NZ "STUFF": Wee MG surprises on many fronts

I'm told that by year's end we should have automatics for both the MG3 and MG6, the lack of it in the otherwise very worthy latter car has been a stumbling block in terms of sales.

You could call the MG3 the kindred spirit of the MG 1100/1300 from the sixties. They're roughly the same size, accomodate four or five better than most else in their class and they're definitely sporty. In their day, that is.

For those interested, the hottest version of the old MG 1300 took more than 17 seconds to get to 100kmh, something the 300kg heavier MG3 does in about ten seconds - quicker than a four- cylinder MGB, I might add.