Britain's Answer To The MX5.. Is Better Than You Think!! MG TF
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 8 ก.ย. 2024
- They don't have the best reputation.. but maybe we have all been missing out on the last real British mass produced sports car?
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18yr rover/MG tech here. the MGF was built on a shoe-string, apart from the bodyshell, everything was out the rover parts bin. it had a metro front subframe at the front, with the engine/gearbox taken out. it had ANOTHER metro front subframe at the rear, fitted with a rover 200 engine/gearbox, you can see the metro's front tow-hooks just in front of the rear wheels! the petrol tank was a plastic bag, which when filled with petrol, swelled up + filled up the available space behind the seats... when rover + BMW split, the germans refused to hand back the Hydragas suspension patent, trying to prevent rover making any more MGF's , so the "coil-over" suspension was hastily designed, it worked, but it certainly was not an "upgrade", the first lot were rock-hard + kept snapping the shocker bolts, which now had to also hold the car up [coil-over], so the "comfort pack" was primarily to prevent suspension failures, but worked well.
at PDI, you took off the standard exhaust off [needed for type approval], + fitted a straight-through one to the highest output models, saving on approval costs...
so, this mish-mash should of been horrid, but, nope, they were quite good...
Great comment! Thanks and Greetings from the Netherlands
Sounds like a complete shitbox then🧐.
I bought my MGF new in January 1996 and I still own it! It’s been the most reliable car I’ve owned and it’s never blown a head gasket. And I track my cars.
I loved this MGF so much I ended up getting another, just for hill climbs, sprints and track days. Brilliant little cars!❤
Jack, as the owner of a '96 MGF I am pleased you have finally got around to trying the MGTF. Going by the comments the car has a love it or hate it reputation. Personally, having owned my car for about eight years I love it. In contrast, I also have a first year MX5 which I dearly love as well. Which do I prefer? Well, the last one of the two that I drove, obviously.
I'm on my 5th F/TF after 20 years and must have done over 200k miles and fixed everything in that time! They are a hoot to drive on country roads, reliable (after fixing everything!), 40+ mpg dirt cheap to run except for the car tax which is almost £400 which annoys me as its far more eco friendly keeping my car going than a new one, especially an EV. I actually look forward to driving the TF especially with the hood down, unlike soulless modern cars.
I had a 6 month old MG TF 160 when I was 19. Absolutely loved it.
My son is on his second TF. It's a 2002 model and has the 1.8 K Series engine and the improved gasket. He absolutely loves it.
I worked in the UK for two years helping to integrate the recently purchased UK company into our worldwide company.
A co-worker had one of these and would pick me up for work and we had a commute that included country roads.
It was a lot of fun but it was pretty problematic and it blew a couple of head gaskets and had quite a few electrical issues.
Couple of HGF failures? Sure the cheapskates at BMW spec'ed a low quality one, the engine itself is fine, but a single better quality should have fixed it permanatly.
The Rover K series engine in 1.8 litre form did have have gasket issues and it was an unique design as was the allnew K series engine. BMW had nothing to do with Rover/BL, this is before they took control. The developmentof the K series engine was paid for by the government@jujuUK68
I think your description of it as the last British mass produced sports car is bang on. As was done in the past it was a bespoke looking car that was actually made from a lot of components originally destined for more mundane machinery. The K-Series was brilliant in concept and dreadful in manufacture. For competition use we had to machine the top of the block so that it was parallel to the crankshaft centre line and then machine each liner individually to get them all at the same installed height. They used cheap plastic dowels to locate the head to the block too, which meant that cylinder head would squirm around rather than being solidly located. If they had simply used steel dowels in the first place and made shim kits available to correct the liner height problem they would probably have spent less than an extra £1 per engine which is absolutely nothing compared to the warranty costs and reputation damage they must have incurred. A bloody tragedy.
The original pre-BMW K-Series used stainless steel dowels and a multi layer gasket, but BMW changed them as a cost cutting measure against Rover’s protestations - “Don’t tell us how to make engines!” was their reported response. The later Chinese cars reverted to the original specifications.
Finally an MGTF. And this is so well presented. Yes my icon has an MGF, but I also have the MGTF with the VVC engine. Both were modified for hillclimbs. And if the Lotus Elise stayed away from a meeting I won that round. I sold the MGF with 230,000Klm on the clock as I used it for a daily as well as a club car. Until the better headgasket came out I suffered a few headgasket fails. I tried to get the MGF suspension to work but could not get new displacers in Oz. I solved the problem of wheel bearings on the F by using Lotus Elise bearings. They don't fit the MGTF. Thanks Jack, another good video.
Love my MGF - if you take it as a 7/10s roadster as opposed to a sports car it’s very charming and enjoyable to drive
I have a facelift MGF, with the same interior as the TF. In the traditional British Racing Green with cream leather and dash.
And I consider it as a great little car. I like the hydragas, I have some modified spheres on order now and the car is at the MG specialist now for some GAZ shocks. I absolutely love the little car and I confess it is actually my favorite car of my little fleet (Jaguar S-Type 2.7d, Rover 200 BRM and the MGF). You can throw it into corners with absolute confidence and it reminds me of my Mini’s I had in the nineties. Yes, the interior is a little cheap, but it does the job. Mine had lots of (fake) wood in it and that looks nice. I love it and I think you were a little slow in the Essex, Jack! The car can handle a lot more 😂
It's worth noting that the MGF was torsionally stiffer than the BMW Z3 at the time. I too find the power steering fine but if you want more feel just remove the large fuse under the bonnet. I love my MGF VVC and can't see me selling it.
I've owned three - a 2001 MGF 1.8 mpi which I bought in 2002 and kept for 3 years as a daily driver, a 2005 TF-135 like this one here which I bought brand new and was one of the last out of Longbridge before it shut in April 2005 (had that for almost 4 years, also used as a daily driver), and then a 2004 TF-160 which was a daily driver for 7 years before I had to buy something sensible (I keep it garaged and only use for sunny day spins). GREAT cars that are very endearing thanks to their revvy K-series engines and excellent fun factor. Yes, build quality was poor compared to the MX5 or MR2, and reliability was marred by the head gasket issue, but it makes me laugh these days in hindsight when I look at all the negative commentary about HGF. It costs about the same as a major service for most cars to get the HG done and that is the only Achilles' heel of the F/TF. Electrics are good, gearbox is good, parts are in plentiful supply. They have a decent boot for weekends and a roof that (generally) keeps the water out. What's not to like?
I have a mgtf 80th aniversary and used to own a mgf mk1. I Love my tf it's a cool little car has just enought power to have fun handles nicely and mine has the 4 pot ap racing brakes 304mm discs they make a considerable difference. They seem to have a poor reputation especialy from people who have never owned one always the same crack about headgaskets ect..The head gasket is quite cheap to fix around £300 with a mg mobile macahanic so isn't the end of the world nowerdays. The f and tf are massively underrated and they can't be that bad as there are still so many being driven now after over 20 years 😊
I always quite liked the MGF and the TF. They make a super cheap fun summer car now.
As a service manager in a Rover dealership in the late 90s and early 2000s they were good for my budgets as they were forever being recovered in with head gasket failure and we earned a lot of money as they were so bad , unfortunately as they were so bad people decided not to buy the very much out of date brand and I very much remember being a manager in charge of a brand that existed no more thanks to the Phoenix five
Not had a chance to drive an MGF or TF, but I can testify to how much fun the mk1 MX5 was.
With a good working Hydragas suspension irs a very good sportscar
The original Mini had rubber springs but adopted hydrolastic suspension in 1964 after it was developed for the 1100. Hydragas was developed for the Allegro and was used on the Metro. Minis went back to rubber springs in 1969. The MGF used two Metro (Rover 100) front subframes complete with Metro suspension. The TF reverted to steel springs in 2002, much as the Citroen ZX abandoned the fluid suspension of the BX. Rover would have loved more unity with Honda, but Honda did not want greater ownership of Rover.
As the owner of an '01 MGF, it's great to see this review. They're a relatively simple car to work on, with lots of parts easily available. Hoping to change out the very stiff hydrogras suspension in mine for a spring/shock conversion kit within the next 18 months.
I used to own a dragon green mgf with tan roof and it was a great little summer car but dont ever show it a wet road, even with pirelli all round it was a handful!
The original Mini briefing had Hydrolastic suspension before being replaced with much cheaper rubber cones. IT NEVER had Hydragas as that hasn't been invented yet and would have been too expensive anyway. The Maxi eventually received Hydragas and the Allegro was launched with it
No. the Mini first came out with rubber cones, then hydrolastic, then back to rubber cones.
Jack did say it was in the mould of those earlier cars. I agree with him in that there’s a lineage of innovation back to the cones via hydrolastic. I get what you’re saying but I don’t think he was being quite so specific in his referencing ?
Jack, so glad you did this review and that you liked the car. They are hugely underrated in my opinion. I had a 2002 TF 160 back in 2010-2011 before I left the UK. Everyone told me at the time I was mad to sell my Audi A3 Sport and buy the TF but I had always wanted one. The TF was an absolutely brilliant car - It never, ever let me down (unlike the Audi!) it was fun to own and to drive, I toured in France and Cornwall in it with no problems whatsoever - The only thing that ever failed was a dashboard bulb and that was about a pound and 10 mins with a screwdriver to fix! These cars have an unfair reputation and in my opinion are undervalued on the classic car market - I would have another in a heartbeat! Great video.
What a cracking and incredibly undervalued little bundle of fun the TF is! The handling is superb, being mid-engined, and so flickable. I'm on my second one, having fallen in love with them when my daughter bought one. It terms of smiles per £, the TF must be at the top of the table. My little Goldie is the one reviewed by your fellow Tuber, JayEmm last year.
I bought my first MGB before I had my license (it never did run, but I managed to sell it at a profit a year or so later). Then in my senior year of high school I bought my first MG Midget (and it did run). Then the next summer I bought a (mid-engine, rear drive) Fiat X1/9. Followed by one of the last new 1979 MG Midgets about six months later. So you can imagine how badly I'd like to have an MG TF (a mid-engine, rear drive MG!). When I lived in Germany (1998 - 2004) I often saw them. Alas, they were never sold in the States. But now that they are 25 years old perhaps its time for me to go shopping in Germany and bring one back...
My daughter bought a MGF Wedgwood SE ast year, identical to the image in the video. I drove it back to South Wales from Manchester where we bought it and was blown away by how good it was. You have to remember it’s an MG not a Lotus - An affordable Sports car you can use every day - I think they hit the brief bang on.
There is a further update - the LE....
Another excellent video. As regards to the R-V8, it was really a stop gap to bring people back to the idea of MG Sports cars in production. as opposed to hot versions of mainstream family cars. The MGF was already in development. Personally I prefer the hydrogas suspension, especially with the state of British roads these days. Finally as for the gasket, SAIC (the current owners of MG) did a lot of fettling with the K-Series engine and sorted out the Gasket issue. I believe that it will fit the original engine as well. So maybe worth speaking to current MG dealers if they can source a replacement from China by SAIC, as that will sort out the issue. Worth checking. Finally of all the Models, my first choice would be the original VVC model in BRG and red interior, followed by the TF 160 Trophy in either BRG or Yellow. They really cracking cars to drive. 🙂
@TheOffertonhatter On the rover 200 series fitted with the "K" series engine, which I had the misfortune to work on it was recommended by the machine shop that I used a PAYEN head gasket rather than the original one.
@@neilsa9292 Sounds about right. The OEM gasket is far from perfect.
A guy in my street has one on his driveway.....I've never seen it move or run in around 8 years! It's a good-looking little thing, in my opinion.
Cracking stuff as always, Jack, buddy 👍
Yeah I think they’re not bad looking.. prefer a Mk1 MX5 though!
Loved my MGF, VVC mk1, test drove an MX5 and was disappointed with the test drive. I had an integrale evo2 and Merc CLK at the time. Sold it on after 3 years of happy ownership for an Elise S2s, not because I fell out of love with it, just cause I wanted something a bit more upmarket for dropping the roof. Back to the MGF, you could manually drop and pull up the roof in seconds without moving from the drivers seat. It was slated as a hair dressers car but didn't deserve it. Edit- my mechanic raced MG's and fixed the HGF issue very easily.
I’ve owned my TF for almost 20 years, the first 10 as my only car, they are surprisingly easy to learn live with and tend to have less issues if used and not sat around only being used every other summer Sunday
Nice to see this gem covered. I had a '67 MGB which I loved. Never saw a TF.
Had a MGF 97 was fun but I never truly fell in love with it always felt like I was sat on in rather then in it so to speak. I'm 5.8 and I always felt like I had to hunch down to get the top of the screen out of my eyeline
TY Jack! 🙏 MGTF was a good car if HG addressed. Bit light on front end at speed, but can make a good. Interior cheap, but more instruments. A cheap roundabout or trackday car. The TF, Mx5 & MR2 all have their advantages & disadvantages, so pick any flavour you like!
John Toshack used to drive an MGF in green while he was living in Istanbul during his Besiktas years.
Is that a + or -
Neutral.
Great review Jack. These did compete with the MK1 MX5 as I test drove an MGF around 95/96 but at £15k was too pricey. So that lead me to a used 1990 MX5 and a long term love affair with the MX5 instead. So in many ways I have to thank the MGF for leading me to the MX5. Ps I take nothing from the MGF it was a great car in its day and fun to drive. I used MX5 was £5k cheaper though. But the MGF definitely competed with the MK1 MX5 👍🏻
I really wish Honda had supplied the engine though! That with a VTEC lump would epic..
VVC Engine is fantastic - pulls hard from low revs and doesn't need thrashing to make it go. S2000 makes you feel like a passenger not a driver when VTEC cuts in.
The Hydragas suspension was dropped after the Metro was discontinued. It became uneconomic to produce just for the MGF, according to Alex Moulton's book.
Most of the changes that turned the MGF into the TF were aimed at making it cheaper to build. For example, the F has a mesh cover over the engine, below the solid one, deleted on the TF. The suspension on the F, being conventional was cheaper to produce than the hydragas in the F, and easier to maintain, if less advanced and refined
On my second, had the F years ago and now on a 135 TF. Great cars and when you push them, they are great fun. Regular fluid level checks and services are key.
Always liked these. The late model ones especially and I actually prefer them in looks to an MX-5, (which I also like).
Really underrated.
we had a BRG 1.8i (non-VVC) N-plate that was re-imported from Japan. It was a lot of fun but had to move it on when "baby forces sale" happened. We were in "the MG family" though... I had a MG ZS and was ensconced in the owners community - going to events and regular meetups etc. it was a fun time! maybe we'll get another late one in the near future...
I drove a '97 MGF VVC in 1998. At the time I had a SW20 MR2. The difference between 2 mid engined cars was "significant". On a road that I drove daily, the MGF was a horrid place to be. The engine was asthmatic and it understeered like a mk2 Escort. I know that wasn't a TF, but it put me of that design for life. IMO, the K-series looked after, without VVC was amazing (first run of Metro GTi). Just my 2p worth Jack and fellow viewers!
I’m sure Lotus never used the VVC so like you suggest they avoided it.
@@adrianbennett3761 Elise 111S had the VVC K-series.
Had a neighbour who bought a brand new one in 95 from Edwards of Stratford, on its first drive it caught fire in front of a local county pub and totally burned out, she bought an MX5
My wife had a brand new one and it drove brilliantly. Was usable with the boot for holidays we both loved it. Then the head gasket went and subsequently I found the dealers were under instructions to measure the stretch bolts when removed and reuse the ones within the tolerance they gave. It failed again and was fixed by this time my wife was losing faith. It broke down again an unrelated problem and that was that it had to go as she had lost faith. Replaced it with and MR2 which never missed a beat but suffered bad scuttle shake and had no luggage space at all. It the TF had the MR2 engine and reliability it would have been perfect, I still miss it
I often think of these when I drive up the A1 past Trophy Cars. They specialise and have a compound full of MG's.
Whatever the case ... as something made of unobtainium to me in Texas ... I quite like it
Thanks for watching dude and a big wave 👋 to Texas 🇺🇸!!
The MGF had two major problems; 1) The K-series engine and 2) Anthea Turner.
Petrolheads knew about the issues with the K-series and everybody else associated the car with Anthea Turner, which didn't do a lot for it's image.
There's a story about the MGF where, apparently, it started off as a "skunkworks" project, with Rover employees stripping out a Mk2 Toyota MR2 and replacing all the mechanicals with Rover parts.
When management found out, they were given the green light to complete the project but only if they were willing to do it after work and unpaid.
It's kind of interesting that the MGF originally shared the market with the Mk2 MR2 and today used prices are so different.
10 years ago you could pick up an MR2 or an MGF for £3k-£4k whereas today MR2s are £10k and up and MGFs go for less than a grand.
These days you can buy Mk3 MR2s for about the same price as an MGF and the Mk3 MR2 is a much, much better car to drive.
Stalks look like those in the DA Integra. By far the most satisfying indicator switches I've used. No other car has even come close.
this is a late model, honda engine the 1800 was incredible nice and drives perfect, when released only by order no stock available
I have the mgzr, it is 06 reg and still performs like a new car, not many left now so we need to look after them, it will still be here when some of the new EV cars are on the scrapheap
Ι owned a MG F (bought new as a stock from Rover) from 5/2003 till 7/2009. It was the 1.8 120 bhp. Not a bad thing at all (lovely design, descent acceleration, average braking abilities, good road holding). The problem was it was blowing the head gasket every 40.000 km. Totally unacceptable & what a shame for an appealing small sports car.
Can't speak for the TF but I had an MR2 mk1 and MX5 mk1 and they were excellent cars - the MR2 being the better imho.
When we get to these sorts of motors it'd be great if there was a group test...
The head gaskets didn't fail due to poor headgasket design but because the fire rings were pitted and used poorer aluminium. This was sandwiched through the block with extended headbolts which prevented lift. MLS gaskets aren't necessarily a cure but mobile fitters such as Rough luck racing and MG Rover mechanics will come to your house and replace the gasket for less than £500. I've had 7 TFs and 5Fs. The K series is actually a light, free revving engine.
I have had mgtf and MX5s. Never had an issue with Mazdas at all. Mg had many issues and faults. Drove ok and felt more pokey than similar engined mx5
I think I prefer the styling of the F to that of the TF, but still, what a lovely car.
I really liked my last TF until it nearly killed me by suddenly developing rear wheel steering at 50mph on the motorway. Spun round a couple of times and hit the central barrier. Still managed to limp home though!
Thank you think??😂
Very informaive as always, please do a 90's Lotus Elan soon.
Have reviewed one already! Have a search and you’ll find it!
I always thought the last version was a really sweet looking car, but I had chums with them back in the day, and, yes, the head gasket leak, and leaking roofs put the dampener(oil and rain) on the experience. A real shame, as they still look great today
I’ve got a 160TF and it’s a very good open top car to thrash along b roads. Interesting you focus on the indicator stalks as a popular mod is to add the freelander ones 🤣🤣
Love my TF 135. Got it for Autosolo’s. Turned out a better car than I thought it would be.
My mum sold hers the day before the head gasket failed ! I do remember as a passenger it was pretty stiff which was not pleasant. I'm sure it was nicer to drive.
A friend of mine spent time working with the design team in the early days, he said that there was an intention to use the Honda v-tec engines, but that died when Rover started talking to BMW.
Having had 5 of these over the years (every model but the Nac and the 1.6) I like them. Rotten front and rear subframes, sills and usual old car stuff to look out for but they’ve been good. The k series loves to be revved. There a massive spares and support network, better than any other “classic” Spares are plentiful and cheap, with the exception of the gear link cable clip. I hit a speed bump, scraping this off and took ages to source… £2000 gets a decent one. £5,000 a minter!
EVERYTHING in the MG Rover range from around 2003 was being significantly cheapened and diminished as they tried to survive before Chinese companies were supposed to step in and save them….
i almost bought one in mint condition 1800 engine for 1.000€ ,it´s litle and i had no parking place for it so i let it go but was very nice, this last month but drove a lot one when they were released by order, only later they were available in any rover stand
The headgasket issues can be solved permanently by using a late model Freelander kit. After that the K-series is a nice engine without big flaws
Always looked a pretty car design wise and still look quite fresh nowadays. I think they were slightly cramped inside and had cheap interiors. I think the mistake was the mechanical layout of buried mid engine with the k-series reliability issues. Tried to be a bit too clever when they had very limited budget. But the Rover (BL) problems were sown years earlier. Better if they'd streamlined models to have one reliable solid straightforward sports car, ie good choice of front engines, bit more room and quality inside and the nice design look etc. This would have enabled them to justify a more premium price and profit. Mazda basically copied a standard British sports car concept but updated it a bit and made it more reliable. Rover needed to come in slightly above that. More like something between a MGTF and a Stag in concept. The British motor car industry had terrible disjointed management.
I don’t even know how comes this is the first time I ever see this car ever. Even tho I watched Top Gear episodes of that time, Fifth Gear and other wonderful series. Can’t believe that on your channel there are so many models of cars I’ve never heard of, and they all come from my favorite pre-2008 era. Thank you so much for making your reviews, sir! I appreciate your work very much.💙💛
These are much better than people think, I had one and it was an amazing little car. One of my favourites. Sadly the British always rubbish their cars, as if they have to apologise for making good cars, they trash them for no reason and thats probably why the UK doesn't have a motor industry. look at the crap being sold as an MG now and no one says a thing; if MG had made those while Bristish they would have attacked them as British crap. Sad really. The British need to learn that its OK to be proud and patriotic, it really is!
Love this car - I rented one in late 90s for long weekend, it was a hoot and decent GT tripper.
I had a friend who bought one of these years ago. He drove it a lot, enjoyed it thoroughly. Come MOT time it was brought to his attention that he had actually bought two cars but he'd only got half of each of them, if you know what I mean. He was not best pleased as you might imagine.
I can imagine!! 😆😆
Agreed that small sportscars are great and the MGTF is great to drive on small roads.
However, it has a very poor Metro pedal box (even for average drivers), rubbery gearbox and low quality interior. It is frankly uncomfortable if you drive for more than an hour.
The TF is a financial disaster if anything in the engine bay needs attention (air conditioning, head gasket, hoses...).
Most banal interventions require engine (read: complete subframe, engine and gearbox) removal. This will be very difficult (even for the thoughtful amateur or run of the mill local garage) to solve.
Quite incredibly, Rover and SAIC (the Chinese firm) never thought of having a Boxster style access panel. All of the above is compounded with the SAIC version for which the Chinese parts are NLA...so you will need to make your own or tour the scrapyards (the natural habitat of the SAIC MGTF).
The above explains why even good ones are cheap.
You can get a good one for 2 grand great car for the money
They are great value for money currently but they are a tad difficult to work on, being that they are mid engined and some accessibility isn’t great.
Owned and enjoyed my TF for 12 years, still enjoyable.
The scariest car i've ever driven on a the wet a death trap done a 360 on roundabouts a couple of times and the front end is so light it locks up very easy. Just behind a Morris Marina.
Say...is the MGF /MGTF (1995-2011) not just a continuation of the collaboration with Honda based upon the Honda Del Sol (1992-1998) ...? I mean...they are the same size, they both are more or less from the same era, they share a lot of tech like the Honda VTEC engines amongst other many parts... and so is it not likely that even though Honda stepped out of the deal to work together with MG in what 2005?, The MGT / MGTF was in fact nothing more and nothing less than a slightly modified HONDA Del Sol..? Something many car manufacturers do: They basically create1 model and have other makes they have a deal with make their own version of this very model. I mean, look what they did with the Isuzu Trooper in the 1990s, for example...
There are a couple of these around where I live and I see them quite regularly. I have to say that they are looking rather shabby these days, and both are smoking from the exhaust quite badly, but at least they're still going which is to be commended.
I worked at a Rover dealer from the late 90's till the mid 2000's and I never liked the TF. The MGF Trophy 160 was the best one of the bunch I ever drove. Interestingly never saw much HG failures apart from on poorly serviced cars and cars that sat around a lot. The MGFs that were most reliable were the ones in regular use.
I would still rather have had a Rover 200 Coupe though.
These cars need Toyo or Yokohama Tires for Enhanced grip.
I had Michelins on mine
Actually fairly economical as well, Mx5s are a bit juicy, k series feels strong, but hgf is never far away, overheats, liners drop a few tho and you'll not get a seal again. It was amazing how rover could make the interior feel so cheap and rattly as well.
I had P reg, in Green. It was fun to drive. I am 5ft 6 and fitted perfect 😂
Thanks Jack. Love your review.
Cars in this class don't and never did compete with the supercars or even fast coupes of their era, if they did they would cost a shitload more to buy. The MX5 did not succed because it was a redlight killer, its fun cars. I chipped my Fiat Barchetta to from 130 to 170 hp, but took it back down to original, it was a better car at 130, most driving is to buy bread and butter and drive speed limit anyway and you dont need to guard it through the bends with 130, just love the feel of open top driving in a car that demand high revs and determination to performe, and if not it will be like any other Punto out there. As it should be. Love it.
I’m a proud owner of a TF 160 since 2016. I love it!
I always though this was so much better looking than the competition. A bit purposeful and a bit cute. Being an American, I never got to drive one. Like most cars of this era, the smart money was probably just spent on another Miata / MX-5
The K series engine used to blow their head gaskets because Rover used glue instead of a proper head gasket presumably to cut costs.
I really liked the car, handling, looks, but we also had many MX-5 , Z3's in maintenance and to be honest, compared to those, it's a lemon built.
But still, the handling is very good, nice stiff body !
Thanks for sharing chap!! MX5s are very good..
Also unfortunate "maximization of profit" took hold, and by then every model should bring money by the tons or otherwise it's dropped - These small sportscars are "halo products", they don't probably bring that much money into, but their create an allure around their maker, that's the return you have. Mazda has doing the good thing in still making the MX-5, hope others can understand and return to this segment.
I remember hitting a mini round about in my TF160. It was bouncing it down. I turned my wheel to go right and the car just carried going straight on lol. Although I did have fun in it. I use to put on my Craig david bo sekecta mask and drive around with the roof down staring at people. Early 00s were awesome
‘Bo Selecta mask’ 😆😆😆😆😆
@Number27 yes. I actually sold the mask a year later for £600 and made £400 profit. The same can't be said for the TF160 though I lost a couple of grand on that. I actually bought it salvage. I spoke to previous owner. I bought the car at 6 month old. The original owner was a RAF pilot and he lost it on way home one evening and wrote it off. I ended up getting a 6 month old TF160 With 2500 miles on clock for a very good price at 19 years of age i thought i was the bomb. If you remember back the TF160 were quite expensive at the time. It was lovely looking in the X Power grey and TF160 had the AP racing brakes. It was actually a very fast car i remember racing the old GOLF R32 and would beat them.
Owned an mk1 mx5, mr2 mk2 and now a mgtf135 . Japanese cars had far superior build quality as you'd expect, Mazda cute and intuitive in the way it obeyed driver input. Mr2 a useful GT had the most luggage space, still handled in the twisties but demanded more respect and looked amazing with a few aftermarket body mods.
Bought the TF 135 for £950 , far cheaper than the mx/mr2 these days. More poke than the Mazda and more roomy inside. Crap gearchange which a bit of fiddling will no doubt improve but ultimately won't get anywhere near the mx5 in that respect.
The MG feels nimbler and more chuckable than the MR2.
I'd summarise the MGTF as a pretty decent allrounder especially at the price. Buy a solid one, dont pay too much and expect bits to fall off!
Had a TF160 in my twenties. Wrote it off in the wet 🤦🏻♂️
Really wish they would have brought these to the States. Much cooler than the equivalent Miata.
I think the notion "it couldn't be made today" is wrong. Toyota have implied they have plans for a new MR-2. SAIC (MG) probably don't have plans for such a model for various reasons (they've launched the 1900kg MG Cyberster luxury electric GT roadster), but Mazda and Subaru/Toyota still have their affordable front-engine sportscars (at least the GR86 & BRZ are still available in decent quantities in markets with more lax emissions than Europe) and Toyota have these MR-2 mid-engine plans on top of that. >> When there is a will, there is a way!🙂
This is clearly what inspired the design of the 3rd gen MR2.
You asked about a later mass production British sports car. What about the MINI roadster 2 seater ? I’m not saying I’m right but putting it out there…
Be interesting to have a review of the Delorean... talking of old British sports cars. If nothing else, it would be entertaining 😊
Have done a review of one already! Check it out..
What a beautiful example (:
Just get a straight six Z3 😉great videos Jack thanks.