2025 MG ZS review

The parallels between MG today and Hyundai 15 years ago are remarkable. Both manufacturers once produced low-cost cars derided for their lack of refinement and build quality, before undergoing a renaissance, winning plaudits from the motoring press, and seeing sales soar. MG is right where Hyundai was in 2010 – improving in leaps and bounds but not quite challenging the benchmark brands. Nowhere is this more evident than in the new-generation MG ZS small SUV, which has hit the market with revised powertrains and an improved overall design – albeit not without the occasional burred edge. 

How much does the MG ZS cost?  

The all-new MG ZS range kicks off with the Excite for $25,990 plus on road costs – a $3000 price hike over the previous range’s starting price. It steps up to $28,990 for the mid-spec Essence, while the Essence Turbo (which replaces the ZST) costs $30,990. The MG ZS Hybrid+, launched late 2024, tops the list at $33,990. 

Despite price rises, the ZS still competes favourably on value in the small SUV segment, undercutting most of the Japanese, Korean and European brands – the Mitsubishi ASX starts at $27,990 before on roads, for example, and the cheapest Kia Seltos is $30,050. The Chery Tiggo 4 has become the new ZS in a sense, asking a mere $21,990 for its base model. 

What is the MG ZS like inside?  

The Excite and Essence Turbo could almost be two different cars given the disparity in interior presentation, while the Essence provides a middle ground.  

Slip inside the Excite and it immediately feels built to a price. The steering wheel might be leather-look but it sure isn’t leather-feel, with the unmistakable sensation of plastic under the driver’s fingers. Analogue gauges crowd a narrow 3.5-inch driver’s information screen (Essence models get a full seven-inch multi-function display), while more hard plastic imitates stitched leather across the dashboard and window sills. The doors and lower dash are upholstered in dreary grey fabric, as are the seats.  

Where the Essence Turbo has a digital gear shifter, the Excite and Essence get a mechanical one (although they do have an electric parking brake), while the Essence enjoys the same artificial leather upholstery as the Turbo. Whether clad in cloth or leather, the front seats are well-shaped and padded, making the ZS a genuine road trip contender. The width-adjustable drink holder is a clever touch. 

The MG R&D team has put a lot of thought into ergonomics and instruments. The backlit start/stop button is attractive and tactile, with a nice click when pressed. The infotainment home screen is broken up into four panels (app connection, climate, audio and sat nav), which means the most-used functions are always available without burrowing into sub-menus. Next to these is a smaller side panel with all the main menu icons. A row of analogue buttons below the touchscreen is dedicated to volume, hazard lights, demisters, an air conditioning on/off switch, and a second home button for the touchscreen. 

Move to the rear and the seats are well padded if somewhat shapeless. Foot, leg and head room are all substantial, especially for a small SUV, although the centre seat will accommodate a small child only. A couple of speakers are the lone ‘luxuries’ for rear passengers in the Excite, with an armrest, air con vents and USB slots all absent (the Essence gets vents and one USB port).  

The ZS has grown compared to its predecessor and the boot is just under 900mm deep, 1000mm between the wheel arches, and nearly 800mm high at the top of the aperture, putting it up with the front runners for space. The second row misses out on fore-aft adjustment, which does limit versatility, but the rear seats fold almost flat. While there are three restraint anchor points, you won’t be getting three child seats across the back row. All variants have a temporary use spare wheel.  

What equipment does the MG ZS come with?  

Even though the Excite doesn’t scream ‘luxury and convenience’, it is blessed with a surprising number of standard inclusions. On-the-road niceties include 16-inch alloy wheels, adaptive cruise control, hill start assistance, a reversing camera, automatic headlights, and heated door mirrors. 

As mentioned above, its 10.25-inch central infotainment screen offers Bluetooth connection, digital radio, satellite navigation, and a 12-month subscription to MG’s iSmart app – which lets the driver lock/unlock the car remotely and check vehicle information such as tyre pressure and fuel levels – is included with purchase.  

Stepping up to the Essence delivers 17-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry, a larger driver information screen, 360-degree camera, LED headlights, rain-sensing wipers, a leather steering wheel and PVC upholstery, panoramic sunroof, electric folding side mirrors, heated seats with electric seat adjustment, air conditioning vents for the rear passengers, a six-speaker (rather than four) audio system, and two more USB ports (the second, designed for a dashcam, is on the left hand side of the rearview mirror housing). 

In addition to its more powerful engine, the ZS Turbo earns its premium via 18-inch alloys, an electronic gear lever, automatic air conditioning, and three driving modes (eco, normal and sport). 

All ZS models come with a 10-year/250,000km warranty. The capped price servicing schedule adds up to $6866 over the warranty period.  

How safe is the MG ZS?  

Despite being fitted with a welter of safety technology (autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assistance, lane departure warning, and speed warning with speed sign recognition), the MG ZS achieved only a four-star ANCAP rating in November 2024. It lost points for pedestrian protection (its AEB does not react to vulnerable road users while reversing) and it also lacks some of the newer mandated airbags (such as centre and knee airbags). 

What powers the MG ZS?  

The Excite and Essence run a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine that develops 81kW and 140Nm. Where the ZST had a 1.4-litre turbocharged engine, the Essence Turbo has a turbocharged 1.5-litre with a much beefier 125kW/275Nm output. The engines in all three variants are now mated to a continuously variable transmission (CVT), replacing the traditional six-speed gearbox. The naturally aspirated 1.5 can take 91RON petrol, but the turbo requires 95RON premium unleaded. 

What is the MG ZS like to drive?   

No keyless entry, cloth seats and the abovementioned plastic steering wheel mark the Excite as a base model even before you get underway. The Essence’s interior gets an immediate lift from its leather steering wheel, PVC upholstery, and larger multimedia screens.  

The 1.5-litre naturally aspirated engine in the Excite and Essence delivers decent pep off the line and its light-footedness makes it fun to pootle around suburban streets. That said, it doesn’t always co-operate well with the new CVT. Ask for some sudden acceleration and the main output is revs and noise as it struggles to climb its torque and power curves, the requested forward motion arriving in a sort of leisurely swell. 

The turbo 1.5 is another story entirely; there’s just a whiff of turbo lag when you put your foot down and then 275Nm is delivered in a nice progressive fashion rather than a torque-steering, wheel-chirping glut. Once the Turbo is up and away throttle response is excellent and the engine has no issue delivering the necessary grunt for highway overtaking.  

The hexagonal steering wheel is comfortable in the hands and offers a reassuring sense of control while cornering. Steering is geared towards lightness, which along with 16-inch alloys on the Excite allows for a tiny turning circle, making it highly manoeuvrable in tight spaces. With its competent chassis and piddling 1266kg kerb weight, the Excite also tracks well through bends.  

The suspension absorbs road fissures and bumps pretty well, but on-road dynamics can suffer from mushiness at crucial moments – the steering feels linear and responsive until you try changing direction quickly and then everything reacts about half a second later than you’d like and the car pitches a little when really pushed. In addition to its larger wheels, the Essence Turbo carries nearly 100kg more than the Excite and that’s noticeable in its slightly more planted feel and weightier steering, but the overall drive experience is similar. 

On our test run, the naturally aspirated 1.5-litre engine returned 6.2L/100km – not an amazing figure in the hybrid age, but not bad, either. This engine takes 91RON, which will appeal to the budget conscious. 

The turbocharged 1.5 used only a fraction more on test and that, plus the 95RON requirement, are small prices to pay for an engine that isn’t at war with its transmission and delivers genuinely pleasing performance. 

Some cracks do begin to show in the shiny MG ZS façade when you spend time with its technology. For one thing, the ZS has joined the speed-sign recognition bing-bong brigade and it’s as irritating and unreliable as every other speed alert system on the market so far – this one picking up the ‘40’ sign on the back of a bus and proceeding to ding erroneously in a 60 zone until another speed sign corrected it. 

While all three variants have Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, there’s no wireless connection (even the ZS Turbo requires a cable). Bluetooth is available and connection is simple, but on occasion it dropped out for a second in both models we tested.  

In the Excite, when you switch off the engine it forgets what you selected for the driver info screen and having to navigate back to the digital speedo every time is a pain in the pants (this isn’t an issue on the Essence models). In all variants, audio continues even after you exit the car and shut the door, so your preferred podcaster will talk to himself until you lock up. 

Open Road’s take on the MG ZS  

This is a complicated one to summarise, because while the MG ZS Excite has its problems, it’s more than a sum of its flaws. It gets many of the fundamentals for affordable and practical transport right – it’s spacious, unexpectedly well put together, comfortable, and nice to drive if you don’t demand too much of it (much like the old Hyundai Accent).  

The Essence is a less budget-focused execution of the Excite, while the engine in the Essence Turbo is arguably the best piece of engineering MG has produced in its modern incarnation and lifts the Turbo an echelon above its ZS brethren. 

You could say the Excite’s $25k+ starting price means it has lost its point of difference, but it’s a much better daily drive than the Chery Tiggo 4 and still substantially cheaper than many rivals. The Essence really sits in no-man’s-land – if you’re willing to pay $28,990, you might as well stump up the extra couple of grand and enjoy the Essence Turbo’s far superior driving experience.  

PROS 

• Light and manoeuvrable
• Seat comfort and ergonomics
• Standard inclusions for the price 

CONS 

• Non-turbo engine noisy under acceleration
• Driving dynamics still need refinement
• Tech and safety have some annoying gremlins