Rover owners: Ordered an MG3.....

I thought Id write a summary of my recent experiences with MG3s that have lead to me and the Mrs finally smashing the piggy bank.

We started of by looking at Citroen C3/DS3, VW Polo and also possibly a Pug 108 - the other half has a salary sacrifice scheme at work which includes all of the other cars (not the MG3) but these are all 3 year lease deals where you hand the car back at the end. In the end the lure of paying less per month but over 5 years to own the car was too much.

After visits to several dealerships and meeting some of the least charismatic sales people ever (Nuneaton Citroen) we ended up at Bishop and Bishop in Leicester. The dealership is not up and running yet as it is new but they have a few cars to look at and some very helpful salesmen, overall we were impressed with the car and the dealership so booked a test drive for the next Sunday (today). By this point my girlfriend had decided that the MG3 was a better looking car and with better build quality than she had expected. We went straight from B+B to a Citroen dealership in Leicester where she finally decided that the C3 looked decidedly boring after viewing an MG3 and that the DS3 was not worth the extra thousands of pounds.

Over the last week we had been slowly narrowing down the choice of cars until we were left with just the MG3, it really does add up as on ownership proposition. We decided to take a trip to the sales centre in Longbridge to have a look at the two colours that we both agreed were our favourites (Yellow and White).

Arriving at the sales centre for the first time in around a year and a half I was surprised at how different it was, there was an atmosphere, there were cars everywhere awaiting delivery, the showroom was buzzing, it was very different and very impressive. The MGCC were there too which obviously added to the occasion but there were also several other couples there - one asking about a part-ex valuation on a Streetwise and one lad with his dad that went straight out on a test drive.

We had a good look around the cars before being approached by Dave who offered us a test drive straight away.

My Mrs went first - she was impressed with the comfort and how easy it was to drive. I sat in the back and was impressed with the amount of room and noise insulation but noticed that it was quite bumpy, the suspension was firmer than I was expecting (but this is a good thing). I was becoming concerned though as it just didnt feel fast at all.

Then it was my go. It felt good, easy to find a good driving position, good brake feel and nice light pedals - thoroughly more modern than the ZR that had taken us over there. I decided to give it a few more revs than the other half had - the engine does get noisy as mentioned in most reviews and it still doesnt feel that quick. The thing is - it is actually going quick! Weird. As I pulled away from a set of lights and put my foot to the floor I was waiting for the performance to start when I glanced at the speedo and realised that I was nearly doing 60 in second gear! Fair play to Dave for not saying anything or even using the invisible brake pedal. I took the next couple of corners, on a windy section of test route, with more vigour - the MG3 felt planted - very impressed. As I got more miles under my belt I was really starting to gel with the car and was becoming more impressed. The performance never felt overly scintillating but there is enough there if youre willing to work for it and there is definitely enough there for my Mrs who rarely drives over 2K revs.

Anyway, I feel I have rambled on too much so I'll finish off by saying that we were both suitably impressed to sign on the dotted line for a 3Form Sport in Yellow for delivery in April!

Thanks to Dave at the Sales Centre who was very helpful, low pressure and easily the best salesman that we have met over the last two weeks.