Kudos that you still published this video even though the material was shot at such difficult times for you.

Must have been a hard one to edit for obvious reasons, but professional as ever. Honest and true info. Have a great weekend with the family.

I agree they’re a nice enough looking car, look like Volkswagens with that front end.

This is what I want from electric cars. No weird gadgetry, just a basic transport capsule from A to B. Love it!

I like how it is an estate car rather than a suv

The MG ZS i have as a company car used to do that to the door handle, is a 2 min fix. Pull the handle and spray some lithium grease on the mechanism and it is good. Dine that last year and the issue never came back. And about driving i always use the Sport mode lol

Ian, hope editing this video brought back more good memories of your sister and wasn't too painful to put together

There was a red MG5 behind my 981 Boxster S at The Late Brake Show Manchester, it was getting more attention than my Porsche 😆

Not ready to go modern yet...Today i purchsed a 1999 Mercedes Benz C class W202.....lovely car

I've been waiting for this review Ian, I'm glad you feel ready to post it. 🙏

I've had my EV 5 since September 21 it's coming upto 10k since new. I've had a few small issues which I've sorted one of them was caused by a yob smashing my window.. but being an MG the replacements are £50. I normally see 215/220mile range in summer and winter it's around 185/190.

We have one at work they are great 230 miles on a full charge

we bought an ID3 1 months ago now and haven't really regretted it as a car purchase. coming from an Audi TTS the performance stunned me (0-30/40 I'd say it's faster than my TTS). the only problem is that it has absolutely zero in terms of character. props to you for putting the test together x

I think this must have been a tough one to post after recent circumstances … thank you …. And for the money a decent EV 👍

Not enough estates in Australia , too many SUV's all I want is a manual estate or even hatch, that's too much to ask for in Aus.

Cost of electricity is going up.

This is exactly what I expect from a car, no nonsense or a computer on wheels. Thanks for posting this video Ian, the insiders know the story behind this.

I love mine. Keep the power between 20 and 30% and speed below 60 and I can get 250 miles range. I previously hated electric hand-brakes but in automatic mode this one actually works nicely. Don't worry about the regen modes, just feather the footbrake and it's all regen anyway. It's not really practical like a proper estate at all, though (coming from Focus estates). Hate the groaning warning noise...

Pleased you uploaded. 👍 In a World of bloated Tonka toys it's nice to see a sober estate. There have been some sneering reviews of these, but it's the bread and butter cars that will be remembered. I didn't realise it had the front indicators in headlamp though. That does tarnish it rather. Makes them difficult to see in direct bright sunlight, sometimes. (Hopefully LED's cancel that)

First and foremost, my thoughts are with you Ian, this can't have been an easy video to edit. Huge credit to you for sharing it. I am just going to share my personal opinion on the MG5. I'll start with positives. The MG5 actually made it high on my list as a replacement for my Volvo V40 when the time comes. The range (real world) is enough for my typical commutes (120-150 miles round trip a day), and would even get me to the more distant locations I get sent to (up to 180 miles each way). Às you say it doesn't look that unusual - I, too, hate that so many battery cars try to look so different, I especially hate ones with the horrid slab of coloured plastic instead of a radiator grille (battery powered XC40, Kia Soul, even the new MGZS as examples, and let's not mention the ugly SUV that rips off the name of a very well known muscle car). The MG5 has the infotainment screen integrated into the dash which I prefer, rather than being blu-tacked to the top of it like so many new cars do, almost like an afterthought. The dash is actually quite pleasant on the eye, and I quite like the semi-circular dials in the gauge cluster. It's just an understated but actually well designed vehicle. There's the bonus of a 7-year warranty, and there's a dealer very local to me - something I can say for an ever-decreasing number of marques now as dealers keep closing in my area. However, the downsides. I have had a read of the MG website. They recommend not dropping below 50% battery too often to prolong battery life. I'd have to go below 50% every day - there are no charge points at my workplaces (for employees to use, at least), and none within walking distance either, so charging while I'm at work just isn't possible, and I'm not willing to have to sit for upwards of half an hour at a public charger every day just to get to work and home again. Overall, the MG website recommends keeping the battery between 20% & 80% charge, and that limits the range further, potentially to the point that it can't get me to work and home again. For me, it's just still not there in practicality terms. We've actually had a few power cuts lately, and I can't imagine phoning my boss to say "I can't come in, my car didn't charge up last night" would go down very well 😂 I've also seen many people state that the infotainment system is laggy, which would drive me round the bend. I don't like electronic handbrakes either, they're an expensive solution to a problem that doesn't exist. (Edit to add:) The MG5 isn't rated for towing at all, I've just acquired a trailer for taking my garden rubbish to the tip, so I need something that can tow (end of edit). Lastly, I think it's still too quiet even with the artificial noise it gives off - I firmly believe battery vehicles pose a real danger to blind and partially-sighted pedestrians (not to mention phone zombies who walk into the road without looking up from their phones, although arguably if you're that stupid, perhaps getting hit by a moving vehicle might knock some sense into you). That quiet hum the MG5 gives off is easily drowned out by a light breeze. So, yeah, the MG5 is a good car, a great option even, for many people. It's just not quite there for me yet.

Total respect for posting this vid Ian.

At this point i'd be more interested in a vacuum cleaner review .

Hey Ian, thanks for the review. You might be interested to know MG refuse to sell MG5s in NZ as apparently Kiwis don't want station wagons anymore. So a chap in Taupo imports them from England instead. Works out too an extra $10.000 on the asking price for those of us who actually do want a station wagon.

SAIC group also are part owners of VW group and make VW’s in China. They use lots of shared components with vw ,,like the steering wheels and air vents etc in the MG5 and ZS range.

I really like this car. It is styled nicely and it looks well thought out. That dash is very nice. I personally have no use for the infotainment screens in cars. I do not need a car that is smarter than me. I want to get in and go where I want to go and enjoy the experience without bells and whistles and other annoying things that can go wrong and I never asked for that needlessly complicates matters. They need to get that car over to the States across the pond. I would definitely go for a drive in it and maybe buy it. Thanks for the ride along. Are you listening MG?

Now if you could just have the low speed artificial car noise to sound like a three wheel milk float complete with clanky-tinkle of the empties:-)

I cant buy an E-Car as i live on the top floor of a Flat block so that is a major problem , how are people who live in Flats going to drive E-cars ? especially as i live in Ascot which is a very rural area , nearest Electric charging point is 5 miles away in Bracknell so that is not good.

An interesting car, bring back the good old estate I say!

Genuinely got me interested in these now! I wonder how long it’ll be before mainstream manufacturers stop with the ‘look at me, aren’t I great for buying electric’ mentality and just make normal stuff that just happens to run on electrickery! This proves it can be done (I know, eGolf, eUp, etc but majority are very, very showy). Also, blimey this must’ve been hard to edit, well done and much admiration for doing it. Take care of yourselves and thank you as always, Cheers!

Cinematic ending. This video shocked me to the core, no Betty, it's a new car, too

Looks like you've caught the bug! Your early EV videos were why I subscribed to your channel.That effortless wafting is worth more than the car's weight in postage stamps. I also love the lack of the racket of dinosaurs screaming. 😉👍 We bought our EV at about 2/3 of the advertised price. Still ostensibly expensive, but when you start seeing the total cost of ownership (the significant after sales savings, and the current temporary lack of various forms of taxation), they turn out to be a bit of bargain, in comparison to petrol or Diesel cars. Quite decent used ones can be bought, sometimes for as low as about twice the price of your asking price for Foxanne, if you do your homework, and buy from a reputable source.

Thanks Ian. I love the fact that it could be any other car and has to be all the car most people need. I want my next car to be electric and the Fisker Ocean is probably top of that list. I think a future with mixed powertrains is ahead - battery, hydrogen, petrol, synthetic petrol etc., I do not think WVO is too practical yet. Petrol will be around for a long time, we need to move away from petroleum based products to move away from petrol, about half a barrel goes to fuel and the other half synthetic products.

It makes one wonder with fuel prices going through the roof all over the world if it’s a ploy to get people to buy electric cars.

Probably the best effort from MG so far. At the risk of being the naysayer of doom, I'm just waiting for the government to start taxing EVs. I'm certain they will, it's just a case of when. Still love the tech though.

I normally drive a ZS EV but had one of these for a day while it was in for servicing, it's a really nice practical car and remarkably efficient, also handles much nicer than the 1st gen ZS EV.

Thanks for that review Ian. I see lots of these being used as taxi,s here in Dublin. That says a lot to me. Again sorry for your loss. But thanks again for the brilliant review.👍

Thanks for the review Ian, good review. We've been EV since 2016 and I got shot of my Volvo V60 D5 in 2020 so we are a full EV household now. We've had two Leaf's, and currently have MG ZS EV and a Tesla Model 3 SR+. The Tesla is immensely good, but I'll concede, stupid expensive. The MG's are incredible value for money, our ZS is our workhorse, it's been very reliable, shows no battery degradation and my wife very much enjoys the car. Again, good review and nice to not see the usual anti EV tripe. Fun fact (or not so) the MG5 is actually based in the Astra K.

Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. As informative as ever Mr Ian.brill.

This might just be my favorite MG (ducks for cover).

I can never get my head round not having a proper handbrake. It would put me off this car for this reason alone. And I'd always be worried about running out of 'juice.' Great review, thanks Ian.

I’ve test drove a MG estate last month and it was fantastic

Sorry for your Los my friend I see why you held back on this one love and respect to you and your family

nice review Ian. I'm tempted to buy the new facelift MG5 despite as you say MG isn't British anymore but nothing else is either.

Since you published this video, those pump prices have only gone one way. Diesel where i am , the local ESSO - £1.999 per litre. I think it has not tipped over to £2.00 as a psychological option.

From the thumbnail picture, I first though he'd made an april fools video by sticking an MG badge on a VW Passat. Surprised to see a real good review of an electric car I hadn't even heard about before.

Owned the exclusive extended range version since dec 2021, happy to answer any questions people might have having now done 4k miles.

One of the best looking EVs around I'd say, especially in terms of it being a real car (and a nice stationwagon to boot), not some vague blob. Would like to see more like this MG5 SW.

With prices of fuel going up electric car a good idea???? As electric cars becomes more popular than ever, electric prices going up. Sorry to say if we all got rid of our cars and used cycles this government will still find a way to take our money. It's only a matter of a litte time before electric cars that are expensive to buy will be as crippling as fuel cars to run.

Hate to say it but I think I could live with that, never liked the weird looking EV's but that's not bad at all, at age 69 I just might be tempted !

Good colour and about the only non-SUV EV estate on offer

I like the analogue style dials. It is not over the top. Thanks for the excellent review as ever.

Five passengers, stuff in the boot, heat and defrost on. That's how to check the range!

We love our MG ZS ev, had it a year now with no issues.......except the sticky handles! I think a lot of people have developed the wrong view of ev's. I'm an out and out petrol head with a few classics but love the ev for it's ability to move me and the family in such a quiet and comfortable way. Just completed a weeks holiday in Yorkshire from West Sussex in it with no problems at all. 😁

Thank you for posting this review Ian, can't have been easy having to go over the footage. I agree that the new MGs seem like a good choice in the world of modern cars, and I am seeing more out and about in traffic.

Thank you.

Refreshing to see a SIMPLE car as an EV without weird looks, acres of screens and overload of gimmicky tech. This is how automakers should be making them. And wagons make more sense as EVs than SUVs for their aerodynamics.

I quite like the look of these but Chinese build quality always concerns me, I wonder what it will be like when a few years old, plus I'm not a big fan of supporting Chinese manufacturing but that's another story!

Imagine an alternative reality where these roll off the production line of a still-operational Longbridge... As modern vehicles go, this is what's needed. Not too many frills, just simple, functional transport to push the drive to electric forward.

My neighbour's got the 2021 MG SUV ... It didn't have enough range to get to Keswick from Tyneside, despite it being on charge 2 days out of 7 ...

Something tells me that somewhere in the menus you can set the 'startup' level for the regen. I saw a lot of MG5's in the UK last week. It's decent, not exciting. Not something I'd buy because I want it ,but also not something I'd leave because I hate it. Also, I rather like this colour. Well done, Ian's dad!

I see Matt Watson has just reviewed one of these and very favourably.

At c. 6:10 - you say that nobody gets anywhere near to the claimed figures. Our experience with a Zoe ZE50 R110 is different. Renault claim 243 miles of range. On holiday last September, to and from Northwest Wales, we managed 5.3 miles per kilowatt-hour, with an electric buggy in the boot, with Mrs. Lock Nut and myself, plus self-catering holiday luggage. Assuming a battery availability of 48 kWh, that equates to a range of over 254 miles. The car was driven at normal speeds, in B Mode, and in Eco, driving on Motorways, A and B roads, with hilly terrain for much of the time. I uploaded a short video which shows the relevant figures. The worst Winter minimum range, using AirCon and ventilation as normal, in some pretty wet and windy conditions, was about 212 miles. Most of the time we averaged 4.8 mpkWh, or 230 miles of range, albeit usually with lower payloads aboard. Now that the weather is warming up again, I'm already seeing more than 5.1 mpkWh, 245 miles of range, assuming that 48 kWh of the battery is available, with a lot of short journeys, mixed with 100 mile round trips. That economy is improving steadily again as we head toward Summer.

Not a bad looking car, I actually like the fact it looks kind of normal and not from outer space. Great review. Best wishes.

Makes me think of a sort of Astra or Insignia estate. I wouldn't really notice them all that much, but people get good use out of them.

Basically, Nanjing (NAC) got the MG brand, and the tooling for the ZS, ZR and ZT, while SAIC got the rights for the Rover 75, and couldn't get the Rover name because Ford rushed to buy the name and fold it into Land Rover (which means the Rover brand is owned by TATA). So, SAIC came up with Roewe, with a similarly shaped badge. Eventually Nanjing was absorbed by SAIC as well

Great content, back in north Devon I see , I live in Barnstaple

I'm a car trade Petrolhead Bangernomics fan MG is an incredible turn around story, oh, it isn't really MG, I see now

If there was a saloon version of it I'd might consider getting one

"Clutch rest" AKA Fart pedal. My sister has an MG SUV type thing in Thailand, She says "It's falling to pieces, 30,000 miles in"

I was watching an interview with an American guy who works in the auto industry and he predicted that they'll be a lot more of these quality spec, competitively priced Chinese EVs in the near future.

You're a great guy Ian

The sticking door handles are something I've seen mentioned in a number of forums now.....

Strangely it reminds me of a modern day Austin Maestro van.

The KERS system was also used in the Ferrari LaFerrari hybrid hypercar

Great video Ian and it looks a lovely car, could it be the perfect modern family car for the kiddiewinks and woofers? Hoping your family is keeping well after the loss of your sister, take care.

A great review Ian and I am really sorry for you and your family's loss. I've a growing soft spot for the MG5, especially with the good looking face-lift having just been revealed. It's on my shopping list as a more affordable replacement for my Corolla hybrid estate in a few years. One thing I have always wondered with 'one foot driving', do the brake lights come on during re-gen?

I love how subtle and conservative it is

Getting Renault Megane vibes off those sticky handles. No matter how much grease you spray in them, they still stick!

Atlantic Village! love it. Nice review

That interior really is VERY Passat! Immediately familiar from driving one every day.

Kudos for putting this out. My wife has one of these an loves it.

Quite interesting car. They're coming over here to Germany only now, with launch events at the dealerships supposedly going on next Saturday. A bit too big for my needs, but there are rumours of a smaller MG 4 coming later this year. And a serious challenge for the VW models, since VW apparently will not be able to deliver an ID.3 (or a Cupra Born) in my preferred trim before mid 2023

Nice to see a review of a "real" electric car. All that ever seems to appear in the papers, KZfaq, TV etc are Teslas, BMW/Audi/Porsche/Merc premium top-end stuff, and occasionally converted classics with £35K of Tesla batteries and motors. None of those are ever going to convert the world to electric power, especially not with the way the range drops off at 70mph. This sort of car, however, is how ordinary people will get into the electric car market. People are under the impression that electric vehicles cost peanuts to run. Harry Metcalfe calculated that (before Ukraine etc happened and power/fuel prices exploded) cost per mile to run an electric vehicle was about half that of the comparable diesel. I absolutely understand the caution over petrol and diesel prices, but road fuel went up maybe 50-70% here, whereas electricity prices have more than tripled for some people, and it looks like that may increase further in the autumn review. It is far from clear-cut now. £27K still buys a lot of fuel, and an interesting second hand car to put it in.

I reckon this is the most Hubnut EV there is

I test drove one myself. I’m very tempted myself to go electric. Only thing that puts me of at the moment is the public chargers are not that great at the moment. But they only get better as time goes on.

I don’t understand some of the negativity here and on Facebook? It’s a good value family car with lots of space, equipment, low running costs and of course a good warranty. Objectively as a car, what’s not to like? I doubt it’ll be ‘worthless’ when it’s a good few years old, providing it all still works, and because China has been making EVs for years and years, I feel pretty confident in saying it’ll last as long as any other car. After-all, you won’t have to change the head gasket every 2 minutes… 😉

Thanks for putting this out. I do like this car. It’s nice looking, not too big for an estate and not too expensive. But it would only suit 80% of my journeys. I had to do a 250mi journey recently with no where to charge and this would not do it. I also have two long journeys in the next week. This would do one of them. So I’m thinking hybrid for the next car. I would like a plug-in hybrid but they are too expensive.

It looks to be a surprisingly good car. I guess there is no spare wheel which is a real annoyance these days for us country dwellers.

As a wheelchair user myself that higher lip doesn't really bother me. What does is the painted and unprotected bumper which inevitably gets scratched when dragging a wheelchair in/out. Thats not just an MG issue but one with a lot of cars. The door handle is an MG problem - build quality on all five I've been in was very questionable. They seem ok until you live with them for a day or two then little things start to pop up - rattles here and there, squeaks, some controls/levers feel tight and others loose. Not terrible stuff but it does point to cheap build which makes me wonder how good they are underneath. Sadly a lot of cars feel similar these days. I agree you should consider the MG if you go for an electric. Not because its the best but because its pretty good value for money so far as electrics go. I wouldn't buy an electric myself at the moment but I've been driving them since 2010. My advice if you're serious about them is to get a long term test going first to see what they're like to live with. Day to day they're brilliant. You come out to a full battery each morning and just get on with what you're doing then plug it in once you're home for the night. The downside is distance runs where range drops off a cliff, chargers are few and far between and it all gets a bit of a faff. Thats is mostly why I went for a plug-in hybrid this time. The electrics were such a pain on a run I always ended up using an ice where this plug-in (Kuga) does all my normal stuff on electric and the first 40 miles or so of a long run then its just a decent hybrid after. I've done more ev miles in this per month than I ever did in any of my ev's. Pragmatism.

I`d buy one when the prices come down.

Electric cars are cheap to run for the moment, but as soon as the government decide that they are losing too much fuel revenue from falling petrol and diesel sales, they will start taxing the hell out of EV's in some format or another, you can bet your life on that happening!

Thanks for this vid Ian, good review, I’ve driven an EV briefly, yes the acceleration is pretty addictive! The MG looks a good car, very VW Passat-esque, the issue with EV’s is where to charge the car overnight, if you have private parking like a drive and access to a charge point all good, but for those living in housing with no off road parking it’s an issue, companies are selling these cars more and more but there’s still a need for a charging network. If I went Electric I think I might be tempted by the MG5 though, lot of money 27k but cheaper than some others.

They look decent enough but i think they will sell well as they are a more affordable ev and great to see something other than a horrid suv .

Do the brake lights come on during max regen braking? Nice review.

Looks a nice car, similar to my Skoda Octavia estate. never been in an electric car and still have an adversion to EV's, only problem is that if this towed a caravan it would be no good...

Thanks Ian , My wife uses a wheelchair so this is something in the electric range I could consider in the future I like the look of it

I've been leasing one of these for a while and sent it back yesterday. Mine had an incredibly annoying fault where whenever I'd plug it in to charge, the alarm would constantly go off... Probably something to do with the telematics system interfering with the car somehow as I never heard of it happening to anyone else. The car itself, surprisingly well built, plenty quick enough, I was never sure on the hybrid VW/Mini/Mazda looking steering wheel, but otherwise it was a great little car. The handle on the driver's side door would also get stuck out sometimes too, never happened on any other doors.

This could not have been easy for you. Thank you for doing it. Chinese EVs (or ICEs for that matter) still haven't made it to this side of the pond, but I can imagine it's only a matter of time, so it's interesting to have an idea of what they have on offer. Where Western and other Asian manufacturers need to worry is how "normal" this car is. No quirks, no compromises, just a regular car. If you are a real motor-head, EVs are a real blast, but that 240kp/h speedometer seems a bit...aspirational.

What? A non-SUV-estate? Is it really possible to still buy such a thing? Nice 👍 Yes, I do miss regular height estates, of which I have owned many. The Xantias probably the best ones. And the cheapest, strangely enough. I would love to own a Chinese MG, just to piss off all the "real men", who seem to hate them intensely, because it's nothing like an old english MG. You know the types that also hate Citroën Berlingos.

If image and build quality isn’t high on the agenda these are good value for money