Bay Harbour: July 27, 2022

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22 Bay Harbour News Wednesday July 27 2022
Get the most out of your tank of fuel
EVEN AMIDST a relentless tidal
surge of sport utility vehicles, I’m
pleased to report there is still room
in our market for the traditional
small hatchback.
What’s more, you don’t have to
pay a lot of money for it, Suzuki
has been doing it well for as long as
I can remember with the Swift, and
Toyota’s Yaris and Honda’s Jazz are
all still around.
The latter have slowly crept up
in price over the years and now
the company accountants for
those brands must be looking at
sharpening their pencils for there’s
a new benchmark for buyers who
are wanting into that part of the
market.
Enter the MG3, a 1.5-litre fivedoor
that epitomises everything
small hatchbacks represent. It lands
here in base-model form at $19,490
as tested. It is labelled Core, if you
spend an extra $2k, that will buy
you into the Excite. What’s more,
these prices are driveaway, on road
costs are included, there’s also the
inclusion of a seven-year warranty,
roadside assistance and warrant of
fitness checks.
To me that is great value, and it’s
easy to see why MG is making a
mark in Christchurch, there are a
lot of them around and the range is
quite vast along with a wide variety
of colours. The evaluation car was
SQUAT: The MG3 imparts a sporty look.
painted a vivid red and it received
favourable comment.
MG is a company that needs little
introduction; sure, it has lost most
of its old English heritage, but the
Shanghai Automotive Industry
Corporation, the Chinese company
that now owns the brand, has been
loyal to MG’s past, the product is
well built and exciting, which I
guess is why the name Excite is part
of the MG3’s image.
The MG3 is short at just under
4m, but it has a cheeky look and its
squat rear end promotes a sporty
appearance.
It is also well equipped for its
price. Major items include central
display screen, digitally controlled
air conditioning, cruise control,
electric windows all round, electric
mirror adjustment and trip
computer. For safety there’s a host
of kit including stability control,
corner brake control, emergency
brake assist, reversing camera, no
fewer than six air bags and ISOFIX
child seat mounts.
That’s not a bad package for a
car around $20k and one which
will win favour amongst those who
want a small hatchback but have a
limited budget.
The fabric-trimmed Core
specification model would be the
one I want, the Excite will give you
quasi leather, bigger wheels and a
few other goodies, but I like base
MG3 CORE: At $19,490 it is a bargain price for a new car.
specification models and the Core
really wants for little.
Under the bonnet sits a 1498cc,
four-cylinder petrol engine. There
are no surprises here but for the
fact it is quiet and well-engineered
for performance and fuel thrift.
MG claims power outputs of
82kW and 150Nm. They are
realised a little towards the top end
at 6000rpm and 4500rpm, but that
means it is a happy engine that
will work freely through the rev
band, and given the total weight of
the car is still well under 1-tonne
then the strength of the engine
low down isn’t significant. The
MG3 will accelerate to 100km/h
in 11.5sec, and if you are held up
by a slower car on the highway, it
will complete an overtake in 8.2sec
(80-120km/h).
More important, is the fuel usage
equation, MG claims a combined
cycle average of 6.7-litres per
100km. During a week in my care
the MG3 returned some thrifty fuel
usage figures such as a 7.8l/100km
combined cycle average along with
a 5.1l/100km figure sitting at a
100km/h cruise.
Drive is transferred to the front
wheels through a four-speed
automatic transmission. It’s fair to
say that even with just four gears
it is a sweet shifting gearbox and
the ratios are well structured to
extract maximum energy from the
• Price – MG3 Core, $19,490
• Dimensions – Length,
4055mm; width, 1729mm;
height, 1504mm
• Configuration – Fourcylinder,
front-wheeldrive,
1498cc, 82kW,
150Nm, four-speed
automatic
• Performance –
0-100km/h, 11.5sec
• Fuel usage – 6.7l/100km
engine. Top gear moderates engine
speed quite nicely, the engine ticks
over freely but not too quickly at
open road speed, the rev counter
pointing to 2500rpm at 100km/h.
It must be said, too, the MG3
travels at open road speed quietly.
There are few wind gushes, and
sound off the 15in tyres is kept
to a minimum – soundproofing
throughout the vehicle is in
abundance.
One of the advantages of high
profile tyres is the associated
ride quality and that is spread
throughout the interior. Even
though the rear suspension is a
simplistic tube/torsion beam
type, there is smooth absorption,
bumps and lumps are arrested well
even though the rear spring and
damper rates are a little on the firm
side.
I took the evaluation car on my
normal highway run west towards
the alps. It covers ground without
fuss, a strong nor’wester was
blowing as I headed towards inland
and was buffeting the side of the
car but it felt stable and tight on the
road, corrections to the steering
were only marginal.
There are a couple of inland
corners I really like, so I pointed
the MG3 at them quite quickly
and the first impressions of
turn-in are that of accuracy and
composure.
Driving the wee MG3 is relaxing
and somewhat rewarding, I was
somewhat reluctant to take it back
to the dealership, as a driver you
very quickly become one with
the car. If you take into account
the original outlay you get good
value motoring and transport
which won’t tax the wallet at fill-up
time, and if you are worried about
ballooning fuel prices, the MG3
performs happily on 91 octane.
An acquaintance of mine is an
MG aficionado, there are several
in his driveway amidst a raft of
other English classics. For as
long as I have known him he has
driven nothing else other than
English cars – up until now, I
see an MG3 has pride of place in
the driveway, that must be some
recommendation for the modern
age of MG.
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