Choosing a car costing around $20,000 became more difficult after the latest version of the four-door MG3 small hatchback arrived.
Chinese-owned MG Motor bangs on about its heritage dating from 1924, a reference to the British sports car brand that started modifying Morris cars in the 1920s and calling them MG (Morris Garage).
MG3 design work, R&D, chassis tuning, and engineering are still done in England. Though it made sports cars predominantly, MG has had a long line of saloons, including the pre-World War 2 Y-models and the stylish ZA a rebadged Wolseley in the 1950s.
A decade later there were MG versions of the Morris 1100/1300 and the handsome but dynamically-awful Farina-styled Morris Oxford. But though I’ve hankered after a ZA and an MG1300, the MG3 held little appeal – until I drove one.
THE LOOK
The MG3 is a conventional hatchback with a neatly-styled front dominated by a tasteful grille and upwards arching clusters for the halogen projector headlights and “London Eye” daylight running lights.
The indented line that rises wedge-like along the doors from the bottom of the front wheelarch to the top of the rear one, is characterful and adds a touch of class.
Looked at straight-on, the rear end is more coupe-like and is dominated by high-mounted taillights. The look is slightly at odds with the front end but helps the MG3 stand out from the crowd.
THE INTERIOR
The test car, the $19,490 base model Core, generally didn’t feel built down to a price though the hard plastic trim, including the door inners, smack of a budget runabout.
The tartan-look upholstery is attractive and is echoed by trim on the passenger’s side of the dashboard. And though the seats didn’t feel that good initially, after five hours’ driving they proved comfortable and were surprisingly supportive during the hard cornering the car revels in.
The lack of a rest for the driver’s left foot is annoying but the instrumentation is clear and includes a digital speedo. Rear seat leg- and headroom are adequate, and the luggage capacity of 307 litres is about par for the small car course.
The rear seatbacks fold forward to create 1081 litres of cargo space. There’s central door-locking, electric windows, manual air-conditioning, and cruise-control.
The electrically-adjustable exterior mirrors are well-placed, and there’s space ahead of the driver’s side mirror to take the guesswork out of righthand cornering in the city. Road noise was acceptable even on very coarse chip seal.
The MG3 has Bluetooth connectivity, is Apple CarPlay-compatible and has some on-board info capability.
The rear-view camera displays on a colour eight-inch touchscreen.
THE RANGE
MG Motor sells two MG3s in New Zealand, the Core and the $21,490 Excite. Both use a 1498cc multi-point fuelinjected petrol four-cylinder engine developing 82kW/150Nm and driving the front wheels through a four-speed conventional automatic gearbox.
The Excite adds a roof-mounted rear spoiler, a modest body kit, and a sixspeaker sound system in place of the Core’s four speakers. Core wheels are 15-inch alloys, the Excite’s 16-inch two-tone alloys.
The Core has 185/65 R15 tyres while the Excite runs on 195/55 R16s.
THE DRIVE
On the road is where the MG3 shines, with secure, engaging handling worthy of the classic sports car brand’s badge. Turn-in to corners is especially crisp and the ride is composed, firmish but not harsh.
The MG3 isn’t quick. We’d rate it somewhere around 13/14 seconds to 100km/h. That’s slow by modern standards but in keeping with its ancestors which favoured handling over outright pace (the MGB took 12.5s to hit 60mph/96km/h).
For a bargain price, MG delivers a car with handling worthy of a much more expensive and powerful sports sedan.
As authoritative British magazine Autocar noted, the chassis tune and composure are good enough to handle an extra 50 horsepower. The leather-wrapped steering wheel offers good feel from the speedvariable hydraulic power steering.
SAFETY
This is where the MG3 falls short. It has no ANCAP safety rating. However, the car has six airbags, five lap/sash seatbelts, mandatory ESC, ABS braking with EBD, active cornering brake control. On the security front, an engine immobiliser is standard.
OUR VIEW
Is the MG3 a good choice in the budget-priced subcompact hatchback field? Assuredly. It’s roomy, doesn’t feel small, and doesn’t feel budget and tinny, as cheap cars have invariably.
The performance could be better and you have to hammer the engine to make quick progress with an accompanying rise in noise and effect on fuel economy. MG quotes 6.7 litres/100km but we recorded in the high sevens.
A six-speed gearbox would help engine refinement and fuel economy but would add cost. However, the car is perfectly liveable – around town and on the open road – and the price and benefit package is sensational.
The price includes a year’s registration, a seven-year warranty, seven years of free WoF inspections, and seven years’ roadside assistance. However, the MG3 doesn’t qualify for a Clean Car rebate.
The bugbear for fleets is its lack of an ANCAP safety rating and the implied lack of responsibility if they put staff into a car that has no rating.
That’s a pity because the MG3 has good onboard safety kit and is a logical successor to fleet cars like the Hyundai Getz that was popular with district health boards.
And the MG is very capable and forgiving dynamically, often overlooked but important safety factors.
