A brightly painted sedan with a familiar vintage nameplate.
Early Sunday mornings, I have been passing by this bright yellow car. While the shape and overall look of it – outside of the color choice- is not particularly eye-catching, I did note the large front badge this week. Here in the U.S., MGs are thought of as old two-seat sports cars. While MG made a variety of sedans over the years, and imported some of them to the U.S. (think of the MG 1100 and MG 1300 in the 1960s), the memory of the average American car guy is of the 2-seaters, which were somewhat current in the early 1960s, and hopelessly outdated at the end of their run by 1979-1980. That was about 45 years ago, and younger car guys may not have heard of an MG at all.
The MG brand is currently owned by the Chinese automaker SAIC, which manufactures cars (over 5 million per year) under the MG nameplate and a host of other brands that Americans have never heard of, as well as joint ventures, of which the most notable are SAIC-General Motors and SAIC-Volkswagen. Joint ventures cover about half of SAIC’s annual car production, and their own brands cover roughly the other half.
The rear of the car wears another prominent MG octagon, along with the emblem (difficult to read the first part in chrome) “MG GT”, and a license plate that was issued in Baja California, Mexico.
How do I know this is an MG GT, and where it came from (as MGs are not imported to the U.S.)? The back of the car tells all. These have been imported to Mexico (while being manufactured in China and Thailand), beginning in the Spring of 2022. This could be anything between a 2022 car and a 2024, but I am splitting the difference and calling it a 2023. The specifications are the same for the entire run, so far.
Internally, the car is called an “MG 5”, and is sold under that name in Asia and Australia, while it goes under the name “MG GT” in Mexico, the Middle East, and the Philippines. The current iteration of the MG 5 was first introduced in China in 2020, and represents the second generation of a car that first saw the production light of day in 2012, under the internal name “AP12”.
Like the MGs of old, this car manages to sneak the octagon into all sorts of places. On this car, one will find the octagons on the wheel centers.
Is this car a worthy vehicle, or is it simply a badge-engineered clunker? The car is built with both an aluminum block-and-head, 1.5 liter, 4 valve, dual overhead cam engine, producing 118 horsepower, and a turbocharged version producing 171 horsepower. This engine is a variant of GM’s worldwide small gasoline engine (“SGE”) program. We know this bright yellow (called “nuclear yellow” in the color palette of this car) MG GT is the turbo version, as only the turbos are imported to Mexico. The drivetrain includes a 7-speed dual-clutch transmission (“DCT”), which involves a quick-shifting automatically operated gear change, typically with an option for paddle-shifting, without a clutch pedal, by the driver. While this car had window blinds on all four sides of the car (I have not seen that before; perhaps it is a thing done in Mexico), internet screen grabs don’t show any obvious shift paddles.
A screen shot of an MG GT interior. All the latest electronic gauges and a centrally-mounted flat-screen. As per the days of old, the MG octagon is prominent in the steering wheel center. I don’t see any obvious paddle-shifters, but they may be there.
An internet screenshot shows the MG GT engine room. It carries the typical plastic cover and the usual transverse engine beside the battery, along with the turbo manifolding out front.
The car has a solid reputation in the “fun to drive” and “appearance” departments (as currently defined), along with reasonable comfort, power (at least when one gets the turbo), and reliability. Where the car does fall down, and one reason why we may not see these cars anytime soon, is the safety score. These cars score very low on occupant safety, relative to other cars, despite all the seatbelts, airbags, and so on, as the car is currently equipped. Some of it is real-world experience, and part of it is the minutiae of regulator expectations as to seat belt inertia reel functionality, and similar arcane issues. It is likely a fundamental redesign would be necessary to engineer a car that would meet the current U.S. demands for occupant safety. Nevertheless, the sight of a new bright yellow “MG” is not a common sight in the U.S., and as an MG enthusiast, it warms my heart to see the brand carried on, even if it is in a different form than one thinks of, recalling past MGs.
The bright yellow color, along with the big MG octagon on the radiator grill, are what first caught my eye. Learning more about the car did not disappoint, as it appears to be a worthy iteration of the fun, yet not too fancy or expensive ride, which has typically been the essence of MG ownership.
Excellent find! Styling reminds me of the departed 2012 Dodge Dart. Only, the Dart had a more palatable nose. And a more interesting rear. And a less fussy interior. The Dart even looked more sophisticated.
I liked those a lot but I guess the car really wasn’t all there.
My buddy got one in HS from his parents. It’s been mostly trouble free for eight years now, even being (barely) maintained on a shoestring budget. I thought for sure it would have thrown a rod boy now. As you said, though, there’s no real substance to it. It’s loud, the ride is crashy, the interior is mediocre, it’s quite tight on the inside despite being big for it’s class, and the engine has zero charisma. It has a bizarre, fruity exhaust note that only amplifies how hard the little 2.0 is struggling to pull all that weight. Maybe the higher-trim models are better, idk. I would give the sporty model a try.
MG is now Mao Garage. SIAC can produce 5 million vehicles a year that is a lot capacity. The over capacity of China manufactures will be a big problem for the trade war that already happens between China and US.
Mao Garage – it fits and made me smile, sadly
Funny thing is, these MG saloons aren’t even available in the UK! Probably no loss to be fair as they tend to be badge engineered Chinese crap boxes, being marketed under the history of a brand that it’s owners don’t really care for. Unfortunately a lot of people still think they’re British cars. The only thing vaguely British is the badge.
Granted, I’ve had a few badge engineered MG’s in the past, Metro, ZR, ZS, but they were actually decent, with good bones.
My first thought was that it was yet another slice from the “authenticity” Chinese buyers seek in legacy foreign brands to see a fixed rear window with the trunk opening below it on a body shape that looks like it should be, and if it had been designed for European markets would be, a hatchback.
It’s my understanding the Chinese like Americans prefer trunked sedans rather than five doors.
By coincidence, on my way to Sainsburys, I saw an MG4 EV in the same colour this morning.
https://www.mg.co.uk/new-cars/mg4-ev
After a very slow start they have been growing their UK market share quite a bit, first with their SUV ZS and HS models and now their growing electric range.
MG is gaining a strong reputation in the UK for its EVs. They are getting good reviews in the press and certainly seem to represent good value. One sees quite a few on the roads there now….
Thanks for a great essay on a car that we do not see stateside. VROOM!
Tangential to paul_c’s point, which I figured would come up but I didn’t want to address it directly in the body of the post, is this really an MG? Does it matter? I suspect a majority, but not nearly all, of the MG aficionados would reject this car. Abingdon, old-school car production, and all that, is not to be found, and the brand and nameplate (and the Octagon!!!) is being exploited half way around the world, by a car company having no history with MG.
I’m not sure how much the MG brand actually resonates with the British car people, not being British myself. MG was part of the automotive landscape, until it wasn’t. Things change and people move on.
Being a bystander to this yellow car, and not sharing in the ownership or driver’s experience (which may be anything from good to horrible), I truly have mixed feelings about it. At first glance, it is not an MG as I think of it, and it appears to be a very generic car, mechanically and visually, without the badges. Furthermore, it is an ordinary form of generic, indistinguishable, visually and mechanically, from every other ordinary, generic car, except for the bright color.
So the bright yellow paint job and the MG badges are the only obvious distinguishing features. Well, these days, maybe that needs to be enough. Thinking back on the array of MGs produced over the roughly 50 year first life of the brand, many saloons were typically slightly tweaked or repackaged ordinary cars. They were generally not too expensive, they didn’t have the most outstanding performance, and the cars were often liked and enjoyed, but not typically loved. The cars served their purpose at the time, but were not very special cars, in the eyes of most. Many owners had MGs for a while, and then moved on to something else.
There is a spectrum of heritage badge engineering going on. Stellinatis puts “Willys” emblems on the edge of the hood on some of its Jeeps. Willys is long gone, but the new vehicle is a Jeep, with all of what a Jeep is generally about, so it is mostly OK, as far as I am concerned. The other day, I drove by the local Ford dealer, and they had a full-size pickup truck slathered with racing stripes and huge “Shelby” logos. No, just no. Stop it, Ford. This MG lands somewhere between the two, to my eyes.
Thanks for taking pictures and writing this car up. I occasionally see Mexican vehicles in Virginia, but rarely anything that’s not available in the US.
As for the heritage badge engineering, I’ve become ambivalent. So many once-significant brands have been reused (not just cars, but other consumer products as well), that whatever annoyance I used to feel towards this sort of stuff has been blunted. With this MG, I just find it enjoyable to read about a car that’s new to me.
I tend to agree with you, dutch 1960. My immediate reaction is ‘This isn’t an MG!’. But then, at what point do we draw the line about what is/isn’t a real MG? A business/management type would be of the opinion that they bought the name therefore it was an MG, case closed. Personally I disagree, as I see no connection between these and the original company save the badge. An MG nut from way back might draw the line at when Abingdon closed, or when production went offshore, to name but two possibilities. As an Aussie I find myself subconsciously accepting the MGs I’m familiar with (sold here until the early seventies, and then briefly the mid-engine MGF) and being, um, ambivalent shall we say, about the post-74 cars I’ve never seen in the metal. In doing so I realise I’m consigning some excellent cars to ‘limbo’. And also including some awful Austin-based wobblers.
Deciding what to include as a ‘real MG’ isn’t easy.
I have an older friend who recently bought a new MG ‘because it was British’. I didn’t have the heart to tell him it’s Chinese now.
And let’s face facts, the MGB-GT was a so-typical product of its time. Supposedly, that forever slightly-awkward roofline was a result of disagreements and last minute sneakiness, stuff that couldn’t happen in somewhere well-managed. And the machine itself wasn’t really something for celebration, what with lever-arm dampers all ’round, leaf springs aft, and an unadvanced (but admittedly tuneful and tunable) pushrod lump powering it mildly along. Pre-war MG snobs didn’t even consider the B or GT to be anything other than some piece of dross, back when.
In a global world, this MG is about as MG as an MG ever was, a modded/shorter/roofless/or just sportier plain car (as the source Morrie once was). In that way, it’s entirely legit.
I have to say, I never quite got why the local distributors in Oz never exploited the old brand. There was surely just enough communal memory to do so, as a sporty name(ish) if nothing else.
I have fond memories of my MGs and even tho it’s a scary (I’m being sarcastic here) Chinese car, I’d at least go for a test drive.
What was MG? Sure you first think of the likes of the MGB and the MGA, but they always built sportier versions of mundane saloon cars, which is pretty much exactly what SAIC is doing with the brand today.
And funny how somebody said these are rebadged “crap boxes”. First, they are not, these are purposedly styled from the ground up as MG vehicles, and they are, in my opinion, always among the best looking cars on their segments. And second, what was MG back in the day, if not a rebadge of whatever Morris or Leyland were putting out at the time?
Chinese MG are stylish, affordable, honest cars with improving quality and distinctive styling. Are they true MG? Probably not. But are much better than the brand could have ever waited for. They are finding thousands of loving homes instead of being another dead old brand like much of the old British car industry.
Looks like if you put “2020 civic” in an AI generator and threw some MG badges on it
The MG HS was the best selling car in the UK for a while in 2023 and the brand ended the year in the #11 spot, so it would appear that Brits have long gotten over the idea that MGs must come for Abingdon.
They’re selling on their value proposition, which is very compelling, and not on nostalgia for the classic MGs of yore.
An odd name, but there is something more recognisably ‘MG’ in the form of a new roadster coming this Summer.
https://www.mg.co.uk/new-cars/mg-cyberster
The first new open top MG since the mid engined TF. But is there much of a market for them now?
Cyberster may well be the most affected car name I ever heard.
The awkwardly opening Lambo doors take be back to when that was a thing to mod cars with in 2003, I wonder if it has a spinner wheel option while they’re at it
Not exactly my early ’74 B (chrome bumpers).
Dave
Oh! Now that’s my idea of an “MG”.
I now reside in the Philippines where the ride share service is called Grab.
I will NOT drive in Metro Manila so my car owning days are over.
I called for a ride back in October and one of these modern MGs shows up.
Poor choice for this duty, I thought to myself, this business is dominated by Toyota, for obvious reasons .Isn’t this thing Chinese? Well, the vibes from my negative thoughts must have cursed my ride because we got into a fender bender with a mini-bus type Jeepney, waylaying my journey for a good while.
A fender bender in Manila? At the pace that traffic moves at? I have never driven in Manila either but I have taken countless taxi rides in Manila starting in 1990. I have never seen a fender bender despite the fact that 1 lane is turned into three and two lanes are turned into six in some places like EDSA (C-4) and Rojas when heading out to the airport.
It was more of a low speed sideswipe, the minibus turned into the side of the car and the forward motion of the car creased it down the side. Of course they had to argue over for hours, and the minibus had no damage other than a paint scuff on the bumper that could be cleaned off with compound. Naturally, he was trying to shake down the Grab driver for a couple hundred for it, even though it was clearly the larger vehicles fault.
Luckily Manila’s finest didn’t see it so they could get involved.
Oh they were…they were called and I ended up at the station as a witness…didn’t get home for hours
looks like a “Honda” or “Mazda”.
+1 and all the other generics today. The only reason I’d give a second look is because of the color. I’d walk by it and say to myself not that is a color you rarely see and then keep on going. Try as it might the picture of an MG is ingrained in my memory and that isn’t it.
FWIW ;
Yellow and Orange vehicles kind of grow on you after a while (similar to fungus I guess) .
This thing _says_ MG so it must be one .
If they’re selling, good on them .
I had older MG’s, a ’52 TD and a ’67 MK II MGB GT, both were decent cars, I ran them hard as I tend to do, after I’d gone through them and fixed all the silly things caused by lack of any initial QC, they were reliable too .
This thing will either sink or swim, no biggie either way .
-Nate
Nice article, however the MG 5 is sold in Mexico as the brand’s price leader ranging in price from US$17,450 to US$18,880.
https://www.mgmotor.com.mx/fv/#
It uses the same 1.5 engine as the Chevrolet Aveo. There are quite a few MG 5’s in Mexico City as well as their SUVs
Tin foil hat conspiracy theory, MG spelled backwards is GM.
MG’s are all over the joint here in Oz, and why not? They’re cheap, and reportedly perfectly effective transport in their various class sizes. Hell, there’s every chance I’ll end up with one soon, when my 20+y.o. Euro littlie throws up its last fault code. However…
Please note the next part of my comment is about the current governmental system of China, and not, NOT, the Chinese people, who were mostly millennia in advance of the West long before it decided it invented everything. Besides, actual racism is a horrible poison in the history of everything.
I will struggle to buy my next car from China – but probably will have little choice, financially – because I know as a car nut that what got the industry in China to where it is was theft, and on a scale hard to imagine. This isn’t speculation, but an actually visible phenomenom of products made. Famously, Honda tried to sue for utterly obvious copyright infringement in Chinese courts, and lost. I don’t believe that any maker has tried on the same grounds since.
Has America (read: Australia, England, Europe powers, etc) behaved any better in the great past? There are arguments to say “not”, especially when it comes to treatment of less powerful world players, and in more profoundly significant ways than just industry.
But still, I do struggle. Does feel a little like willing capitulation.
Many UK buyers of current MGs (HS, ZS, 4 EV and 3) will recognise the name from the past (we could buy a British built MG of some sort up to 2005) but will also either know or not be surprised to learn they are built overseas, albeit with a UK engineering input on some models.
Most European brands currently sold in Europe and the UK are quite likely to have been produced outside their “home nation” – American Mercedes, BMW, Thai and Indian Dacias, Spanish and Romanian Fords, Korean Renaults, Chinese (not Swedish) Polestars and Volvos, Slovakian Land Rovers, Polish Fiats ……..the list goes on.
The only UK names built in the UK are Mini and Range Rover, and then the high end low volume brands. Our biggest producer is Nissan.
The CC effect is strong. Didn’t know theses existed until this post. Yesterday I was in Juárez for work, and saw the exact car, same color, on the street.
Late here, but nice find! We’ve got quite a number of new MGs available here in New Zealand, but this one’s not one of them. The front end looks pretty good, the rest looks vaguely Hondaish. MG does well in New Zealand, being the 6th best-selling car brand for 2023, with the electric ZS SUV being the 8th best-selling vehicle last year.