2014 MG3 1.5 Style - 20,000 mile/24 month report

This month marks the two year ownership period for the 2014 MG3 which I bought in November 2016, and is now my wife's car. I have already reviewed her at length on my YouTube channel for the "Tweed Jacket Reviews" series, and you can watch the video below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oHNIboTqXo&t=2s

Suffice it to say, however, that I am very happy with the car, although it does have a number of flaws and quirks. The mileage is currently at just under 53,000, and it has covered 20,000 miles in our ownership. In that time, the main issues we have had was the complete failure of the fuel pump six months ago (which stranded us by the side of the road), and also the airbag warning light intermittently coming on and off. This is due to a connector under the driver's seat which often just needs wiggling about a bit before it then establishes a proper connection again, but can be quite annoying. That is about it, really.

Average fuel consumption stands at around 42 mpg, some way short of a more modern engine, such as the one in my 2017 Seat Toledo 1.0 TSI, but reasonable given that the car does a lot of city driving. Insurance and servicing costs have been very reasonable, and tax is just about average. It is a shame that we missed out on the seven year warranty offered by the 2018 MG3 models, but you can't have everything...

The car offered, and continues to offer, very good value for money, being much cheaper than an equivalent Fiesta or Polo on the new and secondhand markets, and offering much of the same sort of experience. This is hampered, however, by some strange layouts for the controls, peculiar door mirrors, cheap feeling plastics for the centre console and exterior door handles and a gearshift which is not as solid as that in a Ford or Volkswagen. That said, all the interior controls still work and nothing has fallen off or rattles, so the build quality (from MG's Longbridge factory in Birmingham before production stopped in 2016) must be reasonably good.

The strength of the MG3, however, apart from its value for money and long list of standard features (beaten only by a Dacia Sandero) is the way it drives. The hydraulically steering is responsive, the handling is superb and the car has a degree of sportiness akin to warm hatches costing 50% more, whichever trim level you choose. On the top spec Style model, this is accompanied by sporty wheels and other details which accentuate its less than serious character. Of course, the controls for the DAB and Bluetooth enabled infotainment system feel cheap, as do those on the steering wheel for the cruise control, but as one of the cheapest cars on the market with these features, it is hard to complain.

The downside of the driving experience is the very firm ride, which absolutely hates potholes (and was a nightmare to film with when we did the video in September), and an engine which simply does not deliver the performance expected in such a sporty-looking car. That is unless it is thrashed, but then the fuel consumption gets even worse, even if the car does put a grin on one's face whilst trying... For most of the time, though, it is not necessary to drive so hard, so the acceleration is perfectly acceptable.

The boot is just as big as a Fiesta or Corsa, and the rear legroom is extremely good for a car of its size, which can be a real boon. Having rear electric windows which wind all the way down when many cars in this price bracket offer neither of these things is also quite agreeable... To sum up, I think we will be keeping the car for some time to come, as it still offers the best compromise of practicality, value for money and driving experience for the money. A further report will come in a year's time, I suppose! Feel free to watch the Youtube video to find out more.

2008 Proton Gen-2 Persona 1.6 GSX Ecologic

Six years ago, when my 2004 Rover 45 1.4 Club SE was worth less than £1,000, and had numerous problems including a leaking head gasket (yes, another Rover K-series classic problem), I decided I needed to buy a new car. I had been blessed to have inherited some money, and so I had a bit more budget than usual. This was an interesting time in automotive history, as diesels were incredibly popular, but there was still a fascination with LPG (liquified petroleum gas), which these days no longer seems to enter into anyone's discussion about new cars.

At the time, Proton were at the tail end of their time selling new cars in Britain (they had withdrawn entirely by 2014), and their most exciting model was the five door hatchback Proton Gen-2, which had a saloon cousin in the Gen-2 Persona. Before anyone asks, no, it did not have one. At all. Similarly, the Mitsubishi Carisma of ten years before had none whatsoever. I get suspicious of the way in which manufacturers name their cars and trim levels at the best of times, but when marketing executives try to assure us that their cars have personality and charisma in their model names, it does strike of desperation. Anyway, the Gen-2 (and, shudder, Persona) were being offered with a free factory LPG conversion in a desperate effort to stay relevant in the modern automotive climate, which was at least interesting.

Looking at the deals on offer, and realising that, on paper at least, the Gen-2 could lead to very low running costs, I decided to travel to a dealership and try one out. The small Proton franchised dealer was in the middle of the countryside, and had just one demonstrator, which was a four year old 1.6 GSX Ecologic Gen-2 Persona in purple with the LPG conversion. I wasn't interested in the saloon, but as it was mechanically identical to the hatchback, it would certainly serve a purpose.

Proton, which has for about 20 years been in the same group of companies as Lotus, made a big deal when the Gen-2 was new in 2004 about the gauges and front seats being inspired by a 1970s Porsche 911 and the Lotus-tuned ride and handling. James May, when he reviewed the Gen-2 on Top Gear in around 2004, said that he would "gladly trade in some Lotus-tuned suspension for some Toyota-developed door trim". Indeed. The later Gen-2s had the best interior, including leather seats, but despite those natty 911-inspired dials, the build quality was still shocking, the seat was too high and the steering wheel, although aesthetically pleasing, was set too low. When I sat in the back of the Persona, legroom was restricted and the headroom was not brilliant, and I imagine the Gen-2 was not much better. It also had some of the worst upholstery I have seen on a car of this century, which reminded me of an old pair of swirly patterned curtains. Not a very good start, then.

One nice thing about the Gen-2 was the driving experience. The steering was communicative, the Campro engine (developed by Proton themselves) was willing enough and the handling was nice and sharp. It was also easy to switch between LPG and petrol thanks to a switch on the centre console which also showed the level of gas remaining. There didn't seem to be any discernable performance difference between the two fuels, but apparently economy and performance with LPG is down by around 10-15%. There are petrol stations still offering LPG, and there were probably even more six years ago, so the infrastructure was, and is, very much still practical to use. On the Continent, things are even better for LPG, as it was much more popular.

One thing to bear in mind with a car so converted, be it from the factory or otherwise, is the LPG tank has to go in the boot and rob it of space. Ultimately, this is what put me off most, in that the car had around 30% less boot space than standard, and, given my mileage was not very high at the time, the savings in fuel were not worth the compromise in practicality. I bought a superb 2011 Chevrolet Cruze 1.6 LT instead, and loved it.

Proton might have once been a very appealing option for budget conscious motorists, and they did make cars which were handsome and good value for money with nice driving characteristics. However, the poor interior quality, terrible residual values and poor ergonomics, combined with virtually no brand awareness, contributed to their demise in Britain. I would certainly consider a Gen-2 as a short term transportation solution, but even then I would have to get used to explaining why it had such a stupid name. If it was a Persona, the swirly patterned seats and even more ridiculous name would probably be even harder to justify. At least it wouldn't be a Mitsubishi Carisma...

1998 Mazda 626 2.0 GSi

It's a special review today as we come to one of the favourite cars that I ever drove, my "cousin" Jim's 1998 Mazda 626 2.0 GSi. Bought from a lady in Orpington in February 2017 to use for drag racing at Santa Pod's Run What Ya Brung event for my Stag Weekend last summer, it proved to be a tough, hardy companion for many more months of motoring than originally intended. In fact, it was so good, that Jim kept it for almost a year (although I had custody of it for the first six months).

The Mazda 626 was never the most exciting or luxurious family car from the 1990s, but it has gathered a reputation in certain circles for being pretty much indestructible. The model was first sold in the 1970s, but when it came to its last generation (sold from 1997 to 2002), it was seen as quite pedestrian, not fitting in well with Mazda's new sporty image. Still, it sold in reasonable numbers, and certainly these days provides reliable family transport at a low price.

For the princely sum of £370 (bearing in mind we had to pay the same again to get her into a fit state for 14 runs at Santa Pod), the car came with fully functioning climate control, a 12 disc CD changer, an electric sunroof, four electric windows and (non-working) remote central locking. On longer journeys, the car would get a respectable 35 mpg, the engine pulled well enough and there was plenty of room in the boot. The work which needed doing, including an MOT, was mainly minor things such as a new ABS wheel speed sensor, a brake hose and some new tyres. She never failed to start or let us down, and towed my friend's Skoda Octavia back to our hotel when its clutch went on the start line at Santa Pod after a full day's racing.

The engine used a very small amount of oil, and she eventually needed a new timing belt (which Jim duly changed), but throughout the winter she just kept on going. Admittedly, with a new clutch in 2016 and a full service history with two careful lady owners from new, the provenance was exceptional, but it is a testament to Mazda that the basic car is so fundamentally strong that it kept running with no problems. The handling may have been wallowy, the gear shift a bit worn and the fake applique wood on the dashboard tasteless, but the car had a real strength of character which is hard to explain.

Smoothly, but anonymously styled and able to blend into the background in most situations, I used the Mazda for all sorts of trips, both long and short, and although the climate control and radio buttons were annoying and fiddly, and there was no cruise control, I enjoyed driving it. It was ideal as a spare car for both me and and Jim, but eventually she had to go, as we both had multiple other cars, and it was not necessary to keep her too.

2018 Seat Mii 1.0 Design Mii

One of my favourite little pleasures in life is being given a hire car whilst one of mine is being repaired, and today I was grateful to have this opportunity once again. My Seat Toledo has had a strange build quality quirk over the last few months where the two rear USB ports (situated in the back of the driver's armrest) decided to fall through, thus rendering them useless. Needless to say, this is something covered under warranty, and so I booked myself in and asked for a loan vehicle.

I was expecting to receive a Seat Mii to run around in, and this is exactly what I was given. One of Seat's least popular models (along with the sadly recently discontinued Toledo), the Mii is the twin sister of the Volkswagen Up! and the Skoda Citigo, and was launched in 2012. The Up! was an absolutely revolutionary car when it was released, and its engine is now used (in both normally aspirated and turbocharged forms) for a wide range of Volkswagen Group models from the Skoda Fabia to the Audi A3. The 110 bhp turbo version of the engine is the one in my 2017 Seat Toledo, and is also employed in the very well received Volkswagen Up! GTI. Sadly, this little Mii has to make due with just 60 bhp from the basic version of the 1.0 litre three cylinder unit, and so progress is more modest than brisk.

I found out whilst doing some research that the three door Mii, like this one, has just been discontinued, so I have the dubious honour of driving two recently discontinued Seats on the same day. Mind you, it was difficult to tell this one apart from the original 2012 model, apart from the fact that the car has a better stereo and two electric window switches on the driver's door (the original had just one). It was very cheap of Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen to save money by just putting one switch on each door, but thankfully this practice has now finished!

The sporty styling, with the white alloy wheels and matching mirror caps, reminds me of the Mii's identical twin sisters, the Skoda Citigo's Monte Carlo Edition model, although this is not as highly specified as that one. Apparently, there are daytime LED running lights, but I couldn't quite spot them... The cabin also has a nice white piece of trim running down the middle to detract from numerous blank switches and the fact that there is a lot of exposed metal on show: this is clearly a car built to a price.

The 0-60 time of just short of 15 seconds explains why the car feels slow, and I very much missed the turbo in my Toledo whilst winding the car up to motorway speeds. It seems to have virtually no torque whatsoever without the turbo, and so planting one's food deep into the Axminster is the only way to make decent progress when being chased by lorries... That said, the engine is only turning over 2900 rpm at 70 mph when cruising, so up to reasonable speed, things are relatively comfortable and quiet, which is not the same for most city cars.

The boot is also relatively good for the class standards at around 250 litres, which is about 30 short of my lady wife's MG3 (a video review of which you can watch here), but much bigger than the popular Toyota Aygo, Citroen C1 and Peugeot 108 triumvirate. The access is quite restricted, however, and again the exposed metal is very much in evidence, but it is not too bad. There are, however, only four seats rather than five and in five door models, the windows do not roll down, only pop out.

The ride and handling are perfectly reasonable, it would seem, although the steering is far too light at anything above 30 mph. This trait is common to most cars these days, so if one wants more feedback through the steering, then the revised MG3 beckons. In fact, the revised MG3 also beckons when looking at prices. The Design Mii specification (of which this apparently one, although I don't know why manufacturers keep choosing stupid names for trim levels) retails at £11,690 before discounts, and is currently the basic Mii model available. A mid-spec MG3 with more power, more equipment, rear windows that actually go all the way down, more boot space and more room in the back is £11,395. Granted, the MG3 may not have the highest technology engine, and the fuel consumption will pale in comparison, but there really is no contest in my mind.

With some trim alignments, the fitment of a turbo and lower pricing, the Seat Mii could be a superb little sister to a Seat Leon Cupra in much the same way that the Up! GTI is the little sister to the Golf GTI. However, being not really sporty enough for the Seat brand, not luxurious like the Up! and more expensive than the Skoda Citigo, it ends up being neither fish nor fowl, and therefore only if the car is offered with a very good deal would I recommend it over its Volkswagen Group stablemates. These have more personality (one more luxurious, the other more solid and good value) to differentiate them, where the Mii occupies an uneasy middle ground. Of course, I would also try an MG3 before you buy any of these, especially as it has been recently facelifted and comes with a seven year warranty, unless fuel economy is the top priority.

1996 Suzuki Vitara 1.6 JX

There are times when things in the automotive world do not quite work out, and earlier this month was one of them. Whilst searching for a suitable vehicle to take to Santa Pod's "Run What Ya Brung" event next month, I happened across this 1996 Suzuki Vitara 1.6 JX on Auto Trader. Owned by a local family for the last 20 or so years, it had covered just 82,000 miles and had plenty of service history, so my lady wife and I went over to see it.

I knew that it had an expired MOT, so I couldn't really drive it, but I was confident that it would pass through with perhaps a few advisories, so I did a deal with the seller, and booked it in for a test a few days later. The drive to the MOT station was intriguing, as the steering was vaguer than a John Major speech, the level of noise coming through into the cabin was much more than anything I had driven short of a 1980 Triumph Dolomite and the vibration through the drivetrain was exceptional. It was a lot of fun, however, and I was looking forward to picking it up in a couple of days as I walked away from the MOT station.

The Suzuki Vitara of today is very different from the original model, which was introduced 30 years ago, and was little changed by 1996. The JX was the base model five door version, and had barely any features. There was no central locking, no electric windows, seemingly no way of adjusting the wing mirrors, no anti-lock brakes (getting it to skid was surprisingly easy) and not even any power steering. The one concession to modernity was a radio cassette.

Once I had managed to get used to the beefy clutch and angled gearlever, though, it had been quite good fun to drive around, and so I was looking forward to a few antics before going to Santa Pod in mid-October. I was particularly looking forward to trying the selectable four wheel drive system with a proper low range gearbox, very rare on modern cars indeed!

The next day, however, I had some bad news. The car had a list of MOT advisories as long as my arm, and had failed on two counts. Discussing the cost of repairs with the garage banded around figures to get it to pass which were around the cost of the car in the first place, so she was dispatched to a friend's driveway, placed on SORN and sold on Ebay to a local motor trader. He had been looking for a spares car to keep his old Vitara on the road, and this fitted the bill.

It was a massive relief to see her go to a good home and not lose lots of money in the process, but it made me question the wisdom of buying a car with an expired MOT. There is often a reason why the owner has let this happen, it is not necessarily because they want you to have it as cheaply as possible! My replacement purchase had a full year's MOT, which was a marked improvement.

2003 Rover 25 1.4 iL

The sub £500 section of Auto Trader is a dangerous place for me to rest my glance, particularly when hunting for a suitable vehicle to take to Santa Pod's Raceway's "Run What Ya Brung" drag racing event. It was for this reason that a few days ago, I happened across a little delight near where my mother lives, this 2003 Rover 25 1.4 iL. Upon speaking to the seller, I found out I was the first to enquire about this newly listed fine example of British craftsmanship, and made an appointment to see it that very evening.

Arriving at the address I was given, I was amazed how clean the bodywork was. In the early 2000s, lurid pastel shades such as this were quite common in mainstream cars, and I am quite grateful for this, especially with something as genteel as a Rover 25. This one has the 1.4 litre 16 valve version of the (in)famous Rover K-series engine, an all British design which started production in 1988, and eventually replaced most other engines in Rovers and MGs up until MG Rover's bankruptcy in 2005.

The K-series is not the smoothest or quietest engine, particularly when cold, but it does rev nicely, and makes a pleasant sound. This is the 103 bhp version and in a light car like the 25, it almost feels sporty. In fact, the basic level MG ZR (the racy sister of the Rover 25), had this exact engine. Very suitable for drag racing, then! I was pleased to discover that the car had had a modified head gasket, new water pump and new cambelt four years previously, as these are famous K-series trouble spots...

The test drive around the free flowing Hampshire roads was a lot of fun, although it reminded me of the slightly awkward driving position that the Rover 25, MG ZR and the slightly earlier Rover 200 (R3 model) share. This always seems to have the wheel too low and the seat too high, with no clutch footrest and pedals which are not evenly lined up. The cable-operated clutch in the 25 does take some getting used to, as it has a high biting point, and the gearbox can have a vague shift, particularly on a car approaching 100,000 miles like this one, but it is not too bad.

The handling of the Rover 25 is actually pretty good, with direct, communicative steering and relatively well-controlled lean in the corners. The MG ZR handles even better, but has quite a firm ride, so this strikes a good compromise for everyday use. Around town, the clutch can be a bit jerky, but the good visibility and responsive K-series engine make it easy to dart into gaps in traffic. In fact, due to having to ask a friend to drive my main car (a 2017 Seat Toledo) back from Hampshire later in the way, I have been using it for work for a couple of days, and it has performed just fine.

The driving position is not really suitable for very long motorway trips, and cramp can easily set in, particularly as no 25 was ever fitted with cruise control. See it, however, as a car which enjoys town work and flowing A and B roads, and it works a lot better. I dread to think what the fuel economy is like, though...

The interior space is average for the class, with a large boot, but relatively cramped rear seats. Bizarrely, the R3 version of the Rover 200, which preceded the 25, but was largely identical, was pitched up against Vauxhall Astras and Ford Escorts in Rover's price lists when it was new. It is certainly too small to do any good in that class, so the 25 was realigned against Fiestas and Corsas upon its launch in 1999, and did much better.

The interior is perfectly good for the time, but now seems very dated, despite the back on white dials, the soft touch dashboard, and the trademark dash of fake wood... The late 1980s Honda indicator stalks and exterior door handles give an even worse impression of the old Rover parts bin being raided, and sadly this was something the company was definitely guilty of right up until the end. The Rover 25, MG ZR and the slightly earlier Rover 200 (R3 model) all share a common platform in the earlier 200 (R8 model), which donated its front structure underneath the curvy body, although its rear suspension was changed for the one from the 1983 Austin Maestro. I don't really know why, but the car seems to handle well enough, so perhaps I shouldn't complain too much!

The car does have a few faults, with wipers that don't seem to have an intermittent function, non-functional air conditioning, slight external rust and a wobbly gearchange, but for just £400 for a car with a good service history, the modified head gasket and a clean year's MOT, it seems like a bargain. If you know what you are doing, Rovers aren't necessarily to be avoided, they can be loved and cherished too.

Test Drive Tales - Part Twelve: 2002 Ford Fiesta Mk5 1.25 LX

A couple of days ago, I had the pleasure of driving yet another low mileage car which had been in the same ownership for the majority of its life. Once again, I found myself at the wheel of yet another variant of Britain's best-selling car, the Ford Fiesta. This very late Mk5 version had been owned by an elderly chap in a village near Winchester from 2002 until earlier this year, and he had kept all the service records on almost a single page of a Ford Fiesta Haynes workshop manual. It has to be the strangest Full Service History I have ever seen...

The Mark V Fiesta debuted in 1999, and was an evolution of the Mark IV Fiesta (itself a derivate of the Mark III Fiesta), and thus by the time this particular was made, its lineage could be traced back around 13 years. Indeed, this was one of the last cars which had a variant of the famous Ford "Kent" engine, which was first introduced with the Ford Anglia (yes, the car in the Harry Potter franchise) back in 1959. It could be said, then, that this wasn't exactly cutting edge then, and now it certainly looks very dated. There is something about the proportions of the car, despite the facelift and newer interior, which are far more reminiscent of something from 1992 than 2002. Still, the dated appearance and relative lack of space clearly didn't stop the car selling in huge numbers, and there are lots of these still on the road.

Rather than the aforementioned 1.3 "Endura-E" (nee Kent) engine, I had made sure that this one came with the much more modern 1.25 "Zetec" engine, which had been with the Mark IV Fiesta upon its launch in 1995, and continued, in slightly different form, until the demise of the Mark VII Fiesta last year. It certainly sounds fine, and with 16 valves, twin overhead cams and modern engine management, it is still smooth and powerful. 75 bhp certainly seemed enough for brisk progress, particularly as the Mark V Fiesta is a very light car indeed by modern standards. Those wanting a bit more power than the top of the range 1.6 Zetec S have often put in the 1.7 engine from the Ford Puma (which was based on the Mark V Fiesta anyway), which do make for a zippy little shopping car...

In spite of MOT advisories for the suspension bushes, shocks and springs, this Mark V still handled really well, and reminded me very much of the reason why I like my wife's MG3 so much. Modern small cars feel very heavy by comparison, with overlight and remote feeling electric power steering. This one certainly had a positive feeling hydraulic set up, which linked with a sweet five speed gearbox, meant that it still brought a certain fun factor to travelling around roundabouts and sweeping A roads.

The interior of the Mark V Fiesta, which is barely changed from the Mark IV is quite basic by modern standards, but the LX still has air conditioning, a height adjustable driver's seat and electric windows. With similarly excellent visibility to other cars with origins in the late 1980s, it was really easy to park and to see at junctions, and it is no wonder at all that Fiestas were, and still are, very popular with driving schools.

Some bizarre details in a Fiesta of this vintage are the fact that the bonnet release is a red lever on the bottom of the steering column (which offers no adjustment at all) and that the spare wheel is not accessible via the boot, but is in a cradle underneath the floor which needs to be cranked by tools. By 2002, this was the only car which still did this. It was common in cars of the late 1980s, but with thefts on the increase, it made more sense to keep it inside the car. Maybe this was why this particular car had three different types of wheel trim on four of the wheels...

Overall, I quite like the Mark V Fiesta. It has an old-fashioned and uncomplicated charm from a design which has its roots in a model introduced almost 30 years ago, and yet still remains easy to drive and cheap to run. With prices of many examples with MOTs under £500 and a genuine level of fun to be had whilst driving one (a contemporary Vauxhall Corsa seems ponderous in comparison), as long as modern levels of specification and safety are not expected, then it is hard to go wrong! Certainly recommended, but not quite for me.

Test Drive Tales - Part Ten: 2014 Toyota Yaris 1.33 Icon Plus

The series of ten test drive tales concludes (for now) with a review of a car which I only drove last month: a 2014 Toyota Yaris Icon Plus! We thought at the time that my lady wife's 2014 MG3 may be passed onto a friend, so I set about finding a suitable replacement, should the need have arisen (it ended up not happening). Searching on the Internet, I came across a four year old example of one of Japan's most endearing small cars for sale at a reasonable price, and so headed off to Hertfordshire to take a look at it.

The weather was appalling as I approached the dealership (viewing cars in the rain is never recommended), but my spirits refused to be dampened as I asked to take the little Toyota out for a test drive. The current generation Yaris was launched in 2011, and this has had a couple of facelifts in its time. I am sure that Toyota will replace it fairly soon, but for now you can still buy one of these in the current generation, even if it does not look exactly the same as new one.

The 1.33 litre engine, which develops around the same power as my lady wife's MG (around 100 bhp) seemed smooth another, but without a turbo, the power delivery seemed quite flat and uncharacterful. The steering was light enough, and there was plenty of grip, but the ride was quite firm without the trade off in handling which an MG3 has down to a T. Overall, the car was comfortable (with the exception of the jiggly low speed ride) and felt stable, but quite undistinguished overall.

The interior, whilst being better quality than the MG (with a list price when new which was 50% more, that is to be expected), still had some scratchy and cheap plastics. It did, however, have a nice colour touch screen in the middle with a reversing camera, which was a nice touch. The space in the rear and the boot seemed fine, but no more than class average. The thing I noticed most from sitting inside was the single front wiper blade, which is absolutely massive and like something from a double decker bus.

Ever since its initial launch in 1999, the Yaris has been solidly built, economical and with a few interesting quirks (thank goodness they ditched the digital instruments for this third generation car), but not the most exciting thing to drive. The first two even had sliding rear seats to maximise luggage or rear passenger space depending on need, but this one did not. Despite the good specification and reasonable price, it certainly didn't cause me a great deal of excitement, and I don't think it would enthuse anyone who is a very keen driver. However, for simply a reliable, spacious runaround, particularly in urban environments, I can see a certain appeal. The newly released sporty GRMN model sounds much more exciting, I must say!

Test Drive Tales - Part Eight: 2013 MG6 GT 1.8 TSE Turbo

Sometimes, I tend to get a little bit carried away with MG and Rover cars (a particular weakness of mine for well over ten years), and upon the launch of the MG6 in 2011, I got particularly carried away. Here was the first all-new car launched under the MG name since the bankruptcy of the old MG Rover Group six years previously, and it looked rather nice as well. So nice, in fact, that my friend Richard Jackson, who worked for Tesco at the time as their Petrol Station Operations Manager, decided that he wanted one as his personal car, and bought one direct from the factory at Longbridge near Birmingham.

It wasn't so unusual a choice as it first appears, as Tesco Momentum 99 Fuel were sponsoring the MG racing team in the British Touring Car Championship, and MG6s were their team cars. In March 2012, his top spec TSE model arrived, resplendent in its Trophy Blue paintwork. It had almost literally every conceivable extra, and was very, very tasty indeed. Under the bonnet lurked a 1.8 turbocharged engine which was a modified version of the old favourite Rover K-series unit (originally launched in 1989, but since massively upgraded). Supposedly, this N-series had been redesigned to completely eliminate the old K-series head gasket failure issue which had plagued so many Caterhams, Lotuses, Land Rovers, Rovers and MGs over the years, and had a big turbo to boot. Certainly, it was an impressive performer with excellent specification and a temptingly low price tag.

This price was even better after around two and a half years of depreciation, and in November 2015, I found myself at a car supermarket in Slough (the famous Trade Sales, which I think has now closed), looking at an almost identical car. This one was black, but it was also the top spec TSE, and was in lovely condition. The plastic cover on the engine bay did its best to hide the MG Rover heritage beneath. but the good old K-Series oil filler cap, also used on the MG3, completely gave the game away.

Upon commenting on the extremely flimsy key and the fact that the AUX and USB ports were hidden in the coin tray on the right side of the steering wheel (an absolutely bizarre choice), I went out for a little drive. The tacky interior of the early MG6s, which see some very dodgy plastics coupled with poor quality buttons and a sat nav with no post code entry on the top models, was somewhat of a distraction, but the way she drove was incredible. The N-series turbo engine pulled incredibly well, and the acceleration, steering and handling were second to none. I have yet to drive another family car with this amount of poise!

Once back at the showroom, I remarked that the car was on the so-called "factory plates", which for an MG start with a B or V, so it looked like a press car (important for me), and that the reversing camera worked just fine. This was just one of myriad pieces of standard equipment on a TSE, which also included heated leather seats, Bluetooth, front and rear parking sensors, tyre pressure monitoring, automatic lights and automatic wipers. Whilst working for Tesco Fuel, my friend Richard had a company fuel card (unsurprisingly), so he wasn't that worried about fuel consumption, which is just as well: the petrol MG6 was not renowned for economy.

A diesel variant was launched soon after the petrol in 2012, but the N-series powered cars are still cheaper. As one of the fastest depreciating cars in the country, a secondhand MG6 makes a lot of sense, provided it has been well-looked after, and the top spec cars are the best. The cabin doesn't exactly age well, though...

Richard eventually sold his MG6 after having moved away from the job at Tesco (those fuel bills were a bit high) and decided to buy an electric car instead. I ended up not buying an MG6 due to the high fuel consumption and tax figures. and bought a diesel Chevy Cruze instead. I only kept that for about 18 months and lost a lot of money on it. Maybe I should have bought the MG instead, despite that flimsy key! They are certainly a car for the enthusiastic driver, although only if he can live with the poor cabin quality and colossal depreciation.

Test Drive Tales - Part Seven: 2017 Dacia Logan MCV 1.5 dCi Laureate

It's a first for these reviews: I have finally admitted to driving a Dacia, and one based on the infamous Sandero nonetheless! Last year, the most left-field option I considered when looking for a new car was the Sandero-based Logan MCV estate, which was an educational experience. Much maligned by many, but with a loyal following (much like Daewoo in their first few years), Dacia seem to intrigue me just as much as many others in the motor industry. But, is the Logan MCV any good?

One of the issues with something like the Sandero (or its fellow stablemates the Logan MCV and Duster for that matter) is the lack of equipment in the lower trim levels. Only the highest trim in the Logan MCV comes with standard air conditioning and driver's seat height adjustment, for example, which in a modern car is quite strange. If one wants things like sat nav and alloy wheels, these are optional extras even at the top of the range. Therefore, if one requires even a modicum of luxury in a Dacia estate car, the options list needs to be raided with the kind of glee which only used to befall BMW buyers in the 1980s when even a radio was optional!

Having metallic paint, nicer seats, a reversing camera and the all important roof bars (essential to give some form of distinction to the Logan MCV's less than distinguished lines), means paying around £2,000 more than the list price of a Laureate model, which is a ludicrous amount. Admittedly, there is no competition at this price (the only other supermini estate rival, the Skoda Fabia, is probably at least £5,000 more for a comparably equipped model), but it does tip the scales away from Dacia's favour towards the upper end of the range, and towards the considerably more talented opposition. Still, the level of space is probably unbeatable for the price, and with an enormous 573 litres of room in the boot, it is bigger than cars from the next class up (the Kia Cee'd SW, for example). The so-called "value proposition" of the Logan MCV looks strong on paper, then.

On arriving at the Dacia showroom (like many, this also shared with the Renault franchise, as they are Dacia's parent company), I saw just how much space there was in a Logan MCV. Despite being based on an antediluvian platform which dates back to the 1998 Renault Clio II, if one traces its lineage carefully, it has been suitably modified to eliminate that car's singularly cramped cabin entirely. There is lots of space for all passengers with the aforementioned huge boot, and the driving position is also much better (although far from perfect). The fixtures and fittings do seem a little cheap, but are not nearly as bad as some would have you believe. The Laureate trim level offers optional leather seats and various other upgrades in the interior which are well worth specifying, such as a leather steering wheel and gearknob. It is a shame that the steering wheel has very limited adjustment, however, which means that the driving position still is not suitable for all shapes and sizes.

One of the famous Dacia quirks, which plagued both the Sandero and the Logan MCV at launch in Britain, was having to open the boot with the ignition key, as there was no other way. This was very much like a 1980s Austin Metro. However, for the 2017 model year, a release was added by the driver's seat, which is a big improvement, even if this still falls short of modern standards. The interior is a bit of a mixed bag, then, and a very basic one if one specifies the cheapest Access trim level, which has no electric windows or mirrors or Bluetooth. At least it comes with a rear heated window, but that really is about all the luxury one can expect...

Driving the Logan MCV is not as bad as it may appear, though. Avoiding the laughably outdated 1.2 75 bhp D4F petrol engine that was introduced in the Renault Clio II for the 2000 model year (thankfully now replaced), leaves one with a choice of a zippy 90 bhp 900cc turbo three-cylinder petrol unit or a 1.5 turbo diesel with the same power output. Of course, in a car which has as much as space as the Logan MCV, and all the sporting credentials of a pair of brogues, "zippy" is very much a relative term. Both of these more modern units have been used in a variety of Renault and Nissan models, as well as other Dacias, and are reasonably refined and well proven.

Around town, the performance seems good enough, although on motorway inclines with four passengers and a full load of cargo, none of the engines deliver anything like the performance of rival estates. That said, both the modern engines have good fuel economy and low emissions (we will forget about those represented by the 1.2 for now). The diesel is probably best for those who venture out of town frequently.

In the end, it was not the obvious reason that I dismissed the Dacia Logan MCV from my car search. The car is well equipped (provided you choose a Laureate with some good options), spacious, cheap to run and well priced. Insurance and servicing costs are also low. It certainly is not as bad as some may have you believe, if one avoids the old 1.2 engine and the basic trim levels. However, I found it too slow (and yes, I did turn off the famous Renault/Dacia "Eco" mode which saps power by 10% when the button is activated), and it was surprisingly expensive on PCP finance when compared even with modestly talented rivals due to high depreciation, a paltry three year warranty and small discounts. Probably a good deal on the used market due to that chronic depreciation, as a new buy, I would probably recommend it only if one needs the maximum space for the minimal outlay.