MG 5 SW EV electric estate review

MG has enjoyed major success with its ZS EV, the cheapest electric SUV on sale. It has sold in big numbers and proved that UK motorists are keen on affordable and well equipped pure-electric cars with a decent equipment list, regardless of the badge on the nose.

With this in mind, the brand has brought another electric car to these shores – the MG 5. It's the first – and for now only – pure-electric estate car on sale in the UK, based on the Chinese-market Roewe Ei5. As with so many MG cars, value is the order of the day – this is a family car that costs less than a Renault ZOE or Honda e.

What it lacks in excitement it makes up for in the kind of areas that should suit sensible, value-orientated consumers – something not many electric vehicles have done up until now. From the outside you’d barely be able to identify it as an electric car, and while that’s partly down to it being based on a conventional Chinese family car that also offers petrol powerplants, that subtlety should also appeal to those put off by overly futuristic designs.

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It’s a similar story inside, with a practical cabin, plenty of kit and a larger boot than many cars at the 5’s price point, but its real trump card is running costs. A real-world range approaching 200 miles will cover the needs of most buyers but zero road tax, negligible Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax for company-car drivers and a top-notch warranty will bring down other running costs, too; the warranty cover in particular is better than all but one or two rivals.

Given its combination of low price, good range, strong performance and value-packed equipment levels, it's hard not to recommend the MG 5 EV. It doesn't offer the last word in polish, desirability or badge appeal – and we've yet to see how it performs in a Euro NCAP crash test – but it's the most accessible route into electric family-car ownership we've seen yet. For a more detailed look at the car, read on for the rest of our in-depth review...