Toyota Prius C vs MG 3

What's the difference?

It's as if the the future is firmly rooted in the past at Toyota. The Prius is still undoubtedly clever, frugal and easy to drive, but it is feeling so old in places that the bad had begun to weigh on the good. If you're a tech-head or have a right foot crafted from lead, then there's nothing to see here. But if the thought of saving money at the bowser sets your heart aflutter, then step right this way.

There is no doubt that the new MG3 is better than the car it supersedes – that tends to happen when you replace something that's 13-years old. It drives smoothly enough, has a frugal hybrid powertrain and good levels of safety equipment. Interior space is adequate and there are some genuinely nice touches like the comfortable seats and cabin design.

But that doesn't mean the new MG3 is better than the Toyota Yaris, Mazda2, Suzuki Swift or Volkswagen Polo. Those established rivals are more consistent, have greater breadth of ability and now really aren't that much dearer than MG's entry-level city car.

That said, the MG3 is still more affordable than most and transformed in driving experience. It is, therefore, worth putting on your small car short list, if no longer buy-without-thinking cheap. We applaud MG improving its products based on feedback and hope the much-improved MG3 finds buyers. Expect a comparison test with key rivals soon for a definitive verdict.

The good news is that it doesn't look quite so quirky as the full-size Prius. The not-as-good news is that it's still no beauty-contest winner. Not helping matters was the fact our test vehicle was painted in a retina-burning yellow (they call it Hornet Yellow, and it's new for 2018) that looked almost nuclear.

Viewed front on, the blacked-out section of grille and bumper gives the littlest Prius a vaguely manta ray-shaped front-end, while the headlights climb both upwards and back into the body, lending a sense of sportiness to this very unsporty hybrid. From the back, the chunky bumper, vertical taillights and rear windscreen spoiler all add a little attitude to the design.

Inside, you'll find a small but premium-in-places space, with a gloss-black stereo surround that angles the main controls toward the driver, while the digital driver's binnacle is pushed toward the centre of the car, displaying speed, fuel and other key info above the stereo, rather than in front of the steering wheel.

For all the flack Chinese carmakers have taken for copying others homework, the new MG3 is refreshingly original from the outside.

Not to say it's a beautiful car: that front overhang is a little too long and we think the wheel design is a little chintzy but at least the new MG3 feels differentiated in the class.

It has a distinctive face and confident character lines down its flanks while the Brighton blue hero colour (pictured) is eye-catching – we'd skip the '90s inspired Pastel yellow hue, though.

Inside, a hexagonal steering wheel borrowed from the MG4 is complemented by confident horizontal volumes. The MG3's interior is largely uncluttered by buttons and, in a nod to the previous MG3, there's an off-axis Tartan flourish ahead of driver and passenger.

MG has placed a piece of soft vinyl prominently, situated just in front of the high resolution 10.25-inch touchscreen to give the cabin a tactility lift. The rest of the materials are typically plasticky yet there is a pleasant grain that takes some of the shine away and restore a more quality feel.

Not very. This is a Yaris-based city car, let's not forget.

That said, it never feels cramped up front, with enough shoulder and headroom to ensure you feel separated from your fellow passengers, where you'll also find two cupholders, and an infuriating USB connection housed in the touchscreen - so your cord dangles from the dash when connected.

Climb into the back, and you'll find yourself in a pretty snug space. Sitting behind my own (5ft-8inch) driving position, it's only the scalloped back of the driver's seat that affords me any clear air between my knees and the seat in front, and the space behind my head and the roof lining is minuscule, too. But again, we're talking city car space here, so you can't expect to lounge about back there.

The ambience in the backseat leaves a little to be desired, though. The door trim pushes into the passenger space, and the plastics used in the rear are rock hard. There's a single cupholder to share, and a seat-back pocket on the rear of the passenger seat, but that's it; there's no vents, USB or power sources. There's no bottle-room in the rear doors, either.

An easy-access boot space will swallow 260 litres with the 60:40 rear seats in place. And there are two ISOFIX attachment points, one in each window seat in the back.

The brand has clearly worked on the functionality of its multimedia system since debuting in the MG4. It looks familiar but the touchscreen is more responsive and there are intuitive shortcut buttons for the screen-based HVAC controls.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto remains wired via a regular USB port, unfortunately, and there is no wireless charging on either grade. A USB-C port and 12-volt socket are present for extra cabled charging.

The digital driver's display has adequate functionality and includes an instant tyre pressure monitoring display – a key safety feature.

The steering wheel controls have been updated with clearer labelling. The right side controls the media volume and driver's display and left panel manages cruise control and driver assistance features.

MG's Excite doesn't feel like a de-contented base model with quite agreeable cloth upholstery, The driver's seat offers six-way manual adjustment and is comfortable with good back support.

The driving position was good for me, however, without telescopic steering wheel adjust you may find it more difficult to find an ideal spot.

There are two cup holders in the centre console ahead of the rotary gear selector (base petrols get a normal shifter). A further tray for phone and wallet storage sits ahead and the door bins are generous for a small car.

Not to be taken for granted in the class is a padded centre armrest with covered storage for valuables.

Measuring just over 4.1 metres long, don't expect palatial back seat space but the MG3 is certainly passable for a city car. At 188cm I could just squeeze in behind my driving position and soft-backed chairs aid comfort.

There are even adjustable vents and a USB port for rear passengers. Unfortunately, the window switches are not all auto up and down.

The standard trio of top tether anchors and pair of ISOFIX anchors for outboard seats are present for child capsules and chairs.

It's in the boot where the MG3's cost cutting becomes most obvious. The floor material is flimsy, there's only one shopping back hook and the back rest is a rare case of non split-folding. It is an awkward task flicking the seat down as you need two hands to unlatch the rest.

At 293 litres the boot is generous in size, though, and petrol models feature a space-saver spare. The hybrid places its 12-volt battery in the cavity under the floor.

MG offers two trims – Excite entry level and Essence range topper – and a pair of powertrains. They're difficult to tell apart in the flesh using the same exterior garnishes, matching mirror caps and identical wheels.

Start price is up a whole lot from the previous model and it is no longer drive-away. It pushes the current run-out $18,990 drive-away price up to $23,990 before on-road costs.

The Hybrid+ powertrain is an expensive option adding $4000 to the price.

You do get a lot more for your money, though. A set of 16-inch alloy wheels (no hubcaps here), a CVT automatic, a 10.25-inch touchscreen, a digital driver’s display, cloth upholstery, manual seat adjust and polyurethane-appointed steering wheel feature on the Excite.

Outside, you can only tell the difference between our base car and the $2000 more expensive Essence by the LED headlights and a sunroof, otherwise they’re visually very similar.

The Essence gets rain-sensing wipers, white artificial leather upholstery on the seats, leather-wrapped steering wheel, a 360-degree camera and remote smartphone control of the air conditioning and heating.

The Essence adds a few goodies but it's not a transformative jump. The Excite feels like all you need.

Growing more expensive than the Kia Picanto (GT-Line at $23,490 drive-away) is probably no bad thing either, as the Korean car is significantly smaller than the MG3. Pricing for the new Suzuki Swift is set to be revealed shortly, but it is likely to undercut the MG3, too.

The MG3's powerful hybrid allows it to compete with the Toyota Yaris Ascent Sport hybrid on more level terms... but it needs to because its price is only $501 shy of the Toyota.

Under that little hood lives a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder petrol engine good for 54kW, which pairs with a 45kW electric motor. Toyota lists combined outputs at 74kW at 4800rpm and 111Nm at 4000rpm.

That hybrid setup partners with a CVT automatic, pumping power to the front wheels.

The 1.5-litre petrol four-cylinder is a new direct-injected item that produces less power (81kW at 6000 rpm – down a kilowatt) and torque (142Nm at 4500 rpm lower by 8Nm) than the item it replaces.

It now drives the front wheels via a CVT automatic instead of a four-speed slushbox.

The 'Hybrid+' option is much more interesting. It uses a different 1.5-litre petrol engine running in Atkinson cycle and, unlike the Suzuki Swift, is a proper system.

MG's hybrid is different to Toyota's 'e-CVT' transaxle set up, the brand calls its transmission a three-speed automatic. We have not seen diagrams but in operation it feels similar to GWM Haval's 'Dedicated Hybrid Transmission' solution in the Jolion.

That means impressive peak outputs of 155kW and around 420Nm but those figures only occur at very specific times – peak torque, for example, is only delivered at 50km/h in second gear when the 1.83kWh battery is suitably charged.

The resulting 0-100km/h sprint claim is 8.0 seconds for the MG3 hybrid.

If that last section didn't impress, this one surely will. The little Prius c will sip a claimed 3.9L/100km on the combined cycle.

That's very low, and the fact it accepts cheaper 91RON fuel makes it a very affordable car to run. Except... the onboard computers revealed a slightly less-impressive 5.1L/100km after my time with the car.

Emissions are a claimed 90g/km of CO2, which is very good.

The petrol-only model's rated fuel consumption falls from 6.7L/100km to 6.0L/100km. It requires 91 RON unleaded and is rated to Euro 5 standards.

The hybrid scores 4.3L/100km in the ADR combined consumption. That's not as good as a Toyota Yaris hybrid (3.3L/100km) but the trade-off is way more grunt.

From the 36L fuel tank – that requires 95 RON unleaded – you can expect over 1000km total driving range.

In reality, we managed to come close to the figure on a 200km country and suburban loop with the trip computer reading 4.8L/100km. A 50km suburban commute was better returning 3.4L/100km.

The MG3's hybrid system can be a little fickle, though.

For the first 10 minutes of driving the petrol engine has to rev at 1500-2000rpm to charge the battery. We saw consumption climb to 10L/100km when the car was cold.

It also proved more sensitive to driving style than Toyota's hybrids which seem to be extremely efficient no matter how heavy your right foot is.

In much the same way that you don't buy an exotic performance car for its ability to run to the shops, you're unlikely to be buying the Prius for its ability to set your pulse racing.

But happily, it doesn't feel wobbly or disconnected, either. It's aided by being such a small package, and when you're not wafting silently about in electric mode, and you've coaxed that little petrol engine into life, it serves up more than enough poke to navigate the city, and even to leave the slow-reactors in your rear-view mirror at traffic lights.

The ride is good, too, feeling connected to the road below without feeling uncomfortable, although the little Prius does tend to track with the corrugations in the road, leaving you to wrestle it back into line. That's a job made easier by light and surprisingly direct steering, which feels tailor-made for the city.

Finally, the leather-look seats are comfortable, even over long distances, the razor-thin A-pillars make forward vision easy and it's a very simple thing to drive and manoeuvre  into parking spaces. And all of those are good things.

Not so good? Well, the entire drive experiences feels a little beige and emotionless, it can get noisy and there are parts of the cabin that feel downright cheap. Worst of all, though, is that for a car that once heralded the future, it's feeling very, very dated.

But there are some amazing quirks attached to driving an (almost) electric car, including the delivery of eco awards for using the least amount of fuel (they were awarded for 2.6, 3.2 and 3.6L/100km over as much as 25km - none of which occurred during my tenure). The hardest thing to get used to was the absolute silence served up in electric mode. I counted four seperate occasions when I walked away from the car with it still turned on.

The MG3 continues the theme on the road. An impressive effort at first glance – certainly enough to impress on a test drive – yet spend an extended period behind the wheel and some cracks begin to show.

The steering is light and easy in town with two and a half turns lock-to-lock and a tight turning circle. There is good visibility out and driver aids are mostly unobtrusive.

Borrowing from its EV stablemates, the MG3 has three levels of regenerative braking. It defaults to '2', the mid setting, which we found a bit too bitey – '3' is way too much. The lowest level is relatively natural, though no setting is a one-pedal mode.

Its ride is really good for the class being more compliant than a Kia Picanto. The front end is especially absorbent though the rear can be a little abrupt on sharp bumps – this is common on small cars with front struts and rear torsion beams.

The MG3's hybrid powertrain is smooth and slick around in the city with a reassuring brake pedal.

And while the torque figure doesn't always ring true when the battery is discharged, with it juiced up the MG3 is rapid between 35-60km/h. The fairly light 1298kg kerb weight keeps it feeling quite peppy.

Not all is perfect, though, and the MG3 isn't so talented on the open road.

This little car is very noisy on coarse chip road surfaces at above 70km/h and there are pronounced steps in the power delivery at higher speeds, making it hard to trust the MG3 when merging into gaps.

Be wary of the speedometer as well – it is more accurate than most cars with almost no error. Our GPS lined up exactly at 100km/h.

The MG3's steering has poor on-centre feel at pace. There is a lot of body lean to the chassis and it reacts nervously to small corrective inputs in crosswinds and cambers.

Wrapped around its 16-inch alloys are 195/55 R16 sized Kumho Solus HS63 tyres which are reasonable but nothing special.

A brief test drive could convince you the MG3 has moved ahead of the Suzuki Swift, Mazda2 and even Volkswagen Polo. A longer drive confirms that, though the MG3 has come a long way, the more expensive nameplates in the class are more polished all-rounders.

The MG3 has yet to be rated by independent safety testing bodies, including ANCAP.

The MG3 follows the MG5 sedan which was awarded a zero-star rating by ANCAP. Not only did it lack safety features, it scored zero in various adult occupant protection criteria including frontal offset, full width, far-side and whiplash protection. 

Unlike the 5 the MG3 is a key vehicle in Europe and the United Kingdom so a high rating in crash testing is important.

All MG3s are fitted with adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking, speed sign detection, lane-keep assist and lane-departure warning. The Essence gets blind-spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert on top.

The systems aren't intrusive in town but the lane-trace assist and adaptive cruise control are not great. The lane-assist bounces the MG3 between lane markings and the adaptive cruise slows down too early and quickly when approaching another vehicle.

The MG3 features six airbags: front driver and passenger, curtain and side though there is no centre airbag.

Toyota offers a three-year/100,000km warranty, while the batteries are covered for eight years or 160,000km. The car's six-month service intervals might sting a little, though, but with each service capped at $140 for the first three years, even taking two trips to the dealership a year isn't too expensive. Just annoying.

MG's seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty is equal best-in-class with the Kia Picanto.

The brand has yet to detail service pricing and scheduling for the new light car.