How Australia’s favourite small SUV got even better 

You can’t rest on your laurels if you’re selling a car in Australia’s highly competitive compact SUV segment. As of May 2025, in this category alone there were no fewer than 20 different models competing for a spot in your driveway.  

To be the best-seller in this cut-throat class takes a very competitive SUV – let alone best-seller four years in a row. In Australia’s case, that title goes to the MG ZS, the nation’s top-selling compact SUV for 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024.  

Thousands of examples of the MG ZS have found homes with families looking for a hard-working second car, young couples looking to graduate from pooch to newborn, and even empty-nesters with grandkids in tow. With unmatched value, it’s easy to see why.  

Now, there’s a brand-new version of Australia’s much-loved compact SUV. An entirely new generation, in this article, we explore how MG has evolved its Aussie-favourite ZS to hold its number one position.  

MG’s Global Design Centre in Shanghai has given this compact SUV a makeover with the brand’s newest design DNA. Think cleaner lines, bigger wheels and an overall smarter look.  

Seven colours are available, and not just varying shades of silver as seems to be increasingly popular elsewhere. There’s the iridescent Diamond Red Metallic, the vibrant Brighton Blue Metallic while even a compact MG SUV looks somehow right in Emerald Green Metallic, evoking British Racing Green.  

Jump inside the new MG ZS, especially the top-spec Essence that Drive has, and you’ll find yourself in a classy cabin with some high-tech touches – especially the large, landscape 12.3-inch infotainment display taking pride of place in the centre of the dash.  

It feels contemporary with the new, trapezoidal air-vents, smart-looking T-bar automatic gear selector and flat-bottomed leather steering wheel.  

The new ZS is 107mm longer, 9mm wider and 18mm lower than the model it replaces – with a 25mm longer wheelbase. That makes for a notably more spacious cabin, but without compromising the ZS’s inherently compact dimensions that give its driver confidence down tight streets, and that make it easy to park.  

The back seat comfortably accommodates two adults, while the boot now offers a generous 443 litres of space – 23 per cent larger than before. The intentional design adds an extra 85 litres for even more everyday flexibility. 

And forget the kids’ bikes – it’s possible to fit a full-size carbon-fibre road bike in the back. That’s thanks to the new ZS’s 1457 litres of total capacity with the 60/40 rear seats folded down.  

You haven’t experienced new car ownership in 2025 until you’ve pre-cooled your car’s interior on a hot day, before getting in, using your phone. That’s what’s possible with the new ZS using MG’s i-SMART smartphone app, allowing you to control and monitor your ZS remotely.  

As the weather cools, warm up the driver’s seat before you even step inside by activating the seat heaters remotely through the i-SMART app. You can also lock or unlock the car from a distance and check details like fuel levels, tyre pressure, and more – right from your phone.  

Meanwhile, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are both displayed big and bright on the Essence’s crisp, 12.3-inch central infotainment display, which itself is as fast and responsive as a brand-new smartphone.  

For country owners and urban day-trippers, in-built satellite navigation means exploring new areas with confidence, even with patchy mobile reception.

Love a road trip? Adaptive cruise control and active, semi-autonomous lane-keeping both change the road trip game – helping ‘drive’ the car with you. These are just some of the features that come standard with the new MG ZS, as part of MG’s Pilot Safety Suite. Feel secure knowing you are putting yourself and your family in the latest, safest possible car.  

The new ZS also comes with the latest autonomous emergency braking (with pedestrian and cyclist detection, and junction intervention), rear-cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, door opening warning (which warns of approaching cyclists when you go to open a door), reversing sensors and a driver fatigue monitor which can tell you when to stop, get out and stretch the legs on a long trip. 

The 125kW, 275Nm 1.5-litre turbocharged engine of our borrowed ZS brings out this compact SUV’s cheeky side with plenty of accelerative punch. In Sport mode, the ZS Turbo is surprisingly fun.  

MG’s engineers have tuned the suspension to make this the most comfortable ZS yet. Absorbent but controlled, the suspension is perfect for inner-city Australian streets, allowing for a well-padded and steady driving experience.  

A high seating position gives a commanding view in traffic, while the 360-degree, high-definition camera view makes reverse parking safer and significantly easier.

Now’s the time to buy the bigger, safer, tech intuitive, new-generation MG ZS.

The new ZS range starts at just $26,990 drive-away, with the range-topping, richly-equipped Essence Turbo just $30,990 (price as at time of publishing).

The Essence Turbo comes with a more powerful turbocharged engine, a 12.3-inch infotainment display, 360-degree HD parking cameras, LED headlights, a panoramic sunroof, a leather steering wheel, a six-way electrically-adjustable driver’s seat, front seat heaters, 18-inch wheels, and a whole lot more. For value, this is one of Australia’s hardest-working SUVs.  

For the first time, the ZS is also available as a hybrid with fuel efficiency as low as 4.7L/100km (combined) – and an EV-like drive, thanks to a bigger on-board battery and more powerful electric motor than your typical hybrid.  

A 10-year warranty and five-year servicing costs of just $2751 (non Turbo) will seal the deal for many Aussie families, young couples and empty-nesters – and see this new generation ZS pick up where the much-loved old ZS left off.