In October 1984 Austin Rover launched the MG Maestro EFi. It was the first compact sports hatch to feature a two-litre fuel injected engine. Impressive in the Montego, the 2.0 litre O-Series with Lucas multi-point fuel injection transformed the MG Maestro into an unbeatable hot hatch. With 115bhp, 115lb/ft of torque and a top speed of 115 mph, the MG Maestro had now arrived. Clearly pleased with their product Austin Rover ran a series of adverts boasting of the performance of the two-litre car:
Many MG enthusiasts feel that putting the two-litre engine in the MG Maestro was the best thing that the Austin Rover Group ever did. Or as Anders Ditlev Clausager said in his book on "MG Saloon Cars":
"One of the best MG sports saloons ever - The MG Maestro 2.0EFi"The torque and acceleration was what really pleased drivers of the new car. 0-60 came in at 8.5 seconds or 8.4 seconds in some reports. The low down pulling and mid range (30-70mph) acceleration made this car one of the best all round hot hatches of the eighties and nineties. The car was produced from 1984 right up until July 1991 when the last of the facelifted cars was produced. It survived the Roverisation of 1988 and unlike the Austin versions of the Maestro, it kept its grille badge right up until the end of its production.
Clearly the 2.0 litre OHC O-Series engine was at the heart of the car's transformation. When the Montego was launched in April 1984, it was obvious to those testing the car that the MG Maestro would benefit from this power unit. Austin Rover had initially been reluctant to use the two-litre engine in the MG Maestro because they wanted the MG Montego to be the flagship of the new range. Clearly the lighter Maestro would have better performance if fitted with the same engine as the MG Montego. This issue was raised again when talk turned to putting the turbo-charged two-litre engine in the MG Maestro. However when Austin Rover's testers were driving prototypes of the MG Maestro EFi, it became clear that the car was so good that they would have to put it into production.
There are many other differences between the MG Maestro 1600 and the MG Maestro EFi, although on first impression the early B-plate cars look very similar to the MG Maestro 1600. The appearance of the MG Maestro 1600 had received favourable comments from the press. The subtle styling kit was retained and was still being used, albeit in colour-coded form, on the last MG Maestros produced in 1991. The alloy wheels were retained but the square centre caps gained an imprinted "MG" logo that was painted red. The silver grille was replaced with a colour coded item with four, thick slats. This gave the car a more aggressive look. The 1600 grille is actually an Austin grille with an MG shaped badge holder clipped over the middle. The new grille had its badge holder moulded into the plastic. The grille-badge, however, was retained and also used on the MG Maestro Turbo. The door mirrors and door handles also received colour coding. The motoring press were impressed with the colour-coding as it enhanced the model and set it further apart from the Austin Maestro.
Under the bonnet the 2.0 litre cars received a new gearbox, a Honda unit. The VW gearbox of the MG Maestro 1600 was often criticised for being too notchy but Austin Rover had to change the gearbox for more practical reasons. The VW gearbox is enormous and although there is enough room for that gearbox if fitted to the smaller A-Series, R-Series and S-Series cars, when mated with an O-Series engine it simply does not fit under the bonnet as it is too wide. The Honda gearbox has short precise gearchanges and a better gate layout with the reverse gear being at the bottom right, rather than the top left. This gearbox enables drivers to exploit the extra power of the fuel-injected engine to the full making it feel like a very fast car to drive. Although a close -ratio unit, the Honda gearbox also allowed more refined cruising with the engine turning at just 3000 revs when travelling at 70mph in fifth.
The MG Maestro 2.0 EFi also received a rear anti-roll bar, ventilated disc brakes and the option of power steering which was never available on the 1600 model. Inside the car the seats and door inserts received a new pattern and the head restraints could be adjusted from front to rear as well as up and down. The red carpets and seatbelts were initially retained, but the digital dash became a £200 option. As many owners did not opt for the digital dash, MG Maestro EFis with digital dashes are extremely rare. By 1985 the digital dash option had been dropped altogether. Further improvements included a three-spoke steering wheel to replace the two spoke MG 1600 item and a chunkier gearlever knob and moulded gaiter - which replace the mini-like item on the MG 1600.
In October 1988, at the Birmingham International Motorshow, when the MG Maestro Turbo was launched, a British Racing Green MG Maestro 2.0i was also on show. This was the first time that the MG Maestro was available in this colour and the first time that an MG was available in BRG since 1980. The new metallic shade of BRG took about three years of fade-testing to develop and has been available on MGs and Rovers ever since. So popular was the colour that a host of other manufacturers rushed to introduce a similar shade into their colour schemes. The MG Maestro 2.0i at the show featured many revisions other than the new colour scheme.
The most striking change was the full colour-coding of the bumpers, side spats and three-piece spoiler. Another welcome addition was the re-intoduction of standard alloy wheels. This time the wheels were 15 inches wide and featured a lattice pattern reminiscent of the wire wheels fitted n the MGC - which were also 15 inches wide.
Other colours in the new rationalised range were Flame Red, which replaced Targa Red, Diamond White and Factory Black. The MG Montego was now only available in these four colours whilst the MG Metro was also available in metallic silver.
Power steering and electric front windows remained cost options whereas a glass tilt-and-slide factory fitted sunroof and electrically-operated heated mirrors were now standard.
The MG Maestro Efi and 2.0i as it later came to be known was the most successful of the three variants, selling in excess of 37,000 models. With the best combination of power, refinement and practicality, this MG is widely thought to be one of the best MG Saloons ever produced. As the columnist in MG Enthusiast's Chequered Flag page was pondering on in the summer of 2001, "Will the new MG saloons be as good as the last MG Maestros?" - time will tell.
