China Watch : The first MG5 renderings emerge in China

Adam Sloman

With the MG6 due for UK launch this Autumn and the MG3 due for its Chinese launch around the same time, attention is now turning to the next MG and these renderings offer a suggestion of what we can expect.

The new car, which is being referred to as the MG5, will most likely be based on the recently-launched Roewe 350, just as the MG6 is based on the Roewe 550.

This medium-sized car will be thrown into one of the most fiercely contested market segments here in the UK – likely facing off against leading C-segment contenders such as the Ford Focus, Vauxhall Astra and Volkswagen Golf – and will be much closer in size to the 2001-2005 MG ZS.

These renderings, which appear courtesy of China Car Times, blend the looks of the MG Zero’s lower grille and the 6’s front end styling but replace the 350’s saloon styling with a more UK-friendly hatchback, similar in appearance to the Mitsubishi Lancer hatch.

The 350, launched earlier this year in China, is powered by MG parent SAIC Motor’s new 1.5-litre engine (which bears no relationship to the N-Series engine), while inside the car is packed with technology, featuring a user interface powered by Google’s Android operating system which gives the driver real-time traffic news updates as well as Internet access.

It’s anticipated the new MG will get a concept unveiling at the Guangzhou Auto Show this December ahead of a Chinese launch in April, 2011.

63 Comments

  1. Sorry, but these renderings do not float my boat. Look at ithe MG5’s rivals such as the new Alfa Romeo Giulietta, Volvo C30 and even the Vauxhall Astra – these are offerings that dare to flaunt design flair, yet do not compromise too much on practicality.

    There has to be more to new MG models than just the perceived superficial appeal of the octagon badge or relying on the ongoing support from dyed-in-the-wool enthusiasts from the mafia that is the two MG Clubs. MGs need to be distinctly exciting and European in design, not as if they are inspired by the Far East which is the case with the MG6. Try again please.

  2. It’s not for me – it would’nt look out of place with a Chevrolet or Kia badge on it. Nothing that I would buy. A shame…

  3. The MG5 only looks just about ok – same comment as per the MG6 – and, because of that, it will have to do it all on the road. Will it be built at Longbridge too?

  4. Oh dear! It looks like SAIC MG are carrying on where MG Rover left off. This car looks virtually the same size as the MG6 which is already in no man’s land somewhere between a Focus and a Mondeo. The last thing MG needs is a complex, overlapping and confusing range.

  5. A dull family hatch, perfect for China and the Far East, but unlikely to sell much in Europe except in the Kia VFM market. That means logically importing it from a cheap labour, high volume factory, not building it in a higher cost labour, low output factory…

  6. It looks alright to me. Give it a chance, wait to see it in the metal. Was the ZR really any better?

  7. Wow! I think this is definitely the best-looking Chinese car ever and a worthy successor to the Magnette et al. If it is priced right (c.£12,000), I will definitely be interested. Hope it gets CKD’ed and built at Longbridge.

  8. I think it’s a nice looking car and about the looks, hey, the ZR was a racy 25 hatchback, the ZS was an ordinary sedan based on a boring 45 (but drove and sounded wonderful – I know as I had a ZS 180 V6!) and the ZT was a nice car based on a 75…

    MG Motor has to start somewhere but it’s essential that they have a powerful, performance version of every model.

  9. I can’t believe those who say the MG5 looks like a bargain bucket motor – it has similar styling cues to both the BMW 1 Series and Honda Civic which are both “premium” motors. The 5 is also similar in looks to Ford’s new Focus and has more street presence than Hyundai’s and Kia’s current C-segment models.

    The real question is how big is it? I understand that the Roewe 350 is not much smaller than the 550 which the MG6 is based upon – this might lead to market confusion and no sales in a tough European scene.

  10. OK, I suppose for a picture rendering, but the rear looks very like a Chevy Lacetti Hatchback. The front and side profile are more appealing though – at least to me. Hope that it’s a similar size to the old ZS as that would help showroom interest.

  11. The trouble is you can look at almost any car and say that bits look like something else and that looks like so and so. I mean quad headlamps on the Rover 75 look a bit BMWish, the dashboard looks a bit Jaguarish, those tyres definitely look like John Dunlop’s originals – so long as people aren’t saying that looks a bit Allegro’ish…

    Trying to sell something that’s an aquired taste, just doesnt work in the mass market – you need something that appeals to a wide audience.

    Personally, I quite like these renderings, but then I do agree about the non-defined segment problem. The Rover 200,foo example, was way too big to compete with the Fiesta but too small to compete with the Focus.

    Oh, and as for people complaining about what it would be like as a 1.4, well not everyone can afford a performance car, which is why not all BMWs are M Division cars!

    See this is just the reason Rover went bust – as soon as they come up with a decent car everyone slags it off…

  12. DaveH :
    I can’t believe those who say the MG5 looks like a bargain bucket motor – it has similar styling cues to the BMW 1 Series and which are “premium” motors.

    Not in my book it ain’t. A very cheap looking car…

  13. I quite like the renderings too – a good effort. Remember, we all have our ideas as to what an MG or a Rover is and what they might have produced if they’d continued. Sadly, that all died in 2005 and SAIC have to redefine the marque if it is too succeed. They are certainly putting the investment in!

  14. @DaveH
    I agree entirely. I looked at it and was a bit alarmed that people might think it was a BMW 1 Series rip-off. Let’s hope it has room in the back for people with legs…

  15. All I want to know about is: 1) What is the engine engine line-up? I want power. 2) How is the chassis and suspension going to be set up? I need a fine handling car with lots of grip. 3) Will it be well built with an interior that doesn’t rattle? My ZT was brilliant – better than my current S-TYPE. 4) Will it have street presence? I don’t want to look like a knob. 5) Will it, at least, be assembled in the UK? In these troubled times we want our chaps in employment. Get all this right and I’ll buy one.

  16. The original plan was that the MG5 would be built at Longbridge and, in so far as I am aware, that has not changed. Longbridge is going to be SAIC Motor’s way into Europe – the MG brand and the Built in Britian aspect will be used to take SAIC’s self-developed models into Europe and then the US market.

  17. I can’t say that I am impressed – it’s like the mutant lovechild of a Focus and a new Laguna with a little Kia Rio from the side of the family they don’t talk about…

    That’s not to say it is worse than anything else on the road – nothing can be worse than the Clubfoot – but it’s too anodyne and samey to stand out. I just hope they don’t take a leaf out of Ford’s book and paint it yesterday’s-curry-orange in a desparate attempt to make it less sad and pointless.

  18. I can’t stop thinking about this car, it is absolutely gorgeous. I just hope it looks as good in the metal and that we have the opportunity to buy it. Nice one MG!

  19. I am confused over the naming of new MGs. We have the MG6 derived from the Roewe 550 so you would expect the MG version of the Roewe 350 to be called the MG4 not the MG5. I hear the new small car will be the MG3 when you would expect the MG2 badge to be used.

  20. SAIC Motor are not selling the Roewe range over here so the Roewe model numbers are irrelevant.

    Take a look at model numbering systems used by Mazda, Saab or Volvo – none of those make any sense either – even Rover 25, 45 and 75 made no real sense when you consider the numbers on their own.

  21. Oh, such stinging criticism everybody – let’s see you do better. Firstly, if it weren’t for the front lower air intake then it would look premium and, secondly, as with the MG6, it may be very colour sensitive and may look much better in dark grey or the new orange colour seen on the 6.

    I reckon that, as long as the MG5 drives as well as the MG6, has a better cabin and build quality, MG may be on to a hit. Remember, this isn’t meant to be a Focus beater – it’ll probably take aim more at the Lancer hatch, Mazda 3 and, perhaps, the Fiat Bravo. Well done MG!!!

  22. I’m confused. I thought the MG6 was roughly the size of the next C346 Focus, so just where does MG5 fit in again? I originally thought this would wind up being a Polo competitor – or is this like the BL of old where the cars were positioned in between the established classes?

  23. I think that this is how the new MGs compare in size:-
    MG3 = Ford Fiesta
    MG5 = Ford Focus
    MG6 = Previous Ford Mondeo-sized.
    New 2012/13 MG7/Roewe750 = bigger than Ford Mondeo.

    SAIC Motor have announced today that by 2014/15 there will also be:
    City car = Ford Ka
    SUV = Nissan Qashqai
    Mid-size MPV = Vauxhall Zafira
    Large MPV = Ford Galaxy

    However, I’m not sure how many of those we will get in the UK.

  24. @Dave
    Premium? The MG5 has no features from the picture that make it stand out. These are important cars for MG Motor – the Chinese are not people who will sit around and wait for success – so this range of cars has to do well.

    To be honest, I would make alot of detail changes. LED daylight running headlamps for a start, clear lens or black tail lamps as a no cost option or, depending on colour, indicator markers on the mirrors – that rendering looks about 6 years out of date.

    I would also adjust the front bumper/wing seam to be angled down from the top of the headlight a la Ford Ka. Most important of all – the boot shutline should be taken right down to the level of the bumper – which would make the boot actually of use.

    Then there is the way the inverse swage line doesn’t fit with the upward curve of the bootlid – it looks tacked on. A much better approach would be to trim down the sheetmetal of the boot lid to correspond with the top curve of the tail lights and then have a spoiler mounted above that – either that or redo the swage and the light so it’s higher and straighten the top curve of the bootlid – the latter approach would mean alot of metal changes however. I’d personally black out the B pillars which I think would be an improvement.

    Sadly, though, I don’t get paid a fat salary to do that sort of work :).

  25. This is a MEGA car and I can’t wait to see it in the metal. MG look like they will be a force to be reckoned with.

  26. Dennis :SAIC Motor are not selling the Roewe range over here so the Roewe model numbers are irrelevant.

    Take a look at model numbering systems used by Mazda, Saab or Volvo – none of those make any sense either – even Rover 25, 45 and 75 made no real sense when you consider the numbers on their own.

    Sorry, Dennis, but, if you compare sales of MG saloon models from 2002 (the first full year the Z saloons were on sale) until the end of 2004 against the equivalent Rover models using official SMMT figures, you will find that the Rovers outsold the MG versions by a comfortable margin. The MG ZR only became the company’s best selling model in the last six months of trading.

    This is a fact that many so-called “MG experts” frequently choose to ignore, particularly when they write about the MG saloons (and estates) in MG magazines aimed at the members of a certain MG Club.

  27. Stupid English reactions… It’s a nice looking car but, in England, nobody likes their own stuff.

  28. I think it looks OK but, like the competition’s offerings, it looks modern but also bland – it ticks the boxes without being too exciting like all the other new MGs.

    The MG5 will probably be a relative success if it’s a good value price, well-built and reliable but, ultimately, MG will need to listen to feedback from buyers and give them what they want in order to survive in the long term.

  29. @Mark Payne
    Thanks, Mark. What you say makes sense, but I think it’s still going to be a bit strange come 2011 as I expect the next Focus will be around the size of the CD132 Mondeo. You are right that the Roewe 750 and MG 7 will be bigger still – as reported on AROnline back in July, 2009, it’ll be on the Buick LaCrosse platform, so it’s a stretched Insignia. Should be quite a commodious car…

  30. It’s another Kia clone tbh and that is the market they need to aim for. Forget going premium, it won’t wash with us Brits. Price them low, fill them with kit, give them a 7 year warranty and they might sell. Price them in the premium range and BANG! Adios MG/Roewe. I can see a fair few being minicabs to be honest.

  31. It is from a country with severe issues on employment conditions. Factories in China are notorious for severely mistreating staff, especially in the electronics industry in which there have been many apparent ‘suicides’ that may not actually be suicide…

    The MG brand is severely tainted now and the competition is now so fierce. The new Astra is available from under £11k now box fresh and has a dealer on every doorstep.

    MG will be a rival to Hyundai/Kia so will need to be priced comparatively and not flogged as ‘premium cars’. Kia are gaining ground now, especially as Kia UK seem to be tying up with Ford dealers. (The old Ford link is still there in a small way) The Top Gear RPC is another coup for them as it is free advertising on the BBC!

    MG Motor will be stuffed if they don’t offer a minimum 5 year warranty as it will not be long before even Ford and Vauxhall give warranties of that length.

  32. How many more renderings of these MGs will we have to see before the flesh is put on the bones so to speak? It’s now over 5 years since MG Rover called it a day and, since then, not one mass produced car line has started at Longbridge.

    Unfortunately, the small, unnoticed batches of MG TFs aside, we’ve just had pictures and speculative talk of cars that are that have been solong on the drawing board that they’ll be as dated as the Morris Minor by the time they get (if ever) into production in the UK.

    SAIC Motor has no real plans for UK car production -Longbridge is going to be a Design Centre for the Chinese market. Indeed, the MG brand has vanished in the public’s mind and, at this stage, these drawings break no new design ground whatsoever – it’s all been done before with the Focus and Golf etc. The likes of the Humber or Triumph brands would have a better chance of success were they to be resurrected.

  33. I think it’s a nice looking car but would be more suited to the Rover badge and, seeing that Tata aren’t going to use that, why don’t they sell or lease the name to MG? Has anybody asked?

  34. @Dave Whittington
    Here, here Dave! I have been saying that from day one. I can’t understand why Tata don’t use or lease the Rover brand – it would have a much wider audience than the MG marque…

    However, somewhere along the line Ford and now Tata said the Rover brand would interfere with the Land Rover brand. Does anyone know where this assumption came from? Surely Rover – a nearly 105 year old name – would be far more successful were it to be used instead of the virtually unknown (outside India) Tata brand.

    The Roewe name is a non-runner in Europe and the UK – this is the whole problem as the Chinese and Indians are still only new and very small players in the European market. SAIC Motor and Tata Motors may be huge in their own countries but, outside of that, the unknown Dacia brand (Romanian-built, Renault-based budget cars) would stand a better chance.

    I don’t want to sound pessimistic but SAIC Motor are dithering re the MG brand – they simply don’t know how to market the cars here. Why? Well, because they don’t know the European/UK market. How many Chinese car brands can you name on the roads here? Virtually nil whereas, on the other hand, Tata Motors were handed a pot of gold as Ford left them with a fine range of new Jaguar and Land Rover products.

    Quite simply, SAIC Motor were the wrong people to buy the MG name.

  35. @Gary H
    AROnline interviewed Guy Jones, MG Motor UK Limited’s Sales and Marketing Director, back in May – we believe that he has a really clear steer on what he and his colleagues need to do in order to ensure that the re-launch of the MG marque succeeds in the UK, Europe and, eventually, in the USA.

    The MG6 will be the first of a whole new family of MGs to be launched between 2011 and 2014 and so, for anyone to conclude that “SAIC Motor were the wrong people to buy the MG name,” would seem to be rather premature!

  36. @Jack Yan
    A quick check reveals that the key dimensions of the current Chinese versions of the Buick Regal and Buick LaCrosse are as follows:-

    Buick Regal
    L: 190.2in
    Wb: 107.8in

    Buick LaCrosse
    L: 196.9in
    Wb: 111.7in

    SAIC Motor may, in fact, be planning to use the SWB version of the Epsilon II platform for the MG7 replacement and the LWB version for the Roewe 750 replacement or, indeed, to offer SWB and LWB versions of both models in China if not elsewhere…

  37. I am merely stating the reasons why I and many others feel that SAIC Motor was the wrong conglomerate to buy MG.

    You say “premature” but it’s been over 5 years since the last MG-branded mass produced car rolled off the lines at Longbridge and, since SAIC Motor came on the scene, only a very small number of ancient TFs have been produced there, nothing else…

    Guy Jones may have a very clear strategy for MG and I wish him and his company all the best but is he reading from the same hymn sheet as SAIC Motor? SAIC Motor are virtually unknown in Europe and, as of now, they have no Dealer Network in place for MG. How on earth do they intend to sell these cars?

    SAIC Motor are still using an albeit modified version of the maligned K Series engine which more or less killed MG Rover in the first place but it’s an ancient unit now.

    Phoenix and BMW, with all their faults, at least had new models out 1 to 2 years after they acquired MG. How many new models have SAIC Motor produced at Longbridge since 2005? None! Don’t forget this was the company – and a very secretive one too – that plied the former MGR executives with alcohol so as to acquire the company’s blueprints.

    To put it mildly, I wouldn’t trust them with a barge pole!! All these future plans are mainly for the Chinese market – they’ve been dragging their feet since they acquired MG and that’s a sad fact.

  38. @Gary H
    The 280 British Designers, Engineers and other employees now working for SAIC Motor UK Technical Centre Limited (SMTC UK) at MG Birmingham would, in all probability, be able to refute at least some of your comments. See: MG Birmingham: Brimming with British design and engineering talent.

    Incidentally, SAIC Motor Corporation Limited only completed what was, in effect, a takeover of Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation (MG Motor UK Limited’s parent company) on the 1st April, 2008 and so, in all honesty, SAIC Motor cannot be held responsible for the delay in re-commencing batch-production of the MG TF prior to that date. Indeed, SAIC Motor has only had effective control of the IPRs to the MG brand since then…

  39. Gary H :I am merely stating the reasons why I and many others feel that SAIC Motor was the wrong conglomerate to buy MG.

    You say “premature” but it’s been over 5 years since the last MG-branded mass produced car rolled off the lines at Longbridge and, since SAIC Motor came on the scene, only a very small number of ancient TFs have been produced there, nothing else…

    Guy Jones may have a very clear strategy for MG and I wish him and his company all the best but is he reading from the same hymn sheet as SAIC Motor? SAIC Motor are virtually unknown in Europe and, as of now, they have no Dealer Network in place for MG. How on earth do they intend to sell these cars?

    SAIC Motor are still using an albeit modified version of the maligned K Series engine which more or less killed MG Rover in the first place but it’s an ancient unit now.

    Phoenix and BMW, with all their faults, at least had new models out 1 to 2 years after they acquired MG. How many new models have SAIC Motor produced at Longbridge since 2005? None! Don’t forget this was the company – and a very secretive one too – that plied the former MGR executives with alcohol so as to acquire the company’s blueprints.

    To put it mildly, I wouldn’t trust them with a barge pole!! All these future plans are mainly for the Chinese market – they’ve been dragging their feet since they acquired MG and that’s a sad fact.

    We all need to stop knocking the owners of the British brands and, if we really care, get behind them instead.

    SAIC and Tata would do well to learn from BMW’s experience with MINI: by deftly creating a fracture line between the old Mini and the new MINI, they have effectively established a new brand with sales and profit margins that the former incarnations of BMC could only dream of.

    Let’s hope that the SAIC invest in a good marketing campaign to kick start sales in the short term and, just as importantly, that they invest in quality assurance to secure the long term.

    With BMW, SAIC, Tata and VW onboard, the future of the British car industry looks much more secure than it did five years ago.

  40. Let me reiterate my point: SAIC, BMW and Tata are not British companies. Bentley, MG, Jaguar, Land Rover and Rolls-Royce etc. are merely brand names now owned by foreign companies.

    Yes, of course, the designs maybe British designs but who cares about the internal politics of SAIC Motor – the fact remains that they’ve done nothing more or less since they acquired MG over 5 years ago and time is of the essence in the car buying public’s mind.

    MG and Rover are now remembered in the same light as all the other defunct names in automotive history like Morris, Triumph, Plymouth, AEC and Leyland etc. – the list goes on.

    I don’t know where SAIC Motor are going with their aspirations to break into the US market with the MG brand either. That’s another sorry tale, MG’s exit from the American market several decades ago.

  41. I don’t want my comments to sound like a rant but it’s a pity the brands concerned are no longer British-owned.

    Yes, BMW have done a great job with MINI and Rolls-Royce but let’s not forget they were instrumental in the destruction of MG Rover.

    SAIC Motor have still to prove themselves but, if BMW couldn’t succeed with MG, I can’t see how a predominately Chinese company can. I think Tata, though, that stand a much better chance – they seem to have a head on their shoulders re sales and marketing…

  42. @Gary H
    With all respect, this has turned into a bit of a rant. It is thanks to BMW, SAIC, Tata and VW that we have any decent volume car industry to talk of. We shouldn’t, of course, forget Vauxhall either, with the new Astra proving to be a huge success (but this isn’t really a GM site).

  43. @Gary H
    It is easy to get into rant mode – I’ve done it myself from time to time. I agree that SAIC Motor need to prove themselves, but they could learn a lot from the way that BMW marketed the MINI.

    Tata Motors do seem to be ahead of the curve – for example, their plans for a 2WD Freelander indicate that they understand their market.

  44. @Gary H
    Your statement that SAIC Motor “acquired MG over 5 years ago” is, with respect, wholly inaccurate. Please (re-)read and follow the links in Comment #52 above before making any further comments.

    SAIC Motor has, in reality, only been in control of both the MG brand and MG Birmingham (formerly Longbridge) for just over two years!

  45. @Clive Goldthorp
    Yes, I do understand the story as I was a huge Rover fan for years. Nanjing, of course, bought the assets of the former MG Rover Group and they, in turn, were taken over by SAIC Motor.

    Basically, as I’ve said previously, show us the goods? Who cares whether SAIC Motor has owned MG for the past 1, 2, 5 years etc. – they’ve produced nothing of any mass volume so far.

    I agree with Ianto when he says above that SAIC Motor could learn a lot from the way BMW marketed the MINI and, indeed, Tata have started off the blocks with their marketing strategy. I don’t think they (SAIC Motor) have a marketing game plan set in place, so what’s the delay?

    From the outset, the way in which SAIC Motor acquired the IPRs for the Rover 75 etc. by staying sober themselves and “boozing up” the MG Rover negotiating team to get a sell off just stinks! I, for one, am very sceptical about this company and its plans etc. I’d take what they say with a pinch of salt. Prove yourselves!

  46. Back to the MG5… Since Roewe will not be sold in Europe, we can also expect the Roewe 350 saloon to reach us as an MG5 model. With proper tuning, both versions of the MG5 could make worthy replacements for the ZS – especially if a high-output version is included in the model mix. The ownership argument has become redundant. Let’s focus on what will be available going forward. The MG brand still has a fighting chance.

  47. @Gary H
    Your self-evident frustration at what you perceive to be the delay in bringing volume MG production back is understandable. However, please do not overlook the fact that the Designers and Engineers at SMTC UK have spent the last five years developing (inter alia) three new model lines and two new engine families from scratch and have, presumably, only been working on the MG derivatives since SAIC Motor took over Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corporation two years ago.

    Our recent MG Birmingham: Brimming with British design and engineering talent article gave AROnline’s readers just a brief glimpse of what the hard-working guys at SMTC UK have already accomplished. However, based on what we saw, few, if any, of the hardened Automotive Industry Journalists present at the opening of MG’s Global Design Centre would bet against SAIC Motor “proving themselves” by successfully re-establishing MG as a global brand…

  48. @Clive Goldthorp
    I agree – the design talent looks to be spot on and you cannot question SAIC Motor’s commitment to the MG brand. I just hope that they invest in marketing as the British public need to be onside when the car goes on sale.

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