New MGS6 EV 2025 review: spacious and sturdy but surprisingly pricey
MG's latest arrival isn't lacking in practicality, but some rivals manage to undercut it on price
Verdict
By straddling two market segments, the MGS6 EV wins the value-oriented space race hands down. The thorn in the MG’s side will be the new Citroen E-C5 Aircross, which is not only cheaper, but eligible for the government’s full £3,750 EV grant, reducing whole-life costs considerably. Otherwise though, the S6 is another compelling proposition, with a well-built interior and generous kit list. Tech improvements are bringing the brand ever closer to its European rivals and these are in evidence here, but without a heat pump, efficiency takes a hit.
MG’s meteoric rise from the ashes continues at pace. The UK now represents the brand’s second largest global market; 320,000 cars have found homes here over the last five years, 100,000 of which were EVs.
But the maker isn’t resting on its laurels, and is now looking to bolster its position as an electric-car leader with its fourth and final product launch of 2025. News of the MGS6 EV leaked via the crash testers at Euro NCAP last month, and already we’re in the driver’s seat of a top-spec Trophy model.
This is a five-seat family SUV that straddles the mid-size C segment and the D segment of full-size family cars. It’s a rival for cars like the Skoda Enyaq and Nissan Ariya, as well as the excellent Citroen E-C5 Aircross. Based on the same Modular Scalable Platform (MSP) as the MG4 and MGS5, it bridges the gap between those mainstream models and the plusher MG IM5 and IM6.
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Cash £19,800By blurring the lines between mid-size and larger SUVs, the MGS6 majors on space. Aided by its electric-specific architecture, the cabin feels huge – with enough room for even the very tallest adults to stretch out in the back. There’s loads of head and legroom, and the flat floor means you’re not short on foot space – even in the middle seat.
Yet none of this comes at the expense of boot volume. The 674-litre load area is wide and square in shape, and while there’s no space under the boot floor for the charging cables, a giant 124-litre frunk more than makes up for that. It’s just a shame you can’t open it with the key; being able to do so would elevate the S6’s usefulness above almost every car in this category.
It isn’t quite as roomy up front, but the tall centre console hides a generous storage space behind a pair of cupholders and a cooled wireless phone charger on top-spec models. The driving position gives you a commanding view of the road, though we’d like a bit more adjustment in the driver’s seat; the base doesn’t pivot at the H-point, meaning some owners may find it lacks under-thigh support.
The infotainment system runs through a 12.8-inch central screen that is bright and clear. It’s not the most responsive system, but is a big improvement on older MG models. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto both feature in high resolution, so you can bypass the occasionally clunky native system should you so wish, plus there’s app functionality for things like Spotify and YouTube. A row of shortcut buttons enable access to the climate control and volume knob, plus the front and rear demisters and hazard lights.
Complimenting the main screen is a 10.25-inch digital instrument cluster, which again is crisp and clean, if a little information-heavy – with speed, trip and driver-assistance widgets crammed onto the rectangular screen. In a first for MG, the S6 EV is also available with a head-up display.
Three versions are offered: SE Long Range, Trophy Long Range and Trophy Dual Motor. MG reckons the mid-spec car will be its big seller, but despite his best efforts, product planning boss David Allison told us he was unable to negotiate hard enough to see the Trophy car come in under the £40,000 luxury-car VED tax threshold. An e-C5 Aircross, with similar specs, is around £8k cheaper.
That’s frustrating, because the Trophy is the MGS6 that we’d recommend if it wasn’t for the loftier list price and road-tax premium. It adds a few desirable extras to the entry-level SE’s dual-zone climate control, heated seats and dual screens with built-in sat-nav, including 360-degree cameras, leather and suede-effect seats, and a panoramic roof. You even get premium-car features such as ventilated front seats and an uprated 11-speaker stereo.
Spend another £3,000 and you’ll be able to upgrade to the Trophy Dual Motor which, as the name suggests, adds another motor to the front axle for a combined 356bhp and 540Nm of torque. The 0-62mph dash is slashed to just 5.1 seconds. Otherwise, the car’s spec sheet is unchanged.
Every version gets the 77kWh battery from the longest-range MG4. In the single-motor car that’s apparently good for 329 miles of range, though we averaged only 3.0mi/kWh, which translates to just 223 miles in real-world driving – more than 100 miles shy of MG’s claim. The dual-motor car is slightly less efficient, but you’re unlikely to see much difference day to day. Neither model comes with a heat pump to boost cold-weather range.
Charging is neither class-leading nor wildly off the pace in this part of the market, though a 10 to 80 per cent top-up in 38 minutes means you’ll be hanging around longer than you might in a Tesla Model Y. A full charge is easily achievable overnight on a standard 7kW home wallbox.
Performance from the single rear-mounted motor is more than sufficient for a family SUV such as this. With 241bhp, 0-62mph takes 7.3 seconds, which would’ve been hot-hatch territory a decade ago; the throttle is easy to modulate, providing a strong surge of acceleration without feeling snappy. This isn’t a hot-hatch though, the steering has a nice weight to it but there’s very little feel.
The ride is a bit lumpy, too, thanks to an inherent stiffness to the chassis. It doesn’t crash through bumps or potholes but there’s an almost constant fidget – even over seemingly smooth roads. That’s a shame, because the MGS6 EV is an otherwise excellent motorway car; it’s about as refined as cars in this class come. Match that to a premium-feeling interior, and you’d be forgiven for thinking you were in something costing considerably more.
But as with so many Chinese-made cars sold in Europe, there are a few unexplainable quirks that could (and should) be fixed with a quick over-the-air update. Take the four-stage regenerative-braking system, for example; press the star button on the steering wheel and you can cycle through the various strengths, yet to access the car’s competent one-pedal drive mode, you need to activate it through the main screen. Do so, and that aforementioned star button is locked, ineffective until you delve back into the display to turn it all off.
Indeed, it seems at odds with the MG Pilot Custom function, which allows drivers to select their desired presets for the various driver-assistance systems via a menu on the central display. Not quite as intuitive as Renault’s two-click ‘My Safety Perso’ button, but welcome nonetheless – especially given how intrusive some of these systems can be.
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