The MG TF/F.

"not for canada - australian in disguise" (for-canada) 11/21/2016 at 11:22 • Filed to: None

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For when you want a third gen MR-2, but don’t want any of that pesky Toyota reliability. I’m gonna be honest, I quite like it. MG probably wouldn’t be in the shitter right now if they stuck to making small roadsters, something they actually know how to do. The MG badge has no place on a midsize sedan or small hatch, that’s what Rover is for (or was for, considering SAIC doesn’t own the Rover name anymore, but they do have Roewe).

And, to be honest, for a car sold until 2011, the interior was REALLY dated. I’d go out on a limb and say that’s because it wasn’t ever updated since it was introduced in 1995. And fuck MG for not making the gorgeous GT version.

djmt1 > not for canada - australian in disguise 11/21/2016 at 11:29

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Not gonna lie, the thought of a £300 MGF has crossed my mind more times than I would like to admit.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > not for canada - australian in disguise 11/21/2016 at 11:45

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Agreed. Don’t blame MG though, blame BMW.

It was originally designed for a re-entry into the US market, but when BMW took over they thought it would compete with the Z3 so restricted it to Europe.

If not, we might have had that kickass GT version (with a 2.5l KV6 if memory serves me right).

SidewaysOnDirt still misses Bowie > not for canada - australian in disguise 11/21/2016 at 11:54

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Sounds like I can import one in a few years...

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > not for canada - australian in disguise 11/21/2016 at 12:05

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The Porsche badge has no place on an SUV 

not for canada - australian in disguise > AMGtech - now with more recalls! 11/21/2016 at 12:10

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You see, I’m not sure if that’s really a fair comparison. Porsche still make sports cars like the 718, 918, and 911 alongside the Macan and Cayenne. MG don’t make any sports cars anymore, just sedans, hatches, and a crossover. That just feels wrong.

firefoxUSSR > BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires 11/21/2016 at 12:12

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Ha I’m even less a fan of BMW now. Seriously those guys don’t make anything cool. It’s like once every 20 years or so make something interesting (M1, i8, etc).

AMGtech - now with more recalls! > not for canada - australian in disguise 11/21/2016 at 12:17

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Oh I agree with that. But your original statement was a bit broad. MG should have stuck to their roots while expanding into other categories.

Leon711 > not for canada - australian in disguise 11/21/2016 at 14:11

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The TF (coil sprung rather than hydragas) was reasonably reliable, once you got the inevitable head gasket replaced.

MG had a UK market share of 0.12% in 2015, up from 0.10% in 2014. This places them close Ssangyong and Subaru, both on 0.13%. they are the real big hitters.

Out, but with a W - has found the answer > not for canada - australian in disguise 11/21/2016 at 14:14

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I actually considered a Trophy 160 before I bought my MR2, but yeah, reliability, plus the fact that the decent ones were about 500km away (some German dealer specializes in them, apparently) didn’t make it the best proposition.

not for canada - australian in disguise > Leon711 11/21/2016 at 14:16

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That’s actually a bit surprising, last time I looked MG was selling like 500 cars a year.

Leon711 > not for canada - australian in disguise 11/21/2016 at 14:59

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They are at a few thousand right now, way off the big hitters.

BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires > firefoxUSSR 11/21/2016 at 19:27

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Man after my own heart! They did good with most things from the E9 to the E30, had a couple of good hits with the E36/39, then started petering off with the odd flash of brilliance.

Meanwhile they ran Rover into the ground, are sitting on the Triumph name because they’re scared of competition, and are endeavouring to do the same to Mini.

Needless to say, I’m not a fan...

ranwhenparked > not for canada - australian in disguise 11/21/2016 at 20:48

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They wanted to build the coupe, but, aside from MG Rover/PVH not really having the cash (they had to save something for the all time volume leader the XPower SV, you know), the fixed roof pretty much blocked off all access to the engine compartment, at least from above, which made servicing ludicrously impractical.

Besides, saloon cars have been part of the MG range pretty much since the very beginning. I’d wager that they’ve sold far more of them than they have sports cars, its just that the sports cars were what got most of the attention in America

ranwhenparked > not for canada - australian in disguise 11/21/2016 at 20:51

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MG has been through periods without a sports car before, basically almost the entirety of the 1980s. SAIC allegedly still want to do a successor to the T F , but MG’s sales in the UK are marginal, and roadsters are unpopular in Gi-na, so it’s been on the back burner for awhile.

TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut > not for canada - australian in disguise 11/21/2016 at 21:06

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My family had an MGF for a while. Great handling car with great balance. Biggest problem we had with it was the rear screen, which was made from plastic and quickly got cloudy with age. It didn’t have a rear demister either, which made the situation doubly worse on a cold, wet day. Very popular car though, it actually outsold the Miata in the UK when it was released.

Sam > ranwhenparked 11/21/2016 at 22:38

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LWB roadster?

Nauraushaun > not for canada - australian in disguise 11/22/2016 at 04:00

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MG probably wouldn’t be in the shitter right now if they stuck to making small roadsters

Not likely! Not in this world. Maybe if they had a couple SUVs to back them up...

Nauraushaun > Leon711 11/22/2016 at 04:01

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Why don’t Subarus sell in the UK!? Subaru are a weird beast. Not so different to Toyota, Mazda etc except for the marketing. But the marketing polarises

Leon711 > Nauraushaun 11/22/2016 at 12:05

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Mazda and Toyota have 1.8 and 3.8 per cent respectively. Ford, Vauxhall, VW group and Hyundai/Kia are the big players here.

Nauraushaun > Leon711 11/22/2016 at 16:39

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Very strange. I guess maybe VWs and whatnot are cheaper since it’s a relatively trivial thing to ship the cars across land.