MG5 EV REVIEW & PRICES

Electric estate cars are an inherently good thing — they’re roomy, practical, and generally more efficient than an equivalent SUV so you spend less money running one.

So the MG5 EV is a bit like a subscription to Peleton — you know it’s going to do you good, but you’re probably going to spend that cash on an air fryer or a new flatscreen TV instead — the homeware versions of a shiny, posh SUV.

The market for electric estates has actually grown a bit since the MG5 was first introduced way back in 2020. Back then, your EV estate choice was just the MG5 or the Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo, but now the MG’s closest competition comes from the likes of the Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer Electric and Peugeot E-308 SW, while you could also throw the likes of the Volkswagen ID.7 Tourer into the mix if your budget stretches that far.

Updated in 2022 — which suddenly feels like a long time ago — the MG5 gained sharper styling at the front, where the old-fashioned chrome-covered grille was binned in favour of a much more modern looking slot-style item, with neat lights at either side and a charging flap in the middle.

MG5 EV: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 235-250 miles
Efficiency: 3.5-3.6mi/kWh
Battery size: 57kWh
Max charge speed: 87kW
Charge time AC: 7hrs (10-100%, 7.4kW)
Charge time DC: 35mins (10-80%, 210kW)
Charge port location: Front
Power outputs: 156hp

The rest of the bodywork didn’t change all that much, which means you do end up with a slightly older, curvier look down the sides and round the back, which doesn’t quite match up with the nose, although at least the revised brake lights are quite smart looking.

Inside, while the 2022 update was a definite improvement on what went before, it’s still not anything that’s going to give Audi engineers any sleepless nights. There’s a good helping of soft-touch surfaces, and decent imitation leather for seats in the higher spec models, but overall the design is a bit dreary, and the quality is lacking.

The 10.3-inch touchscreen, which was originally counter-sunk into the dashboard, now sits on top of the dash in a free-floating position, but while it too was an improvement on the original system, like many MG models, the software feels a solid step behind most others, and it’s fiddly to use and lacks coherence. At least you can skip the MG software and use Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The earlier mixture of digital and analogue dials for the driver were later replaced by a swish-looking all-digital display.

There’s decent space in the cabin, but the rear seat is set too low relative to the floor, so rear seat passengers’ legs will be too elevated for comfort on a long journey.

There’s 464 litres of load space in the back of the MG5 — 580 litres if you pack it to the ceiling, and 1,456 litres if you fold down the back seats. That’s still good enough to make it a very practical family car, although the Peugeot E-308 SW beats it by around 90 litres.

The MG5 only ever came with one battery and motor combo. You’ll get a maximum of 250 miles out of a charge, depending on which trim level you go for, but that range evaporates pretty quickly on the motorway.

The MG5 is a comfy car to drive on that motorway though, and it’s good around town too, with plenty of electronic driver assistance systems. It’s a little less good on a twisty road, but actually still manages to be a touch more enjoyable than you might think.

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.

The MG5 EV no longer appears on MG’s official price lists, but even when it was available new, it was a very cheap car, priced from just over £30,000, which allowed it to undercut roomier electric estates such as the Peugeot E-308 and the Vauxhall Astra, but also less practical hatchbacks such as the Volkswagen ID.3 and the Renault Megane E-Tech. Of course, the price paid for making that saving was that the MG was nowhere near as sophisticated as the others, but it always represented solid value for money.

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, but there’s very little subjective difference between the three different regenerative brake settings.

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. Or as long — the 250-mile range drops like a rock when you’re on the motorway, so don’t bet on getting much more than 150 miles if you’re cruising at 70mph.

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 464-litre boot, which is a big, useful size that makes it easy to carry a couple of suitcases or the weekly shop.The Peugeot E-308 can hold up to 548 litres of luggage or shopping, up to the luggage cover, so that’s substantially more practical but then again substantially more expensive, too. The Vauxhall Astra Sports Tourer is a little less roomy — 516 litres — but again, that does beat the MG.

Fold the rear seats and you get 1,367 litres, which isn’t amazing (the Peugeot has over 1,500 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. You can buy an aftermarket front-boot for the MG5, which slots in around the electric motor, but beware motor cooling issues if you’re going to use one of these.

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 got a much-improved look, with the old-school infotainment display removed from the dash and lifted to sit atop it.

That newer 10.3-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 still a better solution.

At first, even post-2022, the MG5 used a mixture of analogue and digital dials for the driver’s instruments, but that was, by 2023, replaced by an all-digital display. Even then, the digital display was a touch clunky, and you can’t do much to customise it nor change the layout, but it is a little better than what came before, at least.

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, mostly because of the larger wheels.

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.

As a used electric car you don’t benefit from the ultra-cheap first-year Vehicle Excise Duty rate and will pay the flat annual fee, but at least there’s no worry about the expensive car supplement that would see you paying more road tax in years two-to-six. However, you will have to consider the pay-per-mile EV road tax that’s set to be introduced from 2028.

Company car users could pay as little as £15 per month for an MG5 EV, but remember that benefit-in-kind rates for company car users are going up by 2% per annum between now and 2030.

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.

MG seems to be a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to reliability. Although electric cars are generally more reliable than petrol or diesel models — less to go wrong and all that — the MG5 EV didn’t make it into the Driver Power list of the Top 50 Cars To Own. Although the (older) MG HS SUV did, making it to 21st place overall, the HS didn’t get a high score for quality and reliability. Worse again, MG as a brand finished last – 31st out of 31 marques – in the overall Driver Power survey.

At least MG offers one of the best available warranties in the UK market with its seven-year/80,000-mile coverage.