MG MGS5 EV vs Mercedes-Benz X220

What's the difference?

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.

If there was a feeling at Stuttgart that any vehicle displaying a three-pointed star could do no wrong, the X-Class should be a wake-up call. It's a vehicle that appears to have drawn a line in the sand in terms of what people are prepared to accept as an authentic Mercedes-Benz.

Sure, the fastest and cheapest way into the booming dual-cab ute segment was to piggy-back an existing player, in this case the D23 Nissan Navara, as M-B has a tech-share agreement with the huge Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi alliance. The Navara/X-Class relationship is similar to Ford Ranger/Mazda BT-50 or Isuzu D-Max/Holden Colorado.

But we are talking Mercedes-Benz here. Given the high esteem in which the German marque is held and its pre-eminent off-road heritage, with icons like the Unimog and G-Wagen, the end result has fallen short of understandably high expectations. It's even built in a Nissan plant. Put simply, it over-promised and under-delivered.

However, are perceptions of the X-Class being a rush job or little more than a badge-engineered Navara fair or accurate? We recently put the work-focused entry-level X-Class to work in our search for answers.