MG5 Review: How Does It Stack Up Against The Vios, City & S70?

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Answer: The MG5 is unfortunately not going to worry any of the established B-segment players just yet.

For those in the market for a sub-RM 100,000 small sedan, you’re pretty much choosing between the Honda City, Toyota Vios, and Proton S70. But the newly-revived MG in Malaysia is currently looking to expand that particular pool of available options by one, with its MG5 that launched late last year.

And while there’s much to say — both good and bad — about this sedan further on in this review, perhaps the most stunning thing worth highlighting right from the get-go is that this MG5 comes into Malaysia fully imported (from Thailand), at a price that undercuts all its locally-assembled counterparts (RM 86,900 with the still-ongoing launch promotion).

So, the big question that everyone will likely want answered now is: Is this latest B-segment challenger any good? Or more pertinently perhaps, how does the MG5 stack up against the Honda City, Toyota Vios, and Proton S70?

Well, to spoil the conclusion of this review right at the start — let’s just say that the traditional B-segment stalwarts shouldn’t be too concerned about the MG5 stealing any noticeable chunk of their sales anytime soon…

Now, in being kind and starting with the stronger points of this MG5, this latest entry into the Malaysian B-segment sedan market is probably also one of the sharpest-looking of the lot. A swoopy bonnet and a large (and somewhat moustachioed) grille certainly give this MG5 some sporty style, with this athletic aesthetic further extended rearwards thanks to its sleek fastback silhouette and stylish 17-inch dual-tone alloy wheels.

And having checked with a few others to ensure it’s not just this writer’s eyes — the rump of the MG5 most definitely shares more than a passing resemblance to the outgoing C-Class. The Mercedes design parallels are further emphasised on this particular test car too, as it came painted in a vividly vibrant shade of Nuclear Yellow — not too dissimilar to what’s found on the 35-series of Mercedes-AMGs.

Moving inside, the sleek aesthetic from the exterior continues within, with a rather sexy-looking cabin design. The prismatic gloss black plastic trim adds some visual pizzazz to its already swoopy dashboard, while subtle red accents on the predominantly black interior further complement the sporty looks the exterior has been writing cheques for.

Things, however, soon take a turn for the worse when it comes to actually touching and feeling what’s within, as the MG5’s cabin is sadly equal parts cheap to the touch as it is sleek to the eye…

Pretty much every surface within the MG5 is covered in hard and scratchy plastics à la Toyota (and that’s not a compliment to its quality, though it might be durable in the long run). And what isn’t plastic is instead wrapped in synthetic leather, which incidentally feels equally as tacky as the plastic. In fact, without sounding like a quality snob, the perforated pleather wrapping its 3-spoke sporty steering wheel feels so much like plastic that it might as well be.

It has to be added too that, contrary to what’s expected from a Chinese car, the MG5 doesn’t exactly dazzle with its standard kit. On the quantity front first, while MG might proudly point out that its compact sedan sports a powered sunroof and a fully digital 7-inch LCD multi-function display, the trade-off for it to lack a full ADAS suite (it has blind spot monitoring and lane keep assist, but no adaptive cruise control or autonomous emergency braking), as well as a reach-adjustable steering wheel (more on this later).

On the quality front meanwhile, it is also sad to report that the kit the MG5 comes with isn’t exactly top-shelf either. Its floating 10.25-inch central infotainment display (with wired Android Auto and Apple CarPlay) is neither the most responsive nor the highest resolution unit around. Its 360º surround view camera is similarly underwhelming, with the vehicle diagram on-screen pretty much blocking the view of the actual parking bay lines.

To throw the MG5 a bone here though, this Sino-British sedan does redeem itself somewhat by having physical volume buttons on rocker switches right below the central infotainment screen. The MG5 incidentally also has some of the biggest door armrest pockets in the whole automotive industry.

But while on the topic of big, despite the MG5 touting itself as the ‘longest and widest’ among its similarly-priced B-segment peers, its almost Civic-sized exterior dimensions unfortunately doesn’t really translate to an abundance of space within. This isn’t to say it’s suffocatingly small inside, as it can indeed comfortably accommodate four average-sized adults and features a decently-sized boot. But those who want big space in a small sedan would do much better with the packaging masterclass that is the Honda City.

Transitioning to how the MG5 drives now, this Sino-British sedan does, mercifully, manage to be quite a decent handler. Its suspension is reasonably accomplished in soaking up bumps, while also not wallowing like a ship in rough seas when chucked around corners. Its steering, in turn, is relatively weighty and direct enough to make this (comparatively) large sedan feel agile and nimble on the road.

As for how it stops and goes, the initial bite on its brakes is a tad sharp (making gentle stops a bit tricky for the uninitiated), but the overall pedal feel is strong and confidence-inspiring. What is unfortunately not so strong, however, is the power output from under the hood — though it’s about what one could reasonably expect from a naturally aspirated 1.5-litre four-cylinder mated to a continuously variable transmission (iCVT) with 8 simulated gears.

Handily too, the trade-off for not having much power is that the MG5 does manage to return decent fuel economy. This writer averaged about 9 km/l during his weekend with it — which, while not exactly the 17.5 km/l touted by MG, is still decent enough, especially considering he could be said to have been wearing lead shoes behind the wheel.

Also perhaps not entirely relevant here, but the MG5’s engine does sound decently fruity too. Though do note that one person’s “fruity” is another person’s “gruff”…

And while on the topic of subjective, the biggest black mark this writer has at least with how the MG5 drives is the subpar driving position some will inevitably encounter, stemming from the lack of telescopic adjustment for its steering wheel. It also doesn’t help that the seats are not the most comfortable either, with the backrest feeling overly stuffed. This small Chinese sedan lacks any height adjustment for its front seatbelts as well.

To sum up the MG5, a kind way to conclude is that its stylish looks and decent drive unfortunately aren’t really sufficient to distract from its cabin and kit list shortcomings — particularly in this highly value-focused and closely competitive segment.

But if being brutally honest here, the real damning single-sentence conclusion of the MG5 is that it pretty much feels like a RM 60,000 car. Now, this does go some length to explaining how MG can sell this fully-imported sedan for around the same price as its locally-assembled peers, but at the same time, it also means that it simply can’t compete competently against the established segment rivals.

The Vios is probably the MG5’s closest competitor, with a similarly cheap-feeling interior and small cabin working against the Toyota’s favour. Then again, the Vios offers a better drive and actually has more features one might use daily (wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a high-resolution surround view camera, as well as adaptive cruise control and autonomous emergency braking). Lest we forget too, the oval T badge on its nose means it’ll be infinitely reliable and hold its value well into the future.

The Proton S70 meanwhile might be a little rough round the edges in terms of the way it drives, but one also can’t deny that it does dazzle on the tech front, and the cabin quality is more than adequate as well.

And finally on the Honda City, this writer would like to come clean and admit that he had the City (albeit in Hatchback form) and MG5 on test at roughly the same time. And it was upon stepping into the plush cabin of the City from the MG5 that it instantly made sense why Honda can (and do) ask so much more money for it…