BYD Seal 6 vs MG MG5

What's the difference?

The Toyota Camry might be in a spot of trouble here.

The 2027 BYD Seal 6 has arrived, and not just at a lower starting price with a more electrified plug-in hybrid drivetrain, but with a wagon option, too.

In fact, the Seal 6 Touring Premium wagon is the halo variant of the Seal 6 range and its price matches the Camry’s entry grade.

The mid-size sedan and wagon duo from China, not to be confused with the already-launched BYD Seal electric car, make up what’s probably BYD’s strongest jab at Toyota yet. A true threat to the iconic Camry.

BYD’s biggest selling point for the Seal 6 is its range, more than 1000km in the real world, tested on just one tank and one charge from Sydney to Melbourne.

One day of pure highway driving and a day of winding country roads put that to the test on its Australian launch so you hopefully never have to.

MG has a knack for bucking market trends. The MG3 hatch currently makes up more than a quarter of the brand’s sales at a time when the ‘light car’ category is in gradual decline. Electric cars are too expensive? Here comes the MG4 for less than $40K.

So is this, the MG5, here to resuscitate the sedan? A market segment that’s on the way to flatline here in Australia (aside from the Tesla Model 3's relatively niche appeal)?

If it does, it’s going to do it the same way MG has before. Low pricing. Both MG5 variants come in at less than $30K drive-away and convincingly undercut rivals… but at what cost?

MG delivers a strong value proposition with its small sedan, but it largely only comes with the essential safety features needed to be sold in Australia.

Does the MG5 bring enough to the table to be worth considering without common active safety features like lane-keep assist or rear cross-traffic alert? Let’s find out.