BMW 330i vs MG U9

What's the difference?

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the BMW 320i M Sport. It’s fun to drive and I felt connected to what the car was doing on the road. The harder ride may not appeal to some but I didn’t mind it. The cosy back seat and boot mean it will probably suit a smaller family best and one which doesn’t have to worry about carrying a lot of gear around regularly, but it suited my needs just fine.

I reckon this is a car for those drivers who don’t want to compromise on performance but still have a kid or two. If you’re after the cushioned comfort of a Merc, this won’t appeal but I didn't want to give this one back and happily give it a firm 8/10.

My son liked the sports car looks and enjoyed the amenities in his row. He gives it a 10/10.

I can’t give you a definitive verdict on the U9 based on our limited time behind the wheel. However, what I can say with certainty is MG is serious about making its first ute a success. The price alone demonstrates how motivated the brand is to win buyers over. Undercutting the likes of the Ranger and HiLux with a physically larger ute is a strong opening move from MG.

The clever features, spacious cabin and smart technology will also help to win over buyers, as will the choice of a conventional diesel engine. But none of that guarantees success. As the dominance of the Ford and Toyota demonstrates, ute buyers are loyal and drawn to the most popular options, so MG will need to fight hard for every sale to ensure the U9 isn't lost in the increasingly crowded ute market.

Sharper than its predecessor, the new 320i has LED everything with the rear lights being longer and curving around to the sides of the car.

The classic 'kidney' grille is darkened and more pronounced, with the black panelling extending to the rear to create an unapologetically sporty presence. A presence that’s accentuated by the twin exhausts.

The batcave interior with its black headliner, black seats… black everything, looks smart and stylish.

You do have a fair bit of harder touchpoints throughout but the customisable ambient lighting helps to soften the overall effect.

With its 2068mm width, 4709mm length and 1435mm height, the sedan makes its presence known without feeling cumbersome to manoeuvre. Urban dwellers need not fear their local car park!

While the fancy tailgate step and the Smart Hatch are the most obvious changes between the LDV and MG utes on the surface, arguably the biggest change is what’s underneath. MG has opted to buck the conventional leaf spring, live rear axle set-up and has instead opted for a more SUV-like independent, multi-link rear suspension.

This explains why such a big ute has a sub-one-tonne payload, but it speaks to MG’s aspirations to try and lure ‘urban’ ute buyers. There is no doubt a large group of ute owners who don’t go off-road regularly and instead use their vehicle as a family transporter.

To that end, opting for a more SUV-like suspension set-up should be beneficial to its on-road manners and unladen ride. Unfortunately, as mentioned earlier, we couldn’t test that because our drive was limited to unsealed roads. But it was enough for us to get an initial impression of how the U9 drives and the early signs are positive.

The engine sounds like a traditional ute, with the gruff diesel ‘chug’ and smooth pulling power. The towing test provided was well below the 3500kg maximum rating, only 1500kg, so naturally the U9 has little trouble pulling the horse float along.

As for the ride on the suspension, it's fairly well composed on a gravel road and offers no obvious signs of struggle on more challenging muddy trails and creek crossings. So there are promising signs that the U9 should be able to hold its own against the more established ute contenders.

For such a sleek looking sedan, it’s generous up front with plenty of head and legroom.

You can adjust the seat to sit quite low and both front seats have extendable under-thigh supports, which should excite taller drivers. 

My 189cm (6’2”) brother has the 328i and is very comfortable but taller front passengers will encroach on back seat passenger comfort.

The front seats are quite firm on the backside, they also lack adjustable lumbar support, so expect to stretch the kinks out on a longer trip.

The amenities and tech feel well thought out and easy enough to use. The 12.3-inch touchscreen multimedia system looks great and has the best-looking graphics I’ve sampled.

The BMW system is intuitive to use once you get used to it. If you’re not interested in using the touchscreen, you can also utilise the rotary-wheel for menu selections.

There’s also Bluetooth connectivity, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto plus built-in satellite navigation.

The 12.3-inch digital instrument panel is customisable and the information displayed simply but you won’t really look at it because of the head-up display.

Front occupants enjoy a wireless charging pad for their smart phone, a USB-A and USB-C port plus a 12-volt socket. Rear passengers get a couple of USB-C ports, too.

The storage is good for this size sedan but overall passenger room takes priority, but the glove box and middle console will suffice for everyday use.

While it may not excite others, I love the big bottle holders in the doors. They’re large enough for my big 1.5L bottle and angled for easy access. These are found in the rear doors as well.

Back seat passengers enjoy climate control, directional air vents, two cupholders, netted map pockets and reading lights.

My six-year old was happy with the amenities and lower ground clearance because he felt comfortable and had his independence.

The boot offers a good capacity of 480L and the aperture isn’t too narrow, so you can comfortably access items if they roll to the back.

I had plenty of room for my little family’s needs but if you’re a larger family, you may need to get strategic with gear storage.

Being a base model, you do miss out on a powered tailgate, which is a shame but not too much of an issue given this is a sedan and the lid isn’t heavy.

There’s also no spare tyre or even a puncture repair kit but you have run-flats, so you should be able to limp to a service centre if need be.

That SUV-like interior and the larger dimensions make for a very pleasant cabin with loads of space. We didn’t get too much time to experience the multimedia system, but the 12.3-inch touchscreen looks good and operates smoothly, while the inclusion of large physical buttons for the air-conditioning and audio system is a positive for those who value ease-of-use.

There’s a generous amount of room up front, but it’s the back that really impresses. Unlike the sometimes cramped back seats in a conventionally-sized dual-cab ute, the U9 has plenty of legroom and headroom for four or even five adults to fit in comfort.

There’s also plenty of small item storage, including a wireless charging pad (but only on the high-grades) and USB outlets just ahead of the gear selector.

As for the tray out the back, that is so important to ute buyers, it measures 1600mm by 1600mm at the top, but narrows to 1230mm between the wheel arches. Despite its big size, the payload is only rated at 870kg for the Explore, 835kg for the Explore X and just 770kg for the Explore Pro.

However, MG has introduced a party trick no-one else, not even LDV offers, in the tray. At the press of a button, the rear tailgate opens and then with another press a section of the tailgate drops down, revealing a step. While not the quickest way to climb into a tray, it might be the nicest and is definitely the easiest this reviewer has experienced locally.

The even more elaborate party trick the U9 offers is what MG calls a ‘Smart Hatch’. This allows for the rear glass to retract and the bottom of the cabin to recline into the interior, creating a direct connection between the tray and the cabin for especially long items. While MG is, rightfully, very proud and keen to promote the Smart Hatch, it must be noted it is only available as an option on the Explore Pro and costs $5500 (which is nearly 10 per cent of the total cost of the car) so you’ll want to really need the extra space.

By not having to worry about developing its own ute from scratch, MG was able to focus on its key selling strength - price. MG has a reputation for its aggressive pricing strategy in Australia, trying to win over buyers with the most affordable or best value products in any given market sector.

To that end, the MG U9 range begins at just $52,990, drive-away, for the U9 Explore, undercutting not only the Terron 9 Origin (from $53,674, drive-away), the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux dual-cab pick-up ranges. It's inline with the similarly-sized GWM Cannon Alpha (from $51,990 drive-away). 

For $52,990 the U9 Explore comes with 18-inch alloy wheels, side steps, painted tub liner, synthetic leather seats, keyless entry and ignition and a six-speaker stereo with digital radio and wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto.

Next up in the range is the U9 Explore X, which starts at $55,990, drive-away. For the extra money you get 19-inch alloys, a cargo slide rail with a hook in the tray, heated front seats, acoustic glass, vehicle app connectivity, voice command, a wireless smartphone charging pad, satellite navigation, Amazon music and the ability to receive over-the-air updates.

The flagship Explore Pro is priced from $60,990, drive-away, and has 20-inch alloy wheels, an eight-speaker JBL sound system, a panoramic sunroof, suede headlining, heated outboard rear seats and the clever tailgate step we’ll detail later.

The 320i M Sport has the ‘baby’ engine in the 3 Series line-up but the 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbo-petrol powertrain still delivers on power with a maximum output of 135kW/300Nm. 

This is a rear-wheel drive and has an eight-speed auto-transmission which delivers very smooth gear changes.

Despite having the smaller engine, it can still go from 0-100km/h in just 7.4 seconds.

MG has plenty of hybrid knowledge, but has opted to keep it simple for the U9. It’s powered by a 2.5-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-diesel engine, which should be popular with the ute crowd.

It produces a solid, if unspectacular, 160kW and 520Nm, enough for it to offer a 3500kg maximum braked towing capacity, which is also something that should be popular with potential buyers.

The engine is paired with an eight-speed (torque-converter) automatic transmission and 'Super Select' 4WD system capable of sending drive to all four wheels.

Like so many new brands in the ute market, MG was keen to highlight that the transmission is built by ZF and the 4WD system is from BorgWarner, both brands with a long history in their respective areas.

In a world with rising fuel prices, the efficiency of this decently powered sedan should excite you.

The official combined fuel cycle is 6.5L/100km. Real world testing saw my figure at 7.4L/100km after a mix of open-road and urban driving this week.

I thought that was great for how hard I drove it and for the power, you won’t be wincing when you put your foot down. I would expect it to be higher in an urban setting.

The 320i has a 59L fuel tank and based on the official combined cycle figure, you should get just over 900km of driving range, which is great, especially if you do 'roadies' like me!

As all three variants are powered by the same engine and all return the same fuel economy. Rated at 7.9L/100km on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle.

As our test drive was limited to off-road only we can’t assess its real-world usage, so that will need to wait until we can spend extended time behind the wheel.

Notably, with an 80-litre fuel tank the U9 has a theoretical driving range of more than 1000km, which is great for anyone looking to take their ute on a long road trip.

In terms of safety, the U9 has all the usual features you should expect of any new car in 2025. This includes airbag protection for all occupants, plus active safety features including autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keeping assist and a host of others.

That’s enough for it to achieve a maximum five-star Euro NCAP score and MG expects the same from ANCAP. However, it must be noted Euro NCAP crash tested the LDV e-Terron 9, the electric version of the ute, which obviously has no diesel engine in the front of the vehicle and instead a smaller electric motor and a storage space.

It also worth noting even on our limited, off-road only drive, the driver attention system seemed very sensitive, which suggests better calibration is needed. So we’ll reserve final judgement on the other systems until we can fully experience them, too.

The 320i comes with a five-year/unlimited km warranty, which is standard for this class.

You can choose between a three- or five-year capped-priced servicing plan. The five-year plan costs just $2150, or $430 a year, which is competitive for this class.

Like other BMWs, servicing intervals are condition-based, with the car letting you know when it needs to be serviced.

This is a crucial area for many ute buyers, so MG has tried to make itself as appealing as possible to discerning pick-up prospects.

However, the U9 is covered by MG’s seven year warranty, not the newer 10 year coverage from its passenger vehicles. And even then, that requires you to service the vehicle via an authorised MG dealer for the full seven years to apply.

However, this only applies to non-commercial use vehicles, so while tradies will be covered, fleet buyers are stuck with a five-year warranty.

Over the first five years, if you spend the $2395 capped price costs, you’ll get the extra two years of coverage. The first service is due after 10,000km, but the rest are at 12-months/15,000km.

MG has also worked on expanding its dealer and servicing network to respond to some growing pains and ensure owners aren’t burnt and are more likely to return for their next MG. There are currently 120 MG dealers across Australia with plans to gradually expand that footprint into regional areas following the launch of the U9.