MG Car Club - The Club For MG Owners

Hot on the heels of EVO's commentary come MOTOR SPORT's forthright views on the MG6. The content may not please an owner, but it's entirely accurate in my opinion.

Thank you for sharing your opinion with us owners.

Pleased to receive a response. A good friend of mine has one of the first cars, and I drove a Magnette at Silverstone last year. A perfectly competent car, but like Motor Sport I found the harsh slab of the dashboard dated in looks & texture. My friend will be at the MG6 gathering that's imminent. Enjoy!

After the classy act that was the ZT the 6 is a disappointment in styling terms re the dash. Saying that it is easy enough to use albeit let down by a badly placed and poorly made cup-holder that obscures some of the buttons although in reality that isn't as bad as it seems as the buttons seldom need operating whilst driving once set. I agree a bit more flair could have gone into the interior such as colour contrasting stitching etc but I also appreciate MG's restrictions with importing part assembled cars and not having the financial justification as yet to offer these options.

As to the quality of the plastics, the way I see it is that had the ZT still been available at a quality level with which it began life (keep in mind many current new cars have similar hard plastics) then the list price would have been in the order of £25k by now, whilst the 6 is at a price where the ZS would have been by now, so in that sense, if I was paying executive prices for the 6 then I would object. However, as the 6 is a sub £20k family car the plastics are proving to be a bonus in my opinion with having family in the car as nothing is quite as destructive to a car's interior as small children. By comparison a previous 2008 Mazda we owned had plastics that would make you weep. Not only were they cheap lookng they marked if you just looked at them resulting in a general air of shabbiness within months of leaving the showroom. The 6 in that regard is holding up well and retains the smart finish even after a year of use.

I am not a blinkered enthusiast (ok, I probably am) and I recognise the 6 has faults but these are, for me anyway, easily overlooked as the car is such a joy to drive and despite the on-paper figures, it is not a slouch. It isn't as refined an act as the ZT but it isn't truly a ZT replacement, more a ZS replacement and in that area it is not a bad product at all.

To be honest, it's not just about the car, either, it's about the whole ownership experience and right now I get as much of a buzz being part of the MGCC, popping in to see my dealer for a chat and having access to the Longbridge and Shanghai teams. No other manufacturer can offer that with the exception of the small companies like Morgan.

It's good to read the views of an MG6 owner with a family. I agree with all that you say, especially the comparison with the ZS rather than the ZT. Even the early ZT interiors were a bit of a let down by comparison with top of the range 75s to my eyes, I always wanted a combination of the two, but then I'm in my mid 60s!

The wacky Icon concept at Beijing looks like the one that could really put the MG brand back on the map as a competitor for the Nissan Juke - which has an owners club

An MG Freelander would do me just fine.