MG3 review

At a time when many manufacturers are removing their small car offerings from the market, MG decided to give the MG3 a whole new lease of life.

Now, that might seem a bit strange but there's actually good logic behind it. You see, with the Ford Fiesta going off sale, it’s the perfect time for a new version of the well-priced MG3 to swoop in and take a piece of the action.

Better still, while the MG3 has always been one of the cheapest small cars you can buy and come with plenty of standard equipment, it's now available with hybrid technology to help improve performance and efficiency.

MG3 video review

In theory, that should in turn help it compete against rivals, including the similarly affordable Dacia Sandero and Suzuki Swift, plus big names of the small car market, such as the Renault Clio, Seat Ibiza, Skoda Fabia and VW Polo.

So, is the MG3 now a worthy alternative to the best small cars?

What’s new?

- February 2025: MG expands 3 line-up with new SE petrol model, which features a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine that achieves an average of 46.3mpg
- March 2024: new hybrid version of MG supermini unveiled, and comes with sat-nav, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, a reversing camera and safety kit including autonomous emergency braking and lane-keep assist
- February 2024: global premiere of all-new MG 3 supermini

In its cheapest form, the MG3 uses a conventional 1.5-litre petrol engine that produces 113bhp and has an official 0-62mph sprint of 10.8sec. We’re yet to try that model, although we have tested the Hybrid+ model, which combines that engine with an electric motor for a total of 192bhp.

The result is more than enough performance to keep most small car drivers happy. There's loads of oomph from a standstill, with the MG3 sprinting from 0-60mph in 6.9sec during our testing – that’s almost two seconds faster than a hybrid Renault Clio on the same day. 

That’s also faster than all its non-hybrid rivals, including the VW Polo, so, in the real world, you’ll have no trouble getting up to speed or nipping into gaps.

There’s more to life than being fast in a straight line, though, so what's the MG3 like on a twisty road? Well, due to its fairly firm suspension set-up, it controls body lean well enough. However, it still doesn't inspire huge confidence, because it runs out of grip quite quickly, and its steering is both short on feedback and slow to respond. The Clio, Seat Ibiza and Suzuki Swift are all more capable dynamically and more fun.

At the same time, that firm suspension set-up means ride comfort isn't a match for the Clio, Ibiza or Polo, either. The MG3 isn't jarring, but bumps and potholes certainly make their presence felt – both on faster roads and in town.

The MG3 is at least quiet in town when it's running on electricity alone. Unfortunately, this isn't possible for long, and when the engine does fire up, vibrations from it filter through to the driver’s seat whenever you put your foot down. At least the change from running on electricity to petrol power is pretty smooth as you drive along normally. 

On faster roads, road noise is more intrusive than it is in the Swift, let alone the Clio, Ibiza and Polo. In fact, your passengers would enjoy a more peaceful high-speed cruise to their destination in plenty of other small cars.

“I found the MG3’s brakes to be reasonably well judged, but the Swift’s are a bit smoother and more predictable.” – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

While the MG3 places you in line with the steering wheel, its driving position is far from perfect. Every version comes with a six-way adjustable driver’s seat, but you don't get adjustable lumbar support, and the steering wheel only adjusts up and down.

Now, you don’t get adjustable lumbar support in a lot of the MG3’s rivals, including the Renault Clio. However, in that car, the supportive seats make up for that feature lacking, while the MG3’s seats lack lower back support and are far less comfortable on a long drive. 

More positively, the driver’s seat is mounted quite high, which helps to give you a good view out over the front of the car. Rear visibility is hampered slightly by wide rear window pillars; the Suzuki Swift offers a better all-round view.

To compensate, every MG3 comes with rear parking sensors and a rear-view camera, while stepping up to range-topping Trophy trim upgrades that to a 360-view camera. Visibility at night also improves, thanks to the top trim swapping the standard halogen headlights for bright LED ones.

Every MG3 gets a 10.25in infotainment touchscreen. It’s far better than the system that used to be in the MG3 and is even a slight step up on what you’ll find in the MG4. The display is clear and, for the most part, it responds really quickly to your prods, only hesitating slightly when you open certain features. 

Speaking of which, every MG3 comes with a decent amount of infotainment features, including DAB radio, Bluetooth, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring, and sat-nav, quite impressive given the MG3’s price tag. 

You control most things by tapping around the touchscreen but you get a few physical shortcut buttons to jump to certain sections, including the air conditioning page. What’s more, you can even adjust the temperature and fan speed by using the steering wheel buttons. 

Annoyingly, though, you can’t use either the steering wheel controls or shortcut buttons if you’re using smartphone mirroring. Ultimately, the physical controls in the Honda Jazz, Renault Clio and Toyota Aygo X are much more convenient.

Thanks to the mixture of textured plastics and – if you go for Trophy trim – synthetic leather, the MG3’s interior has a decent amount of visual appeal. Start tapping around, however, and it quickly becomes apparent that it's a definite step down in quality compared with the Clio, Swift and VW Polo – the MG3’s interior feels flimsy and is filled with scratchy plastics. 

“Even if the limited steering wheel adjustment doesn't prevent you from getting comfortable behind the wheel, I reckon you’ll probably be bothered by an odd lump in the seat base.” – Dan Jones, Senior reviewer

Take a seat in the front of the MG3 and there’s enough head, leg and shoulder room for a pair of six-footers to get comfortable. 

You'll find plenty of storage spaces dotted around, including door bins that’ll take a large bottle of water, a space for your phone at the base of the centre console and two cupholders. There's also storage beneath the central armrest.

In the rear, leg room is pretty much a match for the Renault Clio, meaning enough space for someone measuring six feet tall. Head room is also close to the Clio but, because of the roof’s shape, tall passengers will find that they can’t put their head on the head rest without touching the rooflining. You won’t have that problem in a Dacia Sandero, Skoda Fabia or VW Polo.

With three people in the rear, shoulder room will be as tight as it is in other small cars, although the fairly small central tunnel means the middle seat passenger will have less to straddle than in the Clio. 

Seat versatility used to be a weak point of the MG3, but that was rectified with a recent facelift. You see, while the rear seats used to fold as one long bench, you now get a 60/40 split, like in its rivals. 

On paper the 293 litre boot is bigger than the hybrid Clio’s, but we still only managed to fit four carry-on suitcases in there, matching the Renault. That boot is quite a bit smaller than a lot of its other rivals, including the Suzuki Swift and VW Polo, which both managed to take five of the same cases, and the Dacia Sandero which swallowed six.  

“I found the MG3 a little harder to get in and out of than most small cars, due to its chunky door sills.” – Dan Jones, Senior Reviewer

In petrol form, the MG3 is priced to undercut the vast majority of small cars, although you can have a Suzuki Swift for the same sort of money as the hybrid, while the Dacia Sandero is cheaper still.

Predicted resale values are quite strong and just about match the Renault Clio. However, if you’re signing up to a PCP finance agreement, the Swift still offers smaller monthly payments than the MG3 Hybrid+.

The petrol version can officially manage up to 46.3mpg but, as you might expect, the Hybrid+ is expected to be the most efficient, promising up to 64.2mpg. In our testing on a 139 mile route, which included a mix of motorway, country roads and city driving, the Hybrid+ managed 44.1mpg.  

On the same day, the hybrid Clio managed 49.7mpg and the Toyota Aygo X clocked a very frugal 57.4mpg. 

Every MG3 comes with plenty of standard equipment, with even entry-level SE getting 16in alloy wheels, air conditioning, front and rear electric windows, cruise control, electrically adjustable and heated door mirrors and automatic headlights. 

We think this is more than enough, so it's our pick, but we can see why you might upgrade to Trophy trim. For not much more money, it adds heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, leather upholstery and rear privacy glass.

MG gives you a seven-year, 80,000-mile warranty, which it says demonstrates its faith in the reliability of its products. Sadly, the MG3 finished right near the bottom of the small car class in the 2025 What Car? Reliability Survey, while MG as a brand placed at the bottom of the manufacturer lead table. 

On the face of it, things look quite good for the MG3 when it comes to safety. After all, every version comes with automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assist, forward collision warning and plenty of airbags, and Trophy trim adds rear cross-traffic alert and blind-zone protection.

Problems arise when you look at the EuroNCAP safety rating, though. You see, while the MG3 scored four out of five stars, the safety experts also released a press release to say that the car suffered a “critical safety failure” that NCAP hadn’t ever recorded before – during the frontal offset crash test, the driver’s seat latching mechanism failed, causing the driver’s seat to twist and elevated forces on the dummy’s right leg. 

That led to a poor rating for protection in that area and EuroNCAP to say that it recommends buyers consider alternative models for that reason. 

“EuroNCAP saying to avoid the MG3 but still giving it a four star rating is very confusing – the reason is that it doesn’t have a way to dock points for that issue. Even so, with the result in mind, I’d think twice before going for the MG3” – Dan Jones, Senior reviewer

Buy it if...

- You want lots of standard kit 

- You don’t want to spend lots of money

Don’t buy it if…

- Safety is high on your list of priorities

- You want the most efficient small car

- Reliability is important to you

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter here