MG Mg4 Urban vs MG MGS5 EV

What's the difference?

MG needs a win, and the MG4 Urban may be the right car at the right time to give the Chinese brand a major boost.

It has been a rough few years for MG, with sales in decline for the past two years, which has seen it tumble from Australia’s favourite Chinese car maker to a distant fourth place behind BYD, GWM and Chery. 

Part of that could be because of its rapid expansion, both in terms of its total number of models but also the size of the vehicles it’s offering. The larger QS SUV and U9 ute have both received underwhelming responses from the car-buying public.

So, MG has returned to its roots - small, affordable cars. The MG4 Urban, not to be confused with the MG4 Hatch, is its new price-leading electric car and the company’s new management hopes it leads a sales revival.

MG’s latest electric vehicle has arrived in Australia. The MG S5 EV replaces the super popular MG ZS EV. But don’t think of the MG S5 EV as just a replacement because if first impressions ring true this small budget electric SUV could be the new benchmark for the class. 

The arrival could not be better timed. A multitude of new Chinese brands have been landing in Australia with small affordable electric SUVs such as the BYD Atto 3, Chery Omoda E5 and Zeekr X, while the MG ZS EV was getting older and uncompetitive even if its price was almost unbeatable. 

Now the S5 EV has landed and our first impressions show it to be outstanding. We’ve tested it and can tell you how well it stacks up against the ZS EV and after you read this review you'll also know how well it may compare to its small budget electric SUV rivals.