Test Drive | MG 5 Scorpio: What an ANCAP 0 star car is really like

For many people outside China the MG 5 is an electric wagon, but what’s known in Europe as the MG 5 is in fact a rebadged Roewe Ei5. The real MG 5 is actually a small compact sedan and the car is not only known as this in China but in a number of other markets including Australia. Late last year we brought you a story about how this car got tested by ANCAP and achieved a big fat zero for safety. So what is an ANCAP 0 car actually like?

The current MG 5 is the second generation car with the first generation MG 5 being a Golf sized hatchback that looked somewhat like a Toyota Auris. Introduced in 2012 it never did well and MG didn’t dare take it to the UK, the car died an early death in 2016.

European and Chinese versions of the MG 5 are much more closely related than many realize, it is not just the name that’s shared. The common denominator is a rather anonymous looking petrol powered sedan called the Roewe i5. Both the i5 and Ei5 were launched around 2018 with the Ei5 being an electric wagon version. In electric form the Ei5 immediately found customers from taxi companies and ride-hailing schemes whereas the i5 sedan struggled to gain much in the way of sales.

By 2020 SAIC were beginning to work out that there needed to be some difference between Roewe and MG for the Chinese market and so they had a brain wave, to make MG look more sporty! One of the first cars to benefit from this was the new second generation MG 5 which despite being based on the Roewe i5 actually looked quite attractive when shown at the 2020 Beijing Auto Show.

“The MG 5 is for young people who haven’t much money but want to show off their personality and aesthetic taste” said Shao Jingfeng, SAIC Motor Technical Center’s Vice President of Design.

Most noticeably this translated into a new grille and large MG badge utilizing the third generation of the MG frontal design language. More pronounced styling lines on the sides together with more muscular haunches added to the look. At the back the car got a more coupe like angle to the roofline flowing into the back making the car very much the replacement for the MG GT, which was essentially a sedan version of the first generation MG 5. Such