MG ZT-T 1.8T 160+

IN just over a month, our long-term MG has doubled its mileage with us. The additional 2,500 miles have come mainly from two long journeys the car has undertaken, one a holiday jaunt to Cornwall and the other a trip to Brighton and back.

As these journeys were on motorways, the runs have done nothing to harm the MG's fuel economy. Our car is now returning 28.9mpg, which is a slight improvement over last month's report but is still disappointingly short of the manufacturer's claimed figure of 34.9mpg.

Now the engine is nicely loosened up, the MG really should start to return better fuel economy figures. We await the next road test with interest.

What these two long journeys have helped us decide is that the ZT-T, on its optional multi-spoke alloy wheels with low profile tyres, is not a car for long-distance work. The ride is hard and jittery over all but the smoothest surfaces. This is great for some B-road action but not what you want on the motorway.

However, when I stepped from the MG after spending nearly four hours behind its wheel I had no complaints – no backache, no headache or stiff legs, so at least the seats are comfortable, if a tad too short in the squab department.

Other than that, the MG is proving to be a handy vehicle to have. Not being one to read press packs in great detail, it took a while to find out about the twin opening tailgate (the glass section is hinged separately to allow loading of lighter luggage), which has now come into its own on the supermarket shopping trips. It's a clever design touch which makes life easier.

What would make life even easier would be less frequent trips to the petrol station. Let's hope the MG's fuel economy improves soon.

Company car tax bill 2003/04 (22% taxpayer): £82 per month