MG MG5 vs Nissan LEAF

What's the difference?

MG has a knack for bucking market trends. The MG3 hatch currently makes up more than a quarter of the brand’s sales at a time when the ‘light car’ category is in gradual decline. Electric cars are too expensive? Here comes the MG4 for less than $40K.

So is this, the MG5, here to resuscitate the sedan? A market segment that’s on the way to flatline here in Australia (aside from the Tesla Model 3's relatively niche appeal)?

If it does, it’s going to do it the same way MG has before. Low pricing. Both MG5 variants come in at less than $30K drive-away and convincingly undercut rivals… but at what cost?

MG delivers a strong value proposition with its small sedan, but it largely only comes with the essential safety features needed to be sold in Australia.

Does the MG5 bring enough to the table to be worth considering without common active safety features like lane-keep assist or rear cross-traffic alert? Let’s find out.

Here in 2021, it finally seems like Australia is ready to adopt electric cars, with interest on the rise and many, many new models of various shapes and sizes on the horizon.

Nissan, though, has been quietly chipping away at the EV market with its Leaf, which first launched in Australia way back in 2012 and was then refreshed with a new-gen model in mid-2019.

But even the latest Leaf is beginning to look a little dated compared to the likes of the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5, so what is Nissan to do?

Introduce the new Leaf e+ of course, which features a larger battery for increased driving range, as well as a more potent electric motor for peppier performance.

But is the Nissan Leaf e+ the electric car to buy?