.

I understand Kcgarages are the official importer in Churchtown

Oh!! Gus Corrigans place???

johnos1984

freighter wrote: »

Oh!! Gus Corrigans place???

Aye

They used to be the importer for the old MGR stuff back before the company went belly up, although I have found their knowledge on the cars lacking these days

Stevie Dakota

Don't know why anyone would bother, the game has moved on and this thing really looks poor. MG will never have the financial muscle to produce anything other that tired old tat.

Kia have their Optima coming which shows how it should be done.

johnos1984

Don't forget MG is owned by China now so financial backing in theory shouldn't be a problem.

I do agree though, the car has been on sale their for nearly 2 years and is starting to look dated. it reminds me of the last Primera

bazz26

No diesel option from what I can see so the Irish will not buy it.

fonecrusher1

The mg6 exterior looks ok. A fusion of a different few hatchbacks on the market. Hate to say it but from a few of the close up interior pics its not looking great. The beautiful shot of the glovebox is...odd. Theres nothing in any of the pics that makes me want one.
The mg tf just looks the same as ever. In fact the interior looks old school if anything. Ok fair enough if the new cars are going to be priced very competitively in the kia/hyundai/chevrolet sort of end of the market they might stand a chance but even then they might struggle. Hyundai & kia have stepped up their quality big time in the last few years.

I can't see MG having a huge comeback to be honest. A few hundred hardcore fans aren't going to save them.

bryaner

Where the fcuk is Roverjames?? He'd normally be on this thread faster than a cheetah after a gazelle..

Stevie Dakota

bryaner wrote: »

Where the fcuk is Roverjames?? He'd normally be on this thread faster than a cheetah after a gazelle..

He's getting his slippers re-soled.

bryaner

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

He's getting his slippers re-soled.

johnos1984

Fonecrusher from talking to people about the interior specifically, people who have been in it and worked on it, the interior quality is sub Kia et al levels of quality, panel gaps, cheap plastic and sharp edges abound. the game has moved on from that nonsense.

I hope I'm wrong of course and will be awaiting a test drive in it when it arrives. Out of any of the brands i can see the MG returning but not if the hairy MGOC is left in charge of advising the marketing department.

New customer and new blood is needed

Oh and its priced firmly at the higher end of the market in Britain with prices form £16-£20k mark.

Mind you I do like the saloon version

VolvoMan

IMO, they can make claim to it all they want, but this car has very little relevance to MG history. It might as well be a brand new car from a brand new company.

I hear that the only parts shared with the Rover 75 are the front subframe and the engines, which are redesigned K Series (now designated N Series).

johnos1984

VolvoMan wrote: »

I hear that the only parts shared with the Rover 75 are the front subframe and the engines, which are redesigned K Series (now designated N Series).

As said above however the turbo has been replummed and as far as I know the rear suspension layout is very similar

IMO, they can make claim to it all they want, but this car has very little relevance to MG history. It might as well be a brand new car from a brand new company.

Much like Volvo then....;)

bryaner

bryaner wrote: »

Where the fcuk is Roverjames?? He'd normally be on this thread faster than a cheetah after a gazelle..

Old news

johnos1984

RoverJames wrote: »

Old news

Your very much correct, but I really put my foot in it.

I've been removed from the facebook page with a rather sternly written email from Kevin Harris (marketing director) telling me to please **** off.........and don't forget to tell my friends about the MSG6

mondeo

Kc garages there in churchtown are getting the mg6 in. They have a few of the little convertible tf models on display. Basically identical to what they use to be except for the revised k (N) series engine..

colm_mcm

MG stands for Modern Gentleman now apparently.....

VolvoMan

johnos1984 wrote: »

Much like Volvo then....;)

No, not really. Volvo didn't die in a past life and have their assets bought up by two Chinese companies. They were swallowed up by Ford in 1999, riddled of all their engines and technology that Ford now pass off as their own, then shat back out again and bought by Geely.

FFS, I should really be changing my username at this stage.

unkel

VolvoMan wrote: »

No, not really. Volvo didn't die in a past life and have their assets bought up by two Chinese companies. The were swallowed up by Ford in 1999, riddled of all their engines and technology that Ford now pass off as their own, then shat back out again and bought by Geely.

FFS, I should really be changing my username at this stage.

Geelyman?

johnos1984

VolvoMan wrote: »

No, not really. Volvo didn't die in a past life and have their assets bought up by two Chinese companies. The were swallowed up by Ford in 1999, riddled of all their engines and technology that Ford now pass off as their own, then shat back out again and bought by Geely.

FFS, I should really be changing my username at this stage.

What I meant was that in relation to history modern Volvo also has very little relation to what went before which is what your full comment was about.

Don't bother changing the username

johnos1984

colm_mcm wrote: »

MG stands for Modern Gentleman now apparently.....

Morris Garages now actually according to the ads in China

johnos1984

mondeo wrote: »

Kc garages there in churchtown are getting the mg6 in. They have a few of the little convertible tf models on display. Basically identical to what they use to be except for the revised k (N) series engine..

yes they are currently the official importer of them.

I have looked around the Le500 and TF135's they have in there a bit. 2 seem to of sold I think, a red one (with badly faded paint) and a nice white one.

I'd actually like some of the ones thats left but they are way overpriced. I had looked at them before I got sensible and bought a Passat last Nov.

I did ring and contact them a lot about the MSG6 but they haven't a clue when it coming.

At the very least i'd enjoy a test drive and a bargain in 2-3 years time

VolvoMan

johnos1984 wrote: »

What I meant was that in relation to history modern Volvo also has very little relation to what went before which is what your full comment was about.

That's understandable. In many ways Volvo are quite a different company to the way they were in their glory days.

I'm all for MG Rover cars by the way and am a big supporter of the brand. It's just I see no link between these new cars from the Chinese and what went before.

Don't bother changing the username

Meh, it's not just you. Everytime I make a critical and unbiased comment about a car that doesn't have the iron symbol, I have geniuses retorting with things like 'At least it's not ugly like the new S60, hahaha' and 'All Volvos are boring!!!'.:rolleyes:

mondeo

johnos1984 wrote: »

yes they are currently the official importer of them.

I have looked around the Le500 and TF135's they have in there a bit. 2 seem to of sold I think, a red one (with badly faded paint) and a nice white one.

I'd actually like some of the ones thats left but they are way overpriced. I had looked at them before I got sensible and bought a Passat last Nov.

I did ring and contact them a lot about the MSG6 but they haven't a clue when it coming.

At the very least i'd enjoy a test drive and a bargain in 2-3 years time

There's a sales rep there called Jonathan and he told me the mg6 would be in march or April. I'm going to take one for a spin aswell just to see what their all about.. I've no intending of buying one though as I don't fancy the way it looks...

who the fug

freighter wrote: »

Arent they glorified Rovers???.

cough Honda surely

johnos1984

mondeo wrote: »

There's a sales rep there called Jonathan and he told me the mg6 would be in march or April. I'm going to take one for a spin aswell just to see what their all about.. I've no intending of buying one though as I don't fancy the way it looks...

Do you know if thats the tall salesman?

I met him on Saturday but have to admit I didn't get a chance to ask him as I was there trying to get the brother in law to purchase a new Sportage.

There was a tall guy there a few years ago who disappeared who did know his MGR stuff but he hasn't been there since.

As for the engine, its an uprated K-series (not VVC) with a Turbo, just like the last turbo engine but it has been revised obviously

VolvoMan

VolvoMan wrote: »

Meh, it's not just you. Everytime I make a critical and unbiased comment about a car that doesn't have the iron symbol, I have geniuses retorting with things like 'At least it's not ugly like the new S60, hahaha' and 'All Volvos are boring!!!'.:rolleyes:

Welcome to my World :pac:
A paragraph or two of facts backed up with imo useless links to TopGear etc and they f off though :pac:

Those new MGs won't be selling at all given how they are priced in the UK.

johnos1984

RoverJames wrote: »

Those new MGs won't be selling at all given how they are priced in the UK.

I don't even see the enthuasiasts buying them at that level.

They would be better off start low like the Japanese and Koreans did, prove themselves and then up the price.

IMHO they are currently a sub Korean brand in the markets eye, as much as I like them I will say that much

LIGHTNING

LIGHTNING wrote: »

If it has the lovely 1.8 VVTI rover engine then it should be a nice little motor.

As John said above it's the 1.8 turbo K (now N) rather than the 1.8VVC, remotely interesting points about it
- weighs about 1450kg which makes it fairly hefty, 75/ZT territory.
- fly by wire throttle body
- metal coolant rail
- twice as many studs for the exhaust manifold
- lads who were at the MPH show in Earls Court last year reckoned when running the engine was really really silent for a K series, any one who had had a 4 cylinder K would find this hard to believe as they are far from quite in previous guises.
- Ricardo worked on the handling etc
- BTCC have approached them about entering the 6.

I had heard that the boggo spec would be £2000 less than a similar Focus over in the UK. From what I've seen the thing looks drab enough.

colm_mcm

Did they learn nothing from cityrover?
Is this being built in the uk?

johnos1984

colm_mcm wrote: »

Did they learn nothing from cityrover?
Is this being built in the uk?

No its being assembled as a CKD kit.

In other words its having its fittings fitted and minor details.

Built in China and finished in WongBridge

mondeo

johnos1984 wrote: »

Do you know if thats the tall salesman?

I met him on Saturday but have to admit I didn't get a chance to ask him as I was there trying to get the brother in law to purchase a new Sportage.

There was a tall guy there a few years ago who disappeared who did know his MGR stuff but he hasn't been there since.

As for the engine, its an uprated K-series (not VVC) with a Turbo, just like the last turbo engine but it has been revised obviously

Ye thats him, he is young enough aswell, maybe late 20's. My mother bought a Peugeot of them recently and I just got talking to him about the banner on the window outside about the MG6 coming soon. He has my number anyways and said he would give me a ring when they got a demo in...

fonecrusher1

johnos1984 wrote: »

Mind you I do like the saloon version

Ya know thats not a bad looking car really^. Its the shame the interior is mean't to be a plastic nightmare. I'l hold judgement till im in one though. Maybe its a decent car.

Always nice to see an alternative to the usual choices. focus/civic/mazda 3/megane/astra....

Max_Damage

VolvoMan wrote: »

No, not really. Volvo didn't die in a past life and have their assets bought up by two Chinese companies. They were swallowed up by Ford in 1999, riddled of all their engines and technology that Ford now pass off as their own, then shat back out again and bought by Geely.

FFS, I should really be changing my username at this stage.

Volvo died when they stopped making huge, heavy, boxes on wheels!

Esel

VolvoMan wrote: »

FFS, I should really be changing my username at this stage.

I was VM?

Only we'll know it's you, and we'll say nothing.....

fonecrusher1

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Ya know thats not a bad looking car really^. Its the shame the interior is mean't to be a plastic nightmare. I'l hold judgement till im in one though. Maybe its a decent car.

....

A lad off a Rover forum who went to EarlsCourt took pics there, I'm sure he won't mind me sharing, you'd think they'd put a decent set of mats in.......



Nothing impressive really.

He reckons it looks very well in the flesh, nifty sort of lad too, he has a VVC 1.6 K series in his coupe that he set up himself.

Some pics of the sporty version that should eventually find it's way to the UK at least



Note, side repeaters wont be here as UK versions have them in the mirrors.
















Chinese folks like the tat I imagine :rolleyes:

Mr Benevolent

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

He's getting his slippers re-soled.

And his pipe cleaned out.

johnos1984

Just catching up with this now.

The exterior is very nice, even in the sporty version however that interior isn't doing much for me although I'd like to wait and see what its like in the flesh. I've heard that they are doing some last minute changes to improve it for European markets after it was panned in customer clinics

fonecrusher1

RoverJames wrote: »

Nothing impressive really.

He reckons it looks very well in the flesh, nifty sort of lad too, he has a VVC 1.6 K series in his coupe that he set up himself.

Again externally i think its quite a nice looking car. But holy god those interior pics are worrying. Some cheap looking plastics on show. Look at the central heating/aircon vents!!

johnos1984

LIGHTNING wrote: »

I could do demos laps at Mondello

It wouldn't be a bad idea actually. I'm looking forwards to a test drive although I'll not be trading in for one just yet.

And I still have to organise my track day in Mondello. maybe we could combine the two of them

I've just had an Alfa Romeo Guiletta hire car for the 3 days in Scotland :cool:

LIGHTNING

LIGHTNING wrote: »

big whopping Brembo`s on her too.

Look again :P

johnos1984 wrote: »

And I still have to organise my track day in Mondello.

I'm waiting 'till the next (hopefully there will be a next) weekend beginner day thing.

johnos1984

RoverJames wrote: »

I'm waiting 'till the next (hopefully there will be a next) weekend beginner day thing.

I got a voucher for Christmas and was going to wait until the weather is good to book it. Although when that will be is anyones guess

Tragedy

I like the sporty version, interior as said is disappointing.
Also, pity they haven't managed to update the engines at all(MG/R had designed the EU5 versions of the 1.8T prior to collapse).

Definite shame about the interior though, as Roewe managed to subtly update the 75 interior to make it a bit more modern and it still looks like it's quality.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_b2pxFI-5PT8/RqgU2XLSb9I/AAAAAAAAAJM/74Vmi2KYlO4/s1600-h/MG7+ROEWE+Comparison4.jpg
Top is MG7, bottom is Roewe 750.

Actually, there's a member on the owners club who just bought an MG7 in China now. Seems to like it.

johnos1984

Tragedy wrote: »

I like the sporty version, interior as said is disappointing.
Also, pity they haven't managed to update the engines at all(MG/R had designed the EU5 versions of the 1.8T prior to collapse).

Actually, there's a member on the owners club who just bought an MG7 in China now. Seems to like it.

Do you have a link to what he thinks of it Tragedy?

I don't know how seriously this car is being taken. The drivetrain is old hat, the interior in naff and there is no auto or diesel option.

There is an auto in China but it is an old school 4 speeder and not good enough for the rest of the world (the chief engineers words).

As for a diesel, the G-series was almost finished but interesting SAIC have just taken over a Chinese diesel engine company itself

VolvoMan

This car is really growing on me.



^^These alloys are very similar to the Njord style ones available on most of today's Volvo range:

The lad that took that interior snap I posted reckons that in the flesh they are quite impressive. I can't see the sporty model being priced too reasonably though, also it will need to be a bit over 150bhp to have the power to match the looks.

Tragedy

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=70589

johnos1984

I like the interior upgrade but the grille is a bit naff.

Thanks Tragedy