Mahindra Xuv 3Xo vs MG MG5

What's the difference?

The fact this is Australia’s cheapest SUV is a massive feat for the Indian brand. It also has so much standard kit so this is even more surprising.

In many ways the XUV 3XO is better to drive than its rivals. The three-cylinder turbo engine has plenty of charm and moves this car along with ease, the car feels confident and composed out on the open road, and there aren’t any bings and bongs from intrusive safety systems.

However, things aren’t perfect. I wish the steering column offered reach adjustment, the steering feel wasn’t so inconsistent and the lane-keep assist wasn’t so hands-on.

If you can overlook these quibbles, this tiny Mahindra is an outstanding value buy if you’re considering a first new car.

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

The MG5 works well as a budget-friendly small car, and it’s genuinely good to drive.

Some small let-downs in terms of packaging don’t detract from this car in any major way, but the lack of active safety is a concern considering the features most of its rivals offer.

If it’s on your shopping list, make sure you know what else is on offer in terms of safety before you lock in the MG5 for the savings.

From outside it’s surprising just how small this SUV is. At just under four metres long, the XUV 3XO is shorter than a Mazda2, for example.

The reason for this is because in India there are tax breaks for vehicles under four metres long. The Ford EcoSport, sans the tailgate-mounted spare wheel, was another SUV that met this requirement.

As a result of being so short, this has made the rear overhang virtually non-existent. It’s a strange look, especially because the bonnet is so much longer.

Even though the XUV 3XO is based on the KGM Tivoli (formerly SsangYong Tivoli), which was briefly sold in Australia, you’d be hard-pressed to find visual similarities. The former looks more modern from the outside and has more visual interest with the chunky wheel-arch cladding and diamond motifs.

At the front it’s hard to not see the face of a sad panda. The LED headlights are big and plunge down the front fascia, giving it a droopy and sleepy appearance. It’s not helped by the thick black bar connecting them.

Around the side the diamond-cut alloy wheels are a nice touch, along with the contrast black-painted roof on this AX7L tester.

The rear end is a little on the flat side, though the badging is tasteful. I’m not a fan of the full-width LED light bar, however, as it’s an overdone design cue now.

Inside I appreciate the mix of both old-school and new-school. There are dual 10.25-inch screens ahead of the driver for the digital instrument cluster and touchscreen multimedia system, as well as plenty of physical buttons and knobs for shortcuts and the climate controls.

For such an affordable car I’m surprised how many soft-touch finishes there are in this car. In the AX7L you get an extended use of synthetic leather on the door cards and dashboard, which helps make for a pseudo-premium look and feel.

However, one of my biggest gripes with the XUV 3XO interior is the amount of glossy piano black. It’s on the dashboard, centre console, door cards and even the steering wheel.

This may look cool and slick when you pick the car up from the dealer, but it shows up dust quickly and then gets scratched when you try to wipe it clean. Our tester had fewer than 1000km on the odometer and the centre console was already scratched to the wazoo.

The MG5’s styling might be a little divisive, with the overall shape and look of the small sedan sitting somewhere between its direct rivals, like the Hyundai i30 Sedan, and aspirational models like the Mercedes CLA.

In this Essence variant, the grey insert for the grille gives the front a darker, more aggressive look, though the way the grille mesh weaves makes it look a little like moustache hair.

The large ‘intake-style’ design at the sides gives it a sportier look than its outputs have perhaps earned - not to say the MG5 is sluggish - and following those around to the side of the car leads to a fairly minimalistic and tidy silhouette.

Here, probably most notable is the rather tall gap between the tyres and wheel arches.

The rear, with that sloped-up roofline, transitioning into a gentle lip spoiler, flanked by those lights, is where CLA fans might have the most to say about the MG5’s design.

Notably, the exhaust vents at the bottom are fake. The real exhaust exit is hidden well underneath.

Given this SUV is tiny, I’m blown away at how much interior space it has.

Up front both the seats are manually adjustable, which is to be expected at this price point. Despite this, they’re still comfortable and offer an elevated driving position which is something SUV buyers seek.

In front of the driver is a leather-wrapped steering wheel which feels nice in the hand. While it offers tilt adjustment, it disappointingly doesn’t have reach adjustment. This is frustrating if you’ve got long legs and short arms, like myself.

The 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster has an overall dark and minimal look, but you can cycle through a range of informative views. There’s even one that allows you to display a full-width map.

Moving across, the 10.25-inch touchscreen multimedia system appears to be snappy enough. I’ve experienced fewer glitches in this car than in previous Mahindras I’ve driven.

I like the physical shortcut buttons underneath the touchscreen because it allows you to jump around to key sub-menus a lot easier.

As standard there’s both wired and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. With my iPhone 15 Pro Max the connection was flawless and only dropped out during known interference points.

This AX7L spec comes with a seven-speaker Harman Kardon sound system which gets this tiny car booming. The subwoofer in the boot is so powerful it almost feels like overkill.

In terms of storage up front there are two cupholders, big door pockets with two bottle holders, a centre armrest and a cooled glovebox. There’s also a USB-A port, 65W USB-C port and a wireless charger.

Moving to the second row there’s a decent amount of space for adults to sit behind adults. You could easily fit two adults along the rear bench, though pushing it to three would get a little too squishy.

Second-row amenities include rear air vents, a USB-C port with a phone slot, as well as a fold-down armrest with cupholders.

At the back there’s a manual tailgate, which is to be expected at this price point, but finding the trigger to open it is a little tricky. It’s a small button that’s hidden away.

Once the tailgate is open, the amount of boot space on offer is generous. Mahindra claims there’s 364 litres with the rear seats upright.

While the loading lip is high, the boot area is deep and wide. Unfortunately there’s no cargo cover available as standard, which means you’ll need to be careful what you boot back there.

Under the boot floor there’s a space-saver spare wheel, which is fantastic peace of mind if you travel long distances away from tyre repair shops.

Some newer brands to Australia, often MG’s compatriots from China, get some of the ergonomic or tech basics wrong as they focus more on an impactful first impression. Fortunately, MG doesn’t do that, for the most part.

Inside the MG5 is a cabin that looks more expensive than it is, but has some useful features to back it up without the superfluous add-ons.

Aside from the lack of physical climate controls - an annoying cost-saving or interior-tidying trend embraced by brands from budget to bougie - the MG5’s interfaces and ergonomics are pretty sensible.

Accessibility ticks for the steering wheel buttons being few and large enough to use without needing to look, as well as the lack of a panel of buttons and switches in the centre console. Looking at you, BMW.

The screen is also functionally sound, with obvious menu layouts and fairly large buttons as touch points, so it doesn’t feel like trying to operate a tablet while you’re driving.

It does, again, lose points for the climate control situation, which weirdly features a temperature slider as a colour gradient rather than numerical temperatures.

No wireless phone charger means needing space for a plugged-in phone, which the MG5 has just enough of, though similarly ‘just enough’ is the size of the cupholders, which won’t fit a big water bottle.

In the rear, there’s space enough for an adult to sit comfortably behind another adult, though it’s not the place for long journeys.

Strangely, there’s only one central vent control in the rear so only one passenger gets cool air or heat, plus there isn’t a great deal of storage. No armrest or cupholders for rear passengers, either.

Also noteworthy is the single-piece rear seat, which means if longer items need to be transported in the 401-litre boot, the whole rear seat must be folded down and the MG5 temporarily becomes a two-seater.

Under the boot floor is a space-saver spare, though, so bonus points for a more useful addition than a simple repair kit.

MG has managed to cram quite a bit into the MG5 for less than $25K drive-away in its Vibe entry-level variant.

More specifically, you’re forking out $24,990 to head off from the dealership in one, even with its missing active safety features, but we’ll come back to that.

In Vibe specification, the MG5 comes with 16-inch alloy wheels, auto LED headlights, a reversing camera and a tyre pressure monitor, while inside you’ll find a 10.0-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto capability (both wired) with four speakers for the sound system, as well as a push-button start, synthetic leather seats and three different selectable steering modes.

Stepping up to the Essence, which we’re testing here, costs $28,990 drive-away and adds a sunroof, a six-speaker sound system, electric seat adjustment for the driver, steering wheel paddle shifters - for a reason we’ll return to - and turns the rear-view camera into a surround-view parking camera.

The Essence is also visibly different on the outside thanks to slightly larger 17-inch alloys, auto-fold (when locked) side mirrors, and a grey grille insert rather than body-coloured.

On that, you can have white or yellow as no-cost paint colours in either MG5 variant, but metallic red, blue, black or grey are all $700 options.

All variants are powered by a 1.2-litre turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine that produces 82kW of power and 200Nm of torque.

This is mated to an Aisin-sourced six-speed torque-converter automatic transmission with drive sent to the front wheels only.

Both versions of the MG5 come with a 1.5-litre four-cylinder engine that drives the front wheels, but the similarities mostly end there.

In the entry-level Vibe, that engine is naturally aspirated and makes 84kW and 150Nm - similar to the MG3. Power is transferred to the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

In our Essence variant the engine is turbocharged and makes a suitably higher 119kW and 250Nm, driving the front wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Mahindra claims the XUV 3XO has a combined urban/extra-urban fuel consumption of 6.5L/100km.

During my testing, however, I achieved a real-world fuel consumption figure closer to 6.2L/100km, which is better than the claim.

All XUV 3XOs have a 42L fuel tank that Mahindra claims can take 91 RON regular unleaded petrol, but 95 RON premium unleaded petrol is recommended.

With my as-tested fuel consumption this means the theoretical driving range from a full tank of petrol is around 675km.

The naturally aspirated Vibe's official combined cycle fuel economy figure is 5.7 litres per 100km, while the turbocharged Essence drinks a little more at 5.9L/100km.

For comparison, Toyota claims its non-hybrid Corolla Sedan will sip 6.0L/100km, while a Mazda3 Sedan claims 6.1L/100km. Not bad, then, if you can keep it near MG’s claim.

During our testing, with a mix of city, suburban, highway, and rural driving, the MG5 Essence burned through 95 RON premium fuel at a rate of 9.1L/100km, checked at the pump, though I wouldn't expect this to be representative of normal, calmer day-to-day driving.

Behind the wheel, the Mahindra XUV 3XO feels refreshingly old-school.

The 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol engine does seem like it would be underpowered, but in practice it’s completely adequate. Peak torque comes on tap from 1500rpm so it doesn’t have to work too hard at all.

It’s fun hearing the noise the three-banger makes when under the boil. You don’t hear it much though because the revs are typically kept down low to minimise fuel consumption.

The key reason why this car feels old-school is the six-speed torque-converter automatic transmission. It’s nice to not drive an affordable everyday car that doesn’t have a continuously variable transmission (CVT) or dual-clutch automatic transmission as these can suck the life out of a car or be jerky.

The gear shifts in the Mahindra are sometimes docile, but are smooth and measured. It just operates like a regular car that doesn’t require you to rewire your brain to drive.

There are three drive modes to choose from. They’re hilariously called ‘Zip’, ‘Zap’ and ‘Zoom’. These correspond to Eco, Normal and Sport, respectively.

While I did eventually get used to driving in the ‘Zap’ mode, it felt a little snoozy at points, taking a beat or two to get the car accelerating with traffic. You can sidestep this with ‘Zoom’ which feels much more lively. If you activate cruise control or restart the car, though, it defaults back to ‘Zap’.

The XUV 3XO makes the most sense in the city where you’re able to use its tiny exterior dimensions to navigate tight urban carparks and narrow laneways with ease.

It almost became a challenge for myself to find the smallest parking spot I could slot this car into. As standard on this AX7L there are front and rear parking sensors, as well as a surround-view camera system.

Where this car is let down, however, is the steering feel. It’s incredibly light at low speeds and then as the speed builds it gets very heavy. So much so it feels like I’m getting an arm workout.

Unlike some of its rivals, there is still a semblance of feel through the steering wheel, but this drastic change from light to heavy steering weight is too stark. Somewhere in the middle would be nice please.

Something Mahindra is very good at is developing a comfortable suspension tune and this car is no different. It can tackle pimply urban road imperfections and speed bumps with no problems whatsoever.

Out on the open road this car surprised me. It feels like a much larger car than it actually is and doesn’t get blown around in the lane like small cars can.

The three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine remains confident at higher speeds, though if you frequently travel up hills the fuel consumption will skyrocket. There’s also a bit of road noise, which is to be expected when a car is this small.

For the most part the suspension does a fantastic job at rounding out road imperfections, but bigger bumps or potholes can unsettle the car. It’s not helped by the larger 17-inch alloy wheels.

Out in the twisties this tiny SUV is fairly agile. It’s not the sportiest thing out there by a vast degree, but it remains planted and solid even when pushed into harder corners.

Lastly, another point that makes this car feel old-school is the lack of obtrusive bings and bongs from the safety systems.

Sure the parking sensors can be a little over-the-top and the traffic sign recognition takes over the entire digital instrument cluster when it picks up a new speed limit, but having no driver attention monitor and intelligent speed limit assist is refreshing.

It’s not all perfect however as the lane-keep assist is too hands on for my liking. It activates from 60km/h and is quite overt in how it directs the car through bends.

Perhaps the biggest surprise about the MG5 is that it’s quite good to drive. And not just ‘for an MG’ or ‘for a car from China’. It’s actually good.

The turbocharged engine takes a moment to get going, and the dual-clutch can be a little hesitant off the mark.

The combo of the two means sometimes you need to plan your take off ahead of time - but in its above-3000rpm sweet spot, the Essence has a good bit of urgency to it.

That’s fortunately paired with a combination of comfortable suspension and a composed chassis, with well-weighted steering.

On urban roads and with a little awareness of the slow take-off, the MG5 is capable and well-suited to small roads, though it can be a little frustrating in stop-start traffic.

On the other hand, outside the confines of city driving, the small sedan is more dynamic than you might expect, able to get up to speed and comfortably overtake on highways, as well as handle corners on twisty roads confidently.

Potholes and rough sections of road don’t rattle the MG5 as much as you might expect from a car in this segment, though road noise can be a intrusive on coarse roads - of which Australia has many.

Dare I say it - the MG5 is rather fun.

Here’s the bit that might turn potential owners off the MG5. Or here aren’t the bits, more accurately.

The MG5 comes with a short list of safety features that amount to the minimum standard for a car to be sold in Australia.

That is, six airbags, autonomous emergency braking (AEB), anti-lock brakes (ABS) and electronic stability control (ESC).

MG also lists hill-hold under its safety features, as well as its active cornering brake control and auto door unlock and activation of hazard lights in case of an accident.

There are also ISOFIX and seat tether points for the outer rear seats.

The reverse camera in the Vibe is replaced by a surround-view camera in the Essence, though the visual quality of the feed leaves a bit to be desired.

Crucially, it’s missing a host of safety features that would be standard, or at least optional on a rival like the Toyota Corolla Sedan or Mazda3 Sedan, like steering assist, a pre-collision safety system, pedestrian detection, active cruise control and even lane departure alert.

Rear cross-traffic alert and blind-spot monitoring? Nope.

MG Australia CEO Peter Ciao told CarsGuide not long ago it’s about keeping the price of the car accessible for more customers, which means you’ll have to make your own call regarding whether it’s safe enough for you.

To that, ANCAP hasn’t crash tested the MG5, but if it did we wouldn’t expect it to score any higher than three stars.

While we don’t know how it would hold up in the area of crash protection, it lacks too much of the active safety gear that ANCAP expects of a maximum five- or even four-star car.

Like other current Mahindra models, the XUV 3XO is covered by a seven-year, 150,000km warranty with seven years of roadside assistance.

Logbook servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first, though the first service is required after 12 months or 10,000km.

The first seven services are capped-price and total $1994. This averages out to $284.85 per service.

MG offers a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty on the MG5 as with all its models - even electric cars. That also comes with roadside assist for the duration of the warranty, though only 160,000km is covered by the warranty if the car is used for commercial purposes.

Servicing prices for the MG5 range from $266 or $272 for the Vibe or Essence, respectively, up to $581 or $661 for the most expensive of the seven 10,000km/12-month scheduled services.

The total cost of servicing the Vibe over its seven years under capped-price servicing comes to $2661, or about $380 average per service. For the Essence, that bumps up to $2764 or an average of about $394 per service.