Has anyone slating the ZT 190 actually driven or owned one? I bet the answer is no - this place is full of Clarksons.
They're a very agile and quick car for their size, the V6 is all-aluminium so nice and light which helps the handling, not having a tonne of boat engine to point around corners helps the 190 stand out on twisty roads.
I loved mine, it was a reliable car and a total hoot to drive. Had an 03 plate, but only paid 900 odd quid for it - 3 grand is far too much for anything that age IMO. Mine had 130k on the clock and drove like something with half the miles. Had full auto wipers and dimming rear view, parking sensors and onboard computer. Not to mention the 8 speaker sound system, some only had 6. Bit of a steal!
Few pointers:
- it'd be preferable to find one that's had the cambelts and waterpump changed (all done at the same time) as it's around 500 quid.
- Clutch hydraulics can be weak, slave cylinders are concentric and thus do wear and are affected by heat. Expect to pay around 60 quid for a slave, 100 quid for a decent clutch and 5-6 hours labour to have it changed if needed. Master cylinders are also a little weak but are easy to change, although cost around 100 quid.
- Thermostat is located in the V of the engine, and can crack with age. Replacements are 50 quid and can be changed by an amateur mechanic and in a lazy afternoon.
- Inlet manifolds have swirl flaps, the shaft locating bearings can wear slightly meaning the flaps rattle at idle. It doesn't affect power too much, but the noise is pretty nasty. No reports of total failure yet, just irritating and ruins an otherwise nice car. 100 quid gets you a good 2nd hand manifold. Some seem to last forever!
Apart from that, all spares are still available and the second hand parts market is full of bits to lower the cost of ownership.
It handles and drives nothing like a 75, and I think I'm probably the only person really qualified to make that comment as you'll find all the 'haters' on here have probably never had any experience with either car, just like to follow the crowd. Comments such as just show how little you know about either car.
Drive one, have a feel of what you think of the build quality, and make the decision based on what you think, not because some armchair 'experts' on an internet forum parrot back what they've heard from others like mindless idiots.
My pound sign key is broken, hence the use of quid.
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