MG 3: New-generation hatch getting safety upgrades

MG says it’s rolling out safety updates to its MG 3 after the hatchback received a three-star rating from safety authority ANCAP.

“We have been in active discussions with our parent manufacturer, who are already implementing enhancements to further elevate safety features for the all-new MG 3,” said a spokesperson for MG Motor Australia.

“We anticipate the additional safety measures will bring the current rating to a higher level, in line with our expectations.

“ANCAP safety ratings have become an essential part of purchasing a vehicle. We appreciate and respect the work they do, for this reason, we have taken their feedback onboard with regard to the rating of our all-new MG 3.

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“MG has and continues to commit millions of dollars every year towards research and innovative technologies that will help navigate the safety challenges that lie ahead.

“We will continue to make cars safer while working collaboratively with ANCAP’s ever evolving safety rating criteria.”

MG hasn’t confirmed when these updates will come or what they’ll entail.

The three-star ANCAP rating applies to all petrol and hybrid models.

ANCAP says the MG 3 narrowly missed out on a four-star safety rating due to its result in the safety assist category.

Tested against current 2023-2025 protocols, it received a score of 58 per cent in this category, with a minimum of 60 per cent required to reach the four-star threshold.

The safety authority says the AEB system’s lack of functionality in reversing, crossing and head-on emergency braking scenarios dragged down the car’s rating in both the safety assist and vulnerable road user protection categories.

The MG 3 also received a rating of 72 per cent for adult occupant protection, 74 per cent for child occupant protection, and 76 per cent for vulnerable road user protection.

As for actual crash protection for occupants, ANCAP said the MG 3’s 72 per cent score for adult occupant protection was “promising”, awarding maximum points for protection of the driver in the side impact test.

It did apply a penalty for high impact forces to the driver’s right shoulder in the oblique pole test, as well as for protection of the rear adult passenger in the full-width test as the seatbelt allowed “excessive forwards head movement”.

The MG 3 lacks a centre airbags between the two front seats, and ANCAP says it awarded zero points in this section of assessment as MG didn’t provide evidence to demonstrate whether a centre airbag would provide a meaningful improvement.

The new-generation hatchback, launched this year, does have a long list of standard safety equipment across the range. This includes:

• Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
• Adaptive cruise control
• Blind-spot monitoring
• Lane-keep assist
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Intelligent speed assist
• Intelligent cruise assist
• Front, front-side and curtain airbags

The model it replaces lacked any active safety technology, and had only a three-star Euro NCAP rating from 2014 which expired in 2021.

The new MG 3 also performed better than the larger MG 5, which received a zero-star rating from ANCAP late in 2023.

Following this shock result, MG confirmed it would add seatbelt pre-tensioners, dynamic load tensioners and a “calf protection panel” under the front bumper.

The small sedan is also getting lane-keep assist, intelligent speed assist, and an upgraded AEB system that includes pedestrian, cyclist and motorcyclist detection as well as junction assist.

These upgrades are due either late this year or early in 2025.

Elsewhere in MG’s local lineup, the outgoing ZS and HS have four- and five-star ratings, respectively, with new-generation models yet to be tested.

The MG 4 also has a five-star rating from ANCAP.

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