News : MG5 latest images break cover on Facebook

Keith Adams

Facebook user Morris Garages, based in Azerbaijan has posted what appears to be a set of images for an MG5, which is being PDI’d for the showroom. These are the clearest images yet of some of the interior features, as well as the under-bonnet view. With its smooth and inoffensive 1.5-litre power unit, it’s going to have a hard job convincing European hatchback drivers that this is a sporting alternative – but with the 2.0-litre turbo waiting in the wings (as well as 1.9-litre TD), this perception will change rapidly. It is thought that these alternative power units will be available from launch in the UK, sometime in early 2013.

Here’s the gallery.

 

Keith Adams

85 Comments

  1. Quite like the lines of the bonnet.

    Windows at side too small.

    Nice colour

    Expect Euro spec will be a bit higher, but not a bad effort

  2. Is ruddy hard to tell from pictures what a car will look like on the road,

    But the more I see this car the more I like it.. Loving the detailing around the front end.. The rear ain’t pretty though…

    Nice big dog friendly boot too!

  3. Looks good, hopefully the 2.0 petrol and diesel will be available on launch, and hopefully MG UK will have learnt from their marketing c@ck up with the 6.

  4. Oooh, I do not like that. The detailing of the bumper/front wing is very abrupt and aggressive without the right stance, like an angry fat schoolboy copying his dad. And the dashboard looks like the satnav is sort of growing out of it.

  5. I guess its a case of he says either and i sat either!i quite like the wing/bumper design its a bit different like the hocky stick swage on a astra is different,i quite like this car and it does look aggresive from the front,i have a feeling in the flesh this car is going to look good,especially in certain colours.

  6. BSD

    In the picture that is numbered 406562_229956350432039_164681030292905_434083_1854352061_n
    (showing the car from frontal point of view with both front doors open),if you will look at the far right corner of the picture,you will see a silver metallic car that looks like it’s an SUV or a station wagon (only the engine compartment and front doors are visible).

    Anyone has a cue which car is it?

  7. The front shows the new, attractive, quite distinctive MG face. Side view is pleasant. Not sure about the rear styling – certainly wouldn’t say from these pictures “oh, I like that”.

    To me, the centre dash section is a bit ugly – but then again, I could say this about a lot of modern cars.

    From a personal perspective, I prefer the look of the 6.

  8. Comment 5, Jonathan Carling

    Surely all of us avid readers of AROnline are bothered about how well it (and other new MGs) sell?! If we had no interest would we be reading this site?

  9. Hmm, maybe. I am interested in how the new MG brand develops, and I do support the investment in jobs at Longbridge. I think this looks to be a completely uninteresting car though, utterly lacking in character. Maybe I should wait for reports on driving it.

  10. I like the front end. Quite distinctive and free from ‘stupid headlight syndrome’ that affects most cars these days. Unfortunately the styling goes right off the boil the closer to the rear of the car you get.

    I can’t help look at the rear and think ‘squared-off Daewoo Lanos’ …and that’s a look no one wants!

  11. I’m still laughing and (as absolutely none of it will be built in the UK) I can only hope that it doesn’t damage the sales prospects for genuinely UK built cars. From these pictures, I don’t think anyone in the UK industry should be too concerned!

  12. I love the front end, like the dash too. Not so keen on the back end though to be honest, but sometimes something as simple as having the numberplate fitted can make a big difference.

  13. Still not keen on the rear end, but apart from that I like the looks. That dusky purple/pink should sell well to the girlies!

  14. I like the way that the bonnet has those lines that go to the MG badge. I’ve a feeling though that the plastics in it will be poor quality – the boot plastics and carpet appear to have been inspired by the materials found in cars of the Eighties – not good. The rest of it is okay but not amazing. What they need to do is paint the demonstrators in funky bright colours to draw people’s attention to them, rather like the way that the ZR,S,T were in bright primary colours. People will then see them, realise they exist, and then buy a grey or black one…

  15. Just like my Clarkes shoes, there’s a limited amount of UK design input, but absolutely all the manufacturing is done in the far East.

  16. Hmmm, well, the front end has bags of drama, a bit like an intro to any recent U2 song. Unfortunately the middle section starts to lose inspiration, much like the aforementioned Dublin-based rock band, and when you get to the end, you wonder what all the fuss was about. Oh, and the wheels look ridiculously small.

  17. I am quite shocked by the design of this car. I know it’s difficult to meet all the necessary crash and emissions regulations and make a good looking car at the right price, but did it have to be this ugly?

    Were the design team at Longbridge in any way responsible for this, or is it a Chinese design?

  18. i still think the mg5 concept looks better but this is much better than i feared , the 2.0 turbo sounds interesting but a 3 dr coupe would be an oppertunity not to be missed.

  19. The exterior of this model looks like an unholy mash-up between a Vauxhall Astra and Chevvy Lacetti hatchback! Nice colour though and I like the cabin- nicer than an MG6, although the centre console looks like the one from the current Astra. Copycats!!!!

  20. I see wat u mean kev. My grandad had a gold rover 75 and he had to pay extra to have the number plate filled in as they had to make a special shape to fit the boot lid.

  21. The Tiguan looks identical to the tourag these days- why would anyone pay twice the price to have the tourag and anyway why have a tourag when you can have an equally crap but still snobby Porsche or Audi?

  22. There is an mg garage in the town where I go to school. I pass it every day and the same cars are parked outside- I don’t think any get sold. They share the premises with proton. It is an old Daihatsu dealer and is a total dump!

  23. There is a lip to get into the boot area. The bumper paint work is not protected. The front and rear “bumpers” are huge. They will be cotly to replace.
    I like the bonnet line but the rest…nope sorry.

  24. The fact that the wheels look really disproportionately small is (or, until recently, WAS) a standard requirement for Chinese cars. Over the last decade or so, I’ve seen pics of loads of weird and far-from-wonderful chinese ‘vehicles’ – and practically all of them (like this one) are made to look ungainly and slab-sided as a result of almost castor-like (and often unattractive) wheels. They have different tastes to us, it’d appear. Let’s hope Tony Williams-Kenny can stem (and reverse) their castor-mania.

  25. the best saic MG yet looks wise but it doesnt look remotely sport at all and as alway it still looks far to far easten to be considered european!
    still good (but not great) none the less. and alo better than the adverage 6 and the horrificly ugly 3!

  26. Looks pretty hideous and cheaply built. A face-lifted, well-specified and cheap ZS with decent build quality would sell better.

  27. with the 2 litre engine it could make a viable alternative to the Suzuki wift or Mini Cooper. the Suzuki is a touch too small and the sport version could do with a turbo. the mini has only 4 seatbelts. alex

  28. The concept had a much nicer rear, why didn’t they keep that. Or is this about building a car that caters for local tastes?

  29. I think it will sell better than the mg6; I prefer the styling of the 6 but the mg5 is in the right sector; the mg6 isn’t helped by the fact that it’s a small saloon/big hatch. Nobody buys those!

  30. I like it more than that hideous MG3; the MG3 looks like a nightmarish copy of the Daihatsu Sirion and skoda Fabia. It won’t do Mg’s image one bit of good!

  31. A lot of people on here seem to be critisising the cars styling as being too Eastern. Eastern styling doesn’t seem to be hurting the sales of Japanese/ South Korean cars too much

  32. The Korean automakers are now designing cars with more euro-feel. Hyundai designed lots of the new I30 in germany and Kia makes the ceed in Slovakia. They have become so successful as they are smart and modern-looking but cheap to. The mg range do not look European enough; if they are thinking seriously about building and selling the things here then they must design them to look competitive worldwide, like the current Ford Fiesta. So far the mg range reminds me of early 70’s Japanese products.

  33. Interior looks okay: looks better than mg6. The mg6’s dash is a copy of a BMW 3 series and the dash on this is a copy of the Opel insignia’s.

  34. That would certainly explain the transformation in the quality of Kia’s design. They may not be that cheap anymore, but they do look pretty acceptable.

  35. i hate it looks nowt like the concept the wheels are to small the windows are to small it kinda looks like a cheep for focus on the up side the in side looks ok but needs some quality added like leather and a racey looking set of dial’s imagne if recaro put some seat in and someone worked on the plastic feel hmmm it wont sell well or fast i dont think. someone should tell SAIC how mg’s should be and thats fun i see no fun in the 6 5 or 3 maybe they will make a 4 that might be a astra gtc / focus st rival haaa think im dreaming now they should just bring back the mg zr and make it better with a big engine and big turbo and fun lmao i cba with SAIC they just cant keep the mg magic alive

  36. I wouldn’t mind a modern Kia or hyundai but I do mind this; the windows and wheels are 2 small, the front is bulbous and it has a fat arse!!

  37. @12 the germans once said “the japenese and thier car designs dont keep me awake at night”then came along lexus and owned the US market.Some people may not be feeling the pinch right now,but believe me if these cars are cheap,reliable and drive good people are going to start turning thier backs on the mainstream hatches-balls to brand snobbery,if avis are buying them in batches as opposed to focus and the like,these people are adjusting to the market,firms are adjusting too-why pay a two-er a week hiring a focus when an i20 or MG6 is £125 a week?

  38. Not bad looking but very like an equivalent Hyundai or Kia etc. We have to accept that all future MG’s will bear no relation to their forerunners from Britain.

    The MG brand is a badge fitted to a new and different generation of cars owned by another foreign company. No doubt they will succeed in Europe eventually… the MG5 is every bit as good (or no worse) looking than a Fiesta or Corsa

  39. @ Hilton D.

    If enough people feel the same way, then the future of vehicle manufacturing in Europe and the UK has a a greatly diminished future. How ironic it should be that a website dedicated to British car manufacturing should so openly welcome the potential seeds of its own destruction. But then, as long as a heritage badge is saved and 40 odd people are employed unpacking pre-built cars in Longbridge, what does it matter?!

  40. No digital dials. The dash is typical modern car horrendous. If it don’t look like an iNokericcsoroladroid thing then its no good!

    Not sure about it, the “clamshell” bonnet is nice, the junction between it and the A pillar could be tidied up a touch, this would remove the MG front welded to an Auris middle look (if you know what I mean). To echo others the back end isn’t quite there, the picture with the closed tailgate somehow reminds me of a Vectra?!

  41. It’s not too bad. Yes, the wheels are way too small for that ultra aggressive nose and to get the right stance, the suspension would probably have to be lowered. But fix those details, fit a decent engine and make sure it’s a fine drive (as in entertaining) and this could be an interesting alternative to a Golf. At the right price, of course.

  42. ooh No!! I don’t think the styling works to be polite. The bumper, front wing and headlight area looks dreadful, and the sides look a bit Toyota Auris, which is not really an exciting design it’s self. The way the bonnet lines meet the badge is its only redeeming feature. Better than them BMW’s that share their name with the Mini Clubman though lol

  43. Good in parts. The lights look like Korean parts bin affairs, the fashion victim dash lacks the distinctiveness of the 6 & I’m not convinces about how the lights flow into the front wing.

    Other than that, it’s good but unfortunately makes the 6 look a little dated.

  44. Looks alright, not stand out but alright. Should sell over here being a better size than the MG6 which is a little big for most private motorist tastes.

    Will face some tough competition. Was in town the other day and Kia had taken over the shopping centre inside and I was well impressed with the look and finish of the latest Rio model and some other Kia thing whose name escapes me. Well priced too and with the warranty it makes a compelling purchase to the private motorist. MG should seriously consider upping the warranty to 5 years to remain competitive. Going to a full 7 is rather overkill and actually could deter people swapping out after 3-5 years but even Renault offer longer warranties now.

  45. There’s a couple of issues with the shape for me (at least in these pictures) The headlights look overly large (won’t get changed for the UK) The wheels look laughably small (hopefully will be changed for the UK) But the biggest issues for me are the fact that it looks extremely nose heavy (in looks) and the rear looks like a great design that was left too near the fire and has melted.
    I truly hope the new diesel and 2.0 petrol are more impressive than the 1.5.

  46. Hmm.. the styling at the rear quarters looks unresolved but I have to admit, it is growing on me.

    I think the taillamps should have a red/white look to them rather than the red/amber/clear. The rear lamp cluster looks far too busy.

  47. Surely the ‘elephant in the room’ is now ‘Who are MG?’ The Kia generation (car buyers under 30 years old) neither know or care about Longbridge and it’s heritage.

    Sad but true.

  48. Bland side and rear profiles – reminds me of the Subui. Front is the most interesting angle. Shame they did not copy the original concept car as that was far more likely to be a hit than this in Europe. They only way they are going to sell large no’s of this is at cheap prices with huge warranties.

  49. Anyone remember the Alfa Romeo Arna? That was an european badge full of heritage, glamour and pedigree glued onto a non-descript and bland Asian A to B’er…..after looking at this MG5, I feel strangley loyal to the MG6 and it’s small UK workforce, especially with its loose strands of MG Rover DNA

  50. Nothing from the spirit of the concept, and not MG-sh. Seems like chinese designers use few random cars like Lego parts, scramble it and then build something from the mess. If there are some people working in Lionbridge – Please start doind what we the fans want to see and buy…

  51. Ross A:

    I can see it’s got the same chamfer on the front wings, but I can’t see the front end similarity. Apart from that, the MG Maestro (even the basic Maestro, for that matter) was a much, much better looking car!

  52. There seems to be a reasonably sporty looking saloon version in the background of the main picture.
    Note the Marina saloon window-line kink in the rear doors of both the MG 5 and 6, good that one Morris styling feature has been carried over!

  53. I still think it looks promising, it’s certainly not out of place in the segment it is to compete in. My problem is that no-one has yet taken any sane pictures of it, they are always taken from ridiculous angles or too close so the car looks like a person looks on the back of a spoon. the sooner we see some proper press shots the better. And all those slating the back end? have I missed a picture because I can’t really see the beack end in any of those shots, certainly not enough to make a judgment on.

  54. I still think the front end has much more presence than just about anything on sale – look at the “gaping mouthed guppy” that is the Focus, or the “raisin’s in the snow” look of the tiny-eyed Astra. I’m optimistic about this, though I would ditch that horrible colour!

  55. It’s a generic 5 door Asian hatchback. It’s like BMW not wanting Alpina, Alpina going under and then the Chinese buy the Alpina badge and stick it on bland hatchbacks. A travesty, give us Roewes as white goods and a MX-5 rival MG sportscar

  56. @Jason1.8TC I understand your point, but it looks just like all the generic European hatchback’s too – so I don’t get the Asian thing – but I would say it’s slightly less bland than the Astra and Focus, two cars it could do far worse than to spend company with in the sales charts…

  57. If thats the best that they can come up with, then maybe MG et al are better off dead. Its vile, it makes an luminous pink & 24 carat gold Allegro look like a styling masterpiece.
    The front end looks like leepu from chop shop penned it after a dodgy phal and 15 pints of lager, maybe calling it ‘ode to a service station bog door’ perhaps? Whose brainstorm was it may I ask to take the worst from a Citroen Mehari & a VW Kubelwagen and then try to weld them to the moldering remains of a Suzuki Swift?
    The less said about the rear the better – its mostly already been said anyway. The only way any dog smaller than a Labrador for example is going to get into the boot is by attaching JATO packs… And heavy bags of shopping? You wonder if SAIC have a surgical truss business that needs a boost…
    Cars sell on looks first. Ability second. Its always been like that. If thats the case then this is in real trouble. It looks from the front view like someone modelled a donkeys bottom in sheet steel and then attached headlights. The boot lip seems designed to slip discs faster than Clarkson drops clangers, and the interior seems to have all the appeal of the Russian Steppe circa October 1812.

    Ironic that Kia have come up with the Rio, while MG seem to have channelled all their skills into resurrecting that paragon of drivability, comfort and irredeemable awfulness that was the Kia Pride.

    The only tiny bright spot on the horizon, the only Rorkes Drift to this Isandlwana, is we can say that the Chinese made this. It wasnt us… No really.

    See something good did come out of it after all this years.

  58. First impression: Hideous.
    Second thoughts: Bland overall, hideous detailing

    I wonder why they’re bothering. To succeed in the market they seem to be aiming at you have to produce something pretty special. Why should anyone buy this car instead of a Golf, Focus or Astra? Perhaps MG should take a leaf out of Triumph’s book and build something different from the rest. Triumph tried (and failed) to take the Japanese motorcycle industry on at it’s own game and, basically, failed. It’s thriving now by producing bikes that are different from the mainstream four-across-the-frame japanese bikes.

  59. I can’t let the comments about the Astra pass without comment.

    Having driven a Mk 6 Astra at work it may be flawed (particularly with wind noise on the motorway), but it’s by far and away the best looking Astra ever built. To talk favourably about the style of the MG5 and then to criticise the style of the Astra is very hard to understand.

    The current Focus might be the worst Focus yet, but it still looks acceptable from the front.

  60. @John, I don’t disagree that the current Astra is probably the best yet – and so it should be, however, I do still feel it pretty bland to look at, that is just my own opinion of course, but it doesn’t have a strong identity of its own just as few other Vauxhalls have these days. The Focus too is probably the most awkward looking yet, you can’t seriously suggest it has an attractive front end when you consider just what an impact the MK1 Focus had in the market. However, to criticise others is no justification for shortcomings on MG’s part – if, of course, you feel MG deserve criticism. I say that the MG5 does appear to look quite distinctive, it’s front end does not look like just another car, it looks like the MG5 – it’s quite hard to understand that just yet as the MG5 is not yet a presence on the roads but just as people couldn’t believe how quirky the Focus was when it appeared, it pretty soon found it’s own identity and others quickly followed. What is clear above all else from all of these posts is that the MG5 is a polarising car – and anyone who knows anything about marketing will know, a polarising product is something to be strived for. You will never produce a car that appeals to everyone because that would create such apathy as to make it redundant. Probably the most interesting feature of the latest MGs to break cover is the fact that it is the established MG community that are seemingly most opposed to the cars – you have to wonder if, given that the historical MG community has not exactly been able to sustain MG as a going concern in the past, SAIC MG will be somewhat relieved by this shift that might allow them to move towards the mainstream. (just a thought, not necessarily something I am happy or sad about)

  61. If, in real life, it looked like a Rover 45(BMW 1 series) facelift or replacement… Would that be better??

  62. Hi there all,

    would like to share some info in here as well,

    These 2 cars are actually pre production versions – thus the interior trim etc may not be the final versions.

    These pictures were taken in Shanghai.

    Both vehicles were equipped with 1.5 Liter engines – same as the 350. However look out for a 1.5 Turbo engine and a DSG gearbox also to be out soon.

    Some more pictures available at the following link:
    https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.176725735776196.37439.140378526077584&type=1&l=379bb29e60

  63. Looks like the ofspring of the outgoing BMW 5 series and a Toyota Auris… but not in a good way. Can see lots of cheap plastics that are bound to be as awful to the touch as they are to the eye. This car needs to be VERY keenly priced to be in with even the slightest chance of cracking the UK market, sadly it’s probably going to cost the thick end of £15k. MG should have been bought up by a UK company who could have built bridges with Honda to bring quality and reliability back to the brand… let’s bury MG as it’s as english as a bowl of rice.

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