GWM UTE vs MG ZS

What's the difference?

In a very competitive ute market, the GWM Cannon XSR represents plenty of bang for your buck, but it’s just not as refined as you’d hope. 

It should be better at this price-point, especially when it’ll be unfavourably cross-shopped with lower-spec variants in the Ford Ranger, Isuzu D-Max and Toyota HiLux line-ups.

It’s a nice enough vehicle on-road, and the XSR is an effective 4WD on the dirt without ever being truly exceptional – but that’s fine for those who want to save big bucks and still drive away in a well-equipped twin-locked off-road vehicle.

The MG ZS Essence with the 1.5-litre petrol engine has many strengths - price and value for money, practicality and space, good looks… and the only area where it really struggles to match its rivals is its underpowered engine. 

The good news is the Essence also comes with a turbo engine and while this isn’t a race car by any means, turbocharging is a way to add the oomph needed in a car this size. 

Stepping up to the MG ZS Essence Turbo costs an extra $2000, but if you can make the budget stretch you’ll have the complete package of value, looks, practicality, safety and much better performance for more enjoyable driving.

The XSR is 5439mm long (with a 3230mm wheelbase), 1958mm wide, and 1918mm high. It has a listed kerb weight of 1965kg.

It looks like the mongrel child of a HiLux, Ranger and D-Max – in a good way.

The wider-than-standard wheel track, as well as the snorkel, sports bar, substantial bash plates, tyres and even red brake calipers add to this ute’s presence.

The ZS's good looks is another strength.

The new-gen ZS arrived in Australia late in 2024 and this petrol version landed in February 2025. The styling looks more expensive and premium than its price tag would suggest. The sleek nose, the refined tail-lights, a pleasing profile all make for a good looking small SUV.

There are many interesting elements in the design - the grille and its aggressively looking flanking 'air intakes', the crease through the door panels, the little fin that meets the tail-light.

Squint and it looks like a mini Ford Territory. Sort of…

The cabin of the ZS Essence is equally refined with a modern design and soft touchpoints throughout. It’s a minimalist and spacious place free from button clutter.

The ZS is 4430mm long, 1818mm wide and 1635mm high. Ground clearance is 161mm, in case you’ve been lying in bed wondering.

The XSR’s five-seat interior is a neat and roomy space but, in line with most utes at this price-point, if you scrutinise it in a critical way you soon discover that some parts feel a bit cheap and flimsy, such as some buttons, dials and switches.

Up front there are two USB ports, a wireless charging pad, a 12V plug and a capacious centre console.

A pair of cupholders can be concealed under a sliding cover and the storage bin is on the right side of big.

The driver gets a six-way power-adjustable seat; the front-seat passenger gets four-way power adjustment. Both seats are comfortable without being too plush.

Second-row passengers get a firm but comfortable seat and amenities include a USB port, a 220V plug, and a fold-down centre armrest.

The second-row seat base can be folded up and out of the way to make room for more gear if only two people are travelling.

Build quality is generally okay, part from the aforementioned flimsy-feeling buttons.

The XSR’s business end, the tub, has a durable-looking tub liner, tie-down points and a handy pop-out step hidden in the top of the tailgate.

But it's worth noting this ute’s tailgate can’t be locked.

Practicality is a big strength, too, with a proximity key that’ll unlock the car when you touch the door handle, and a cabin with good legroom and headroom even for me at 189cm tall.

There's also a wonderfully simple charging pad for your phone - it's a large area on the centre console which works well in terms of connection but also in terms of wasy access. Many rivals will hide phone chargers away is small crevices that make them hard to extract or even pop in.

You'll find four USB ports, too plus a 12V charger, too.

Clever storage like a shelf built into the dash for loose objects, four cupholders and big door pockets are also on hand.

The boot is also a decent size for a small SUV at 443 litres which is bigger than many rivals, including the Subaru Crosstrek.

The MG ZS’s biggest strength is its affordability and the petrol variant in the Essence grade we tested is a relative bargain at $29,990, drive-away. The entry-grade Excite is even cheaper at $26,990, drive-away.

The Essence offers more standard equipment though and is worth the extra three thousand if you can afford it. Coming standard are LED headlights, 17-inch alloys wheels, silver roof rails, a panoramic sunroof, proximity unlocking, push button start, a 12.3-inch media screen, sat nav, digital radio, six-speaker audio, heated front seats and a leather steering wheel.

That’s good value, and we can testify the LED headlights are excellent for a night-time country road, the proximity unlocking is hard to live without and the heated seats do get very warm.

But the stereo’s sound is 'meh' and the shade on the panoramic roof could be thicker to block out the intense Aussie sun.

Also the seat upholstery is vinyl and while it is easy to clean and looks great, it doesn’t have the nicest feel to it. Still, the car is $29,990 and is better value than the Kia Seltos and a few other rivals.

The XSR has the Cannon’s 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo-diesel engine that produces 120kW at 3600rpm and 400Nm from 1500rpm to 2500rpm. 

It has an eight-speed automatic transmission. 

As mentioned, the XSR has part-time 4WD – with 2WD high-range, 4WD high-range and 4WD low-range – rather than the full-time 4WD set-up that’s in standard Cannons.

Okay, we've listed a lot of strengths for the MG ZS but the engine isn’t one of them. The 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine makes 81kW and 140Nm.

Really, power needs to be at least 100kW and torque closer to 200Nm in something weighing 1330kg otherwise acceleration is going to feel woeful - which it is.

Seriously, the first time I tried to overtake I looked down to see if the handbrake was still on.

Not helping performance is a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) which, while good for fuel economy, seems to have trouble getting power to the road effectively.

The Cannon XSR has a listed fuel consumption of 9.4L/100km on a combined cycle.

Actual fuel consumption on this test, from pump to pump, was 11.2L/100km but, as is the nature of my testing, I did a lot of low-range four-wheel driving.

The Cannon XSR has an 78-litre tank so, going by that fuel figure above, you could reasonably expect a driving range of about 696km from a full tank.

Note: Drop 30km to 50km from any vehicle’s total calculated fuel-range figure for a better idea of that vehicle’s safe touring range – so, following that advice, the above driving range figure (696km) would become 666km after a 30km safe-distance buffer has been subtracted.

Also, remember that numerous other factors affect your fuel consumption and so impact your driving range, including how much extra weight you have onboard (passengers, camping gear, etc), whether your vehicle is fitted with any aftermarket equipment (bullbar, spare-wheel carrier, etc), whether you are towing (a camper-trailer, caravan, or boat, etc), your vehicle's tyre pressures, and the conditions.

Official fuel consumption for the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle is 6.7L/100km, which isn’t outstanding, especially compared to the hybrid version which can get 4.7L/100km.

Our own testing after city driving and motorways saw 7.9L/100km. Not the most efficient engine in the range, so if it’s saving petrol you want then go for the hybrid, or better still, the electric version of the ZS.

If you’re not expecting a dynamic, sporty driving experience from the Cannon XSR, then you won’t be disappointed.

I’m enjoying the fact that off-road vehicles from China and India are improving all the time but there are significant trade-offs when opting for a much cheaper version of the ute you actually want.

The XSR is not an insubstantial ute, but that doesn’t excuse its less-than-ideal steering (which feels too loose) or its stiff ride on upgraded suspension which, even though it increases wheel travel (for 4WDing – more about that later), seemingly hasn’t been tuned to suit the XSR’s bigger tyres, wider wheel track and greater bulk than its lower-spec stablemates.

Also, this ute has an unwieldy turning circle of 13.7m, which makes it an interesting vehicle to manoeuvre along busy urban streets or through a bustling car park.

This is a well priced ute if compared to similarly equipped, much more expensive utes, but that doesn’t excuse its touchy throttle and thrashy transmission.

However, its engine, which can feel underdone when challenged, has a relaxed feel about it when open-road cruising and if you aren’t putting too much pressure on it you likely won’t think it’s much of a let-down.

Overall, the XSR does okay on sealed surfaces, without ever getting anywhere near great – it’s simply not as refined or compliant as it could – or should – be.

On the dirt track leading to our 4WD test track, the XSR was very skippy over corrugations and tended to thump through potholes.

This ute does go well off-road though when it comes time for low-range 4WDing but, equipped with front and rear diff locks, that’s to be expected.

Off-road traction control and other systems including hill descent control, are adequate without being as seamlessly smooth as the equivalent systems in more expensive vehicles.

It also has 'Crawl Mode' (allows for no-pedal, low-speed driving) and 'Turn Assist' (which brakes the XSR’s inside rear wheel to reduce the ute’s turning circle on traction-compromised surfaces).

The over-sensitive throttle is far from ideal during low-speed low-range 4WDing when you need absolute control for safe driving, but I did become used to it – or at least I put up with it.

As mentioned earlier, the upgraded suspension has boosted wheel travel, which means you’re more than likely able in the XSR to stretch a tyre to the dirt for better traction and controlled forward progress.

The XSR’s Cooper Discoverer AT3 all-terrain tyres help, especially when the dirt becomes sticky mud that would gum up a lesser tyre, and we had no strife getting up and over one of our more severe set-piece hill climbs on that rubber.

All in all, the XSR is a capable twin-locked 4WD without ever being exceptional – and that’s fine.

The Cannon XSR has towing capacities of 750kg (unbraked) and 3000kg (braked).

The lack of oomph from the 1.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder engine affects the driving experience of the ZS. This lack of accleration is hampered not just by the low outputs of the engine but also by the transmission, which is a CVT and these don't favour getting power to the road as effectively as torque convertor transmissions.

Handling is good for this class, with the ZS feeling stable under most conditions. Steering is excellent, with a nice weight and accuracy to it.

And while the ZS is no prestige car, the ride is comfortable, composed and better than many small SUVs at this price point.

Other pluses include its smaller size which makes it easy to manoeuvre in city traffic and park in tight spaces.

The final driving score however is dragged down by the engine and transmission which fail to provide the acceleration needed to easily overtake, merge or move quickly when needed at stop signs or out of car spaces on busy roads.

Safety is a strength, as well, with the MG ZS scoring the maximum five-star ANCAP assessment. Safety tech is abundant with AEB, lane keeping assistance, blind spot warning and rear cross traffic alert.

You’ll also find a clear 360-degree camera view, seat belt reminders and adaptive cruise control.

For child seats there are two ISOFIX mounts and three top tether points across the second row.

A space saver spare wheel is located under the boot floor.

The XSR is covered by a seven year/unlimited km warranty.

The first service is scheduled at the six-month/5000km mark (and costs $260), then every 12 months or 10,000km, with each service costing $360 a pop.

Ownership costs are a strength, too. The MG ZS is covered by a 10-year/250,000km warranty.

MG’s ‘Precise Price’ service plan locks in the cost of servicing with 12-month/15,000km intervals and a cost of about $1200 over five years.