If your Rover 25 or MG ZR battery keeps going flat, it might be time to replace it or upgrade it.

Thankfully, replacing your car's battery is super quick, you'd have plenty of time in your lunch break to swap it out, and it's so easy even the most novice of DIY'ers could do it.

Bosch S5 096 Battery
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Time to Complete - 5-10 minutes


Difficulty - 1/5


Tools and Parts Required


  • New battery
    • 063 or 075 type battery for petrol variants
    • 096 for 2.0l diesel
      • See step 5 for the top performing batteries!
  • Ratchet
  • 13mm Socket



Disclaimer: Any information given in this guide is to be used at the readers own risk. I take no responsibility for injuries to the reader or damage to their vehicles. If this guide is followed correctly, no harm should occur to either the reader or the car.

Please read through the entirety of this guide prior to undertaking any work, and take due care.




How to Disconnect, Remove and Upgrade your Rover 25 / MG ZR Battery



Step 1 - Remove Negative Terminal

Start by taking removing the negative terminal connector of the battery (black wire, closest to you), the nut should require a 13mm socket.

Rover 25 MG ZR battery negative terminal
Rover 25 MG ZR battery negative terminal removal

Step 2 - Secure Negative Wire to Avoid Accidental Contact

Once the negative terminal has been slackened remove it and tuck it away so it can't touch the terminal again whilst you are loosening the positive.

Rover 25 MG ZR battery negative terminal removed



Step 3 - Remove Positive Terminal

Now undo and remove the positive terminal connector (red wire) on the other end.

The positive terminal requires the same 13mm socket.

Rover 25 MG ZR battery positive terminal
Rover 25 MG ZR battery positive terminal
Note: I have an after-market sub-woofer fitted, that's why there is an extra cable going to the positive terminal. Read more about my Rover 25 Vibe 1600W Amp and Sub-woofer install by following the link or clicking the image below.

Rover 25 MG ZR Vibe subwoofer install in boot

Step 4 - Remove the Battery Clamp Bracket

Looking down the gap at the front of the battery (nearest you) you should see a bolt and a plate clamping the bottom lip of the battery. Undo this bolt using the 13mm socket and an extension. Once the battery clamp has been removed the battery simply lifts straight out.

Rover 25 MG ZR battery tray clamp



Step 5 - Upgrading your Rover 25 / MG ZR Battery

If you've got a petrol Rover 25 or MG ZR, I'd definitely recommend upgrading to the larger, more powerful, 075 type battery. Even more so if you've upgraded your standard speakers, or added an amp and sub-woofer, it'll give you a bit more juice to make sure you're getting the best out of your ICE system.

Check out my speaker install posts below for some inspiration on what you can do to your car:

Rover 25 - Front Door Component Speaker Upgrade

Rover 25 - Vibe 1600W Amp and Sub-woofer Install

Enough speaker talk, if you're upgrading your battery from the standard 063 type to the larger 075 type, or even if you're just replacing like for like, here's the battery specs you want to look out for.

  • CCA - Cold Crank Amps - The higher the number the higher the batteries ability to start an engine in cold conditions.
  • Ah - Ampere-hour - The higher the Ah number the longer a battery can deliver a discharge current for.

I've picked the top three best performing 063, 075 and 096 batteries from reputable brands and linked you up to the Amazon page so you can get yours ordered right away.


Top 3 Best Performing 096 Type Batteries




Top 3 Best Performing 075 Type Batteries




Top 3 Best Performing 063 Type Batteries




Step 6 - Fitting Your New Battery

Refitting is just a case of following steps 1-4 in reverse order making sure that the (-) negative terminal is fitted last, i.e. (+) positive first.

If you're upgrading your Rover 25 or MG ZR battery from the 063 type to the larger, more powerful, 075 type battery, your battery retaining bracket won't fit back into the hole you removed it from. As you can see below, the 075 type battery is 35-36mm longer than the 063 type.

No worries though, the petrol Rover 25 and MG ZR battery tray has two holes to suit both a 063 and 075 type battery, just move your battery clamp to the other hole.


Rover 25 / MG ZR Battery Size

  • 096 Type
    • Height: 190mm
    • Width: 175mm
    • Length: 278mm
  • 075 Type
    • Height: 175mm
    • Width: 175mm
    • Length: 242-243mm
  • 063 Type
    • Height: 175mm
    • Width: 175mm
    • Length: 207mm


Job Done!

Only thing left to do is grab your keys and see the difference in how your car starts and go for a drive!

Let me know in the comments below which battery you recommend and why, and be sure to check out my other service guides to keep your MG Rover running sweet.