MG5 SR to MGS5 LR - considering upgrading after test drive

[Loada]

Have had my MG5 Exclusive SR for nearly four years and fancied a change after following the new MGS5 reviews in the motoring YouTube channels with close interest. Today, I managed to get a test drive in a dynamic red MGS5 Trophy LR and thought it might be useful to outline my thoughts and picking-up on some things reviewers have noted, particularly for those in the same ownership/upgrade position as me:

Exterior

• the car in the metal looks deceptively compact on the outside compared to my MG5 (and even the MG4!)
• unsurprisingly, it does look like a MG4 SUV, a sort of mash-up of the MG5 and MG4 but it's not as "tall" as you'd expect
• electric tailgate is welcome and the "foot waggle" seemed to work well
• overall design is very clean and neat - maybe a bit "safe" or even boring to some but I think it suits the car well
  • compared to things like Skoda Elroq/Enyaq, feels very modern with a whiff of Tesla at the front

Interior

• driver seat was very comfortable
  • more snug than my MG5 which will work for smaller-size drivers (like my wife) who maybe slide about a bit in the MG5 - maybe too snug for larger size people?
  • lots of additional padding - seat base in particular felt plush
  • the new materials (mixture of cloth/faux-leather) I prefer over the faux leather of my MG5 which can get uncomfortably hot/sweaty in the summer and hopefully will be harder wearing as my MG5 has the apparently very common rips/damage to the side bolster in the drivers seat base
  • seating position is not as high as I expected but noticeably higher than the MG5
• interior quality much higher than my MG5
  • particularly the centre console with the wireless charge pad
  • main screen was responsive and easy to use
  • driver display was a little small in parts i.e. the trip readouts etc but overall very usable
  • window buttons and heating knobs, air vents etc felt premium with their knurled metal design
• I was concerned that I'd be losing boot space somehow but the boot looked pretty much the same size as MG5, with a bit more height (and the false floor)
• Love the hard button array under the screen - I'm a massive fan of the MG5 tactile button layout and all touchscreen-only controls (Tesla, Polestar etc) are a deal-breaker for me

Driving

• very comfortable ride - I was concerned that it would be like other modern EVs i.e. very stiff (esp compared to the MG5's relatively-soft suspension) but the MGS5 felt much more refined and dealt with rough roads/potholes in much more composed manner than the MG5
  • going over bigger ruts was still noticeable but car dealt with it much better than the MG5 which would very quickly lose composure and "crash" when pushed beyond its basic suspension/thick tyre wall limits
• noticeably quieter inside than the MG5 - again a feeling of refinement compared to the MG5
• the acceleration "lag" than Bjarne noted in his review is noticeable - the MG5 is very responsive in comparison
  • I found that this lazier pickup suits the drive of the MGS5 and if you urge the car on (press harder), it does respond and acceleration is then very brisk, particularly in sport driving mode!
  • sport driving mode helped but lag was still there
• driver aids (ADAS), particularly the speed limit warning, were intrusive but not as bad as some cars (Kia EV3!)
  • easily turned off in the main touchscreen (even whilst driving)
  • MG Pilot ADAS customisation works brilliantly - didn't get a chance to see if I could add it to the custom hard buttons on the steering wheel but is relatively easy to do in the main screen - secondary confirmation is annoying though
  • Lane assist appeared hit and miss - was very noisy and intervened when I had to move out of lane to overtake a van parked half on the pavement but didn't seem to notice me wandering out of white lines?
• 360 degree camera is great
  • can be selected independently even at slow forward speed - handy for looking round the car in crowded stationary traffic
  • a big improvement over the MG5 reverse camera (and something I missed going to the MG5 from our 2017 Leaf Tekna)
• Didn't take me long to figure out all the settings/screens in a relatively short test drive - very intuitive
  • screen felt responsive and easy to use UI
• Like the MG5, rear view is compromised a bit by the middle seat headrest - I removed my MG5 one on day 1 and would consider doing the same in the MGS5 (if it's possible)
• I liked the flared "nostrils" of the front wings from the driver's view, gives a good sense of the nose of the car which is often difficult with the MG5 (especially seeing it doesn't have camera/sensors at the front)
  • turning circle seemed noticeably better than the MG5

I'm planning to get a longer test drive in the next week or two where I can pair my phone and try the navigation etc but my initial impressions are that its a very worthy upgrade from my MG5 and also quite surprising (but welcome) how quickly things have moved on in in MG EVs - the pricing is a bit of a shock (nearly £8k more than I paid for my then "top-spec" MG5!) but I still think it's very good value considering the whole package - will work out PCP ~£300pm with MG5 part-ex only, no deposit, 36 months, 0%, £15k balloon, "free" metallic paint.

Anyways, that wraps up my first forum post (can't believe I've not discovered it earlier!) - hope this is useful for someone!!

 

[Rei]

Thanks that's very interesting. I'd like to hear about the lane following and how good it is for motorway cruising. I need to test drive one myself.

For reference I was quoted around 300/month on PCP with 6.8k down, 15k balloon after 36 months, so they seem to be offering you that much for your MG5. I'm guessing you are coming off PCP?

 

[Loada]

For reference I was quoted around 300/month on PCP with 6.8k down, 15k balloon after 36 months, so they seem to be offering you that much for your MG5. I'm guessing you are coming off PCP?

~£7500 (my PCP ended a year ago) so in the ballpark of what the MG website's 0% finance calculator comes up with.

 

[Rei]

~£7500 (my PCP ended a year ago) so in the ballpark of what the MG website's 0% finance calculator comes up with.

That makes the balloon payment of £15k after 3 years seem very optimistic, shall we say. I guess they want you to do another PCP deal, not keep the car. Better than the available lease deals though.

 

[Loada]

That makes the balloon payment of £15k after 3 years seem very optimistic, shall we say. I guess they want you to do another PCP deal, not keep the car. Better than the available lease deals though.

MG5 was a different deal, cheaper RRP etc so not directly comparable and the MG5 LR kicked the residuals lower for the SR. I wouldn't be surprised if the MGS5 got face-lifted in the next 3 years too.

Interested in what 0% PCP deals others are managing to get on the MGS5 Trophy LR (with metallic paint)? Had a few quotes and they were all in the ballpark of the MG website calculator.

 

[Loada]

Something I forgot to mention in my original post - the MGS5 has a proper speed limiter which I really liked and used a lot in my Leafs i.e. it pro-actively limits the speed set by not letting you exceed the speed (rather than just an alert like in the MG5). Initially, it always seemed to be "auto" (based on the MG pilot speed sign recognition?) but I found that double-clicking the steering wheel button (I think?) allowed you to set the speed manually, in 5mph increments.

 

[Rei]

Thanks, I was wondering about the speed limiter function because I also really liked it in the Leaf.

 

[Koomi]

Thanks, I was wondering about the speed limiter function because I also really liked it in the Leaf.

The MG4 which the MGS5 is an improvement on, has a very stable speed limit setting.
The only annoyance in the 4 is that it defaults to off every time you get in the car... and have to enable it, either to manual or auto sign recognition.
I use it more than cruise control as, again in the 4 currently it's a poor option.

 

[Rei]

I did test drive a 4 bit it was too low for me, I need a taller car.