The Germans tried the new Chinese Skoda Fabia, it is in a completely different dimension for them in terms of capabilities and price

When a manufacturer, which today in the Czech Republic matches Volkswagen with its private sales, comes up with such a car, it means something. The Germans’ test deserves attention, but the car looks better from their point of view than from ours. Well, at least for now.

MG Motor sold 2,609 new cars in our country last year, of which 1,740 went to private customers. This made MG the 9th most successful manufacturer on the Czech market among private buyers, only 9 cars behind the mighty Volkswagen.

This is a great success, to which the brand’s favorable pricing policy certainly helped. For example, you can buy such an SUV ZS from CZK 399,900, which is a very favorable price for a 4,323-millimeter SUV car with 106 horsepower under the hood and a standard 448-liter trunk. Inside, it already has air conditioning as standard, and the outside is decorated with 17-inch alloy wheels. Who could resist?

This is also why the third generation MG3 was eagerly awaited, which could easily become one of Europe’s bestsellers. Not only because some of the established brands withdrew from this segment, but because of the rest, which aimed very high in terms of price. For example, the new Opel Corsa starts even 90 crowns higher than the aforementioned MG ZS. At the same time, it is a smaller, less powerful and less equipped mini. With the exception of Dacia, the British brand managed by the Chinese SAIC was able to slowly attract almost everyone’s clientele.

But the MG3 has so far only been shown with a plug-in hybrid drive that produces 194 horsepower. On the one hand, this is great, but on the other hand, few could have expected that the car would be as cheap as its siblings. Unfortunately, the premonition came true, because in Germany, for example, the novelty can be had from 19,900 Euros (approx. 501 thousand crowns). From our point of view, this is already a high price, which would make the MG3 an unsaleable product. Perhaps that is also why the domestic dealership still hasn’t listed the car and is apparently still negotiating a suitable price.

The Germans, whose wages are significantly higher than ours, but the car can act as an attraction – it will be cheaper than the mentioned Corsa, which starts at 20,300 Euros (about 509,000 CZK) to the west of our borders. And it is also significantly cheaper than the Volkswagen Polo, for which the Germans have to pay at least 21,590 Euros (approx. 541,000 CZK). Obviously, the car will not be without a chance, after all, colleagues from Auto Bild drove it and then gave it a grade of 2. So there are few flaws and they are not scary at all.

According to them, the interior is where the biggest savings were made. So you have to expect a flood of plastics, but on the other hand, everything is compensated by a really rich standard equipment. It is better to turn off the assistance systems, while the trunk will make you happy especially after folding the back seat backrests, when the capacity increases from 241 to 983 liters. In terms of driving, however, we have praise here – the steering feels confident and the drivetrain sounds very refined, and it is also fast and economical.

Colleagues managed to achieve a 5-liter diameter, despite the fact that they mainly drove on highways, where the hybrid part of the system was understandably left behind. In the city, however, it is no problem to reduce the consumption even to 4.4 l/100 km. That’s a good calling card for a car that does 100 km/h in 8 seconds and accelerates from 80 to 120 km/h in 5 seconds. So we would not be at all surprised if the MG3 outperformed all competition in markets such as Germany, the Netherlands or even Great Britain.

We don’t see it so well in the Czech Republic yet, but it will probably be better after the summer holidays. A purely gasoline version is due to arrive, which can only do with an atmospheric one-five. Although its performance exceeds 100 horses, you probably won’t get under 10 seconds or 5 liters with this design. However, the price should not exceed 17,000 Euros (426,000 crowns) on the German market, and it will probably be even lower here. And at that moment, the third-generation MG3 will no longer be a wasted opportunity.

The MG3 looks somewhat aggressive from the outside, which also underlines the 194 horsepower under the hood. And since they are powered by a hybrid drive, you can count on both interesting dynamics and low consumption. And to the west of our borders, everything is also relatively cheap, we have to wait for the Czech car offer. Photo: MG Motor

Source: Auto Bild

Petr Prokopec

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