MG S5 EV review 2025

Make and model: MG S5 EV
Description: Small-medium electric SUV
Price range: from £28,495

MG says: “The MGS5 EV is a new generation of versatile SUV, combining rapid charging, generous cabin space, intelligent driver controls, exciting driving dynamics, and abundant safety features all as standard.”

We say: The MG S5 EV is a practical and well-equipped electric family car that offers excellent value for money, although it’s not the most exciting to drive.

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Introduction

MG has been on a roll for the last couple of years, renewing pretty every car in its range as well as adding new models like the Cyberster electric sports car and a high-performance hot hatch version of its family-friendly MG 4. This is the latest model to join the family, the S5 (styled by the company as the MGS5 EV).

The pace of MG’s development has been frenetic – the new S5 EV replaces the MG ZS EV, which was on sale for less than six years. That’s about two years quicker than the average industry lifespan for a vehicle. It also sort-of replaces the MG 5 electric estate, which was only launched in 2020 and then massively updated in 2022.

This rapid development has only been possible thanks to massive investment from MG’s Chinese owners, SAIC. Some people insist that MG today is nothing like the old MG of the past, and they’re absolutely right – just not for the reasons that they think. Today’s MG is far more profitable, far more financially secure and selling more cars than ever before. Once you take off the rose-tinted glasses, there’s no comparison.

What is it?

The MG S5 EV is a new small electric SUV from MG, replacing the previous MG ZS EV that has been on sale for the last six years. It shares a lot of its underpinnings with the MG 4 electric family hatchback, but moves development on another step or two.

The small electric SUV market is growing steadily, and the S5 is facing an ever-increasing number of competitors. These include the Kia EV3, Hyundai Kona Electric, Skoda Elroq, Ford Puma Gen-E, Peugeot e-2008, Vauxhall Mokka and more. As is typical for MG, the S5’s pricing undercuts its rivals by a few thousand pounds while also beating them on standard equipment.

The S5 is a dedicated electric car, so there is no petrol or hybrid alternative. That job falls to the new MG ZS, which is a similar size but based around a traditional petrol engine, with or without hybrid assistance. That means the company has been able to make the most of the packaging advantages of an EV, resulting in more cabin and boot space than in the ZS. This is a different approach to the likes of Stellantis (Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroën, Fiat, etc.), which tends to offer the same model in either fossil-fuel or electric versions.

Funnily enough, from certain angles, the nose of the MG S5 looks a lot like the previous-generation Hyundai Kona Electric. However, we suspect that you’re going to see a lot more S5s than old Konas on the road before long…

What do you get for your money?

As is usual for MG, there are two trim levels available on the S5 called SE and Trophy. Both trims have the same electric motor, but the SE is available with a choice of two battery sizes – a 49kWh Standard Range version with 211 miles of battery range, and a 64kWh Long Range that extends this to 298 miles and also bumps up the power from the electric motor. The Trophy is only available in Long Range, higher-output form.

The entry-level MG S5 EV SE Standard Range is priced at £28.5K, which steps up by an extra £2,500 to £31K if you want the Long Range battery and a bit more power. However, the company expects 60%-65% of sales to be the higher-spec MG S5 EV Trophy model, which is priced at £33.5K. In any of the three models, the only extra-cost option is premium paint.

The SE spec gets things off to a good start, with a full suite of safety systems (although we don’t have a Euro NCAP safety score at time of writing) and connectivity features. The upholstery is cloth throughout, without electric adjustment or heating for either the seats or steering wheel. In the centre of the dashboard is a 13-inch touchscreen for controlling infotainment systems, with a ten-inch screen in front of the driver for speed and other information.

Trophy spec means getting 18-inch alloy wheels instead of 17-inch versions, plus faux-leather seats with heating and electric adjustment for the driver, wireless phone charging, a couple more speakers for the stereo, privacy glass, 360-degree cameras and a few more bits. Have a read through the brochure before making a decision, but the higher-spec Trophy certainly seems to be worth the extra £2.5K over the SE Long Range.

In terms of warranty, MG has one of the best offerings in the market. You get a standard seven-year/100,000-mile new car warranty, which is equal to Kia and Omoda, and comfortably better than every other brand.

As with most electric cars, the battery is additionally covered by an eight-year/100,000-mile warranty from new.

Expert tips

• All safety kit is standard on all models, so you don’t have to pay more to get the best tech
• Top-spec Trophy and bottom-spec SE Standard Range look better value than mid-spec SE Long Range.
• Long seven-year warranty is valuable for used car buyers

What’s the MG S5 like inside?

Compared to the old ZS EV, the new S5 is a huge leap forward. The interior design, the quality of the materials, and the fit and finish are all significantly better than the old car. Even compared to the closely related MG 4, the S5 is a step up. Whereas the ZS felt good “for a budget car”, the S5 simply looks perfectly competitive with competitors from other brands.

The cabin is a sea of drab grey plastic, which is a bit bland and a shame as the layout and design are quite good. There’s a splashing of fake suede and fake carbon fibre, but they look like afterthoughts and don’t enhance the overall ambience. There’s no sunroof option on the S5, so it can feel a bit dark on a glum British day.

The infotainment system and central touchscreen are a big improvement over previous MG models, which is welcome as it was very much needed. Most functions are controlled through the touchscreen, although heating and cooling functions have real buttons located in a strip underneath the screen. Wireless connection for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard on all models, but only the Trophy gets wireless phone charging as well.

A ten-inch digital screen replaces traditional analogue gauges in front of the driver. As with most brands, many of the fonts are too small and manufacturers would do better to display less information more clearly, rather than trying to cram too much onto the screen.

Helpfully, there’s a new function called MG Pilot Custom that allows you to pre-set which EU nannies you’d like to disable on each journey. You still need to swipe and press every single time you start the car, but you can disable multiple functions in one go rather than having to switch them off individually. In other good news, the speed limit detection cameras seem to be improved over other MGs and many rival cars. We only had a short drive, but the system managed to avoid reading the wrong signs or ignoring valid signs. Small mercies, but we’re stuck with this half-baked tech legislation now thanks to incompetent bureaucrats, so manufacturers need to make it work as well as possible.

The cabin is spacious in both the front and rear, with more room than you’ll find in many larger fossil-fuel SUVs. Being a dedicated EV, there’s no hump running down the middle of the floor, which means more room for storage in the front and a flat floor for the middle passengers in the back. The boot is also a decent size, with a claimed volume of about 450 litres.

Expert tips

• Being a dedicated EV, the cabin is more spacious than some electric rivals that are based on petrol-powered models
• Well-designed cabin, but all-grey layout is a bit dull
• If you’re coming from an older MG model, you’ll notice an enormous improvement

What’s the MG S5 like to drive?

We drove the Trophy model, which has a higher output (170kW, which is 231hp) than the entry-level SE Standard Range (125kW/170hp). That makes it substantially quicker in acceleration, able to hit 60mph from rest in just over six seconds, which is about two seconds quicker than the base model. It also gets a chunk more torque, which means that it will maintain its performance better when fully loaded with passengers and/or luggage.

As with any EV, the MG S5 is smooth and quiet as an electric motor is inherently better in these areas than any petrol or diesel engine on the planet. But the S5 has really upped the level of refinement compared to the old ZS EV, and is better than MG’s other models in this area as well. Wind and road noise are well damped, even at motorway speeds. It’s not as hushed as a luxury EV like a BMW iX or Mercedes-Benz EQE, but it’s certainly competitive with anything its price bracket.

The steering is light and feels numb, but then you can say that about almost any family SUV on the market today, regardless of whether it’s an EV or a petrol car. It’s a car for cruising along comfortably rather than hustling, but that will be absolutely fine for its intended audience.

The ride is mostly good, although it can get a bit bouncy when the road surface is uneven. At urban speeds, it’s generally very well composed. When speed picks up to motorway pace, it feels stable and unflustered by crosswinds, so longer trips should be fairly relaxing.

Expert tips

• 230hp motor in Trophy and SE Long Range models is easily punchy enough for most households
• Refinement is easily on a par with other small SUVs in a similar price bracket
• Not worth trying to hustle along, as there’s no fun to be had. So settle down and waft along comfortably…

How safe is the MG S5?

As of April 2025, the MG S5 EV has not been assessed by Euro NCAP so we can’t give you a definitive answer of how safe it is (Euro NCAP testing assesses new cars over and above minimum legal safety requirements). If and when this testing takes place, we’ll update the information and safety score here.

The S5 is kitted out with plenty of latest-generation ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems) kit, and they all work well enough – although we thankfully didn’t need to test them in genuine emergency conditions. This is certainly not the case in all small cars, so MG deserves praise for making the systems as unobtrusive as possible.

As with all new cars, you still need to deactivate certain systems – speed limit warnings and so on – every time you start the car if you don’t want to be beeped and bonged at for your entire journey, but MG has at least made it simple to deactivate multiple systems in one go, rather than having to do them individually.

Expert tips

• The MG S5 has not yet been rated by Euro NCAP (as of April 2025)
• Driver assistance systems are less annoying than in many other new models
• Speed limit sign detection seems to work better than in many cars. but we’d need a longer review to be sure

MG S5 economy, battery range and charging

The MG S5 EV comes with a choice of two batteries. The smaller one is a 49kWh unit in the SE Standard Range, which is good for about 211 miles of driving in the official EU/UK lab tests. Step up to the SE Long Range or Trophy models, however, and you get a 62kWh battery that provides for 298 miles (SE Long Range) or 288 miles (Trophy) of driving on the official test programme. Knock 20% off both numbers (so about 170 miles and 240 miles, respectively) for cold conditions or harder driving, but if you’re happy to be gentle with your right foot and spend most of your time in urban areas, you should get close to these numbers.

Electrical efficiency (the EV equivalent of fuel economy in a petrol or diesel car) is only average, rating a C-grade according to our unique Expert Rating Index, although not that many other small electric SUVs are much better. There’s no heat pump included or available, which means range may suffer in very cold conditions. While we wouldn’t expect a heat pump to be included as standard, it’s a shame that you can’t pay extra for one.

At public chargers, the S5 can accept a maximum charging speed of 150kW, which is better than many other small SUVs. Assuming you are plugged into a 150kW charger, that means that you can get a charge from 10% to 80% in less than half an hour. If you’re charging at home with a 7kW wallbox, a full charge from 0-100% will take about 8.5 hours for the 49kWh battery and 11.5 hours for the 62kWh battery.

The charging port is in the left-rear corner of the car, so you’ll want to reverse into charging bays rather than driving in forwards. If you’re charging at home, the S5 is short enough that your cable will probably reach the charging plug regardless of which way round you park.

Expert tips

• Official battery range of 211-298 miles, depending on specification. Around town, this is probably achievable but motorway driving will reduce this significantly.
• Driving range should be plenty for its intended customer base (average household mileage in the UK is about 120 miles/week).
• The charging port is in the left-rear of the car, which means reverse parking in most charging bays will be better.
• Comes standard with the usual Type-2-to-Type-2 charging cable for plugging into a dedicated charging unit, but not a Type-2-to-Type-3 cable for plugging into a standard three-point electricity plug.

Verdict

The MG S5 EV is a sensible choice for your next family EV. It’s spacious, generously kitted out and well priced. If you’re coming out of an existing MG model, like the MG ZS EV or MG 5, you’ll find it a massive step forward in terms of quality and technology. It’s far and away the best car that MG currently makes.

It’s not the most exciting car to look at or drive, but it is practical and affordable compared to other SUVs – as well as plenty of small petrol or hybrid SUVs. Perfomance from the bigger-battery versions is good, although the smaller-battery version is somewhat more sedate.

The top-spec Trophy model is expected to take more than half of all sales, although its price tag of £33.5K does stray close to cars from bigger-name brands. However, once you price up a rival of comparable specification, you’ll likely find that the MG is still £3K-£5K cheaper.

We haven’t yet got safety data, but most other MG models in recent years have tended to score five-star ratings from Euro NCAP. We hope that the S5 will repeat this level of performance, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Overall, the MG S5 EV is a practical and well-equipped electric family car that – assuming it performs well in Euro NCAP safety testing, whenever that happens – we can highly recommend.

Expert recommendations

• Battery range is more than suitable for intended market
• Can’t confirm safety performance until Euro NCAP conducts its tests
• An impressive new family EV from MG

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