It’s an open secret that the MG5 sedan which was recently launched in Malaysia had scored zero stars in the ANCAP crash safety rating test. The RM93,900 sedan scored ZERO STARS in the Australian NCAP test in 2023. SAIC Motor Malaysia, MG vehicle distributor’s head of marketing Phang Rick Kee has been quoted by another motoring media publication claiming that the vehicle tested in the ANCAP test is the CBU variant from China which lacks certain safety features. He was also quoted in stating that the models sold in Malaysia are from Thailand with added safety features.
Does this mean the Thai spec MG5 is safer?
The added features in the Thai sourced MG5 includes seatbelt pre-tensioner, Blind spot monitoring, lane keep assist and lane departure warning. The bottom line is there’s no tangible data to support these statements. Perhaps its safer, but by how much? Why should a customer spending almost RM100,000 and gamble theirs and their families safety in a HOPE that they have a safe car? When the rivals who may be lacking a feature or two have tangible proof on how much of protection is on offer in the event of an accident?
Take a closer look at MG5’s ANCAP test report
You can read the full report by clicking here, but here’s the key takeaway from the report in our opinion. The MG5 scores 15.09 out of 40 points for Adult Occupant Protection. It scored 0 / 8 for frontal offset crash, 0 / 8 for full frontal, 0 / 4 for far side impact. The report would go on to state that ‘structures in the dashboard was a potential source of injury for the driver’ and ‘protection of the upper legs was marginal.’ The report would also state that ‘MG advised that they were unable to supply representative seats for whiplash testing’.
Questioning the brands commitment to safety
Safety rating test’s are incredibly important to certify that a vehicle is well engineered. A 3 star safety rating can be argued as adequate as these tests are incredibly harsh on the absence of driving aids and other safety features. But trying to defend zero stars is frankly irresponsible.
Plus spending almost AUD750,000 for your car to be tested willingly for safety standards and sending the lowest spec variant for whatever reason could be grounds for termination as someone had seriously dropped the ball on the job. It is however a glaring red flag towards the brand’s commitment to safety. Which is ironic as their EV model MG4 scored a perfect 5 stars in the very same ANCAP test.
ASEAN NCAP is the only way out
Because any amount of official, unofficial statements are just words. The proof of the MG5’s safety credentials will only be proven by getting it tested by either ANCAP or the ASEAN NCAP tests. If MG could spend for an ANCAP rating, they can definitely spend for an ASEAN NCAP test, especially when the results are valid for countries like Thailand and Malaysia. We do not want any brand to take Malaysian lives for granted, and provide products like cars with safety features that are on par with the rest of the offerings. Until the verdict is out, regardless of how attractive the MG5 is on paper, the lack of tangible crash safety ratings will be its biggest drawback.