MG5 Touring Wagon With 214 Mile Range (WLTP) Available In UK Q4 2020 For Under £24,000

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MG Motor will bring the MG5 full battery electric touring wagon (or ‘estate car’ as the Brits say) to the UK starting from the fourth quarter 2020. With a WLTP rated range of 214 miles, and an outstanding 7 year warranty, the price of £23,995 (after incentives) seems like a great value. Will it share the success of its pioneering sibling, the MG ZS EV, and become one of UK’s best selling full electric vehicles?

MG5 EV. Image Courtesy: MG

Just as a reminder, the MG5’s existing compact SUV sibling, MG ZS EV (from £25,495 after incentives) has been an instant hit in the UK. In the first half of 2020 it grabbed the country’s 3rd best selling full battery electric vehicle (BEV) spot:

MG have also achieved decent results with the ZS EV elsewhere in Europe. Year to date, it’s the #5 best selling BEV in the Netherlands, and the #10 best selling BEV in Norway.

MG ZS EV. Image Courtesy: MG

Against this context of quick success for their first offering, the company’s upcoming MG5 EV should also make a strong contribution to Europe’s clean transport revolution.

It will be the first touring wagon BEV on sale in Europe, a vehicle style which remains very popular in the region, despite the growth in SUVs and CUVs.

VW Golf Estate. Image Courtesy: Volkswagen

The entry price of £23,995 after incentives is almost an exact match for the UK price of the similarly sized Volkswagen Golf estate (pictured above) powered by a combustion engine. Those are the sticker prices, but the lifetime fuel cost of the two, even based on a modest 150,000 total lifetime miles, does not compare.

Indexed to current fuel prices, the Golf will cost owners £1,330 in fuel per 10,000 miles, so ~£20,000 in fuel alone over that 150,000 mile lifetime use – almost doubling the cost over sticker price. The MG5 on the other hand will cost under £4,000 in energy for the same 150,000 lifetime mileage, and much less if charged on cheap overnight electricity. That’s a lifetime saving of at least £16,000 or well over £1,000 per year for a typical UK driver.

To let the outdated combustion technology save some face, we won’t add the cost of all the other fluids, filters, spark plugs, fan belts, and all the other maintenance parts and labour associated with combustion engines. Legacy automakers make most of their profit from precisely these substantial and unavoidable costs that a combustion vehicle sucks from its owner’s pockets.

Added to the savings from avoiding these fuel and maintenance costs, not to mention annual road tax savings (and other perks) for zero emissions vehicles, the MG also has far longer manufacturer’s warranty cover. The Golf comes with a 3 year standard warranty in the UK. The MG5 comes with a 7 year warranty:

MG5 EV. Image Courtesy: MG

Whilst not offering the very longest range in the EV world, the MG5’s 214 miles (WLTP rating) is pretty great at this price point, and will cover a week’s worth of average commuting from a single charge. The DC fast charging (around 50 minutes to recover from 0% to 80%, or likely ~45 minutes from 10% to 80%) whilst not the fastest, will be comfortably adequate for folks who only take longer journeys a few times a year, and are happy to take a meal break along the way. One such half-time rest stop should enable the MG5 to make a 300 mile (~500 km) trip without breaking a sweat, be it London to Newcastle, or Birmingham to Edinburgh.

With 156bhp and 192 lb ft available from its electric motor, the MG5 is plenty fast for an estate car this price point, at 7.7 seconds to 62 mph. Autocar has more details of the MG5’s technical specifications, and you can visit the MG5’s preview website at MG Motor UK to register your interest. If you are in the market for an affordable estate car, and have an accessible plug at home, or at work, or elsewhere nearby, the MG5 looks like a complete no-brainer.

Taking all the above factors into account, and particularly the remarkable price point, I foresee the MG5 succeeding very well in the UK, and thereafter succeeding in the Netherlands, Norway and elsewhere in Europe.

What do you think? Are you in Europe, and can you see yourself getting in to the MG5 electric vehicle? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

 


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Dr. Maximilian Holland

Max is an anthropologist, social theorist and international political economist, trying to ask questions and encourage critical thinking. He has lived and worked in Europe and Asia, and is currently based in Barcelona. Find Max's book on social theory, follow Max on twitter @Dr_Maximilian and at MaximilianHolland.com, or contact him via LinkedIn.

Dr. Maximilian Holland has 416 posts and counting. See all posts by Dr. Maximilian Holland