Hannah's 12 now, which means she's old enough to join. So along we went to one of the Club's regular venues - North Weald airfield, just off the M11 in Essex - to see how she'd get on. Mums and dads act as instructors, with guidance from club officials, and the kids drive the regular family car. So we went in the ZT-T (or the hearse, as Hannah's friends call it, the scamps).

The Club, I'm pleased to say, is thriving. Current membership stands at 280, which is full capacity, but it's possible to join a waiting list for 2003.

Visit www.under17-carclub.co.uk for more info. Popular venues include Castle Combe - the higher grades actually get to lap the full circuit - and the Transport Research Laboratory, which has not only a skid pan but a full road system complete with traffic lights and crossings.

North Weald is a bit more basic, but there's still plenty to test the youngsters. Hundreds of cones are laid out to create roads with roundabouts and junctions, and there are extra challenges, like a slalom, which sounds a bit hairy though in fact there's a blanket 30mph speed limit (in fact just like large sections of the M11. Talk about realism). To make sure it doesn't get out of hand, all but the most advanced members have dad sitting alongside. The club has five million pounds worth of public liability insurance, but if the car gets dinged, dad pays.

Club chairman Paul Silverwood has thoughtfully pointed us towards a wide open expanse of runway where Hannah can get the hang of steering, operating the clutch and brakes and changing gear. The ZT-T is a bit daunting - apart from the sheer length of the thing, the clutch, steering and gearshift are all pretty meaty, though the clutch take-up itself is friendly. Hannah's soon sailing around a figure of eight, using first and second gears, learning how to feed the steering. At the end of the session, Paul invites her to drive him through the slalom. She does, too, and without stalling. I am of course as proud as any dad can be.

The standard of the higher grades is hugely impressive. Genevieve Wilkinson drives us around the course with consummate smoothness and precision. She's fourteen. The Under 17 Car Club is a cracking idea, and I am full of admiration for these kids, and their parents. I'm pleased to say that they're equally positive about the ZT-T. If MG is to succeed it's got to capture the imagination of youngsters; judging by the reaction to our long-termer, it's getting it absolutely right.

Me, I love it, though I reckon it could use some more mid-range muscle. This was brought home to me when I drove Barker's new Mondeo ST220 for a couple of days. The extra urge of the Ford's 3-litre V6 would be very welcome. You have to work the MG's 2.5 pretty hard, though the throaty, multi-cylinder soundtrack is compensation.

The problems with the throttle sticking are now but a distant memory. Marshalls MG Rover of Cambridge diligently checked every linkage and replaced the throttle housing and it's been working perfectly ever since. They even topped up the oil and cleaned the car, which was nice of them, though little things were leading me to suspect they might have guessed I was a journalist. One subtle clue came when I turned to leave and the service manager shouted after me: 'Love the magazine, by the way!'