Yes, that's 41.5 MPG averaged over 228 miles of driving. Much of the driving was on cruise control set to 70mph with some overtaking and the odd bit of slow stuff thrown in. Fuel gauge looks pretty promising considering I'd done 228 miles already on this tank of fuel.
I played about with the Sat Nav/Stereo system settings to change the background so it looks more sophisticated in my eye at least. It is a very sophisticated piece of kit in fact, it's just the standard background makes it look a little naff. So with a quick change of the settings it can be set to the above appearance. I made several calls while driving on the handsfree system which worked flawlessly with my iPhone. The SatNav is very easy to use, and got me from a part of the UK that I have never been to in my life back home with no dramas whatsoever. I liked the way it reduced the volume of my music (being played off a USB memory stick - cool) to tell me the next instruction rather than totally muting the music, that way you get the instruction without totally cutting off the music. I had the chance to play with BMWs iDrive system on an 07 5-series the other day. The BMW system is obviously very swanky, expensive looking and feeling, and quite a pain to use. The MG system has similar features, is more than likely about a tenth the cost to MG as the iDrive system is to BMW, but it works and it works well, plus it's really easy to use.
I just went back out in the 6 for a little joy ride - haven't done that since I had my Rover Coupe VVC. The engine is great fun to use, it loves to rev (reminds of another car I used to own
). The car turns in sharply, the small steering wheel is lovely to use. I think the the only complaint at the moment is the brake pedal is a little spongier than I'm used to with the ZT, but that might be because the car's only done under 1900 miles, and I keep waving the key around the right hand side of the steering wheel till I remember it's on the left! I'll get used to it.
The thing I'm surprised at, and perhaps it's because I'm so used to driving diesels, is how much power there seems to be bearing in mind some people have said the 6 seems underpowered. It feels pretty potent to me. Up around 5000 revs and beyond and it takes off.
I got a rebate (less an admin fee of course - insurance companies, when have they ever not made a profit?!) on my insurance changeover from ZT CDTi to MG6 equivalent to 30% of the ZTs premium. The diesel ZT was already cheap to insure, and the 6 is a good wedge cheaper again.
The interior lighting in the night is gorgeous. Reminds me a little of my A6 I used to own, but not as boring as the A6 which was lit red everywhere. The MG6 uses red lighting to good effect without it dominating the interior. The brochure shots of the interior lighting do it no justice.
A couple of things I didn't realise about the TSE until I bought:
-power folding mirrors by pressing and holding left and right selector buttons at same time.
-the glove box is damped for smooth opening which is attention to detail I've been led to not expect by the motoring press.
Also, the engine at all legal speeds is quiet and smooth. At 70mph it sits at 2600rpm happily pulling up even the steepest of motorway inclines without struggling. It is reasonably torquey low down the rev range, and then takes off at about 5000rpm - feels like variable valve kicking in. The engine is nice and vocal when you give it the beans, exhaust is not though which is probably a good thing for everyday driving. In fact I've listened to the exhaust note while a colleague gave the car a little rev, and it is in fact reasonably vocal for a stock exhaust. I think due to the fact it's so far away from you as the driver and there's so much car between you and it that it's not heard from the drivers seat.
Something else I hadn't expected was solid indicator and wiper stalks. Again the impression the motoring press have given is that they'd be flimsy but they are well weighted and a good solid action without needing to be chunky as they are in the ZT. They're not quite as good feeling as the ZTs but they are definitely more than capable.
And one last thing that's just come to mind is the handbrake. Not once have I jammed my thumb like the video reviews and press say you will do! It's really simple, you use your trigger finger to pull the trigger while gripping the handle with your fingers and thumb. Your thumb is in fact in a more natural place to be when pull or pushing on something. It's not at all awkward to use, in fact it's easier to use than a traditional handbrake. All I can say is thank goodness it has a handbrake because the electronic ones coming out on cars now really are fiddly to use. The 6s hill start assist is a nice feature too. Works well and is a better combination - manual handbrake and hill assist - than the new Astras electronic handbrake and hill assist system which drags the back end down until the brake releases and takes a lot of getting used to.
The trip computer, which has many other uses, has a digital speedo function which is nice, but the bit I found really good was underneath your current speed it tells you the speed limit of the road you are on, and it flashes the speed limit information when you breach this limit - it's not in your face flashing so it doesn't annoy you constantly, but it is very useful if you're in an area you're unfamiliar with and are not sure of the speed limits imposed.
The MG6 is a giant leap in technology over previous generations of MGs. It even shows up modern competitors like the latest Astra. The appeal of this particular car will expand dramatically when the diesel arrives and perhaps smaller, cleaner petrol engines too.
The MG6 has a feature that of all the cars I've every owned only one other had it - my Audi A6 - which is the so called "lazy open" "lazy close" feature. Press and hold the unlock button on the key all the windows wind down fully. Press and hold lock and all windows close fully.
There are so many features that for the first time that I've owned a car I am going to read the user manual as there are probably many more I haven't discovered yet.
Additional feature I discovered today is that your music volume is automatically lowered enough to hear the parking sensors when reverse is selected. Volume resumes to previously set level when sensors are deactivated by driving forwards and a certain speed is exceeded (something like a few miles per hour I believe). Very nifty and a nice touch.
Everyone who has seen the car so far have described it as everything from "very nice" to "stunning". No bad comments or even indifferent comments as yet. Quite a different reception to the ZT which people either loved or laughed at. Not that I'm bothered about other peoples opinions mind you, but it is encouraging that people are very positive about it. Virtually everyone who has seen it wasn't aware MG was alive and kicking. MG need to work on an awareness campaign, perhaps more so when additional models/engines arrive.
