Generation Cyb

The MG Maestro 2.0 Turbo has begun to filter into dealer’s showrooms with barely a murmur from Rover. Just why the company hasn’t made a big splash out of the Turbo’s debut is something of a mystery because there is every reason to do so. It’s the fastest car ever to wear the MG badge, quicker off the mark than any other production hot hatch we’ve tested and comes within a whisker of 130mph.If that isn’t enough, the MG has one more important thing going for it; five doors. That is a major consideration for those with children, yet surprisingly few of the hottest hatches come in five-door form. Specify the 16-valve Astra GTE and the extra doors are denied. Lancia’s Delta Integrale is an exception but costs much more than the MG while the front-drive Delta HF Turbo is a second division fast hatch. It’s left to Peugeot with it’s recently launched 1.9 309 GTi 5-door to take up the challenge. It makes an interesting comparison; British beef verses French flair.

The slightly tubby, middle-aged MG’s dreary appearance is enlivened by a rakish plastic body kit and ‘turbo’ graphics down each side. Flagging muscles have been boosted by slotting in the same 152bhp 2-litre engine and close-ratio gearbox that powers the MG Montego Turbo.

The 309’s uninspiring exterior conceals a crisply responsive fuel-injected 1.9-litre engine and a chassis of rare quality. It gives away 22bhp to the MG but as the 3-door version has proved, raw muscle isn’t everything. The Peugeot’s £11,245 price tag reflects the lack of engine complexity when compared with the turbocharged and intercooled MG at £12,999.

The MG Turbo is right at the top of the price scale for its class, equalled only by the Golf 16v. The Golf 8v is priced at £10,769, while Astra GTEs are £11,351 for the standard article or £12,671 for the 16v. In comparison, Lancia’s HF Turbo looks a bargain at £10,195.

Placed alongside the Peugeot, the MG with its spoke-pattern alloys, aggressive red coachwork and proliferation of spoilers is the more eye-catching of the two – or is it just loud and offensive? The stylists have tried hard not to make the Maestro look boxier than it is already by incorporating curves into the front airdam and rear spoilers, fitted by coach builders Tickford. It is a mammoth undertaking to transform a car as visually pedestrian as the Maestro into a sporty shape and the end result is only half convincing…

… Neither car will win any beauty contest but, as it became clear during our test, each has an appeal that runs deeper than mere aesthetics.