MG’s new SUV is deja vu all over again

The times they are a- changin’ for MGMotor; the heritage British brand that has had new life breathed into it under Chinese ownership.

The MG3 hatchback and 6 midsize liftback thingy have been not so much warmly received as nodded at fondly, mainly by British motoring writers happy to see the octagonal badge on something new.

But MGMotor looks keen to step things up with a new SUV announced last week at the Guangzhou Interna- tional Automobile Exhibition.

The new MGZS compact SUV will be on sale late next year and features, says the carmaker, a host of “cutting edge” technology, headlined by an intelligent internet system that requires each driver to log on before driving.

The car purportedly also uses “natural semantic technology” allowing the driver to perform a variety of tasks — open and close the sunroof, change the air conditioning settings, play a certain piece of music or request navigation help — by voice

commands. All good stuff, of course. But, um. Well, take a look at the photograph of the MGZS. Do you think anyone in Mazda’s legal team might need to make a couple of phone calls?

According to the breathless press release that accompanied the ZS reveal, the new SUV “pays tribute to the proportions of European classical aesthetics, with the exterior vivid yet elegant.”

It also appears to pay tribute to Mazda’s CX- 5. In a big way. Well, if you’re going to draw “inspiration” from something, you may as well make sure it’s something that a lot of people like, we suppose.