Well, these are two pretty similar cars we have here! It's only details that could potentially make the difference. Not only that they both belong to the small family car segment and utilize the same 5-door hatchback body style, they are even powered by the same Rover-developed diesel engine! There is not much there to point us towards one vehicle or the other. Or is it?

Unfortunatelly, neither of the two vehicles was submitted to the European New Car Assessment Programme (Euro NCAP) testing. This makes it virtually impossible for me to pick one over the other and I'm generally against buying such cars as the safety should really always come first. That aside, let's consider some other aspects which affect safety. Both vehicles belong to the small family car segment, which is generally classifying them somewhere in the middle safety-wise, still it doesn't help us solve our dilemma, does it? Furthermore, taking kerb weight as an important factor into account, Rover 45 offers a marginal difference of 6% more metal.

I don't like generalizing things when it comes to reliability, although it does seem that Rover as a brand displays somewhat better results, all the models observed together. That's the official data, while our visitors describe reliability of Rover with an average rating of 4.5, and models under the MG badge with 5.0 out of 5. The same official information place 45 as average reliability-wise, and ZS is more or less at the same level.Above it all, drivers of cars with the same engine as these two vehicles rank it on average as 4.0 out of 5.

MG is a bit more agile, reaching 100km/h in 0.3 seconds less than its competitor. In addition to that it accelerates all the way to 187 kilometers per hour, 2km/h more than the other car. When it comes to fuel economy things look pretty much the same for both cars, averaging around 5.4 liters of fuel per 100 kilometers (52 mpg), in combined cycle.

Rover appears just a bit more reliable, although the difference is truly marginal. The most important thing when deciding between any two vehicles should always be safety, both passive and active. In my opinion, everything taken into account, Rover 45 offers slightly better overall protection and takes the lead. From there things take a different direction, with MG being considerably quicker, thus putting more smile on driver's face. Fuel consumption is more or less the same. It's really tough to make a final decision here, but if I'd need to, I'd say MG. Nevertheless, let's not forget that people have different preferences and needs, so what really counts is your personal feel. I'm only here to help. In case you have two minutes to spare I invite you to define your needs, desires and budget and see which car would be chosen by the virtual adviser™, among thousands of similar, yet so different vehicles.