Overview

MG MOTOR released its third generation ‘3’ into the Australian market in June, the five-door tiddler built on the Chinese company’s Modular Scalable Platform ensuring not only petrol- and petrol/electric hybrid motive power, but improved packaging and convenience certain to pique the attention of light segment buyers.

Priced from $23,990 for the petrol and $27,990 for the Hybrid – as tested here in entry Excite grade – the MG 3 sits comfortably between the Suzuki Swift Hybrid ($24,490) and Toyota Yaris Hybrid ($28,500).

It is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and electric traction motor combination to offer an on-paper 155kW and 250Nm. In the real world, it doesn’t feel that strong… Electricity is stored in a 1.83kWh battery while transmission duties fall to a three-speed planetary arrangement.

MG says the 3 will consume just 4.3 litres of 95RON premium unleaded per 100km, but we couldn’t get close. With gentle urban and freeway driving the best we could achieve was 7.1L/100km – a long way shy of the manufacturer’s claim.

Still, tight new engines aren’t exactly renowned for their economy, and we’ll be interested to revisit the situation at a later date.

Looking elsewhere at the 3’s overall package we note a significant increase in the level of standard equipment, which all sits neatly in the comfortable five-seat cabin.

Adaptive cruise control, AEB, blind spot warning and lane departure offer useful assistance as required. The twin-screen setup is likewise useful, controlled by steering wheel spoke buttons for easy access to commonly used functions.

Add to this Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, decent six-speaker sound, keyless entry and ignition, single-zone climate control, a reversing camera and a bunch of airbags and we reckon the value offering here is hard to look past.

MG Motor offers the MG 3 with a 10-year/250,000km warranty, breakdown assist, and capped price servicing (CPS). Service intervals are pegged at 12 months or 10,00km (whichever comes first), and total $2696 for the duration of the seven-year/70,000km CPS program.

Driving Impressions

AFTER 10 years it was high time a new MG 3 hit the roads. Owners trading up will certainly notice the decade’s worth of improvement the new model has received – as they will the uptick in fit and finish, both inside and out.

MG Motor says the new 3 has “skipped a generation”, and that certainly feels the case from behind the ‘wheel. In hybrid form (we haven’t sampled the petrol-powered model just yet) the MG 3 is a smooth and competent performer.

However, the MG 3 is not as brisk as the numbers might indicate, in large part due to its slow transmission action.

It will, however, keep pace with fast-flowing city traffic with enough in reserve to pull out and pass – something we couldn’t confidently say of its predecessor – and is smooth of shift when switching from petrol to electric power.

The transmission handles power delivery smoothly and is appreciably quiet. Climbing steep grades shows the three-speeder is efficient in managing shifts; so smooth, in fact, we’d challenge most drivers to notice. Smooth but a little slow of shift? We can live with that.

Pleasingly, the 3’s ride is decent, if a little heavy in the nose; the softly sprung Macpherson strut (front) and torsion beam (rear) suspension manages ride and handling duties with more involvement than before, offering a comfortable and easy-to-manoeuvre feel behind the ‘wheel.

But it’s not a complete package by any stretch. The steering is vague and lifeless at higher road speeds with no real feedback to speak of. Sure, it’s light and easy to park, but we’d appreciate a little more communication – something rivals like the Swift and now defunct Fiesta do rather well.

We appreciated the improved stopping power, both from the regenerative system and the service brakes. The smooth brake pedal stroke cooperates well with the blended hydraulic system, distributing retardation consistently to the four-wheel discs.

Impressively, the 3 remains flat during hurried application, instilling confidence that the car would perform well in an emergency stop.

MG has been criticised for making the cabin aesthetics of the new 3 drab and plasticky, but we reckon such remarks are largely unfounded. While the cabin might be a little monotone, it’s certainly well-presented and well screwed together, with a logical layout and ample stowage.

Seating ergonomics and comfort are admirable, though the lack of steering column reach adjustment is peculiar.

There’s decent head- and legroom up back, and rear seat air vents – a welcomed inclusion at this end of the market. Second-row seating comfort is decent and outward visibility quite good. ISOFIX and top-tether child seat anchors are of course standard.

Unusually, there is no 60:40 split fold functionality for the rear seat meaning the MG 3 is not as practical as most rivals. Cargo capacity falls slightly when compared with the outgoing model (down 14 litres to 292), but still offers 23 litres more than Toyota’s Yaris.

Up front we found the touchscreen response nice and quick, and appreciated the hard buttons remain for important functions such as climate control.

We did find the steering spoke buttons require a little familiarisation (not being clearly marked) but liked the fact they may be programmed to access most-used settings, which is great for adjusting the regenerative braking when required.

Safety equipment is vastly improved – perhaps explaining some of the price increase over the outgoing model – and mostly cooperative on the ADAS front.

Like others, the Intelligent Speed Assist function is downright annoying, chiming in when your tempo crosses the system’s assumed limit, and defaults to ‘on’ each time you start the car. Turn it off and there’s little to complain about.

Which is a sentiment that sums up the MG 3 rather nicely – there really is very little to complain about here.

Sure, the 3’s handling and performance mightn’t be as enjoyable as some Light segment rivals, and the fuel economy leaves a question mark we’d really like to answer. But on the flipside, it is safe, well put together, spacious, and generously equipped, traits arguably more important to buyers at this price point.