Gallery: 2004 MG ZS
On a tight budget, and with little encouragement from existing buyers, MG Rover have rolled out their revised version of the highly regarded (among drivers, rather than posers) MG ZS.
....and in the eyes of austin-rover.co.uk it looks as exciting as the new 45 was disappointing. It is amazing what some plastic cladding will do for a car!
Is it enough..?
So at long last, it looks like MG Rover's launch activity is beginning to accelerate: 2004 marks the 100th anniversary of Rover and the 80th of MG, so it is fitting that the company has new products to back up the celebrations. Without a doubt, had MG Rover more (and I mean much) more money to develop new cars with, the 45/ZS models would be well on their way to being replaced by an entirely new car, but as the company does not possess bottomless pockets, a late-life facelift is going to have to do.
Mind you, even though there are few engineering changes and minor bodywork changes (the rear number plate has been relocated to the bumper and the boot lid has been smoothed off a-la what is faddish with the MAX POWER brigade), the new bumpers, wheelarch extensions and SV-inspired grille have really done the car some good. What remains to be seen is whether it is enough to tempt buyers away from rival performance models... the wider tracked ZS 180 promises to be a stonking drive, and allied to a freshened exterior and more modern interior, it should be enough to improve on the current (shockingly bad) ZS sales figures.