Car Review: MG GS

I found myself discussing compact SUVs the other day, the way you do, and I had to sort of double-take myself when I said: “Of course, if you want to buy British you should go for the Nissan, not the MG”. The Nissan Qashqai, that is, made in Sunderland; and the MG GS, made in Shanghai.

Funny old world, isn’t it? But that is indeed the fate of one of the most storied of British marques. MG is Chinese and, with a recent announcement, has given up on any plans, or pretence, of much assembly or manufacturing taking place at the famous Longbridge works.

Aficionados might argue that the last proper MG rolled off the line at Abingdon nearly forty years ago, but that’s an argument for another pub. For now, I think we should concede that any vestigial belief in car making at Longbridge has gone east, and went east ever since the Shanghai and Nanjing car makers picked up the remains of MG Rover when it went bust in 2005.

Having said all that, the MG GS was designed in Britain, and it is a perfectly acceptable example of this type of mini Sports Utility Vehicle, a sector that is very trendy right now. I especially liked the front treatment integrating that famous badge, and the hexagon theme extends throughout the interior (just as it often did on “traditional” MGs; this isn’t some example of Chinese gaucheness).

Overall, it is well-proportioned and, I guess, more understated than the Qashqai. It goes perfectly well, this new generation MG, with very decent handling from a lively petrol engine and the cabin materials and equipment levels are, more or less, competitive. It even boasts a chain-driven cam, rather than a cheaper, but less robust, belt. (It means you have less chance of ending up with a wrecked engine one day.)

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It’s fairly good value, a few grand less than the usual suspects (Nissan Qashqai, VW Tiguan, Toyota RAV4, Peugeot 3008 etc). Theoretically, you could buy yourself an MG Metro or MG ZR, real Brummy sports hatches, with the saving you make. Or both, if you were thinking about buying a BMW X1. Just saying.

So what’s wrong with the GS, apart from its questionable heritage? I suppose I would sum it up as feeling about a half-a-generation behind the rest of the pack. In other words it is just a little old fashioned and below par in a few areas. None, in truth, that fundamental, but a lightly different experience even so. The dash display for example, is a bit 1990s, and the internal flap to open the petrol cap feels simultaneously stiff and flimsy.

I also found the stop-start function a little temperamental, as it would sometimes refuse to restart at the traffic lights when I put it into gear, demanding I go back to neutral. Occasionally it wouldn’t even oblige me that, and I had to (manually) restart it.

The touch-screen type graphics are a bit minimal. And of course the MG GS lacks a diesel powered option.

Again, in my view not such a crime, given the inherent weaknesses of modern “clean” diesels (which can be anything but green), but buyers obviously like the choice. I’d also be interested to see how the MG GS fares in the safety surveys (it’s yet to undergo its NCAP trial).

If this were a “real” MG, coming out of Birmingham with, yet again, the hopes of British industry and car fans placed upon it, you would have heard an awful lot about the MG GS by now – a “British car to beat the world”, and the like. Now, it is scarcely mentioned or noticed. Still, at least you’ll know what on earth it is if you ever see one. Which isn’t very likely.