The 2004 MG ZS was the latest evolution of the MG ZS, which in turn was based on the Rover 45, a car developed on the 1991 Honda Civic’s platform.
MG was in a bad financial shape bleeding money from all its pockets and with cars that were hard to sell. Even though the ZS was based on a very good platform, customers knew that it was a 15 years-old one carried over from the Civic’s fifth generation. Also, reliability factors and the boy-racer look of the 2001 ZS made more customers give their money to other carmakers. In the last attempt, the struggling carmaker tried to straighten things up and introduced the 2004 ZS.

The easiest way to improve the car’s look was to drop the flashy aerodynamic elements. Gone were the big wing on the trunk, the deep chin spoiler, and adopted straight side sills, but it kept the vents on the front fenders and the enlarged wheel arches. A more significant change was made on the headlights, where the carmaker installed a single-unit design instead of dual headlamps.

MG changed the car’s interior, improving both the design and the materials’ quality. It adopted round vents instead of the older, ‘91-style, rectangular ones. It didn’t dare too much in interior colors and kept the simple black panels and silver trims but improved the upholstery with new materials. Starting with the 2004 model, MG increased the car’s safety and installed side airbags.

Under the hood, MG kept the same engine as before, with the K-Series 1.8-liter Rover engines and the Land-Rover sourced V-6 powerplants. A 2.0-liter turbo-diesel was also on the offer.

Besides having been slightly sportier and having sported a wide-opening trunk, the hatch had the same specs as the sedan.
Fitted with same choice of engines, the car delivered a significant power output with the ZS trim, thanks to the 2.5 L V6 petrol unit that produced some 180 hp and 240 Nm of maximum torque. Torque output was second best in the line-up having been topped only by that of the 2.0 L Turbocharged Diesel which delivered 260 Nm. Complementing the car’s widely acknowledged reliability, some customer reports have repeatedly praised the vehicle’s crash worthiness.