Loada
Novice Member
Have had my MG5 Exclusive SR for nearly four years and fancied a change after following the new MGS5 reviews in the motoring YouTube channels with close interest. Today, I managed to get a test drive in a dynamic red MGS5 Trophy LR and thought it might be useful to outline my thoughts and picking-up on some things reviewers have noted, particularly for those in the same ownership/upgrade position as me:
Exterior
Anyways, that wraps up my first forum post (can't believe I've not discovered it earlier!) - hope this is useful for someone!!
Exterior
- the car in the metal looks deceptively compact on the outside compared to my MG5 (and even the MG4!)
- unsurprisingly, it does look like a MG4 SUV, a sort of mash-up of the MG5 and MG4 but it's not as "tall" as you'd expect
- electric tailgate is welcome and the "foot waggle" seemed to work well
- overall design is very clean and neat - maybe a bit "safe" or even boring to some but I think it suits the car well
- compared to things like Skoda Elroq/Enyaq, feels very modern with a whiff of Tesla at the front
- driver seat was very comfortable
- more snug than my MG5 which will work for smaller-size drivers (like my wife) who maybe slide about a bit in the MG5 - maybe too snug for larger size people?
- lots of additional padding - seat base in particular felt plush
- the new materials (mixture of cloth/faux-leather) I prefer over the faux leather of my MG5 which can get uncomfortably hot/sweaty in the summer and hopefully will be harder wearing as my MG5 has the apparently very common rips/damage to the side bolster in the drivers seat base
- seating position is not as high as I expected but noticeably higher than the MG5
- interior quality much higher than my MG5
- particularly the centre console with the wireless charge pad
- main screen was responsive and easy to use
- driver display was a little small in parts i.e. the trip readouts etc but overall very usable
- window buttons and heating knobs, air vents etc felt premium with their knurled metal design
- I was concerned that I'd be losing boot space somehow but the boot looked pretty much the same size as MG5, with a bit more height (and the false floor)
- Love the hard button array under the screen - I'm a massive fan of the MG5 tactile button layout and all touchscreen-only controls (Tesla, Polestar etc) are a deal-breaker for me
- very comfortable ride - I was concerned that it would be like other modern EVs i.e. very stiff (esp compared to the MG5's relatively-soft suspension) but the MGS5 felt much more refined and dealt with rough roads/potholes in much more composed manner than the MG5
- going over bigger ruts was still noticeable but car dealt with it much better than the MG5 which would very quickly lose composure and "crash" when pushed beyond its basic suspension/thick tyre wall limits
- noticeably quieter inside than the MG5 - again a feeling of refinement compared to the MG5
- the acceleration "lag" than Bjarne noted in his review is noticeable - the MG5 is very responsive in comparison
- I found that this lazier pickup suits the drive of the MGS5 and if you urge the car on (press harder), it does respond and acceleration is then very brisk, particularly in sport driving mode!
- sport driving mode helped but lag was still there
- driver aids (ADAS), particularly the speed limit warning, were intrusive but not as bad as some cars (Kia EV3!)
- easily turned off in the main touchscreen (even whilst driving)
- MG Pilot ADAS customisation works brilliantly - didn't get a chance to see if I could add it to the custom hard buttons on the steering wheel but is relatively easy to do in the main screen - secondary confirmation is annoying though
- Lane assist appeared hit and miss - was very noisy and intervened when I had to move out of lane to overtake a van parked half on the pavement but didn't seem to notice me wandering out of white lines?
- 360 degree camera is great
- can be selected independently even at slow forward speed - handy for looking round the car in crowded stationary traffic
- a big improvement over the MG5 reverse camera (and something I missed going to the MG5 from our 2017 Leaf Tekna)
- Didn't take me long to figure out all the settings/screens in a relatively short test drive - very intuitive
- screen felt responsive and easy to use UI
- Like the MG5, rear view is compromised a bit by the middle seat headrest - I removed my MG5 one on day 1 and would consider doing the same in the MGS5 (if it's possible)
- I liked the flared "nostrils" of the front wings from the driver's view, gives a good sense of the nose of the car which is often difficult with the MG5 (especially seeing it doesn't have camera/sensors at the front)
- turning circle seemed noticeably better than the MG5
Anyways, that wraps up my first forum post (can't believe I've not discovered it earlier!) - hope this is useful for someone!!
