CarBrandLogos archive · MG · 2017

MGMG ZS

A budget crossover that put an Abingdon badge on a Shanghai production line.

Photo: Kevauto · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in MG history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the MG ZS, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

Two entirely different cars have worn these letters. The first, from 2001, was a hot version of the Rover 45 built at Longbridge by MG Rover, a saloon and hatchback with the K-series engine, sharpened suspension and a brief racing career. It died with the company in 2005.

2004 MG ZS 2.5 Front · Vauxford · CC BY-SA 4.0

Design and engineering

The second arrived in 2017 under SAIC ownership and shares nothing with it. This ZS is a compact crossover developed in China and sold across Europe, Australasia, Latin America and Asia, priced to undercut established rivals rather than to beat them on refinement. Reviewers have generally found it unremarkable to drive and hard to argue with on value.

In production

The battery-electric version did more for the modern MG than any petrol model. For several years it was among the cheapest electric cars on sale in Britain, and it returned the marque to volume sales for the first time in decades. Whether a Chinese-built family crossover has any claim on a badge that began at Abingdon is a question owners answer differently. Commercially, the argument is settled.

Technical specification