MG MGS5 EV vs Kia Stonic

What's the difference?

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.

Unlike a lot of rivals in this segment, the Stonic's actually quite a bit of fun to drive, and that alone earns it a tick from me.

Yes, it can feel underpowered in places, especially when you're trying to do high-speed overtakes or if you're on a really engaging road and on and off the accelerator. But just cruising around, the little powertrain gives you plenty to get around the city.

And I guess that is the point. This does feel like a very city-friendly vehicle, even if it is undeniably showing its age in places.

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

Note: The author, Andrew Chesterton, is a co-owner of Smart As Media, a content agency and media distribution service with a number automotive brands among its clients. When producing content for CarsGuide, he does so in accordance with the CarsGuide Editorial Guidelines and Code of Ethics (https://www.carsguide.com.au/ethics), and the views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author.

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.

I'm not gonna spend too much time on the exterior design, because from most angles it largely looks a lot like a Kia Stonic, right? The big exterior change occurred up front, where the old Kia 'face' was retired, and replaced with an LED-trimmed front-end more in keeping with modern Kia models.

It is a tale of good and bad in the cabin of the Stonic. The good is the fact that it all feels very familiar and very Kia, which isn't a bad thing.

Th bad is some of the door materials aren't just cheap and hard plastic, but they feel a bit flimsy in places as well. Same with the centre console plastics. There are some elements where you could definitely lift up the ambience in the interior.

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.

In the GT-Line trim, you get the twin screen setup, which looks sharp, and I do like Kia's multi-function control bar, which takes care of things like navigation and media on the one digital screen.

It really is feeling a little bit old school in places. There's no wireless phone mirroring, for example, so you need to plug in. And even then you need to plug in with a USB-A rather than a USB-C, despite having both plugs at your disposal.

The other thing is that the GT-Line is almost $36k before on-road costs. And there are places where it just doesn't feel like that much money.

It's a case of what you see is what you get in the back seat of the Stonic. And what you see is... not that much.

There are two USB-C ports in the more expensive trims. There are bottle holders in each of the doors, but no cup holders, and no pull-down seat divider. It is a fairly sparse back seat experience.

What you do get, however, is the luxury of space. Sitting behind my own 175cm driving position, I had absolutely no problem with knee room and no problem with head room. In fact, even as an almost full-size adult, I reckon I could sit back there pretty comfortably, even on longer road trips.

The big news is the addition of a 48-volt mild hybrid system, and that 48-volt battery is under the boot floor. But because it's hidden under a flat partition, it actually doesn't impact boot space.

Kia is still claiming 352 litres with the rear seats in place and 1155 litres with the rear seats folded flat. You do, however, miss out on some under-boot storage. And there's no spare wheel to speak of, just a tyre repair kit.

You can have your Stonic in three flavours, the S, Sport and GT-Line, with retail pricing stepping from $28,180, to $32,290, to the range-topping $35,740 respectively.

The S is pretty basic in terms of kit, riding on 16-inch alloys, nabbing LED lights and daytime running lights, cloth seats, manual air-con and a six-speaker stereo. Tech comes via an 8.0-inch central screen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto (but make sure you pack a USB-A cable to make it work, which feels very old school), as well as a 4.2-inch driver display and a smart key with push-button start.

The Sport packs in plenty more. Your alloys are now 17 inches, you get LED front fog lights, and your cloth seats now have synthetic leather trim. You also get centre console storage, single-zone climate control, a better feeling steering wheel and shifter, and rain-sensing wipers. You also get a bigger 12.0-inch central screen, extra USB-C ports and access to the Kia Connect app and over-the-air updates.

Finally, the GT-Line rides on a unique 17-inch alloy wheel design, and nabs a sunroof, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel and ambient interior lighting. It gets the full Kia twin-screen treatment, with two 12.3-inch displays handling infotainment and driving data, and you get a wireless charger.

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.

All Stonics get the same powertrain. A clever three-cylinder, 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with 48-volt mild hybrid assistance. That means 88kW and 172Nm (up from 74kW). It has a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.

We don’t have an official zero-to-100km/h time, but I’m estimating in excess of 10 seconds.

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.

The 48-volt system helps drop both fuel use and C02 emissions, with the Stonic pegged at 5.0L/100kms on the combined cycle and 116g/km for emissions, both of which are lower numbers than the last model.

The Stonic’s 45-litre tank could theoretically deliver a circa-900km driving range.

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.

It is a really interesting drive proposition, this Stonic.

First and foremost, it does feel really well sorted in places. The steering has a nice weight to it. It's nice and direct. The ride is comfortable. It can get a little bit crashy over the harsher bumps, which actually isn't all that common in Kia products – like if you hit a cat's eye at speed, for example, you can definitely feel it in the cabin – but generally it's an engaged and comfortable drive.

Similarly, going around corners, even at speed, there's not a huge amount of body roll. The tires grip up pretty well, and it's really not a bad thing to throw around corners.

Where it gets interesting, though, is in its power delivery. At city speeds, so 50 or 60km/h, it's nice and easy and quiet. If you're gentle with the accelerator, and patient, it accrues speed in quite a calm, considered manner, without feeling overly sluggish.

Where it does start to fall apart a little bit, which is when you're at speed, say on a freeway for example, and you pull out to overtake and really plant your foot, and find there's really not a lot there. It can mean overtaking takes a lot longer than you might think. 

If you're on a really challenging road and you're kind of on the gas, on the brakes, on the gas and on the brakes, it can feel a little bit wheezy and uncertain, too, which is no doubt a byproduct of that relatively tiny powertrain.

We're definitely not talking rocket ship acceleration, and nor is it all that quiet in the cabin when you really start to wring its neck, which you will do occasionally.

But I think I've really stepped away from what this vehicle is supposed to be and what it's supposed to do. If you are easy with the accelerator, it can be a really calm, quiet cabin experience. And if you do find yourself on a twisting road, it actually sits and grips better than you might be thinking as well.

But there is no doubt the Stonic shines brightest in the city.

There’s no immediate plan to crash test the new Stonic, meaning its five-star rating has now expired.

All models get things like lane keeping assist with lane follow assist, and blind spot collision avoidance and front and rear parking sensors. The S also gets auto emergency braking (AEB) with car, pedestrian and cyclist avoidance, but the Sport and GT-Line both add junction turning to the system.

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.

The Stonic is covered by Kia’s seven-year unlimited-kilometre warranty, with capped-price servicing covering the warranty term.

Servicing is required every 12 months or 10,000kms, and all seven services will set you back $3780 combined.