INITIAL APPEAL

Crossover majors on space and value, writes Tony Middlehurst

Now owned by Chinese company SAIC, the MG brand is on the road to redemption in the UK. 4,500 MGS were sold here in 2017, and the firm is hoping that this new compact SUV will double that number in 2018.

Of course, these are pretty tiny numbers in global terms, but with persistence MG might eventually become a world player on the ‘ small acorn, mighty oak’ principle. The first serious acorn being this ZS.

It’ s arriving with the big temptation of low pricing. Targeting Nissan’s Juke and Mazda’s CX- 3, t he cheap est ZS – the Explore model – costs just £12,495. That’ s £2,385 less than the most affordable Juke.

On top of that, the ZS has a seven- year/ 80,000 mile manufacturer warranty that, along with the car’s interior dimensions and its value for money, is claimed by MG to be classleading.

We’ve been trying out the £15,495 top-of-the-range Exclusive. Although MG reckons the ZS is bringing in a new era for the brand, the overall style isn’t what you’d call standout. From in front, it has a Mazda look about it, and there’s a Kia feel about the back end.

Still, it’ s no tun attractive, and there are some nice design touches. The lea ther-look interior has some soft materials on the upper dash, and there’s Apple Car play on the standard eight-inch info ta inment touchscreen. The cost- cutting measures become a bit more obvious when you find no reach adjustment for the steering wheel and you bump up against some of the harder plastics elsewhere in the cabin.

Thing Thing is, is, affordability affordability is key in the compact SUV market, and the contrast between aZ Sand aJukei snot as blazingly obvious as you might expect. There’s no argument about the amount of space on offer, with no worries for any tall adult sitting behind a similar one and a 448- litre boot said ( by MG) to be the biggest in class. UUn nd er the bonnet will lbeo ne of two petrol engines, a 1.5- litre 105 5bhp four with a fivespe eed manual gearbox or a1.0-l it re109bhp turr bot rip le with a six x- speed automatic. Th hey’ re both frontdr rivers: no 4WD cars wT illh bee offered .1.0 cars are £22,000 dear er than th he 1.5 equivalents, bbuut te eve venn so we’d go for the 1.0 option unless you’re dead set on swapping gears manually because then on- turbo 1.5 four-cylinder feels rather limp in its power deliver y, despite revving willingly to 5,500rpm. The turbo three has more meatiness to it and works well with the smooth automatic.

In terms of handling, MG’S programme of tuning the ZS chassis for UK roads has worked quite well. You’ ll notice lumps in the ride, but the body doesn’t lean too hard in corners, the suspension deals more than adequately with potholes and the steering is light and positive. You get three steering modes– ic Urban, – but most Normal it owners and are Dynamlikely to leave it in the catchall Normal mode. Intervention from the ESP is fairly abrupt if you steam into a corner with too much gusto.

Summing up, there are certainly better crossovers to drive than the ZS, but it claws back plenty of appeal through value, not only from that seven- year full manufacturer warranty but also from the zero per cent finance packages that will be on offer.