MG-Fing Marvellous // Road Test (MGF VVC)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 30 ก.ค. 2020
- It's the MGF VVC (the fast one!). We test the acceleration, handling, brakes, and suspension all to the limit and then at more sensible speeds, as well as having a reviewing the interesting features that the MGF has to offer.
Has this 90s British sports car stood the test of time?
We push the car to the limit, cover the most interesting features and design details for every one of our road tests, for cars that should appeal to the driving enthusiast. Why not watch another? • Car Reviews
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Finally a reviewer that gets it! The MGF is a criminally underrated sports car and deserves a lot more love and respect than it gets,.
Thanks! Only a matter of time I reckon - Aaron
@@EGMedia1 Hi Aaron. I really hope so. They are so cheap at the moment that the worry is they are just all going to end up in wreckers yards as the cost of repairs out strips the value of the car. My 1997 VVC is a keeper. I've wanted one ever since seeing them at the Brisbane Motor Show way back in 1996. I still have all of the magazines with reviews and the sales brochure from the time :)
@@gordonhack5212 im going to try one out tomorrow not a vvc but nice condition. Im 9ver in australia atm. Thanks for the review.
@@TheRobynhud this is my MGF in NZ have had it 10 years and done 60,000 ks love it th-cam.com/video/KhQ8yIWXGm0/w-d-xo.html
@@gordonhack5212 Picking up a 1996 racing green VVC on Saturday with a bit of luck!
Excellent road test video. Thank you.
Now, a word to the wise… I have run an MGF VVC for several years now and love it. Yes, it is severely under-rated, yes it is a whole load of fun and yes it is surprisingly practical. The cockpit is cosy but not cramped and there is a surprising amount of luggage room. The heater really works well. I love the way the exhaust note can vary from very quiet and well-mannered to a real obnoxious snarl when accelerating hard.
It is certainly quick enough to keep up with today's traffic and to startle a few other drivers, especially on a road with bends. The handling is excellent. Pretty soon it will begin to feel like an extension of your fingertips. Built in big silly grin factor. The road-holding is glue-like. But beware of the temptation to explore the handling limit. The car will be on rails when a good many other “sports” cars will have departed. Not just my opinion, by the way. I recall an article by a test and development driver. But when it goes, first you will be travelling pretty quickly and secondly it goes in typical mid-engine fashion, i.e. with the speed of a striking snake and you don’t get any warning.
As the commentary says, normally it understeers and you have to really provoke it to induce oversteer. Well, I did. After several years of the car inspiring confidence I was just that little bit too confident. Applied power too enthusiastically coming out of a fast roundabout and was immediately spinning down the road. I’m still not sure if I went round once or twice. It happened very suddenly and was completely confusing. No other traffic about and the damage to the car was fixable. The police who attended were remarkably unworried. But it could have been very nasty. I still love the little beast but I have a great deal more respect for it now.
It can be important to be running the right tyres. There is a useful discussion about this in the MGF Register forum. Also if you are going to drive quickly, book some track time, possibly with an instructor. Try over-cooking it deliberately and get familiar with what happens on the limit. This isn’t a car where you can get the back end out comparatively easily and get it back in, in a well-mannered fashion. This is a car which will cling on to the road in a quite astonishing fashion... until it doesn’t.
I should add that bimbling quietly down country lanes with the top down is very enjoyable. If you are on a long run with the top down, windows and deflector up it is surprisingly civilised. If you hit rain don't worry, as long as you can keep moving it all blows over the top. Running with the top down under a starry night sky can be glorious, but also fairly dangerous as there is always the temptation to look up and take your attention off the road. Put the hard top on in winter and it is a very comfortable snug closed car.
I can attest to that. Just had the rear end break away whilst cornering (not quickly or tightly) on a wet road. Once rear end grip is lost it’s lost until you stop. Very scary but luckily I was able to narrowly avoid oncoming vehicles and a roadside crash barrier. I’m currently investigating alternative tyre options and driving with a new-found respect when on wet roads.
@@petcatznz The current recommendation is the Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun, which replaced the ZE914. I found a set of 914s in good condition with loads of tread left s/h and they have transformed the car. The alloys they are on are in better condition than the ones they replaced too. The car feels far less twitchy and more "planted". I'm still driving a great deal more cautiously, though. Having found the limit once I don't want to go there again. As you say, "Once rear end grip is lost it’s lost until you stop."
@@johndavies5826 Thanks for the tyre info. I’ve been driving my F like a saint when on wet roads and have had no more scares. What’s weird though is my car still sticks to the road like it’s on rails in the dry and is such fun to drive then. I’ll add an update when have some new tyres to report on. Cheers
I bought a VVC about a year ago. It had 50,000 miles so as a precaution I changed the head gasket and bolts (by an expert). I also replaced the hydragas with a brand new set as the nitrogen spheres were done. In the process I changed the brakes all round so I have one in really great condition. I have driven the Mazdas often and tried the Elise. This is much more fun and faster overall. The handling is great and the extra horses on the VVC give the car a great feel and excellent performance.
Got my Mk2 VVC in the same colour back in June, best purchase I've ever made, the last owner fitted an induction kit, stainless exhaust system, and the 52mm throttle body, not dyno'd it but its got enough grunt to give the suits in their German saloons a surprise! Already taken it around Scotland (I live on the south coast!) and most of Wales. Never, ever selling it if I can help it, I'm gonna be that old guy who still has the silly car he bought as a young lad.
Its also my first car! After 12 years of only having motorbikes, I don't have the endurance or tolerance for winter riding anymore, a backpack is not enough for shopping either. A mid engined convertible sports car seemed a sensible compromise. If I had to have a 'normal' car I'd just go back to motorbikes instead, fun transport doesn't need to be expensive.
Head gasket ever gone on yours? If/when mine does I'm using the opportunity to have the ports bored out :P extract even more horsepower!
Sounds like a fair compromise! They are great fun, sure spice up the grocery run. No head gasket issues on mine yet. Probably a good idea on the ports, I'll have to think about that myself!
Very well presented.
Well done. Looking the Mgf
I just bought an MGTF. This last week. I cannot stop smiling. So much fun. I love it . Great man toy
great review I have had mine for 10 years still love driving it it"s a fun car with a good sound
They don’t oversteer until it rains 😂 great little cars I loved my one. I want another one but a 160 this time
Had mine for 8 years, bought for £800 love it! It's a joy to drive on Northumbrian B roads and comfortable enough to have been all round Europe in it.
As in reasonable condition but 24 years old now I have decided to keep it permanently and just spent £xxxxxx.00 restoring it.
Now completely rebuilt engine with small mods, gearbox etc, new subframes.( bought some years ago when still available), suspension brakes etc and complete repaint. Only interior to smarten up.
Yes the K series is prone to head gasket problems and a few difficult to resolve engine management issues. Thermostat removed from block and replaced with remote thermostat next to front radiator has solved any temperature / head problems for the for last 6 years.
Will I get money back no... well not for another ten years or so if ever ......
But at 6" 2" with bad back it's the only small open top sports car I comfortably fit in and at 68 still provokes me to drive like i did as a teenager !!
Great review! I owned a 1.8i back in 1998 and my Dad had a VVC, which I then had for a while too. I did once get 43mpg from the 1.8i, but my 'normal' average was 28 and 27mpg for the VVC. Very underrated cars IMO. Reckon I might be seeing a lot more of the one in your video!
bought my VVC brand new with EVERY option then available (R-Reg) .. cost me a fortune (£1000+ for air con?!) Full cream leather and everything else. I took it to the south of France in 2001 for my honeymoon .. what a fabulous adventure. I have kept it since, and sadly it has stayed in a garage for the past 8 years on flat tyres. never going to sell it though .. so I need a specialist to come get it, get it fixed and back on the road. Anyone who knows a specialist, get them to PM me. Maybe it's time.
Still got mine from new 1995 1.8i standing on blocks, next project before we all have to go to batteries! Nice show thanks.
I have a lovely MG F mk2 Tahiti Blue with hard top; the third F in a row.
Timeless stylish car, fun to drive, excellent MPG, confortable.
A little Aston Martin.
The prices are increasing; the value is multiplied more than 2,5 since 2017; great value for money.
MG F eclipses BMW Z3, MAZDA MX5, Alfa GTV Spyder, and Us much more stylish than MERCEDES SLK
Definitely agree it's a miniature exotic! The Z3 is a nice car too though, maybe watch our video on it ;)
Awesome review. Thanks.
I think the MGF is a better car in every way than the TF. First, there seem to be rust problems with the TF, more so than the MGF. The suspension on the MGF, when working properly, is much better than any other car of it's type. The styling is the original perfect design - unlike the Jaguar S Type, which had a flawed initial design, this one cannot be improved by a facelift. Some seem to like the MX5 - the styling of that thing is "scoolboyish". The MGF is a fine Lady, not an unrully oaf or an inexperienced boy. Every MGF owner and driver is proud to be at the wheel of the finest MG Sports Car ever made. Thanks for your honest review. Nuff said.
The perfect road test. My silver one is sitting outside my front door. Just had knee operation so not allowed to drive for 7 more weeks. Very frustrating 😢😢😢😢
Indeed a precise and lovely review. I am (living in Frankfurt) thinking intensly of buying such "criminally underrated" car. There are some occasions online, I have to select wisely. Prices are relatively high around 7.000 EUR for MFG , year of manufacture 2000, 36.000 km. As an example. But I still have some reservations, e.g., are there spare parts in case of repair (engine etc.) available? Hmm. But again, thanks for the review. It helped a lot pushing my decisions. A lovely car. All best to you!
correction: intensively
Hi Fabian. Thanks. I've found spare parts and community support to be very good. You can often find even the smallest component with not much trouble or cost.
Excellent driving! How does it compare to the MGTF?
Have you tried using seat lowering springs?
He may not mention that certain other car, but I will - I sold an MX5 Mk2 and bought a very early MGF. If you put quality and reliability ahead of fun and character get an MX5. Otherwise it has to be an F! Testers always seem to bring up the seating position, but for me it's fine. However nobody ever mentions the offset pedals!!
Maybe I've been lucky but I have driven an MGF VVC as my daily driver for a good many years now and found it to be extremely reliable.
@@johndavies5826 Only last week I had to be towed home by the AA after a hose split - luckily that's all it was, I feared the worst! And I spotted the steam rising out of the boot lid before I'd lost much coolant. But I guess this is the sort of thing that can happen to any 26 year old car. If you carry out regular maintenance and checks then there's no reason why an F shouldn't be reliable. But the quality of the interior, doors etc is much better on an MX5.
Before i die my last words will be i once had an MG MGF VVC 1.8. and nobody will believe me
Nur geil Ich fahre auch einen
The uneven wavy piping across the top of the seat backs is enough to put me off of the thing.
What uneven wavy piping?
OK. MG F +TF
Nice review, I have a mk3 mx5 but have never considered one of these. I think they are less popular for two reasons. One, I think the styling is a bit awkward and it does not look very grown up. Certainly as a man, not a car I would want to be seen in. Secondly, I think the car suffers from the reputation of MG Rover Group as a whole at the time. A sinking ship, and perhaps that overshadows this if it is truly a design gem.
Each to their own. This is very subjective. Personally I like the styling of the MGF. It has echoes of an aerodynamic teardrop and consists of a set of gentle curves that flow into each other nicely. I do find the TF a bit awkward, with its attempt to make this gentle looking design appear harder and more aggressive with a few straight edges around the intakes. But then that is only one person's subjective opinion and besides, I doubt if they had the money to do a full restyle. Most of it was being siphoned off so that when the "phoenix four" gutted the company, they'd have a nice nest egg.
As for "certainly as a man, not a car I would want to be seen in", I have to say I find that a bit odd. I'm happy with my penis and feel no need to use a car as a virility substitute. Also, while I care somewhat what people think, (we're a social species so it is impossible not to, entirely) I probably care less than you might expect and certainly less than many people do. Also while the Mk3 MX5 is certainly a very pleasant car, it is hardly an example of macho styling.
I did consider the MX5. But I bought the MGF VVC for various reasons; very affordable, a little bit more room in the cockpit, a boot it is possible to use, a slight but definite edge in performance and handling, (later models of the MX5 are quicker, of course, but quite a bit more expensive), it is British, spares are cheaper and I liked the styling more. This is of course entirely subjective, but I find the MX5 a bit anodyne, as if a reasonably talented teenager had been commissioned to draw their idea of a sports car, whereas I find the MGF pleasingly individual. But then each to their own.
K series with a chocolate head gasket no thanks
That problem has been sorted for many years by now.
It’s not a head gasket issue. It’s a cooling design issue on the early MGFs, which is relatively easily fixed with a different thermostat arrangement.
Very limp wristed gear changing though, in the fashion of a gay boy!