But the petrol engine is poor.....
The cylinder barrel and block in the "N" series are off the old "K" series. The big change is a new head, which is what really needed doing to the "K" to solve the overheating / Head Gasket issues, which were due to insufficient coolant capacity in the head. As MG/Rover were strapped for cash, they fiddled round the edges with different gaskets for years rather than bite the bullet on this one.
Details of the sorry mess lovingly documented here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rover-K-16v-Engine-1989-2005/dp/1841556882/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1327394569&sr=1-1
I'd have thought it should be OK, unless you have personal experience to the contrary.
There's three issues with the N series.
1. Fuel economy is poor, due to the old design of the engine (no direct injection, no VVT, etc)
2. CO2 emissions are crippling - high RFL and BIK. No WAY are MG going to sell any to fleets. Even rental fleets seem to be giving it a wide berth.
3. It's pretty lame output figures for a 1.8 turbo.
That engine, if they had bothered could have been doing 200hp with over 40mpg and sub 150 CO2s. BMW can manage better fuel economy, better output, and better emissions with a NA engine, and have been doing so for years.
The other "anecdotal" issue is someone in the press mentioned the N series was a tarted up K series, and every man and his dog has had, or knows of someone who's had a K series eat it's head gasket and implode. That's a difficult problem to shake.
As for the MG6 itself, ignoring the engine, sitting in one reminds me very much of a mid-80s Renault. Lots of shiny plastic and illegible lights, and wobbly buttons in the wrong place. Yes, it might drive like a Ferrari, but if the door card falls off within 6 months, the radio button falls inside the dash after a year, and the a*** falls out of the seat in 18 months, people won't buy them.
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