MG ZST vs Ford Endura

What's the difference?

Will the MG ZST Essence fit a small family? Absolutely, and all but the middle seat passenger will be comfortable but there are areas open for improvement. Like it's safety, laggy tech and adding a few extra items in the back seat.

Yet, it still offers a good host of features and an attractive package for a reasonable price tag. Unfortunately, my son missed having the basic amenities but did like the sun roof.

As much as I loved the Territory I have to say Ford’s Endura is a worthy replacement. This is an easy and enjoyable to drive, spacious, fuel efficient, safe SUV that’s great value with its big features list, long warranty and low servicing costs.

The sweet spot is the entry grade Trend as it get most of the equipment you'll find on the others, without paying more for bigger wheels or a sunroof.

Being the newer and shinier version of the ZS, the ZST presents as a nice little package with its full suite of LED exterior lights, shiny chrome accents and its well-shaped body.

The front is distinctively different from its design muse with a darkened grille, and redesigned fog lights that feature new air intake vents. Other highlights include the 17-inch two-tone alloy wheels with sporty red brake calipers lurking behind them.

The interior is pleasant with a massive sunroof creating a light-filled space and giving the illusion that the cabin is larger than it is.

The synthetic leather upholstery and trims seem robust and perfect for families, but also feel quite plasticky under hand. The red badge embossing on the headrests is lovely, though.

The dashboard is well-proportioned and headlined by an upgraded 10.1-inch touchscreen multimedia system and fully digital instrument cluster.

The gearshift feels a tad too skinny and tall for the general aesthetic but the circular air-vents add some cute personality.

Is seems there’s not a single photo out there of the Endura that actually shows this SUV as it truly looks when seeing it with your own eyes.

Profile images make it look like an SUV version of a Ford Mondeo, while front-on shots make it look big and tall like a Ford Escape on steroids. Watching the video that goes with this story will probably give you the most truthful view short of seeing one on the road for yourself.

It’s a good-looking SUV with tough styling at the front with a giant version of the grille worn by the whole Ford car family, to the more delicately designed tailgate.

There are three grades in the Endura range – the entry level Trend, the sporty mid-spec ST-Line and the Titanium at the top.

The ST-Line is the most recognisable thanks to its body kit, blacked out mesh grille and black roof rails. You can spot a Titanium by its sunroof and its bright-finish 20-inch alloy wheels.

So, what are the Endura’s dimensions? Well, at just over 4.8m long, almost 2.2m wide (including the wing mirrors) and a bit more than 1.7m tall the Endura is almost the same size as the beloved Territory, even the wheelbases are within 6.0mm of each other with the new SUV’s being 2.8m long.

Talking of the Territory, if you’re familiar with that Aussie SUV’s insides then you’ll feel at home in the cabin of the Endura because of the way the display is integrated into the dash.

Have a look at the interior images – how much does that look like the screen in the Territory? I’m not a big fan of the air vents either side of the screen, but the dash and the centre console are otherwise beautifully symmetrical in their placement of buttons and dials.

There are high-quality feeling materials in most places. Yes, there are some hard plastics such as on the glove box lid, but there are soft-touch plastics on the dash and also on the rear window sills where many carmakers seem to use what feels like recycled takeaway containers thinking you might not notice.

Oh, and then there’s the gear shifter, or as Ford calls it the ‘E-Shifter’. It’s a rotary dial for the automatic transmission, rather than a lever. It looks a bit alien but it feels like a premium piece of equipment.

The interior of the three grades are almost identical with all of them coming with the chrome effect trim lining the centre console and the glossy black plastic around the cupholders up front. The ST-Line has aluminium-face pedals and a perforated leather-wrapped steering wheel, while the Titanium gets illuminated metal front door scuff plates.

Really, the main difference to the interiors are the seats – the Trend has cloth upholstery, the ST-Line has a suede-like material with leather accents and the Titanium has part leather perforated seats. All upholstery is black.

As for paint colours, there are 10 to choose from including 'Agate Black', 'Blue Metallic', 'Baltic Sea Green', 'Burgundy Velvet', 'Ingot Silver', 'Oxford White', 'Ruby Red' and 'Stone Grey'.

Practicality is hurt by a lack of individual storage options and a back seat that has only two USB-A ports for its amenities.

The cabin space is spacious, though, and both rows have a decent amount of leg- and headroom despite the massive sunroof.

The steering wheel features height but not reach adjustment and to accommodate I have to sit much closer to the wheel than normal thanks to my poor little T-Rex arms.

Individual storage is the best up front with a small middle console and glove box, two cupholders and two drink bottle holders. The doors also feature large storage bins, which is great to keep the cockpit feeling neat.

The rear row gets two map pockets and a small storage bin in each door. There is also a (very) shallow storage nook at the back of the middle console… think a packet of gum or small wallet size.

My seven-year old isn't as comfortable in the rear because it lacks directional air vents, reading lights and a fold-down armrest. All items which will hinder an adult's comfort, too.

The boot space is a good size at 359L but you can bump it to 1187L with the rear seats folded, the backrest featuring a 60/40 split.

The height of the floor is adjustable and when set in the lowest position creates a deep well to tuck larger items, like luggage, into.

The hard cargo cover can be awkward to shift around or store but is otherwise out of the way when it counts.

Other amenities accentuate the premium-feeling the Essence is going for with the heated front seats and electric drivers seat offering well-padded comfort but on longer journeys, I miss having adjustable lumbar support.

The rear seats aren't as comfortable as the front only because the synthetic leather feels slippery, which is accentuated when you hit corners!

In terms of technology, you get two USB-A ports in each row but the front also gets a 12-volt port. You miss out on fast and wireless charging options.

The multimedia system looks great but can be sluggish to respond and the apps can be slow to load but I like the built-in satellite navigation.

The upgraded sound system has six speakers instead of four but the sound quality is a bit tinny with music and calls.

It was simple to connect to the wired Apple CarPlay. It also has Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity and AM/FM radio.

The Endura is longer than a Hyundai Santa Fe and shorter than a Mazda CX-8. The thing is both of those SUVs have seven seats, while the Endura has five. The only seven-seater SUV in Ford’s range is the Everest, which is a big off-roader.

If you don’t need the extra row, then you may see it as a bonus because not having folding seats back there means you’ve got decent boot space – 602 litres up to the cargo cover.

Legroom is also good in the back. I’m 191cm tall and have about 40mm of space between my knees and the seat back, while headroom even in the Titanium with its panoramic sun roof is ample.

As for storage in the cabin, there are four cupholders - two in the front and two in the back. A bottle holder in each door (which are on the small side), there’s a big centre console bin under the armrest, a storage tray under the dash, another one in front of the shifter and a covered dash-top area.

All Enduras come standard with two USB ports, three 12-volt outlets and a 230-volt outlet.

The Endura range starts at a list price of $44,990 for the front-wheel drive (FWD) Trend (add $4000 for the all-wheel drive version), steps up to the ST-Line in FWD for $53,990 (again add $4000 for AWD) and then there’s the $63,990 Titanium in FWD (yep, $4000 more for the all-paw).

The Trend is the base grade but it offers the best value with a giant standard features list. This includes: proximity key, power folding mirrors, 18-inch alloy wheels, rain-sensing wipers, LED headlights, LED DRLs and fog lights, LED tail-lights, dark-tinted rear windows, roof rails, dual exhaust tips, push button start, power adjustable driver’s (10-way) and front passenger seat (six-way), leather-clad steering wheel and paddle shifters, 10-inch screen covering the instrument cluster and dual-zone climate control.

Also coming standard is an 8.0-inch media screen, with sat nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Bluetooth connectivity, Ford’s 'Sync 3' media system and a nine-speaker stereo.

The ST-Line grade comes with all of those features and adds a 10-way power adjustable front passenger seat, heated and cooled front seats, a power hands-free tailgate and the sporty body kit mentioned under the design heading above.

The Titanium adds a panoramic sunroof (which means it loses the roof rails), heated second row seats and adaptive Bi-LED headlights.

The Essence variant has a 1.3-litre, three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with a maximum power output of 115kW and 230Nm of torque.

It's a front-wheel drive and features a six-speed auto transmission. Overall, it has enough power to keep up with traffic on the open road but you have to be firm with the accelerator to keep your speed consistent.

The Endura has a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel four-cylinder engine making 140kW of power and 400Nm of torque. That torque peak comes in low at 2000rpm which is where it’s most useful for towing and accelerating off the line.

Braked towing capacity for the Endura is 2000kg.

All Enduras have an eight-speed automatic and you can choose between front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive.

The official combined cycle fuel figure is 7.3L/100km and my real-world average came in at 7.7L. That is after a good mix of urban and open-road driving, so the usage is good.

Based on the combined fuel cycle and the relatively small 45L fuel tank, expect a driving range of around 616km.

The diesel engine and the eight-speed auto transmission make an efficient team with claimed fuel economy for the front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive being the same at 6.7L/100km over a combination of open and urban roads.

The launch saw me drive the Endura in Trend FWD, ST-Line AWD and Titanium AWD and the trip computers were reporting a couple of litres more than this, but this would certainly be because of the winding, hilly country roads, and the driver.

The Endura has a 64-litre fuel tank.

The ZST Essence has an okay amount of power relative to the car's small size.

It's an adequate cruiser when I ferry just my husband and son around, but feels a full load of luggage and people.

The steering is responsive and it's an easy car to manoeuvre in tight car parks or city streets, which is great. The visibility is pretty good despite the chunkier pillars and you feel confident when checking your blind-spots.

While the suspension is fairly forgiving and ride comfort is decent, you will still notice the bumps, especially when seated in the back.

The cabin suffers from some wind and road noise and at higher speeds we had to find we raise our voices a bit to be heard. Around town, you don't notice it.

This is just a personal preference but the brake and accelerator pedals are skinnier and more centrally positioned than I prefer. You get used to it, though.

The ZST is pretty easy to park and it's great that you have a 360-degree camera system but the image quality can be grainy. You get rear parking sensors, too, but miss out on ones at the front.

There’s lots of good news here. The diesel engine is quiet. The cabin is well insulated. Both of those combined saw me on one occasion press the start button not realising the engine was already running. That was in the FWD Trend grade, too. The ST-Line and Titanium have even better levels of insulation.

Steering is excellent – it’s weighted well, accurate, and it’s easy to turn the steering wheel in car parks or in three-point turns.

The ride is comfortable in all grades, but most of all in the Trend and Titanium, while the ST-Line has firmer sports suspension. But that makes it the most fun to drive in the corners where it handles impressively well for a 4.8m long SUV.

Visibility all-round is also outstanding. The side windows are large, the windscreen feels expansive with pillars that don’t get in the way, the dash is low and you sit quite high. While you are high up, the Endura doesn’t feel like a truck to drive. And that goes for the engine too, I’ve already mentioned how quite it is, but it’s smooth as well.

The engine could do with more grunt, though. There were times climbing hills in the overtaking lane that a bit more oomph would have made me feel a little less concerned that we weren’t going to make it past that semi-trailer before his lane ran out.

That was with two people on board and a couple of bags. The Trend FWD is the lightest at 1976kg while the Titanium AWD is 100kg heavier. That’s pretty heavy. The heaviest Mazda CX-9 (a bigger SUV with seven seats) for example weighs 1924kg. I wonder how the Endura would go fully loaded up with family and holiday gear, plus a boat on the back?

AWD or FWD? Well, they both use the same amount of fuel, so it just comes down to, can you afford it?

The FWD Trend I drove struggled for traction under harder acceleration from a standstill. The AWD ST-Line and Titanium I tested had no issues with traction at all. An AWD Trend is where I’d put my money.

Keep in mind the Endura isn’t an off-roader. The AWD system helps in the wet and on gravel, but its lowish ground clearance will prevent it from climbing anything more adventurous than a gutter. Unladen the AWD Endura’s belly hangs 193mm off the ground, while the FWD’s ground clearance is 186mm.

The Endura has scored the maximum five-star ANCAP rating. The level of advanced safety equipment in the Endura is mighty good. There’s AEB with pedestrian detection, evasive steering assistance, lane keep assistance, which will pull you back into the centre if you drift out, front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera.

A standout safety function is the traffic sign recognition system which when used in conjunction with adaptive cruise control will spot speed limit signs and adjust your speed to keep you on the right side of the law. Along with all that there are seven airbags, and of course, traction and stability control.

For child seats you’ll find three top tether anchor points and two ISOFIX mounts in the second row.

A space saver spare is under the boot floor.

The ZST Essence comes with a seven-year/unlimited km warranty, which is on par with coverage offered by a growing number of its rivals.

There is a seven-year or up to 70,000km servicing program for a total cost of $2339 or an average of $334 per service, which is very competitive for the class.

Servicing intervals are at every 12 months or 10,000km, whichever occurs first, but could be annoying if you travel a lot.

The Endura is covered by Ford’s five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. Servicing is recommended every 12 months or 15,000km and is capped at $299 for the first four services.