Lexus RC200T vs MG MGS5 EV

What's the difference?

Still a rock-solid option in the (admittedly not massive) premium-coupe space, the Lexus RC looks and feels like a quality product. The 2018 update has addressed any safety shortcomings, even if the interior technology still feels a touch behind the times.

But an out-and-out performance car this ain't. Even in cars fitted with the big V8 engine, the RC behaves more like an effortless grand tourer than it does a performance coupe. But if we're being really honest with each other, that only serves to make it much easier to live with.

Benchmark is a big word. But I’ve been testing cars long enough to know when and where to use it, and if my motoring instincts are correct the MG S5 EV could be the new benchmark for budget small electric SUVs.

Still we’ve only driven one grade - the Essence with the bigger 62kWh battery. We need to get the other grades into the garage to test them too, but on first impressions the MG S5 is outstanding for price, practicality, styling, ownership, and the way it drives.

Yes, yes - eye of the beholder and all that business. But for mine, the RC looks terrific. We cycled through two models, the RC350 and the performance-focused F Sport, and both cut a fine and athletic figure on the road.

Front on, the pincered grille dominates the view, sweeping back into bonnet, and stretching to the lowest corners of the front end, while a flared-lip body kit runs the length of the body. Special mention also goes to the cat-claw swipes that live behind the rear wheels.

The regular RC models make do with twin exhaust tips, while the F Sport range scores quad pipes, separated by a slinky rear diffuser, and the rear spoiler is an integrated lip that forms part of the boot. Cooler still, the Carbon Edition adds lightweight elements, like a carbon-fibre roof panel and an active rear wing - with about 6.6kg shaved off the kerb weight.

Climb inside, and you'll find a quality - if slightly dated interior - with soft leather seats, carbon-effect trim elements and a new, 10.3-inch screen in the centre of the dash.

As you can see from our interior photos, though, some elements do now feel a little behind the times. The door panels feel harder than I'd like, almost as if a thin-piece of leather has been stretched over hard plastic, and the control unit in the middle of the cabin is awash with hard black plastic, and the knobs mounted on it feel a touch cheap and non-premium, too.

The MG S5 EV is a completely new car. Unlike the ZS EV which was a combustion car that was later turned into an EV, the S5 EV was designed from the start and built as an electric vehicle and that’s super important for everything from space to how it drives.

The S5 EV is a bigger car than the ZS EV. It’s 153mm longer and 40mm wider and it shares the same underpinnings as the excellent MG4 hatch.

The S5 EV looks a bit like the MG4 but an SUV version and I think the styling is a massive improvement over the ZS EV. This thing looks snatched with its sleeker shape and a smooth modern face, the blade-like LED running lights sitting atop the headlights and I really like the treatment to the tail-lights as well and the way the boot lid flicks up into a little integrated spoiler.

It's a far more refined, mature and prestigious look to the ZS EV. And while we're being completely subjective here I also think it's better looking and more refined than the BYD Atto 3 and Chery E5.

That same refinement and modernity is everywhere in the superb cabin from the clean dash design and door trims, to the steering wheel and floating centre console.

Now look, if you see a future filled with trips to Bunnings or ferrying the troops to soccer training, the RC is not for you. It's a two-door, four-seat coupe - and those two rear seats couldn't be less helpful for adult-sized humans if they'd been painted on.

Its dimensions measure 4695mm in length, 1840mm in width and 1395mm in height, but most of that space is focused on the front-seat riders, where your surrounds feel sporty-snug, but not claustrophobic.

Up front, that cursed mousepad control system is still in full flight, but the screen it controls is now bigger. There are two cupholders to be shared between front-seat folks, as well as the usual compliment of USB and 'aux' connections. And even a CD player, for that matter.

Climb into the back, which is no easy task in and of itself, and you'll find the space cramped for anyone but kids. But while it's tiny, it's clever. Deep cut-outs in the rear of the front seats mean more room for your legs. Headroom, however, is a problem, and my (I'm 176cm) head was touching the roof.

There are two cupholders, at least, but - surprisingly - little in the way of entertainment connections. You will find an ISOFIX attachment point in both of the rear seats.

The boot opens to reveal a fixed 423 litres of space, which is handy enough for weekends away. Predictably, though, extra practical accessories are fairly limited - you can forget optional roof racks.

The MG S5 EV’s practicality is also outstanding and while it’s early days, it could be the new benchmark for the class. It's a spacious cabin with superb ergonomics and excellent storage.

Even as a taller person (I’m 189cm) there was plenty of elbow, shoulder and legroom for me as a driver and also to sit behind my driving position in the second row.

Storage is excellent with giant bottle holders in all the doors, stowage under the floating centre console, four cupholders and a flat space for your phone which also is a wireless charger on the Essence.

It’s such an ergonomic and practical cabin even the buttons are practical. There’s a volume dial, and physical buttons and switches for the climate control switch, not screen buttons.

And then there’s the boot, at 453 litres it’s about 10 litres bigger than the ZS EV’s cargo capacity. It's also 10L larger than the Atto 3 and a lot bigger than the Chery E5’s boot.

There are two grades in the MG S5 EV line-up. The Excite is the entry grade and the Essence is the top-of-the-range grade. Both come with a choice of two batteries - there's the smaller 49kWh battery and a bigger 62kWh battery. Now that you know this, the pricing will make more sense.

The MG S5 EV line-up starts at $40,490 with the entry grade Excite with the 49kWh battery, then steps up to $42,990 for the Essence also with the 49kWh battery. That increases to $44,990 for the Excite with the 62kWh battery and tops out at $47,990 for the Essence with this unit. All prices are drive-away.

Standard features on both the Excite and Essence include LED headlights, LED running lights and LED tail-lights, also standard are alloy wheels - 18-inch ones on the Essence and 17s on the Excite.

Both grades have proximity unlocking single-zone climate control, a 12.8 inch media display digital radio, a four-speaker stereo on the Excite and a six-speaker sound system on the Essence, while both have wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, sat nav and a 10.25-inch instrument cluster.

The Essence has a few extra items the Excite doesn’t get like rear privacy glass, a panoramic glass roof, wireless phone charging, heated front seats and a power driver’s seat.

The more you spend, the more you get. Spring for the 300, and you'll find a 2.0-litre turbo engine nestled under the bonnet, good for 180kW at 5800rpm and 350Nm at 1650rpm. It pairs with an eight-speed automatic, and shuffles power to the rear wheels.

Step up to the 350-badged cars and your engine specs improve accordingly. You'll now find a 3.5-litre V6 motor providing the horsepower, good for 232kW at 6400rpm and 380Nm at 4800rpm. The gearbox (eight-speed auto) remains the same, and the power is still sent to the rear axle.

The pick of the power bunch, though, is the 5.0-litre V8 engine nestled in the RC F cars. It'll fire 351kW at 7100rpm and 530Nm at 4800rpm toward the rear wheels - more than enough to shift the 1820kg (tare) weight. It's paired with an eight-speed automatic, or what the Lexus spec sheet refers to as a "Sports Automatic".

There is no AWD or manual transmission option anywhere in the range, and for specific oil type etc, consult your owner's manual.

The MG S5 EV has one electric motor driving the rear wheels and it has an output of 125kW and 250Nm. That’s plenty of grunt to move this electric car quickly and instantly in a way that feels controllable and smooth. 

While front-wheel-drive cars are absolutely fine, rear-wheel drive tends to offer more engagement and feel, and that's an added bonus for the S5 EV.

Let's start from the top, shall we? There is a price to pay for power, and the V8-powered Lexus arrives with its claimed 10.9L/100km on the combined cycle. That's quite a lot, and it's a number that will surely only worsen if you drive the RC F the way that you really should drive it.

Things improve with the 3.5-litre capacity engine, recording 9.1L/100km on the same cycle, while the 2.0-litre engine will return 7.3L/100km.

There is no diesel engine anywhere in the range, and the fuel-tank capacity across the board is 66 litres, with 95RON fuel required.

The MG S5 EV’s energy consumption varies depending on the grade and battery size.

The most efficient in the range is the entry grade Excite with the 49kWh battery with MG saying on a combination of open and urban roads it should use 16.6kWh/100km (WLPT). The biggest energy user in the range is the Essence grade with the 62kWh battery with 17.1kWh/100km.

As for the range, this varies from 335km in the 49kWh Essence to 430km in the 62kWh Excite.

Having now spent a fair chunk of time behind the wheel of the V6 and V8-powered cars, we're ready to make a pretty bold claim: the six-cylinder engine is - and there's no other way to put it - simply more fun.

Shocking, I know, but there it is. There's effortless power on offer in the RC F models, of course, but it's the way that power is delivered that makes it feel like more of a loping grand tourer than a fire-breathing performance coupe.

For one, both the power and exhaust notes arrive in stages. So if you're gentle with the throttle - like you almost always are in the CBD or suburbs - it wafts around in near silence, the engine feeling anaesthetised, and like it's only using a tiny proportion of its available oomph.

The V6 engine just feels sportier. It's still not super emotional, but I think it reacts to inputs quicker.

Leave your foot buried, however, and the character transforms, the exhaust booming into life and that big V8 finally unlocking its prodigious power. With the adaptive dampers (no air suspension) set to the sportiest setting, it sits flat in corners, with nary a roll through the body. And while there isn't an intimate connection with the road below, nor masses of feedback through the steering, it does acquit itself well on the bends.

But... the V6 engine just feels sportier. It's still not super emotional, but I think it reacts to inputs quicker, and comes alive a little lower in the rev range than the big V8. It doesn't really matter if you're in Normal, Sport or Sport+, it just feels more vibrant. Hell, you can even get the traction light flashing if you're particularly silly with the accelerator.

And as such, it's our pick of the bunch. Sure, it can't match the outright performance of the V8, nor the speed of its 0-100km/h acceleration time, but it puts a bigger smile on your face in normal, day-to-day driving. And let's face it, that'll be 90 per cent of the time you spend behind the wheel.

The MG S5 EV is outstanding to drive for an electric vehicle at this affordable price point. Again, I’m going to put it out there and suggest it could be the new benchmark for the more affordable end of the small electric SUV segment. Kia's EV3 is also a winner on the road, but it's quite a bit pricier than the MG.

I was never a fan of the way the ZS EV drove, from its seating position to ride and handling. But the MG S5 EV is completely different to pilot. It’s excellent.

This car feels so composed on the road, the body control is excellent, the steering is well weighted and direct, the visibility is excellent and the pedal feel under my feet is solid, too. And all of that is combined with an electric motor that makes the perfect amount of power.

Add to all this the rear-wheel-drive component and the MG S5 EV is not just easy to drive but engaging as well.

The MG S5 EV has the maximum five-star ANCAP rating and that’s from 2025 so it is super fresh. That means it has the lot so there’s auto emergency braking (AEB), front cross-traffic alert, rear cross-traffic alert with braking, lane keeping assistance and blind spot warning, adaptive cruise control, intelligent speed limit assist and more.

There's also a driver and front passenger airbag, two side airbags, two curtain airbags and a far side airbag.

For child seats there are two ISOFIX points and three top tether anchor points.

The RC range is covered by a four-year/100,000km warranty, with service intervals pegged at 12 months/15000km. There is no capped-price servicing program on offer, but Lexus will guarantee you a loan car every time your vehicle is in the shop, and will even come to your house or workplace to collect - and drop-off - your car.

For any owner-reported reliability problems, keep and eye on our Lexus ownership page.

The MG S5 EV is covered by MG’s 10-year 250,000 kilometre warranty. And that includes the battery. Regular families though do about 10,000km a year or 20,000km maximum, so this warranty offers excellent coverage for them.