- China’s MG has released two teaser images of its new MGS5 EV.
- The SUV uses the modular scalable platform (MSP) from the MG4.
- Debuting in the coming weeks, it should up MG’s cabin quality game.
MG is twisting the thumbscrews on Europe’s carmakers again. The British-badged, Chinese-owned company has teased its latest model, an electric SUV called the MGS5 EV that debuts this spring, and it’s not good news for the likes of VW and Stellantis.
The replacement for the MGZS EV uses the same modular scalable platform (MSP) as the MG4 hatch, a car that’s been met with rave reviews and is racking up huge sales in countries like the UK thanks to its temptingly low price. And at around 4,480 mm (176.5 inches) long, the new SUV is a significant 162 mm (6.4 inches) longer than the outgoing ZS EV.
Related: MG ES5 Electric SUV Breaks Cover, Replaces ZS EV
MG released the Chinese version of this model, the ES5, in its home market last October, so we already know far more about than could be gleaned from looking at the two teaser images and scant details published as part of this week’s European teaser campaign.
Two darkened images (which we’ve lightened) have been released, one showing the new utility from the back where we can see a fat transverse LED light bar containing an illuminated MG logo that blends into a pair of taillights that wrap around the rear quarter panels.
The rear hatch door has a spoiler at the top and appears to have a tiny sedan-style notchback lip above the light bar with an integral molded spoiler. A second image showing the rear part of the car from the side reveals that the taillights form a Y shape and the door handles are the traditional pull kind, rather than the fashionable flush type.
And maybe it’s just us, but those alloy wheels look like they’re taking design cues from the classic Rostyle rims fitted to MGBs and Midgets in the 1970s. We’ve dropped the images of the Chinese ES5 in the gallery at the bottom of the page to give you a better idea of what to expect when the new EV debuts in Europe in the coming weeks.
MG didn’t release any spec numbers for the MGS5 EV this week, but for some context the MG4 range kicks off with a 168 hp (170 PS / 125 kW) single-motor powertrain driving the front wheels. That’s the same kit MG confirmed for the ES5 in China last fall. In Europe the MG4 is also available with a single 201 hp (204 PS / 150 kW) motor or in dual-motor, all-wheel drive XPower form with 429 hp (435 PS / 320 kW), and we’d expect MG to also one or both of those options in the SUV in the West.
If the MG4 falls down in any one area, it’s the interior, whose cabin design and materials, as well as its infotainment, still lag behind most European, Japanese and Korean rivals. But the automaker says the MGS5 EV will feature a ‘premium’ cabin, while still offering MG value. Given that the smaller ZS EV this model replaces starts at £30,495, we’d expect the MGS5 EV to start at around £32-34k.
Images: MG/SAIC