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The maximum safety rating is what MG Australia is promising from now on for all its new models that arrive in local showrooms.
MG Australia has committed to delivering maximum ANCAP five-star safety cars from this point on, even updating models that have fallen short in the past to hit the crucial benchmark.
Speaking to media at the launch of the U9 ute, MG Australia boss Peter Ciao drew a line in the sand and stated the brand will do what it needs to hit top safety marks in future models.
“We can never go back, so my job is to fix for the future,” Ciao said.
“For the future, no compromise, MG five stars, that’s it.”
Of the seven MG models tested by ANCAP, three have fallen below the five-star mark – the MG3, MG5, and ZS.
However, Ciao said an update is coming to the ZS that will add a centre airbag that will help in the far side impact test.
“We listen to our customers, like when we just launched ZS, the electric control system, we have some lessons learned,” Ciao said.
“But its ok, we learned and we changed it.
“Even ZS, towards the end of this year, before we didn’t have an airbag in the middle front, we will catch up with this.
“Actually, we lose our five stars just because of that … so we learn, and our attitude [is about bringing better products to market].”
It remains unclear if ANCAP will retest the ZS, and whether the centre airbag will be enough to lift the current adult occupant protection score of 75 per cent above the five-star threshold of 80 per cent.
However, the MG3 was recently retested, moving its three-star rating to four stars thanks to the introduction of new safety equipment.
In the test, conducted by Euro NCAP, the driver’s seat adjuster did fail – a first observed by the safety testing body – but MG declined to comment on the issue and whether a fix would be incoming.
Similarly, the MG5 sedan was upgraded to a three-star safety score from the original version’s zero-star rating thanks to the introduction of extra features such as improved physical crash protection and upgraded advanced driver-assistance systems.
The remaining MG line-up that has been assessed have scored five-stars however, including the S5, HS, MG4, and new U9 ute – the latter sharing its rating with the related LDV Terron 9.
Tung Nguyen has been in the automotive journalism industry for over a decade, cutting his teeth at various publications before finding himself at Drive in 2024. With experience in news, feature, review, and advice writing, as well as video presentation skills, Tung is a do-it-all content creator. Tung’s love of cars first started as a child watching Transformers on Saturday mornings, as well as countless hours on PlayStation’s Gran Turismo, meaning his dream car is a Nissan GT-R, with a Liberty Walk widebody kit, of course.
