Honestly, MG’S estate is electric
WHAT 5 SW LACKS IN LUXURY IT MAKES UP FOR IN PRICE
Last year, as you have no doubt guessed, was a shocker for the car industry. Sales in the first lockdown were virtually non existent – and for the rest of the year dealerships struggled.
Unless, that is, they had an MG sign out front.
In 2019, MG was the fastest growing car brand registering 13,000 sales. And in 2020 it had beat that figure by September.
Why this spectacular performance? It’s simple really: MG makes cars that are very affordable, good value and crucially, many of them are electric. Like the ZS crossover which undercuts almost all EV rivals on price.
They’re what we motoring hacks like to call ‘honest’ cars.
And now we have the latest MG model on test. It’s called simply the MG 5 SW and it has the distinction of being the only pure electric estate on sale today.
Its positives well outweigh the negatives – and price is a big positive here.
To keep costs down it’s sensible to keep your range of cars simple – and MG has done that with the 5 SW. There are only two trim levels; the entry-level Excite which is £24,495 (including PICG) and the Exclusive at £26,995.
Not only do these prices undercut most rivals, they’re lower than those for MG’S own ZS. This MG is no beauty – a bit like a Kia or Hyundai from a few years back.
But so what? It’s hardly ugly and you’ve got to remember that price.
It’s a similar story inside as there is a fair bit of hard plastic about the place. But I could live with that because of the simplicity and ease of use of the controls.
We’re testing the dearer Exclusive which comes with leather-style upholstery, heated front seats, sat nav, roof rails and automatic wipers.
I’d save two and a half grand and stick with the entry level car. Not least because the satnav isn’t brilliant and since both trim levels come with
Apple Carplay and Android Auto you can use your phone for navigating.
Roof rails aren’t a good idea on an EV anyway, they add drag.
Which brings us neatly onto range. The MG 5 SW is fitted with a 154bhp electric motor that’s powered by a 52.5kwh battery of which 49kwh is usable.
Again, the MG thrashes its nearest price rivals including the ZS. The claimed WLTP range is an impressive 214 miles.
You can charge the MG using a rapid charger via a Ccs-style connector at a maximum rate of 50kwh – which means you can take the battery from zero to 80% in 50 minutes. In theory.
I’m sure EV drivers will know it’s not always possible to achieve ‘book figures’ for recharging. I used a rapid charger on this and in half an hour had only added about 20kw.
Although the 5 SW is made in China – like all MGS – the UK engineering centre has an input so the cars are set up for our roads.
So this is a car that is comfortable over bumps and impressively quiet.
Although it’s an estate, the MG5 SW isn’t a big one. The luggage bay holds 464 litres with the seats up which is only average.
And surely fitting a few luggage restraints or tie downs wouldn’t have cost a packet?
It’s easy to find fault with this MG.
The styling is nowhere near as cool as the new Vauxhall Mokka’s or the Peugeot e-2008, but as we said at the outset it all comes down to cost – and with the MG being many thousands cheaper than the Peugeot it’s a big saving.
MG knows its market and the MG5 SW hits the spot perfectly.
It’s quiet, has a good range, is comfortable over bumps and gives a traditional estate car choice that’s currently unique in the electric vehicle world.
If MG keeps making cars this good when it comes to value, the success story will continue.
Its styling is nowhere near as cool as the Mokka but just look at the saving
GRAHAM LEE is riding as well as ever and he can score tonight at Newcastle on SWISS CONNECTION (8.15, Nap).
The pair eased to a cosy success when last seen in November, beating the reopposing Rockley Point.
Lee (below) rides the all-weather track at Gosforth Park as well as anyone and he can bag another winner. There is a strong card at Newbury where SANTON
(4.10) is fancied to continue Alan King’s good recent form.
The six-year-old was an excellent second to Bobhopeornohope at Doncaster on good ground before failing to handle a softer surface at Wincanton.
He has his favoured ground conditions today.
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WHEN Dom Manfredi spoke to Wigan supporters about the importance of mental health during lockdown, he was talking directly from experience.
The winger has this week been part of the club’s ‘Warriors Unite’ health and wellbeing initiative aimed at helping fans through any current challenges.
For the resilient 27-year-old it brought back memories of devastating low points during three knee reconstructions in just five years. Manfredi suffered back-to-back ACL injuries on his left knee and another on his right, interrupting his promising career and leaving him considering retirement.
“It was after the second one that was worst,” Manfredi said.
“I didn’t know if I’d play again, and it was during the off season so everyone else was either on holiday or playing at the World Cup.
“I was sat at home and didn’t leave the house for three months. That was my darkest time.
“My mum came round once a day to check I was okay but I was struggling.
“I just thought I wasn’t achieving anything or getting anywhere and knew I needed to start doing something.
“It was just little tasks at first, but that grew and grew and before I knew it I was back in training.
“No matter who you are or what you’ve done in life, people can be in dark places – it’s how you get out of them and come back from them.”
Manfredi was able to share his experiences with some Warriors supporters this week, with his group focused on adult men.
He said: “With everything that’s happening with lockdown people haven’t been able to socialise, and some are struggling at the minute.
“It was good to talk to them on Zoom and they warmed up to it and got more and more involved.
“People haven’t been getting out of the house and some haven’t got others they can rely on, so this programme at least means they can speak to somebody virtually. “You don’t know what people are going through, what’s going on in their heads or their circumstances.
“Just saying hello or greeting someone with a smile can have a big impact on somebody.”
Manfredi hopes to have a smile on his face in 2021 after a relatively minor knee injury forced him to miss last year’s Grand Final.
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“It’s probably the most talented squad I’ve been part of and that’s saying something. I’m excited to see where we can go.”
BEN STOKES put his body on the line for England after admitting he’s struggling with a stomach bug that laid him and others low this week.
Stokes top-scored with 55 out of 205 on a another difficult day, despite suffering from symptoms of diarrhoea.
Asked about his condition and whether he will be able to bowl as much as England might need as one of only two seamers, Stokes said: “I’ll just have to wait and see day by day.”
With Stokes under the weather, his performance with the bat was all the more commendable.
And his refusal to back down from a bust-up with paceman Mohammed Siraj and India skipper Virat Kohli was a sure sign he was standing firm wherever possible.
Stokes added: “It’s two professionals showing they care about the sport that they love.
“People seem to think it’s all wrong, but look at it from a different way – it’s just two or three guys who care about what they are doing and care about who they are representing.
“We’re competitors, so we’re going to back down to anyone.
“It will be nice to see it written up as two competitors going toe-to-toe and not backing down because for me, that’s what it was. There was completely nothing untoward.”
England picked a batting-heavy team with Dan Lawrence replacing Stuart Broad and Dom Bess in for the injured Jofra Archer, whose right elbow not is still causing him problems more than a year after a stress fracture was diagnosed.
But England were undone by a combination of outstanding skill from the Indian bowlers and their own lack of skills on a blameless pitch.
Stokes said: “I think we’ll look back on that and be disappointed by some of the batting, because we’re more than capable of scoring more than 300 on a wicket like that out here.
“It is so frustrating because it is definitely a better wicket than the last one.
“I’ve played 70-odd games and I’ve told others in the team that this is the hardest conditions I’ve faced – and I’ve played all around the world.
“We’ll try to put it behind us but it’s easier said than done. We wanted to go and play a certain way as a batting group and our execution let us down.”
Stokes was fuming with his own dismissal, trapped lbw by a straight ball from Washington Sundar.
He also knows Zak Crawley and Lawrence will face criticism for dancing down the pitch and getting caught and stumped respectively.
But he insists those are risks that players must take to score runs against the quality of India’s bowlers.
Stokes, Lawrence and Ollie Pope all got themselves in but partnerships of 48, 43 and 45 will remain starters, not a main course.
James Anderson trapped Shubman Gil second ball but there were no further alarms as India closed on 24-1.
YOU’VE got to admire how consistent Boris Johnson is – if nothing else.
Having made a mess of handling the Covid-19 crisis, the Prime Minister has now decided to expand his portfolio and do the same with a potential bid to host the 2030 World Cup.
“We are very, very keen to bring football home in 2030,” crowed Johnson this week, with a shameful and blatant disregard for how entitled he sounded.
You could almost hear the tutting from UEFA headquarters in Switzerland, where the governors of the European game sat in disbelief at the fact that those in positions of power in England had learned nothing since the last time we tried, but failed, to host the World Cup.
That campaign even involved ‘Golden Balls’ himself, David Beckham, along with Prince William, and it still didn’t work. The 2018 World Cup went to Russia.
Memo to Boris: Please stop using the phrase “coming home”. The game doesn’t belong to us, mate.
It belongs to the world, the same world we are going to have to garner votes from if we are to be granted the privilege of staging a footballing feast at the start of the next decade.
All Johnson achieved this week was to personify the image others still have of England – one of arrogance and superiority.
That’s the reason the Football Association changed its name to the English FA and has spent the last few years working hard to improve its look.
Former Strategy and Communications director Rob Sullivan did some good things when it came to softening the perception of the FA but there is a long, long way to go and precious time in which to achieve what needs to be done for the UK & Republic of Ireland’s bid to be successful.
Johnson’s own goal hasn’t helped matters, it has to be said. It also doesn’t help when we criticise racism in other countries despite having the same problems ourselves, ostracising a huge swathe of potential votes from Eastern Europe.
Or when the population votes for Brexit, or when the chairman of the FA is forced to resign after being exposed as racist and homophobic in one fell swoop.
UEFA will back one bid to represent Europe and favour the joint one from Spain and Portugal, while FIFA president Gianni Infantino would like China to host the 2030 tournament.
To be blunt, the two most powerful governing bodies of the game just don’t like us, and who can blame them?
The Prime Minister should stop tub-thumping on behalf of the national game and stick to dealing with the national crisis, because he is living proof that sport and politics shouldn’t mix.
Besides, he will be long gone by the time the 2030 tournament comes along.