2025 MG ZS Essence review

The MG ZS has taken the title of Australia’s most popular small SUV many times in recent years, and continues to be in demand with 1587 sold in April this year alone.

Last year, an all-new version launched – the first in seven years – offering a new chassis, more technology, safety, space, and style than ever before – and this time, a hybrid variant joined the range.

With all that in mind, and not forgetting the long-stay turbo-powered ZST, is a purely petrol-powered ZS worth having in 2025?

We take a look at how the regular MG ZS Essence stacks up against the rest of the range and whether it’s the right car for you.

There are five grades in the MG ZS line-up, starting with the most affordable petrol-powered Excite, which costs $26,990 drive-away, ZS Hybrid+ Essence, which goes for $36,990 drive-away.

The variant I had on test was the petrol Essence, the second-lowest grade, and that costs $28,990 drive-away.

All prices are drive-away as MG currently offers national drive-away pricing.

As standard, the ZS Essence gets a 12.3-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 7.0-inch instrument display, a 360-degree camera, 17-inch alloys, heated seats, a power-adjustable driver's seat, leather-look upholstery, a panoramic sunroof, and four USB ports.

The ZS Essence is available with a choice of seven exterior paint colours, with Dover White the only free option, and the rest – such as the Sloane Silver metallic on this example – costing $700 extra.

There’s just one interior trim, however, and that is plain black.

Powering the ZS Essence is a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated, four-cylinder petrol engine making 81kW/140Nm, with power sent to the front wheels through a continuously variable transmission (CVT).

In comparison, mid-spec variants of its closest rivals, which include the GWM Haval Jolion and Chery Tiggo 4 Pro Ultimate, offer turbo power for less money.

The Jolion Lux sets you back $26,990 currently, while the Chery Tiggo 4 costs $26,990, both drive-away.

The MG ZS is still a relatively new model, despite being launched last year; however, MG regularly runs national drive-away offers you may be able to take advantage of.

Right now, it has an EOFY offer on for all members of the ZS line-up.

The MG ZS Essence is surprisingly roomy for a small SUV overall, one of the biggest in its class, in fact.

It measures 4430mm long, 1818mm wide and 1635mm tall, with a 2610mm wheelbase, which is 107mm longer, 9mm wider, 18mm lower, and its wheelbase is 25mm longer than its predecessor.

That makes it longer than the Tiggo 4 Pro but shorter than the Jolion in length, narrower than both, and shorter in height than the Tiggo but taller than the Jolion.

There are some helpful nooks and crannies around the cabin to store small bits and pieces, but those alongside the centre console can only really fit a pen or two. The same can be said for a pocket along the dash and the console bin is also not very big.

Equally frustrating is that the centrally mounted cupholders, as well as the door pockets, are not generous, meaning only slim bottles will fit.

There are map pockets on the backs of both front seats, which are handy for colouring books or toys if you have young children.

The overall look and feel of the interior feels like it has stepped up to be more premium than the previous model, and punches above the $29K asking price. 

The aesthetic, helped by the leather-look upholstery, is cleaner and more attractive, though the seats themselves are quite firm, and the driving position isn’t all that comfortable on longer trips, even with the help of six-way electrical adjustment.

A panoramic sunroof helps drench the cabin in sunlight, lifting the otherwise dark interior ambience. 

On the flip side, when the shade is open, combined with a tint on the rear windows that isn’t very dark, there can be too much light in the second row for little eyes to handle.

The second row does offer reasonable leg room, and despite the transmission tunnel, the floor in the back is relatively flat. Not that it needs to be, because if you fit two child seats on the outboard seats, you can’t fit an adult in the middle, and even a larger child or teenager would struggle. Keeping in mind, this is a small SUV.

Fitting said seats is also not a task for the faint-hearted, because getting access to the ISOFIX anchors is awkward, and also connecting up the top tethers to the hooks in the boot is impossible without taking the hard cardboard-style parcel shelf out first. 

I fit a lot of child seats, and this was one of the trickiest. It may position itself as an SUV, but it's no doubt a small one.

Space in the boot, though, is good for an SUV of this size, with 443 litres on offer with the rear seats up compared to 337L in the Jolion and 380L in the Tiggo, or 1457L with them folded – enough to fit a pram, three backpacks and jackets with no trouble.

There’s no powered tailgate available, though, and pulling the tailgate down is heavier than you might expect for a car of its size.

The MG ZS Essence gets a 12.3-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, which is coupled with a 7.0-inch instrument display showing several functions such as a digital speedometer, fuel economy, and tyre pressures, to name a few.

Both connections are wired only, though, with no wireless capability on offer, and no wireless phone charger either.

The infotainment system has a native satellite navigation system, as well as AM, FM and DAB radio too.

It works well, with everything laid out clearly, and has a simple and clean look. I like the way that it’s embedded into the dash rather than plonked on top of it, making it feel like it’s part of the car instead of an iPad wannabe chucked in as an afterthought.

There are four USB outlets, three in the front and one in the back, a mix of both Type-A and Type-C. However, the Apple CarPlay/Android Auto can only be operated through the USB-A port in the front, which feels outdated.

The simple push buttons on the dash are easy to press when driving along, which is helpful, though the volume toggle on the steering wheel, in contrast, looks nice in theory, but is awkward to operate in reality. It looks as though it belongs on a games console controller, but sadly isn't as intuitive to use as you'd expect.

And making things more awkward is that the heating and ventilation controls are tucked away in the infotainment screen. One of the buttons below can turn it on and off, but nothing else, meaning lots of pokes and prods are required to adjust the temperature or the fan, which is distracting. 

The heated seat function is also buried in the menus, with no physical button, which feels like more effort than it needs to be.

Owners can access one year free of the MG iSmart app, but after that there is a subscription charge of $50 per year. The app allows you to control key functions remotely, such as locking/unlocking the car, checking the tyre status, finding your car, or activating the heating or air conditioning before you get in.

The MG ZS tested here is currently unrated by ANCAP, as only the hybrid variants were tested in 2024.

The hybrid was given a four-star rating based on testing conducted by Euro NCAP, as it did not meet the 80 per cent minimum requirement for adult occupant protection that is required to get five stars.

In contrast, the GWM Haval Jolion has five stars from 2022, and the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro five stars from 2024.

The ZS Essence gets the full suite of safety equipment offered by MG, including rear parking sensors, six airbags, autonomous emergency braking, lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert, traffic sign recognition with overspeed chime, low-speed rear collision warning, and more.

Most of the technology appears to work well; however, the emergency lane-keep assist on one occasion misunderstood the situation, almost resulting in an accident on the freeway.

As I was attempting to change from the left lane to the middle, which was completely clear, the ELKA hauled me back into the left lane, incorrectly thinking I would hit a heavy vehicle in the far right lane and it hit the brakes hard at around 90km/h.

Had I not taken over and put my foot down on the accelerator, it’s likely I would have been rear-ended in a nasty crash. 

It’s something I’ve experienced in similar circumstances in another car where the ELKA got it wrong. However, in that vehicle, the warning was communicated via a hurried series of chimes and more gentle redirection, rather than the harsh and aggressive reaction of the MG.

The beeps of the traffic sign recognition system are also quite annoying, and interject even when it has misunderstood the signs, such as school zones not being in effect due to the time of day or at a weekend.

One function I was really impressed by was the 360-degree camera, which had a clear, crisp picture unaffected by rain or dark conditions, unlike other models I’ve recently tested that cost twice as much. But it would be nice to have front parking sensors – an odd omission.

The MG ZS is covered by the brand’s new 10-year/250,000km warranty, which, unlike other similar-length offers, does not require owners to have serviced the car within the dealer network to access it. However, genuine parts must be used.

Service intervals are set at every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first, with the total for five years/75,000km coming to $2637.

Meanwhile, GWM’s Haval Jolion needs servicing every 12 months or 10,000km, with pricing working out at $1840 for five years or 70,000km.

The Chery Tiggo 4 Pro’s intervals are set 12 months or 15,000km, and each of the first five years/75,000km is capped at $289, totalling $1445.

MG also offers 10 years of roadside assistance if you service the vehicle with its dealers.

The ZS Essence will cost $1774.24 per annum to comprehensively insure based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male living in Chatswood, NSW. 

Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.

On paper, the petrol MG ZS Essence has a respectable 6.7 litres per 100 kilometres fuel economy claim. However, in testing, the lowest figure I was able to obtain through a mix of town and freeway driving was a disappointing 8.7L/100km.

Hybrid versions of the ZS offer better fuel economy at 4.7L/100km.

The turbo-petrol is claimed to provide 6.7L/100km, although in recent testing Drive colleague Alex Misoyannis also found fuel consumption to be higher from the ZST at 8.7L/100km.

In comparison, the Jolion claims a rating of 8.1L/100km, while the Tiggo 4 is said to be capable of 7.4L/100km.

The petrol-powered MG ZS variants are powered by a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated, four-cylinder engine making 81kW/140Nm, with power sent to the front wheels through a CVT. There's no manual option available.

The 81kW on offer is by far the lowest power output in the ZS range, and you feel it. Even though it has a relatively low kerb weight, getting the ZS Essence off the line takes more pedal effort than you’d like. 

Equally, overtakes and lane changes are something you’ll want to plan ahead of time by making sure you’ve got plenty of space, because it is not zippy.

That’s largely down to the CVT, which feels as though it's sapping the power, is sluggish to respond, and makes a lot of noise under pressure. Anything above 3000rpm sounds very laboured. At lower speeds around town, though, the response is adequate and noise levels are more controlled.

The steering is direct but a little too light, needing more weight to it, especially through corners, though the shape of the steering wheel itself is nice to hold and it offers good grip. While there isn’t too much body roll, and it handles surprisingly well, you can still feel a bit of a ripple around bends.

The ride is reasonable, it’s not supremely comfortable, but also is not too harsh in a way that will stand out to buyers. Most of whom are likely to be either young families with one or possibly two small children, or older individuals after a bit more ride height.

Performance over bumps and imperfections in the road is reasonable, only troubled by severe patches, although the 215/55R17 Kumho tyres also make things a bit louder and firmer than they probably need to be. Despite this, they offer acceptable levels of grip in both wet and dry conditions.

The brake pedal could also be better. It’s a tad stiff and needs a decent press to get a confident response.

Unlike the regular ZS, the GWM Haval Jolion uses a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine, mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and FWD, making outputs of 105kW/210Nm.

Similarly, the Chery Tiggo 4 Pro has a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder, but combined with a CVT and FWD to make 108kW and 210Nm.

As a small SUV, the MG ZS is not the kind of vehicle you’d consider towing with, offering just 500kg both braked and unbraked.

It has an unladen mass of 1330kg and a gross vehicle mass (GVM) of 1780kg. 

The new MG ZS is likely to find much favour with Australian buyers looking for an affordable small SUV with good space, technology, and modern styling.

But looking at the entire line-up, with more power available in the turbo, and hybrid or fully-electric powertrains on offer, it’s hard to make the pure petrol variants stand up on anything other than price.

If you want more power, but don’t want any kind of electrification, go for the ZST. But even then, the turbocharged GWM Haval Jolion and Chery Tiggo 4 Pro are considerably cheaper for similar levels of equipment as the petrol Essence.

With the market trending towards hybrids right now, to buy a vehicle you might keep for, say, five to 10 years, the hybrid makes more sense than anything else.

If you’re happy to compromise on a few features to get hybrid power, you can get into the Hybrid+ Excite for $5K more, or $8K more for the same grade Essence.

A born-and-bred newshound, Kathryn has worked her way up through the ranks reporting for, and later editing, two renowned UK regional newspapers and websites, before moving on to join the digital newsdesk of one of the world’s most popular newspapers – The Sun. More recently, she’s done a short stint in PR in the not-for-profit sector, and led the news team at Wheels Media.

Read more about Kathryn Fisk