Category: Hot Hatchbacks 
Price Range: No data available
Entertaining and forgiving handling, smooth V6, comfortable ride, fair value
Messy, dated dashboard, poor rear room, ageing looks
Unexpectedly capable, with much to offer if you can live with its flaws
The Rover 45 on which the ZS is based has an exceptional ride, and much of this has been preserved in the ZS. It rarely turns uncomfortable and if sharp bumps occasionally create some disturbance, most of the time you don't notice the ride - a good sign. Wind noise is limited, but road noise is evident on some surfaces. The seats are supportive, but aren't as wonderful as their generous size implies. Only two stars because the front chairs, borrowed from the bigger Rover 75, are so absurdly fat that rear kneeroom is severely compromised - there's barely any less room in the smaller MG ZR. Room up front is reasonable, the boot is really quite big and internal oddments space is fair. But there are no modern touches such as storage for cups and phones. You won't find satellite navigation in this vehicle, which isn't even available with a trip computer, nor any other modern gismology - another area where the ZS's old-tech origins let it down. The stereo has a cassette-player rather than a CD too, although Kenwood upgrades are available.
