The heavy engine (209 lb heavier than the 1,798 cc MGB engine) and new suspension changed the vehicle's handling, and it received a mixed response in the automotive press. It later transpired that the BMC press department had set the tyre pressures of the cars in the launch fleet incorrectly (to the same values as the standard MGB) and that even the correct pressures were insufficient to get the best handling from the car. Poor reviews also stemmed from the fact that, despite BMC's marketing, the MGC was not a direct replacement for the Austin-Healey 3000 and neither was it a higher-performance MGB.