MG5 EV REVIEW & PRICES

This is the MG5 EV, and it’s one of very few electric estate cars currently available in the UK – the others being the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo, Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer Electric and Peugeot e-308 SW.

It’s a bit like doing your shopping at Lidl or Aldi. On the face of things, you may dismiss the MG5 as simply being a value option - but if you’re clued up, you’ll know there’s much more to it than that.

The MG5 was given a design overhaul in 2022 and it was much-needed, though it also came with a small bump in price. The dowdy car of old has been replaced with a stylish new look, sporting sharp lines in the bumpers and wide, narrow headlights. It’s not quite as striking as the Carwow 2023 Car of the Year, the MG4 hatch, though.

On the inside, the MG5 isn’t quite as smart either, but it’s a definite improvement over the pre-revision car. Build quality is really good and there’s a respectable amount of plush-feeling materials. Fabric seats come as standard, though range-topping models get a leatherette set.

Sitting at the heart of the dashboard is an updated 10.25-inch infotainment system. It’s certainly a leap from the older, sluggish screen and, if you’d rather mirror your smartphone, it comes with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard.

It does retain a part-digital, part-analogue driver’s display, though this feels pretty clunky and would work better as a fully digital unit.

There’s lots of knee and headroom in the back seats of the MG5, however a raised footwell does leave your rear passengers angled rather awkwardly.

As for boot space, you’ve got 580 litres to work with in the MG5. That’s only slightly down on the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports’ 598 litres, so it’s a useful space that will easily carry large suitcases.

Choosing the motor and battery is easy, because, well, there is no choice. Whichever MG5 trim you choose you get a battery with a usable capacity of 57kWh and a 156hp motor. That said, driving range is 250 miles in the entry-level SE version or 235 miles in the higher-spec Trophy model, thanks largely to the bigger alloy wheels.

The MG5 is comfortable in town and on the motorway, and you get the MG Pilot safety system as standard, which includes assistance kit such as adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist.

If you like the sound of the MG5 EV you can check out the latest new deals now or browse used stock from dealers near you. You can also take a look at other used MG models. Want to sell your car online? Well, Carwow can help with that too.

While you used to be able to get an MG5 EV for just under £30,000, the latest updates now mean prices start at just over that figure. It’s not a massive hike, but it’s just enough to be frustrating, especially when you consider the much smarter MG4 starts at about £27,000.

With so few alternative electric estate cars to consider, it's difficult to decide whether the MG5 is good value for money. The Peugeot e-308 SW and Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer Electric both start at about £10,000 more than the MG, but are much nicer inside and better to drive. Then there's the lovely Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo, but it is considerably more expensive again. Which you go for is largely dictated by budget, then.

The MG5 EV has a comfortable ride that puts more expensive cars to shame, but there’s a disappointing amount of wind noise at higher speeds

In town

The first thing you’ll notice when driving around town is just how comfortable the MG5 is. It’s really good over rough surfaces and bumps in the road, and actually puts much more expensive cars to shame in this department.

Unfortunately, though, it doesn’t have true one-pedal driving, which means that although you can slow the car by simply letting off the accelerator and allowing the regenerative braking to do its thing, you will have to use the brakes to come to a complete halt. On the plus side, there’s none of the grabbiness you get with some electric car brakes, so you can stop smoothly.

Visibility is generally decent, though the rear window is quite small. Still, you don’t get massive blind spots so manoeuvring in tight side streets isn’t too stressful, despite the MG5 being pretty long. And when you want to park up, the reversing camera and sensors help, though the display is pretty low resolution.

On the motorway

That comfortable suspension is also evident when you get up to motorway speeds. There’s no crashing into bumps in the road and the car irons out imperfections in a way not many electric cars can match.

While 156hp won’t make your hair stand on end with excitement, the MG5 packs a surprising punch from about 50mph to 70mph, meaning overtaking slow-moving traffic is a breeze.

Speaking of breezes, that brings us onto the main disappointment with the MG5’s motorway manners. One of the appealing aspects of electric motoring is how quiet and serene it is inside, but there’s quite a bit of wind noise in the MG5, so long journeys aren’t quite as relaxing as you might hope.

On a twisty road

This is an affordable electric family estate with a soft, comfort-focused suspension, so it’s going to become a wallowy mess at the first sight of a corner, right? Well, actually, no, not at all.

If you put the car into sport mode it weights up the steering wheel, but this just feels odd so we’d recommend leaving it in its normal setting. Do so, and the MG5 is surprisingly capable in corners. It’s not that it’s exciting, exactly, it just doesn’t lean too much and grips enough to be pretty good fun.

You do have to be careful with the throttle out of tight corners, though, as the power has a tendency to overwhelm the front tyres, so you get a little wheelspin. The traction control catches it quickly but it’s just a touch unsettling.

Cabin space is generally pretty good, but the high floor makes long trips a bit uncomfortable for passengers all around

Roominess up front is pretty good, but the floor sits quite high in relation to the seats, so your knees are high. It’s not the most comfortable position if you’re doing a long journey and it’s something that will also affect your passenger, as it’s tricky to stretch your legs out.

Other than that it's mostly positive, with a big glovebox and door bins, and an average but useful space beneath the armrest. There are two USB charging points under the central screen with a shelf that holds even the largest phones.

Space in the back seats

There’s loads of kneeroom and headroom in the back, but again, it’s let down a bit by that high floor. With your knees up high you can’t rest your thighs on the seat cushion and totally relax on long trips.

There’s an arm rest that folds down in the middle with a couple of cup holders, while the rear door bins will take a large bottle and the two USB ports mean there’s less fighting over phone charging than in cars with just the one.

Because of the space on offer it’s easy to fit a baby seat in the back. The ISOFIX points are tricky to access but once they’re connected there’s plenty of room to manoeuvre.

Boot space

The MG5 has a 580-litre boot, which is a big, useful size that makes it easy to carry a couple of suitcases or the weekly shop. With no direct competitors it’s hard to compare, but the hybrid Toyota Corolla Touring Sports has an extra 20 litres. The MG5 costs a fraction more than a Nissan Leaf, but that’s a hatchback with 435 litres of boot space. The much pricier Volkswagen ID3 has just 385 litres.

Fold the rear seats and you get 1,367 litres, which isn’t amazing (the Toyota has over 1,600 litres) but it should be more than enough for most, unless you’re trying to move wardrobes on the regular and need all the space you can get.

This slight lack of litreage likely comes from the fact you can’t fold the seats fully flat, so there’s a bit of a slope when you’re pushing longer items through. It’s also a shame there’s no front boot for a little extra storage space, though on the plus side there is some under-floor storage in the boot for your charging cables and load cover.

The post-2022 interior update has worked wonders, but there are still cheap materials here and there

Before the 2022 update, the MG5 EV had a dull, dated cabin that felt like it explained why the car was so cheap. However, updated cars get a sparkly new look, with the old-school infotainment display removed from the dash and lifted to sit atop it.

The 10.25-inch display looks much more modern, has a crisper screen and is more responsive than its predecessor, though that’s setting the bar pretty low. The new display has chunky buttons that make it easy to navigate on the move, though some of the climate controls are fiddly. Pre-update cars had physical buttons for this, which is generally better, if less aesthetically pleasing.

There’s a 7.0-inch digital dashboard display ahead of the driver that’s incorporated into the traditional analogue dials. It’s kind of clunky to look at and, considering it’s fairly large, it feels like MG could have just gone for a fully digital dash to simplify things and modernise the cabin further.

You get Android Auto and Apple CarPlay as standard, and there’s a nifty little shelf beneath the infotainment where you can plug your phone in and keep it secure.

Material quality is hit and miss, with some scratchy plastics to be found as you might expect, but there are also some squishy plastics here and there. It’s certainly not utilitarian, and while you get fabric seats in the standard version, there’s perforated synthetic leather upholstery on Trophy models.

Whatever trim level you opt for you get a 156hp electric motor and a battery with a usable capacity of 57kWh. However, if you want maximum range you’ll need to go for the SE model as that will get you up to 250 miles. Want some extra kit? Opting for the Trophy drops range to 235 miles.

The maximum charging speed is 87kW, which will get you from 10-80% capacity in about 35 minutes on a public fast charger. Going from 10-100% on a 7kW home charger takes about 10 hours. Official figures suggest efficiency of 3.6mi/kWh in the SE and 3.5mi/kWh in the Trophy.

With zero emissions, you’re paying no vehicle excise duty. Company car drivers will also enjoy the 2% benefit-in-kind rate until 2025.

The key safety feature on the MG5 is MG Pilot. It would be a great standard feature on a car twice the price, and really helps cement this as an excellent family car worthy of consideration. The full suite includes adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist (so it will stop and start for you), automatic emergency braking, intelligent speed limit assist, lane-keep assist, lane-departure warning and intelligent high beam headlights.

Unfortunately, Euro NCAP has not put the MG5 through its rigorous safety testing yet. However, the MG4 got full marks in 2022, while the MG ZS EV scored the same in 2019.

Because the MG5 hasn’t been on sale too long, it’s difficult to score its reliability as no major issues have cropped up yet. MG has a fairly hit and miss reputation for things going wrong, but its electric cars appear to be proving a hit with buyers, which should be reassuring.

As is the warranty. MG offers one of the best available in the UK new car market with its seven-year/80,000-mile coverage. That’s beaten only by Kia, which also offers seven years but covers for up to 100,000 miles.