MG5 Exclusive

By Bill McCarthy

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NO-ONE can accuse MG of lacking ambition. Years after the brand’s disappearance and then return to British roads, it has moved on in leaps and bounds.

After a faltering start, the line-up is still limited but imaginative. This latest model, the all-electric MG5, targets the fleet market, which bucks the current trend for SUV/crossover vehicles, instead offering a repmobile-style estate car.

It is also an affordable electric option for larger families, with its impressive range, practicality and stowage space. It’s range would not be suitable for company drivers covering hundreds of miles a day, rather the local multi-drop urban work or commuting to and from an office or to visit clients, where the range 214 miles, would be more than adequate.

This alleviates one of the big problems with electric cars – range anxiety. The question of whether you can reach your destination, and if you can’t are there charging points available? Around 200 miles seemed easily achievable while living with the car.

There’s little to show the car is an electric vehicle apart from some discrete badging, the green strip on the number plate and the lack of tailpipes.

It offers smart styling, sitting low off the ground to attain better stability, ultra-low running costs, particularly with Benefit in Kind taxation for business users, just one per cent for 2021/2022 and a hugely attractive price. It starts from £24,495 (after the Government plug-in car grant), not forgetting the seven year warranty.

The vehicle is powered by a 115kW electric motor and delivers the instant, blistering acceleration associated with electric cars. Equivalent to 156PS, it can hit 60mph in 7.7 seconds.  It is a comfortable place to be and handles pretty much as well as any petrol or diesel estate and accommodates five people with relative ease.

The 52.5kWh Lithium-Ion battery pack can be charged from zero to 80 per cent in just 50 minutes using a rapid charger. A full charge at home using Type 2 fast charging can be attained in around eight and a half hours.

There’s little to show the car is an electric vehicle apart from some discrete badging, the green strip on the number plate and the lack of tailpipes.

It has a low slung profile and while it may not be the most exciting styling, the iconic MG badge on the black grille still attracts plenty of interest. The grille badge in fact discretely conceals the charging, point, swinging open to allow the car to be plugged in.

The interior feels like a much more expensive car, with a comprehensive list of standard equipment. It also has a more modern feel, with the usual gear selector replaced with a rotary knob and the instruments laid out in a clear, concise and logical manner.

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There is plenty of head and legroom, even for rear seat passengers, while the front seats, on this Exclusive model are leather-style, heated and fully adjustable.

 To hammer home the point of the car’s value for money, even the ‘entry level’ Excite features electric windows all-round, air conditioning, regenerative braking, cruise control with speed limiter, an auto-hold electric parking brake, rain-sensing wipers and push-button starter.

This is together with 16-inch, alloys, remote entry with push-button start, air conditioning, four electric windows, electrically adjustable mirrors, cruise control, rear parking sensors and follow- me-home headlights. This Exclusive model adds rear camera, sat nav, silver roof rails, electrically adjustable folding heated mirrors, an automatically dimming mirror and satellite navigation.

The centrepiece on both is an eight-inch colour touchscreen and seven-inch TFT display. The touch screen controls navigation, infotainment through the six speaker system and DAB radio, and connectivity for smartphones.

In addition there are four USB ports, The TFT display gives a raft of driver information, particularly on the charging and range of the car.

The large boot area is accessed through a wide tailgate opening and offers from 464 litres of space up a spacious 1,456 litres, depending on the configuration of the folding rear seats.

It’s also packed with active and passive safety systems, with front, side and curtain airbags, electronic brake assist, ABS with EBD, twin ISOFIX points in the rear and hill start assistance.

Factfile

MG 5 Exclusive

Price: £27,540

Mechanical: 156PS,115kw electric motor driving front wheels via auto via transmission

Max Speed: 115mph

0-62mph: 7.7 seconds

Combined MPG: Range 214 miles (WLTP)

Insurance Group: 19

C02 emissions: 0g/km

Warranty: 7yrs/80,000 miles