Previewed: MG3 HEV – Hybrid-Powered Hatchback, Coming in 2025?

Making its first public debut at KLIMS 2024 is the new MG3 HEV, a hybrid-powered hatchback coming in 2025.

The Kuala Lumpur International Mobility Show 2024 (KLIMS 2024) is a perfect stage for automakers to showcase their upcoming concepts and products, and that’s exactly what SAIC Motor Malaysia did. Aside from officially launching the MG Cyberster EV roadster, the Shanghai-based marque also showcased several upcoming products from its MG brand, and the sporty MG3 HEV compact hatch has truly got our attention.

Launched globally back in Feb this year, the third-gen MG3 has already gone on sale in several regional markets, including our neighbouring Thai kingdom, where this compact hatchback is offered in a sole hybrid powertrain option. Said HEV setup comprises a 1.5-litre 4-cyl Atkinson-cycle petrol mill that is augmented with an electric motor and a three-speed hybrid automatic transmission.

Combined, this HEV setup delivers an impressive total system output of 192 HP and 313 NM, which is a lot of power for such a small car. What’s more impressive is that MG claims the MG3 HEV can go as far as 26.2 KM per litre of fuel, making it on par with some other hybrid powertrain systems used by some Japanese brands. And just like any other HEV, the MG3’s hybrid system also comes with a regenerative braking function with three distinctive levels.

On the visual front, the MG3 HEV is a pretty compact hatchback, featuring some sporty design touches that help it to stand out against other hatchbacks in our market. Key design highlights include the big front grille flanked by sharp LED headlights, a sporty hatchback side profile, prominent rear bumper accents, as well as the 16-inch two-tone alloy wheels it rides on.

Dimension-wise, the MG3 spans 4,113 MM long, 1,797 MM wide, 1,502 MM tall, and has a wheelbase of 2,570 MM, making it on par with some other B-segment hatches like the Honda City Hatchback, Toyota Yaris, and the Perodua Myvi.

Despite being positioned as MG’s entry-level model, life inside the MG3 HEV cabin is quite decent, as the hybrid hatch gets a decent list of equipment. Present here are things such as a 10.25-inch central infotainment display with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay support, a smaller 7-inch digital instrument cluster, a wireless charger, two-tone leather upholstery for all the seats, heated front seats and steering wheel, dedicated rear A/C vents, and many more.

Due to its small footprint, the MG3 HEV gets a pretty small yet still usable boot space that spans just over 307 litres, which can be further expanded to 983 litres once you fold down the rear seats.

Safety specs are also not too shabby for this entry-level hatch, as the MG3 HEV is primed with several active safety features such as Front Collision Warning (FCW), Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Lane-Keeping Assist (LKA), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Lane Change Assist (LCA), Blind-Spot Detection (BSD), as well as Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Traffic Jam Assist (TJA). Meanwhile, passive safety features such as a 360-degree camera view, six airbags, traction and stability controls are also available.

In Thailand, the MG3 HEV is being locally-assembled (CKD) at SAIC Motor’s Thai production facility, just like our local-spec MG5 sedan. Available in two variants, the MG3 HEV retails from THB 579,900 to THB 619,900 (RM75,000-RM80,000), making it a compelling and more budget-friendly alternative to the Japanese hatchbacks such as the Honda City Hatchback, Mazda2, and Toyota Yaris.

As of now, there’s no concrete detail given by SAIC Motor Malaysia about the MG3 HEV’s arrival into our market, but compared to other models previewed by the automaker at KLIMS 2024, the MG3 HEV seems like the most popular candidate to join MG Malaysia’s lineup next year. So, fancy a British-badged, Sino-owned, Thai-made compact hybrid hatch?