{"id":1366,"date":"2025-02-17T17:53:22","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T17:53:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ekotransportas.lt\/index.php\/2025\/02\/17\/mg-3-hybrid-2025-long-term-test\/"},"modified":"2025-02-17T17:53:22","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T17:53:22","slug":"mg-3-hybrid-2025-long-term-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ekotransportas.lt\/index.php\/2025\/02\/17\/mg-3-hybrid-2025-long-term-test\/","title":{"rendered":"MG 3 hybrid 2025 long-term test"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Can this hybrid compete with the best superminis? Here\u2019s our verdict<\/p>\n

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What am I, Autocar’s supermini correspondent? I’d be quite happy with that, actually, having previously run a generally fabulous Renault Clio E-Tech hybrid and then an endearingly honest petrol Dacia Sandero on our test fleet.<\/p>\n

Now I’m trying the new MG 3 – a car on which I delivered Autocar’s first verdict back in May, and a very positive verdict at that. Well, MG did promise „everything about it was designed to put a smile on your face”.<\/p>\n

The old 3 seemed a generation behind the competition even when I last drove it some six years ago, the justification being that it was one of the cheapest cars on sale. This new 3 is a wholly different proposition:<\/p>\n

MG says it effectively skipped a generation, which checks out, and it’s now priced \u00a34000 higher, putting it into Clio territory. And in terms of how it behaved on the road, my initial feeling was that it wasn’t notably inferior to the class leader.<\/p>\n

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Of course, though, living with a car every day can reveal hidden\u00a0talents and flaws, which is why I will now be evaluating the 3 over an extended period.<\/p>\n

Like that initial test car, my 3 is in Trophy trim, which adds extra advanced driver assistance systems (as required by regulators, unfortunately), LED headlights, a combination of faux-leather and fabric upholstery, heated front seats (yes then!), a heated steering wheel (oh, get in!), a 360deg camera, keyless ignition and automatic windscreen wipers.<\/p>\n

That’s all on top of SE trim’s generous standard kit count, which includes a 10.3in touchscreen infotainment system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and sat-nav, a 7.0in digital instrument display, a six-way adjustable driver’s seat, rear parking sensors, electrically\u00a0adjustable door mirrors and 16in alloy wheels.<\/p>\n

It’s an almost identical spec to the entry-level Clio hybrid yet for \u00a33500 less (although they are almost identical on a 48-month PCP finance deal at present, costing around \u00a3200 per month).<\/p>\n

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It really is amazing how much you get on affordable cars nowadays (and I would argue that an \u00a318,495 starting price definitely still qualifies the 3 as such).<\/p>\n

The extra-cost item on our car is the rather smart metallic silver paint, because MG simply doesn\u2019t do options: you just pick a powertrain, one of two trim levels and a colour. Actually, in the 3\u2019s case, you don\u2019t even pick a powertrain, because it only comes as a hybrid (for now, at least; a cheaper pure-petrol model is apparently on the way).<\/p>\n

This combines a naturally aspirated 1.5-litre four-pot petrol engine, a three-speed automatic gearbox, an electric motor and a small (0.92kWh usable capacity) battery. Combined outputs are put at 192bhp and 313lb ft, or in electric-only running there\u2019s 134bhp and 184lb ft \u2013 significantly more than some perfectly usable EVs have.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019m still unconvinced about the accuracy of that combined torque claim, even though the 3 can kick me up the backside with what is for a supermini hilarious strength.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s something I need to look into in greater detail. Certainly, the gearbox, while simpler than the mind-boggling multimodal unit in the Clio, isn\u2019t what you would usually find, having so few speeds. It provides distinct waves of power delivery (one of them coming, confusingly and unhelpfully, at around 70mph), so perhaps the answer is somewhere therein.<\/p>\n

In these tough economic times, the outstanding efficiency of the Clio was one of my favourite things about it, as it averaged 53.5mpg during our time together, against an official 65.7mpg. Given that the 3\u2019s WLTP figure is a similar 64.2mpg, I\u2019m relishing the prospect of still having some extra money left at the end of each month.<\/p>\n

Everybody who has had a poke around this Trophy-spec interior has been impressed by the classy look and decent-quality feel \u2013 especially those with experience of the old 3.<\/p>\n

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I particularly like that, unlike in most Chinese cars (and, to be fair, many of the latest from other parts of the world), the touchscreen hasn\u2019t absorbed all of the physical controls. In fact, it\u2019s much more understated than most, including the Clio\u2019s. Beneath said screen is a row of buttons for air-con functions, the infotainment system\u2019s home page and the audio volume.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s just a shame that none of them is for adjusting the fan speed or internal heat, or indeed turning the heated surfaces on or off, and that you have to press the home button before the air-con button when Apple CarPlay is active (which itself irritates by requiring a wired connection), otherwise nothing happens. Oh well: you have to take what you can get these days.<\/p>\n

A bigger disappointment is that the passenger\u2019s seat doesn\u2019t adjust for base height, only for angle and leg room, because it means either a 5ft-nothing or a 6ft-something passenger will always be in a suboptimal position (which wasn\u2019t a problem in my high-spec Clio).<\/p>\n

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Similarly, it\u2019s a shame that the 3\u2019s rear bench doesn\u2019t split in any way for folding \u2013 something I\u2019ve always taken for granted \u2013 in order that I can take more than one person with me to Ikea.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, I\u2019m still finding more positives than negatives about this car at the moment. I\u2019m just puzzled why I haven\u2019t seen another one on the road yet, six months after launch, especially given that there\u2019s a big MG dealership in town.<\/p>\n

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Turinys:<\/p>\nToggle<\/span><\/path><\/svg><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n