Testing the solid and sensible mainstream logic of the new MGS5 EV

The MG ‘comeback’ continues with its latest S5 crossover. The 101-year-old British carmaker once known for late 20th century small, fun and affordable petrol-engine roadsters and then early 00s financial ruin, now mainly makes small and affordable crossovers (with the considerable clout of Chinese parent company SAIC since 2007).

An early emphasis on electrification pre-COVID and the availability of further good-value EVs post-pandemic, helped MG achieve this major turnaround. First, there was the uncomplicated 2019 ZS small crossover EV – to be supplemented by a hybrid version this year – followed by the 2020 MG5 EV estate and the more rakish and smaller still 2022 MG4 EV crossover, which gained critical acclaim as well as significant sales.

Slightly bigger than both, the 2025 MGS5 sits squarely in the high-selling mainstream compact crossover EV segment – think Renault Scenic, Ford Explorer or Kia EV3 – and is keenly priced to sell, offering great value for a spacious five-seater EV.

The MGS5 has an uncontroversial, smooth-shaped, grille-less front face that looks and is aerodynamic – it boasts a 0.27 Cd drag co-efficient. This helps the car cut through the air more easily and extend its electric range as much as possible. This significant stat varies from 211 to 298 miles, depending on trim (SE and Trophy) and battery (49kWh or 64kWh).

The interior is also neat and tidy, with a ‘floating bridge’ centre console with space for plenty of stuff underneath and on top, two cup holders, a rotary gear selector, wireless charging pad and an angled smartphone slot. Wrapped in an Alcantara-like faux suede, it feels genuinely premium. Seat and door card upholstery is decent too, utilising fabric as well as faux leather and there is plenty of knee and head room in the back for rear passengers, with a flat floor plus a decent 453-litre boot.

The 12.8-inch centre touchscreen isn’t the most graphically sophisticated, but you’d probably get used to it if you bought one (or at least connect Apple Car Play or Android Auto via your mobile – integration for both is standard). There are also physical buttons beneath the touchscreen for key functions and neatly knurled air vent direction pulls too – something only Bentley used to do and a cut above for this segment. Unwanted safety bleeps can also be easily turned off within the centre touchscreen and your preferences saved via the ‘MG Pilot’ button to reduce the number of switch-offs required every journey.

For a high-ish sided vehicle the MGS5 feels stable through corners, even when driven swiftly, with capable suspension that absorbs a lot of the road’s bumps and potholes and deals with the battery weight well. It’s also quiet, with outside noise well suppressed. Driving modes – Normal, Sport, Comfort, Snow and Custom – can alter the overall feel via a button on the steering wheel and levels of brake regeneration – Low, Medium, Strong and Adaptive – divert unused energy back to the battery. They’re both easy to adjust.

Overall, does the MGS5 blow me away? No. Is it as radically designed as the MG4? Also no. But in the hard-fought middle ground of modern motoring, it represents an unassuming and solid choice. There’s also a nice hidden detail inside its cabin when you look closely – the letters M & G perforated within a holey delightful pattern on each seatback’s dark central stripe. I think it’s revealing in more ways than its initial discovery too. MG didn’t used to bother with this sort of thing. That it now does, shows the confidence of a brand selling well and starting to create surprise-and-delight details in its mainstream products.

MG made bigger headlines with its dramatic scissor-doored, electric Cyberster, launched in the brand’s 2024 centenary year. It was a direct callback to MG’s roadster roots and I’m glad it made the leap from concept to production car. But in 2025, ‘quiet’ cars like the all-electric MGS5 are probably more suited to most customers’ lifestyles. If these sell in large enough numbers, they allow the company to create indulgences like the Cyberster. So fair play to both. They need each other. One provides credibility, the other profit.

MG S5, from £28,495 to £33,495, MG.co.uk