MGF's - Am I missing something?
Discussion
because they are British and we always beat British products to death.
queue the next poster to say Head Gasket Failure. (which can be avoided generally by making sure its always topped up with coolant).
edit
still a great car though, although i had a TF. huge boot (for a small mid engined car). not sure on the handling of the F as the TF was set up differently. apparently the F was better on motorways than the TF, but the TF was better on B roads. always an eager car, and quite satisfying if you actually start to push on when driving.
queue the next poster to say Head Gasket Failure. (which can be avoided generally by making sure its always topped up with coolant).
edit
still a great car though, although i had a TF. huge boot (for a small mid engined car). not sure on the handling of the F as the TF was set up differently. apparently the F was better on motorways than the TF, but the TF was better on B roads. always an eager car, and quite satisfying if you actually start to push on when driving.
Edited by tinman0 on Sunday 23 March 14:24
I'd tend to side with Tinman on this one. I've driven MX5's and MK. 1 MR2's and whilst the Mazda and Toyota are certainly nice little cars, too, the MGF easily stands comparison.
In addition to Tinman's points, and in common with the MX5, being relatively easy to drive and cheap to run, lots of them were bought by women and people who just wanted a nice little sportscar. As a result, they tend to be sneered at by 'enthusiasts'.
I'll happily admit that I believed the 'girly/hairdresser's car' propaganda until I drove one (admittedly it was borrowed from my girlfriend's sister
). I was very pleasantly surprised... it's no Elise (too heavy to come close in terms of performance), but it's a nice, well-balanced, responsive and reasonably peppy little sportscar in VVC form.
I'd probably still buy an MX5 if it were my money (I wouldn't touch a Mk 1 MR2 these days, as most are thrashed, rust-riddled sheds), but there's nothing wrong with the MGF if you want a cheap, practical little 2-seater.
In addition to Tinman's points, and in common with the MX5, being relatively easy to drive and cheap to run, lots of them were bought by women and people who just wanted a nice little sportscar. As a result, they tend to be sneered at by 'enthusiasts'.
I'll happily admit that I believed the 'girly/hairdresser's car' propaganda until I drove one (admittedly it was borrowed from my girlfriend's sister
). I was very pleasantly surprised... it's no Elise (too heavy to come close in terms of performance), but it's a nice, well-balanced, responsive and reasonably peppy little sportscar in VVC form. I'd probably still buy an MX5 if it were my money (I wouldn't touch a Mk 1 MR2 these days, as most are thrashed, rust-riddled sheds), but there's nothing wrong with the MGF if you want a cheap, practical little 2-seater.
I've had both; and 1.8i MGF (2001) and TF 160 (2002). Both were excellent drives, took the TF to Provence twice) only problem was no traction control and a wicked snap oversteer being mid engined and relatively light. The first one I had problems with the ride height and leaking through the front bulkhead. I rejected that under warranty (patchy sealant). The TF rear suspension had a cracking noise - eventually traced to incorrect assembly. Both were very poor quality over 30 warranty jobs over two cars - the TF problems were endured whilst MG Rover had critcal parts supply problems.
Eventually I got rid of the TF. When they're good, they're very good when they're bad.... If the price was right and I could inspect it thoroughly I'd have one (TF 160) as a fun car. At least they're cheap to run / maintain and much better handling/quicker than MR2's and MX5's.
Eventually I got rid of the TF. When they're good, they're very good when they're bad.... If the price was right and I could inspect it thoroughly I'd have one (TF 160) as a fun car. At least they're cheap to run / maintain and much better handling/quicker than MR2's and MX5's.
ApexJimi said:
Metro suspension?!
I find that hard to believe. Not saying I actually disbelieve you, just that I find the concept hard to believe!
True pretty much, they both use the Hydragas suspension system instead of conventional coilspring/damper setups. The MGF was a refinement on the Metro system though IIRC.I find that hard to believe. Not saying I actually disbelieve you, just that I find the concept hard to believe!
The CVT gearbox on some of them was also a bit oddball too I think
I really like them a lot, and in many ways prefer the looks to the MX5 which I ultimately chose.
But drive the MX5 and MGF back to back and the MGF is clearly nowhere near as good as far as driving dynamics are concerned.
Many say the HGF issue is overrated, but I looked into this issue heavily and the general consensus from the owner clubs is that they do go wrong - often - and without much warning with rather sporadic failures.
One car may well last 80k without a failure, the other (identically maintained) may have 3 or 4 failures in that time.
Most people on the owners clubs were of the opinion 'Yes, they can fail - but the car is worth the expense to put right the HGF when it happens'. Compared to the MX5's comparable bombproof reliability I wasn't going to go along with that really, especially considering other random failures on the MGF and the MX5's excellent drive.
But drive the MX5 and MGF back to back and the MGF is clearly nowhere near as good as far as driving dynamics are concerned.
Many say the HGF issue is overrated, but I looked into this issue heavily and the general consensus from the owner clubs is that they do go wrong - often - and without much warning with rather sporadic failures.
One car may well last 80k without a failure, the other (identically maintained) may have 3 or 4 failures in that time.
Most people on the owners clubs were of the opinion 'Yes, they can fail - but the car is worth the expense to put right the HGF when it happens'. Compared to the MX5's comparable bombproof reliability I wasn't going to go along with that really, especially considering other random failures on the MGF and the MX5's excellent drive.
tinman0 said:
queue the next poster to say Head Gasket Failure. (which can be avoided generally by making sure its always topped up with coolant).
It can't, i'm afraid. Once the coolant level has dropped, the head gasket has failed. You shouldn't need to top the coolant up. (Where's it going?)mat205125 said:
ApexJimi said:
Metro suspension?!
I find that hard to believe. Not saying I actually disbelieve you, just that I find the concept hard to believe!
Hydrospastic.I find that hard to believe. Not saying I actually disbelieve you, just that I find the concept hard to believe!
There is a good bit of common components and parts of the chassis that is common with the metro
MGF's with a nice exhaust sound great imho
MGF is mid-engined but the bonnet line and bottom of windscreen are so high it doesn't look it, which seems pointless to me. The sports car which looks like a saloon.
And it's old, good grief it's old. Launched in 1995 and although facelifted, never significantly improved.
If those Chinese chappies ever get around to re-launching their Longbridge built version I just can't see anyone wanting to buy it.
And it's old, good grief it's old. Launched in 1995 and although facelifted, never significantly improved.
If those Chinese chappies ever get around to re-launching their Longbridge built version I just can't see anyone wanting to buy it.
Ozzie Osmond said:
And it's old, good grief it's old. Launched in 1995 and although facelifted, never significantly improved.
That's not really true though is it? I mean the TF had completely different suspension, and they came out with several higher powered versions too. By all means bash the MGF for its shortcomings bue don't just make stuff up off the top of your head!!Ozzie Osmond said:
And it's old, good grief it's old. Launched in 1995 and although facelifted, never significantly improved.
Given that it's principal competition (the MX5) has just got fatter, slower and less focused with every generation, I wouldn't necessarily see that as a bad thing. 
Newer doesn't always mean better, especially with all the weight-inducing and power-strangling recent legislation that current models have to cope with.
My 36-year old Elan will murder a current MX5 in almost every respect as a driver's car, and if I had to buy an MX5, it would probably be a Series 1 anyway...
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