Mini 3D Hatch vs MG ZS

What's the difference?

Coincidence is a funny thing. The same week I had the Mini Cooper S 60 Years, the last VW Beetle rolled down the line in Mexico. VW blamed its mammoth €25bn investment in electric, but the reality is that nobody was buying that nostalgia trip anymore.

The story of Mini is quite different. BMW's aggressive expansion of the range beyond the three-door hatch has breathed all sorts of life into a brand that could have disappeared up its own Union Jack. Instead of sticking to the formula, the brand tried all sorts of things but has since settled on the hatch (three- and five-door), the Cabrio, the wacky Clubman semi-wagon and the Countryman SUV. BMW is now making lots of cars on the same platform, a nice two way street.

The Mini Cooper S is 60 years old and unlike the Beetle, it's powering on past its birthday and the company - no stranger to a special edition - has slapped together a classic combo of colours, stripes and badges.

The MG ZS stands as a firm favourite with Aussie small SUV buyers, in a close-fought arm wrestle with the Hyundai Kona and Mitsubishi ASX for supremacy in a cut-throat competitive part of the new-car market.

Launched here in late 2017, and updated in 2020, MG subsequently added the ZS EV before launching this new-gen version in late 2024. It has initially been offered in hybrid and naturally aspirated petrol versions to maintain its position at the pointy end of the sales race. However, there’s nothing like a turbo model to add some extra spice to your compact SUV line-up. 

And that’s what we have here, the ZS Essence Turbo, a punchy, keenly-priced addition to MG’s local range. Stay with us to see if it has enough boost pressure to muscle its way onto your new-car short list.