Ford Ranger vs MG Im5

What's the difference?

The Ford Ranger is a strong starting point for a plug-in hybrid upgrade. And there are valid pros accompanying the addition of a high-voltage battery. But those benefits aren’t primarily seen on the road.

In fact, given its higher price, the Ranger PHEV loses out when compared to its BYD and GWM rivals, which offer more features and a far higher EV range at lower prices.

The Ranger doesn’t compromise its ‘ute-ness’ as its rivals do in different ways. But its target audience is likely relatively small. One that's willing to fork out for a capable, comfortable ute that can power a campsite or run tools on the job.

If you want an EV that just looks like a ute, this isn’t it. But if you're after a dual cab that can do proper ute things, with a bonus when it comes to efficiency and convenience, you’ll need deep pockets.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with accommodation and meals provided.

The MG IM5 Performance is fast, comfortable, quiet and super refined. Putting some minor spec and active safety niggles to one side, it offers the features, tech and price to match it with its well-credentialled and already popular mid-size EV sedan competitors. Is there room for one more? We think there should be.

The Ford Ranger is still one of the best-looking utes available, with a strong brand identity and a lack of design features that lean into trends - perhaps aside from the ‘C-shaped’ DRL signature.

There are only a few hints that any given Ranger you might be looking at is a plug-in hybrid, with the vehicle’s panels and general design features looking primarily the same.

The most obvious change is fender badging that outs the Ranger as a ‘PHEV’, though its lettering isn’t too ‘shouty’.

But to those more familiar with the Ranger, or anyone able to have a proper look around a PHEV, there are a couple of other giveaways.

For example, the Ranger plug-in has a new set of wheel designs that range from the 17-inch alloys on the XLT to the Stormtrak-specific 18s featuring 'Chill Grey' inserts as trim accents.

The Stormtrak can also be had in Chill Grey, the colour being exclusive to that variant along with the aforementioned unique trim design.

There are also plug outlets in the ute’s tub for access to the Ranger’s battery power. Harder to spot if you’re looking at one of the higher-spec variants that feature a roller cover.

Inside, it’s a similar story with the PHEV’s interior being standard Ranger fare aside from the button that controls its EV modes.

Playing spot the straight line on the outside of the MG IM5 is like an automotive design version of Where’s Wally? There aren’t many, in the midst of an unrelentingly curvaceous exterior treatment.

At close to five metres long and two metres wide the IM5 is appreciably longer (+211mm), a little wider (+27mm) and a bit taller (+33mm) than a Tesla Model 3. Think BMW 5 Series in terms of overall size.

And the soft-form shape is functional; the swoopy liftback boasting an ultra-slick 0.24 drag coefficient.

That said, I’m not convinced by the ‘Periscopic’ cameras informing the driver assistance systems from the front guards. They scream tacked-on afterthought. But a touch-only initial opening function for the flush door handles is cool and makes life easier.

The curves continue inside with soft-padded surfaces around the dash and doors, but the straight edge obviously came out for the 10.5-inch central media screen and vast 26.3-inch upper display. There are next to no buttons; even exterior mirror adjustment is directed from the screen to a multi-function steering wheel control.

System software (powered by a Qualcomm ‘Snapdragon’ chip) is lightning fast with a two-finger up and down swipe shortcut function on the central screen for ventilation and other functions.

The interior is light and bright thanks to the enormous panoramic sunroof. It’s been fine in cooler winter conditions during this test but it could be interesting to revisit in the heat of an Aussie summer

There are two interior colour schemes available - the ‘Highland Grey’ of our test car or ‘Dover Beige’ for those brave enough to live life with the threat of scuff marks on your shiny new car’s glamorous but vulnerably light interior.

The Ford Ranger’s interior is impressive for a dual-cab ute when it comes to layout and functionality.

A large 12-inch touchscreen dominates the central space on the dash, but there are still physical controls for the climate settings and the screen has shortcuts to main functions thanks to Ford’s 'Sync' software.

A big 12.4-inch driver display is similarly handy, being clear in its layout and able to be customised to the extent you’d expect from a modern bit of kit.

As mentioned, in the XLT you miss out on a few goodies, but the phone charger found in other variants is placed out of the way, under the screen and behind the gear shift.

Cupholders are similarly out of the way of any buttons or controls, and the gear-shifter itself is mercifully a traditional one rather than a dial or buttons.

With everything in an ergonomically sensible place, it’s similarly comforting that the seats and the steering wheel can be adjusted to find a suitable position.

It’s still a dual-cab ute, so don’t anticipate ‘melt-into-the-seat’ levels of comfort, but the space on offer in the front and rear seats is enough for an adult to feel at ease on even a long trip.

Behind the cabin, there’s space for two euro pallets according to Ford, with a payload as high as 973kg for the XLT. The Stormtrak’s 808kg payload is the lowest of the bunch, with Sport (934kg) and Wildtrak (885kg) slotting in between.

There’s a spare tyre underneath the tub and the ability to tow a 3500kg braked trailer - all combining to make it the most functional workhorse on offer in the plug-in hybrid ute segment. The GWM Cannon Alpha PHEV can tow 3.5-tonne and the BYD Shark 6’s payload is okay, but neither can do it all.

That said, the Ranger falls short in the plug-in game, which we’ll get to shortly.

There’s plenty of breathing room up front and in terms of storage one of the first things worth calling out are the long but relatively narrow door bins. No good for anything above unusually slender bottles, even if they’re lying down.

No conventional glove box in the dash, but there is a large lidded box (cooled and heated) between the seats that doubles as a centre armrest. It’s supplemented by a big stowage area underneath the flying buttress style centre console.  

There are two cupholders in the centre console as well as a wireless device charging pad in front of them with a vaguely phone-shaped oddments bin alongside it.  

Move to the rear and the IM5’s 75mm wheelbase advantage over the Tesla Model 3 is clear. Heaps of knee and headroom for me at 183cm sitting behind the driver’s seat set to my position. 

But… the seat sits low which pushes your knees up into the air to the point where my thighs are not contacting the seat cushion. Even though the rear seat reclines to a certain degree it’s a problem compounded by a chronic lack of room for your toes under the front seat. Awkward.

There are map pockets in the front seatbacks, modest bins in the doors and a fold-down centre armrest with two cupholders. Adjustable ventilation in the rear of the front centre console always makes life in the rear seat more pleasant.

The car also houses ‘Strong Magnets’ at various points around the cabin and boot, with a configurable adapter able to lock a phone or tablet into place for the entertainment of, in our case, back seaters. 

Speaking of devices for entertainment, there are two USB-C sockets and a 12-volt outlet in the front and another USB-C and 12V in the back, so charging isn’t an issue. 

The IM5 is a liftback so the boot aperture is generous and a capacity of 457 litres with the rear seats up is decent for a car of this size, although that’s less than the Tesla Model 3 (594L) which has an additional well under the floor. 

Still, enough room for the largest (124L) and smallest (36L) suitcases from the CarsGuide three-piece luggage set with some room to spare.

The power tailgate can be operated hands-free via the key or an always welcome under bumper kick function.

Volume expands to 1290 litres with the rear seats folded and there’s a modest 18-litre ‘frunk’ under the bonnet.

The bad news is a repair-inflator kit rather than a physical spare wheel, but the better news is the IM5 Performance can tow a 1500kg braked trailer (750kg unbraked).

The IM range also features the ‘MG iSmart’ app allowing remote control of various functions including charging, checking vehicle location and route planning. 

At $80,990, drive-away, the IM5 Performance sits at the top of a three-grade line-up that starts with a 75kWh RWD Premium model at $60,990, followed by a mid-spec 100kWh RWD Platinum for $69,990, both drive-away.

Its most prominent competitor is arguably the Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor AWD ($80,900), with others including the BYD Seal Performance AWD ($68,798), Hyundai Ioniq 6 AWD Epiq ($86,500) and Polestar 2 Long Range Dual Motor Performance ($80,380).

Worth noting, too, the IM6 range - essentially the same car with a taller SUV body - has the same model walk-up and identical pricing.

Once you’ve crossed the $80K threshold it’s fair to expect a decent basket of standard fruit and aside from the dynamic and safety features we’ll get to shortly, the IM5 Performance comes to the party.

Highlights include a double-glazed panoramic roof, power-adjustable (12-way driver, six-way passenger) heated and ventilated front seats (also heated in the rear), dual-zone climate control, 20-speaker audio (with digital radio), 256 colour ambient lighting, a power tailgate (with hands-free function) and 20-inch alloy rims.

There’s also adaptive cruise control, a heated steering wheel, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, LED headlights, keyless entry and start, wireless device charging (50W), a 10.5-inch central control screen and a sweeping 26.3-inch upper screen; the right side for instrumentation and car data, the (touch-sensitive) left side for multimedia and other onboard functions.

There’s more and it’s clear this car at least matches or betters its direct competitors for included equipment.

The Ranger PHEV remains an off-road-capable 4x4 ute, with all four wheels receiving power. But the drivetrain is not your standard Ranger gear.

Ford’s 2.3-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder 'EcoBoost' engine does the heavy lifting, aided by an electric motor mounted between it and the transmission.

The engine isn’t unproven in the ute game. In fact, it’s found in some variants of the current-gen Ranger’s cousin, the Volkswagen Amarok.

In the Ranger PHEV, it makes 138kW and 411Nm which, paired with the 75kW electric motor, contributes to a total 207kW and 697Nm output, transferred to all four wheels via Ford’s 10-speed automatic transmission.

Of course, the ute’s 4WD system is able to be set to '2H', '4A', '4H' or '4L' and has a rear diff-lock to assist in traversing tricky terrain.

The MG IM5 Performance is powered by an electric motor on each axle - the rear (372kW/500Nm) more powerful than the front (200kW/300Nm), for overall outputs of 572kW (that’s close to 770hp) and 802Nm of pulling power.

The official term for that amount of grunt is… a lot. And we’ll get to what it means on the road in the Driving section shortly.

Ford claims the Ranger PHEV sips 2.9L/100km according to NEDC testing, but like many plug-in hybrids that would be difficult to achieve without constantly stopping to charge.

It’s also only able to charge the 11.8kWh lithium-ion battery at a 3.5kW rate under AC power and it takes around four hours to do so. There’s no DC fast charging.

It’s got a 70-litre fuel tank, and requires minimum 91 RON petrol.

During the launch drive, the highest figure reasonable driving produced in terms of a fuel consumption on the trip computer was 9.6L/100km during battery charging.

So, while theoretical range is around 2400km, that closer to real-world number reduces the distance between fills to a still useful 730km.

Ford didn’t offer an expected general consumption figure for ‘low-power’ driving - i.e. while the battery isn’t being actively charged but also isn’t carrying enough juice to fully propel the ute.

The MG IM5 Performance features an 800-volt electrical architecture which means the 100kWh NCM battery can accept a DC peak charge of close to 400kW.

Only snag is the highest you’ll currently find in Australia is 350kW. But even at that rate you’ll still be looking at a 30-80 per cent charge in just over 15 minutes. Maximum AC charge rate is 11kW.

Claimed range is 575km (WLTP) which is less than the Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor AWD at 629km.

Over a week of city, suburban and some freeway running we saw average energy use of 20.6kWh/100km which is on the high side for an EV of this size but maybe not for one with this kind of performance potential. 

During a presentation and Q&A to media before the launch drive program, the Ford Australia team was keen to spruik how handy the PHEV’s battery would be for things like powering worksite equipment or for use during camping trips.

Alternately, focus on how the battery might come into play while on the road was modest. And behind the wheel it became clear why.

On-paper, the 49km electric driving range seems handy, but the NEDC testing which produced that figure is known for being optimistic.

On top of that, the launch program's highway driving wasn’t prime EV territory. In fact, we were encouraged to keep the cars in ‘charge’ mode to leave enough electric power in reserve to experience the Ranger PHEV’s off-road capabilities.

As mentioned, fuel consumption doesn’t exactly skyrocket even while the engine is charging the battery, but to make the most of the Ranger’s EV range you’d want to have a relatively short commute.

In terms of its on-road manners, the Ranger’s status as a benchmark for the category means even with the extra weight of the battery, the PHEV performs well.

Its 75kW EV output means driving under the electric motor’s power alone is reserved for low speed, but it does well to boost the torque provided by the engine. While it’s no sports car, it doesn’t feel sluggish.

The Ranger’s suspension does well to balance relative softness when it comes to bumps and rough surfaces without feeling like it doesn’t have the ute's weight under control.

If you want the best on-road driving experience from a Ranger, a V6-powered variant will provide the balance of comfort and power you seek.

Off-road, the PHEV’s capability is likely more than enough for most weekend warriors.

The electrified ute’s ability to use battery and engine to carefully cover terrain that would likely intimidate any off-road beginner is impressive. But we'll wait until we can get the Ranger PHEV onto home turf for a proper off-highway test before making a definitive judgement.

First things first, the IM5 Performance is supercar fast. This 2.3-tonne five-seater blazes from 0-100km/h 3.2 seconds and with its dual motors combining to produce 572kW/802Nm, eye-widening performance always resides underneath your right foot.

But it’s not all about straight line speed. Ride comfort is excellent. Underpinned by an all-new platform, the IM5’s suspension is by double wishbones at the front and multi-links at the rear. But the key to its bump and rut smoothing ability is air suspension and ‘continuous control’ active damping.

Fold in double-glazing on the full-length glass roof and side windows, as well as active noise cancellation and you have a serene interior environment at any speed. Also worth noting the front seats are great; as grippy as they are comfortable.

Not only that, despite its relative heft, this mid-sizer steers well, too. Not the last word in road feel but it points accurately and the standard rear steering helps with prompt (but never jerky) cornering turn-in. Flick to ‘Sport’ mode and the IM5 is up for some enthusiastic running.

The rear wheels can turn up to 12 degrees in the opposite direction to the fronts at slow speed, which makes for a usefully tight 10-metre turning circle. But above that, at lesser angles, it adds extra stability and decisiveness in the way the car steers through even tight, twisty sections.

Rubber is top-shelf Pirelli P Zeros on 20-inch alloys (245/40 fr - 275/35 rr) and it grips hard, especially in the wet weather over much of the test period. Braking is solid, as it needs to be, with ventilated discs all around and four-piston callipers at the front. 

No adjustable regen braking but you can feel the ‘Cooperative Regenerative Brake System’ (CRBS) doing its thing when you lift off the accelerator. 

The physical rear view is modest thanks to the slope of the back window reducing its functional area for the driver to that of a 1950s VW Beetle. Even the interior rear-view mirror is tiny and folds up into a recess in the headliner if you’d prefer life without it.

But that’s where a rear camera view popping up on the upper screen display (accessed via the right-hand steering wheel click control) comes in handy. Side camera views are also available as is a 360-degree overhead view, which makes parking straightforward.

If you need more parking help there are various self-parking modes including a nifty ‘Curbside’ function that will realign the car hands-free if you’re parallel parked too far out from the kerb.

In a similar vein, a ‘Rainy Night’ mode projects left and right rear views onto the main screen using AI to enhance clarity and highlight pedestrians and cars.

Overall the ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) are relatively unobtrusive but we found ourselves switching off the incessant overspeed chime that sounds for 10 seconds if you creep over the indicated speed limit, even when the system has misfired on the correct speed. For example, 40km/h school zones on a Sunday.

The over-zealous driver distraction warning also occasionally issued a visual and audible slap on the wrist when I was looking straight ahead. Tellingly, there’s a specific quick screen for turning both these functions off, but it kinda defeats the purpose of having them in the first place.

We also found the adaptive cruise control to be hesitant in multi-lane environments, reducing speed occasionally because the system seemingly believed a car was set to merge, when it wasn’t.

No independent ANCAP safety assessment at this point but there’s a full suite of active safety tech onboard including AEB, lane departure warning, blind spot detection, rear cross-traffic alert & braking, forward collision warning, lane-change assist, tyre pressure monitoring and heaps more. And we touch on how it all operates in the Driving section above.

There are no less than nine HD cameras, 12 ultrasonic sensors and three millimetre-wave radars on duty.

If a crash is unavoidable there are seven airbags including full-length side curtains and a front centre bag. Multi-collision brake also minimises the chances of subsequent impacts after an initial crash. There are also three top tether points and three ISOFIX child seats anchors across the second row.

All right on the pace for this part of the market and the IM5’s competitive set.

Ford’s five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty applies to the Ranger PHEV, but like all electrified Fords there’s an eight-year or 160,000km warranty on the high-voltage battery.

Ford also has set pricing for the first five years of servicing at a reasonable $399 per service, with the recommended interval set at 12 months or 15,000km.

The MG IM5 Performance is covered by a seven-year/unlimited km warranty, which is a plus, but the catch is it’s conditional on authorised dealer servicing. Go elsewhere and the term drops to a more common five years/unlimited km. The drive battery is covered for eight years/160,000km, which is the norm in the Aussie market

Servicing is required every 12 months or 20,000km with charges averaging $586 per workshop visit for the first five years, which is on the high side for an EV, even at this price point, the average bumped up by a more than $1400 doozy at year four.

MG IM models are sold (with service available) through all of MG’s 100-plus dealerships across the country, so no concerns there.