I went for a look at the MG6 in a dealer in the east of England today and the salesman, who was genial and seemed believable, said "the MG6 is all new - new suspension, new body, new engine".
"But it's not though is it?" I said "it's a reworked K series".
"Well", he said looking slightly annoyed, " I think it might share the same block but all the rest of it is new".
I left it at that to avoid things getting heated but surely he was being a bit imaginative with the facts?
Rolls Royce Merlin engines (Spitfires etc) were made on different tooling in Britain and the USA but they were all still Merlins. The tooling makes no difference to the design that's being manufactured.
That's not to belittle the TCI-Tech. I think the K is a great engine and so the new version will be too.
There is nothing wrong with the 4 cylinder Rover engine. It is a "damned fine engine".
That is until something goes, which it usually does, sooner or later.
Don't forget, the original concept was judged (independently)to be the best engine in the world in some category.
So to have a test drive and to proclaim that the engine is nice, is one thing, and most likely quite correct. To see how it performs in the longer run, is more interesting, and ultimately will seal its fate.
As the Chinese seem to have collaborated with the original developers of the engine, it is likely that they have improved the detailing of the unit.
However seeing the ineptness of some of the original designers, that might not count for much.
The problem is was and always will be that the k series problem is so widely known that even KIA buyers probably know that rovers blow head gaskets.
Given that what sane salesman is going to admit his new car has got an engine that shares ancestry with this engine.
I've said from the start that they should have started with a clean slate BUT the work had been done on the 6 and it was essentially ready to roll.
If SAIC wanted to do the job properly they should have waited until the 3 and 5 were ready and launched those with the new NSE engines and people could have judged for themselves.
On one hand it's caution on the other it's wanting to sell. The 550 has been selling in china in the thousands and we've heard no horror stories so perhaps some publicity about how good the new engines are doing there might do well.
Certainly Mk 1 Kia Sedona 2.5 V6 buyers will know all about it, as Rover sold the original 2.5 KV6 engine to them to put into it. :lol: And not the more reliable one that went into the 75, the dodgy half baked engine that they put into the 800. For once, Rover was canny when they sold it to the Koreans.
Think most car manufactures have their mechanical issues. MG-HGF. Ford-Cat problems. Porsche-Engines. Renault-Electrics. Peugeot-Electrics!! What the salesman said, is probably cos that's what he has been told by MG. TCI-Tech is so different to N-Series, which in turn is so different to K-series, to all intents and purposes it is new.
My MG technician went on the engine course at Longbridge and a K-series head won't even fit on the new engine. I have not heard of one engine failure on either N-series or TCI-tech, so why keep going on about it?
MG/SAIC should be congratulated on curing the head gasket issues (which are often pilot error!) and we should be moving on to a new subject by now !!
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