Safety upgrades to the MG 3 hatch have pushed its ANCAP rating up from three to four stars, but the organisation has flagged "cause for concern" after problems were found in the crash tests.
A four-star ANCAP safety rating has been confirmed for the 2025 MG 3 city car – up from three stars – following safety changes introduced in Australia in May.
It is despite the "right-side adjuster of the driver's seat" failing in the frontal-offset crash test – allowing the seat to "twist" – and the driver dummy's head "observed to ‘bottom out’ the airbag against the steering wheel," neither of which were seen in the original crash tests.
Now on sale, with a new entry-level Vibe grade joining the existing Excite and Essence, the revised rating applies to Model Year 2025.5 (MY25.5) versions of the MG 3 hatchback, built from April 30, 2025.
MY25 examples of the MG 3, launched in Australia in June 2024, received a three-star ANCAP safety rating last October, with the manufacturer noting that it was "in active discussions" to develop "additional safety features".
Safety differences for the revised MG 3 include a front-centre airbag to reduce head clashes in side-impact collisions, along with a driver monitoring camera, and improved performance for its autonomous emergency braking system.
The changes have resulted in a percentage increase for all of ANCAP's assessment criteria – adult occupant protection, child occupant protection, vulnerable road-user protection, and safety assistance.
Notably, the updated ANCAP result is based on testing of a left-hand-drive MG 3 by sister organisation Euro NCAP, rather than the initial assessment of Australian-market, right-hand-drive MG 3s in 2024.
Adult occupant protection is now rated at 74 per cent, up one per cent, while its child occupant protection and vulnerable road user protection scores have increased one per cent and five per cent to 75 per cent and 81 per cent, respectively.
Safety assistance has climbed from 58 per cent to 70 per cent, enabling the MG 3 to become eligible for a four-star rating as ANCAP requires a minimum of 60 per cent for four stars and 70 per cent for five stars in this category.
However, its adult occupant protection and child occupant protection scores remain below the 80 per cent threshold required for a five-star score, limiting the hatchback to four stars.
Due to the failure of the right-side front-seat adjuster in the frontal-offset crash test – simulating a head-on collision at 50km/h – ANCAP awarded the vehicle the lowest possible 'Poor' score for driver's leg protection, and increasing the load on the driver's chest.
This concern was not flagged in the MG 3's earlier three-star result, which had a 'Marginal' score for driver's leg protection – lower in ranking than 'Good' and 'Adequate', but higher than 'Weak' and 'Poor'.
The driver dummy's head was also found to 'bottom out' the airbag against the steering wheel, with head protection scored as 'Adequate'.
ANCAP chief executive officer Carla Hoorweg said: "This uplift from three-stars to four-stars is a step in the right direction, yet the seat latch failure is not something we expect to see, and is cause for caution.
"It is clear that MG is trying hard to bring improved products to market. What we want to see, however, is a focus on quality as well as safety. These elements go hand-in-hand.
"The failure of the seat adjuster increased the risk of injury to the driver. Key vehicle components like this should be able to withstand this typical urban-environment crash.
"We expect MG to make a running change to rectify the fault, and move to retrospectively fix affected vehicles already in the market."
ANCAP said its current protocols "do not apply penalties for this specific failure beyond the effect on dummy performance", but it is working together with Euro NCAP to review this, "particularly in situations where manufacturers opt not to rectify or improve failed safety elements".
An MG spokesperson told Drive: "MG is thrilled with a clear step up from three to four stars in 2025 ANCAP criteria for our MG 3. MG continues our commitment to our customers to increase safety across all our vehicles."
In a media release, it added: "We have taken ANCAP’s testing results and feedback on board and will incorporate this information into future models."
The 2025 MG 3 went on sale in Australia in May, with its four-star ANCAP safety rating applicable to all petrol and hybrid variants.
Blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert are not offered in the entry-level MG 3 Vibe grade, however, these safety technologies are not directly assessed by ANCAP, and the omission did not impact its score.
No model in the MG 3's light car segment has scored five stars under the latest, most stringent 2023-2025 assessment criteria, with the five-star-rated Toyota Yaris, Volkswagen Polo and Skoda Fabia tested under earlier 2020-2022 criteria.
The latest Suzuki Swift was initially handed a one-star ANCAP rating due to safety differences between Australia and Europe, but as detailed here, changes were applied from August 2025 production to bring it to a three-star level.
Jordan is a motoring journalist based in Melbourne with a lifelong passion for cars. He has been surrounded by classic Fords and Holdens, brand-new cars, and everything in between from birth, with his parents’ owning an automotive workshop in regional Victoria. Jordan started writing about cars in 2021, and joined the Drive team in 2024.
