First Impressions of the new MG TF
Prologue
When the MG TF first appeared I was a long standing (5 years) owner of a 96P Flame Red MGF VVC Mk1. I had waited 8 months for delivery such was the demand for the first batch and I loved the car. However, it had reached the age where I needed to trade in or spend some money on preventative maintenance, so I was keen to try the TF.
My dealer was keen to obtain some MGF owners opinions on the TF and invited me to try each of the models as they arrived in their showroom and give feedback. An opportunity not to be missed – let loose on new cars and the chance to be a motoring journalist (in a very limited way). As a result, between February and May 2002 I spent a number of Saturdays driving, fiddling, playing and reporting on various models and trims of the new MG TF for G. Kingsbury MGR dealers in Hampton.
This article was created from the notes I made following the very first outing in a TF in February 2002 and has previously appeared in part on MG bulletin boards.
The Original Report From 2002
So, is the TF the new F, the new Elise, the new MX5 or simply the new TF. Well, 2 hours in a car which has done just over 200 miles and hasn’t even had a radio installed in it yet will never fully answer those questions, but will certainly point in the right direction.
OK, so what I drove was a Trophy Blue TF 135 with a blue hood, standard Ash cockpit and Alcantara seats. It was a beautiful spring day, sun shining, no wind, and a little crisp, but just about perfect for open top driving. I had the opportunity to drive with the hood up, hood down, on fast windy roads, dual carriageways and town roads, and a fair amount of time to open doors, boot, bonnet etc and have a good nosey around. So although 2 hours is not long, it was long enough to get a pretty good feel for the car.
Let me point out straight away that some of the differences I might notice compared to my F, will seem as no change to those of you with Mk 2 Fs. I have a 96P VVC with K&N owned from new. But that’s no bad thing because although I know what the Mk2 looks like, I am looking with slightly fresher eyes at the interior – a bit like a new comer might.
So, which new ? is it?. Well it’s …… not quite time to say. You’ll
have to read how I came to my conclusions first, or fast forward to the
end.
Exterior Styling
The F is a car which, whether you think the styling is too soft or just right, definitely works in harmony from all angles. The TF’s styling is much more angular and actually works much better in the metal than any of the photographs flying around. However, whilst it’s a good make over, there are areas which don’t quite flow in the same way as the original. Is this bad? Mostly no, but the rear lights look a bit out of place on the new shape, and in particular the central slat on that front grill really doesn’t work. To make matters worse, there appear to be some fit problems with the early cars. The fit of the new bumpers looks particularly suspect. Given a couple of months I am sure these will be put right, but all of the cars I have seen in a number of showrooms have not been perfect, and this is disappointing.
Countering that are the real upsides. The side elevation is a real improvement with a one piece cill, stronger line and more aggressive air intake. Add the bright pack and this is the best view of the TF. The boot lip bumper I thought would look plain silly, but doesn’t. It looks like it belongs. The front lights look great, and the car definitely has a more aggressive stance.
The TF is also a shape that colour seems to affect it’s lines. The silver in the brochure looks great, but in the metal (especially with a grey hood) looks really bland. The Trophy Blue really works (though the blue hood would probably look better on Tahiti) and the BRG is OK. Photos of Le Mans green look stunning. Whilst on colour, why have MGR painted the air intake surround at the front, and exhaust outlets at the rear black? Colour coding would make this look so much more classy, and less like a bolt on kit.
Conclusion : Overall it looks good. Still needs some finishing touches, but a good looking car. Not better than the F, just different.
Interior styling
Oh dear. I am lucky enough to have a Mk 1 F with cream instruments a’ la Jaeger or Smiths. The TF’s are more Tomy or Little Tikes. Who on earth thought those tacky speckled silver things were a good idea? The same goes for the binnacle surround. MGR describes it as ‘Technical finish’ in the brochure, but it’s more like my daughter gone mad with her glitter spray. And now that the windscreen surround is in Ash rather than cream it’s very gloomy inside. The standard 135 seat and door trim materials are truly awful and help to make the interior very dark. All in all the standard trim comes across as a dungeon fitted with a glitter ball instrument panel! Other disappointments are the cheap cost savings such as the removal of lit ignition and map pockets in the seat back. The steering wheel is not as comfortable as the Mk1.
So let’s move quickly on to the good points. The seats themselves are much better and more comfortable than the Mk 1, and surprisingly the Mk 2 F’s that I have driven. The gear shift is comfortable, shorter than the Mk1 and the surround looks good. The adjustable column is good, but would be better with reach as well as rake. The hood mechanism is much tidier than the Mk1, and the whole thing seemed generally well bolted together. The model I drove had Alcantara seats and therefore the leather centre box, and this brightened up the whole inside and made it feel more like a £18k car. The other options, such as Light smokestone dashboard looks classy as well (at least on the BRG car I saw). I can’t comment on the stereo as the car I drove hadn’t got one yet.
Conclusion : More work required if not to end up looking like a Tomy peddle car. Options a must.
Handling and Driving
Well we all know that the money for this update has gone on the moving bits rather than the chintzy bits. Yes, it’s got a couple of new bumpers and a diddy spoiler, but the main change is in the suspension. So how does it work?
Well it’s not hydrogas so that’s good – isn’t it? Well, yes …… and no. Gone is the ‘Magic Carpet’ ride of the old F, and in is the skittishness of a racehorse. At slow to medium speeds on town and A roads you feel all of the road. That’s not to say its out of control or really harsh, but it’s bouncy and suggests you should be travelling at a different speed in this car. Cruising is now not so composed or calm, and requires a little more input from the helm. No real problem, but nipping down Tescos on a rainy Friday when you’re tired after a long week will be less appealing in the TF than the F (though it might help wake you up). In fact general driving could get a little tiring on a long journey, especially if there is lots of traffic on poor road surfaces. That sports pack 1 option looks like one to miss on this evidence.
On the car I drove, the go pedal and the clutch were very stiff. The gear change was short and fairly quick, but lacked gate feel. The engine was a bit noisy and I really missed the K&N sound. But to be fair, this car had been rushed through it’s PDI to let me get in it, and had barely 200 miles on the clock, so I shouldn’t be too harsh.
However, the character of the car changes completely when you start to push on. In a straight line and at high speeds the car flies. Solid as a rock, real feel from the steering wheel, no roll, bouncyness gone, front end firmly on the ground and a feeling of total control. Loads better than the Mk1 and those Mk 2 Fs I have driven. This is better. On to some windy lanes and the smile grows. The body roll has gone, the car talks to you and you can feel the chassis and suspension working together. Time For some fun. Provoke the TF by bowling into a corner too fast and you can feel what the car is doing as you adjust power and direction. Even planting you foot mid corner is not the end of the F as we know it. It’s not perfect, and the Lotus Elise will still beat it on a track I feel sure, but this is much more involving. Even potholed roads on apexes of corners aren’t quite the disaster they would have been in the F. I always thought the F was a good handling car and much under-rated, but the TF is a step change up.
Conclusion : Quick enthusiastic driving is the name of the game with the TF. Get an account set up with the local cab firm for Granny’s Tesco run.
Overall Conclusion
The F is a car that most people could enjoy most of the time. You can trundle granny down to Tescos without upsetting her arthritis too much and still get the shopping in the boot. You can cruise comfortably from Lands End to John O’Groats and still walk at the other end. You can push on in the car and eat up ground quickly and with a big grin on your face, embarrassing many other sports and hot hatches in the process. It appealed to everyone from poseurs and hairdressers to boy and girl racers alike. It was UK’s No 1 Roadster because it had/has wide appeal.
Has the TF got that same breadth of appeal, and does it deserve it? IMHO the answer is no. The TF is a good car, and I suspect I will buy one in the near future. But, I don’t believe it will have the same appeal as the F. I still think it will be UK’s No 1 Roadster, but the buying demographic will have altered, and become more volatile. It will have to continually react to stay at the top in a way the F did not.
The TF is more distinctive and less classic looking car. The TF demands to be driven swiftly to get the most benefit from it design. The TF requires more input from the driver. The TF is not a cruising car. The TF is more macho. The TF is more Lotus Elise and less MX5. But it is in fact neither of those it is simply the TF.
So there you have it. It looks a bit like an F, feels a bit like an F, drives a bit like a Lotus but never quite gels the way the F or the Lotus does. Do I like it – yes? Will I buy one – probably? Will I be sorry to see the F go – definitely. Now the TF Mk2, that will be a car to wait for, or perhaps Techspeed the Mk1 TF. I wonder when B&G will have TF brochure out…. Arrrrgggggghhhh, the Darkside is taking over already.
Epilogue
Well, I did trade the F for a TF 160 in May 2002. It’s now coming up to 2 years old, so look out for a follow up article to see if my initial conclusions were accurate or not.
 |
David Mills