MG Problems

Not really. The hatchback door is designed with hinges and support struts that travel a set distance and then stop; they're not adjustable. If the problem is that shorter people can't reach the hatch to close it, a simple fix could be a strap attached to the hatchback that hangs down and is within easy reach. Just make sure the strap doesn't get caught in the closed hatchback causing a potential exhaust leak into the cabin.

According to the manufacturer, your MG can not be run on E10 petrol. But the MG ZST can live with E5 fuel (petrol with up to five per cent ethanol content) if you can find it. Unfortunately, most ethanol blended fuels in Australia are up to 10 per cent (E10) so you should give them a miss.

Window tinting rules vary from state to state, but in Queensland (where UV light levels are higher than, say Tasmania) you can get away with slightly darker tint and still be legal. But, a window tint that is 20 per cent VLT (Visible Light Transference, or; the percentage of light the tint allows through) is only legal on privately-registered cars in QLD on the rear and rear-side windows. The front side windows cannot be tinted to less than 35 per cent VLT and the windscreen can not be tinted at all (beyond a factory tint) apart from the top 10 per cent of the glass area. So, no, a 20 per cent VLT tint all round would not be legal.

The default purchase for somebody looking for a mid-sized hybrid SUV is the Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. But if that’s too big, there’s the Toyota Yaris Cross Hybrid, C-HR Hybrid and even the Corolla Cross Hybrid which sounds like the marketplace is getting crowded but is really just a reflection of the appetite right now for cars like these. And that’s the catch; the waiting times for a brand-new example of some of these cars is out to many months and even years. So your plan to shop second-hand makes plenty of sense, but don’t expect any bargains in a market currently being dominated by lots of demand and less supply.

Beyond the Toyota brand (which has been doing hybrids longer than just about anybody else) there’s also the Mazda CX-30, Subaru XV Hybrid, Haval Jolion Hybrid, Kia Niro, Subaru Forester Hybrid, Nissan Qashqai e-Power, MG HS, Honda HR-V e and more. For something a bit bigger, try the Kia Sorento or Hyundai Santa Fe hybrids. There are others out there, too, that are probably bigger or more expensive than you need, but it's very much a growing scene in the Australian marketplace.

The popular MG3 is the model you’re referring to and you’re right; it hasn’t been locally crash-tested. But it does lack some important safety gear. Enough, we reckon, to knock it off your short-list. The MG lacks, for instance, important driver aids such as autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring and lane-keeping assistance, nor can these features be had by spending more on a fancier version.

Which leaves us with your other two choices, the Hyundai i30 and Kia Rio. Even then, you’ll need to option up beyond the base-model to get (some of) those safety features, but these are not expensive cars to begin with, so the jump might not be as bad as you think.

The other car to consider would be the SP Pure version of the Mazda 2. At $23,690, it’s not over-priced but it does have low-speed (up to 30km/h) autonomous emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring and lane-departure warning as well as rear cross-traffic alert.

And a manual transmission? The MG 3 no longer offers one, both the Hyundai i30 and the Kia Rio are available with a six-speed manual option. The Mazda 2 Pure SP is automatic only, but you can get a six-speed manual on the base-model Mazda 2.

I agree that youngsters taught to drive a manual car tend to be better drivers, but that’s not a universally held view these days. And the fact is that most young drivers will never be presented with a clutch pedal in the future, raising the question of why learn in the first place? The reality is that learning to drive a manual car gives you extra mechanical awareness and extra ability to multi-task behind the wheel.

There has certainly been some confusion over this with some MG dealers telling owners that 95-octane fuel was necessary. But it seems MG Australia has now confirmed that the car will be happy on 91-octane fuel, so that’s good news for you and your wallet.

Dual-clutch transmissions continue to haunt some manufacturers with poor reliability and short lifespans. I’m not going to categorically say that your gearbox is showing signs of premature wear, but the symptoms you’ve listed – harsh shifting, engagement delays and general harshness – are classic signs that a dual-clutch is not well.

There are many causes of this; wear in the clutch packs can cause shuddering and harsh shifting, while worn internals and iffy electronics can cause delays in the unit selecting gears. Either way, it’s straight back to the dealer for your car, but at least it’s still within the factory warranty period, so it shouldn’t cost you a cent to have it put right.

This type of transmission works beautifully when it’s in tip-top condition, but – speaking very generally – they have been known to give problems early in life and some manufacturers have moved away from this tech to a more conventional style of automatic transmission.

Not sure where you heard that rumour, but it’s definitely not true. Car makers have to warrant the whole of a brand-new vehicle against any faults caused by either poor workmanship or faulty parts used to create the vehicle. The only way a manufacturer might be able to avoid that is if the vehicle had been modified and that modification could be shown to have caused the fault. An example would be where the car’s owner modified the wiring to add extra lights and had managed to damage the car’s wiring in the process, leading to an electrical failure. The other caveat is that you need to maintain a new vehicle according to the manufacturer’s official schedule. Without this preventative maintenance, a car company can be within its rights to deny a warranty claim. But again, it would need to be shown that the lack of maintenance was the cause of the particular failure.

Perhaps the rumour-mill created this as an incorrect response to the fact that MG in Australia warrants its conventionally-powered cars for seven years/unlimited kilometres while the brand’s hybrid and fully-electric models carry just a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty. To balance that, MG hybrids and EVs carry an eight-year/160,000km warranty on the actual battery unit.

ZS pros include cheap pricing, an easy driving experience and a comparatively spacious interior compared to other direct rivals like a Mazda CX-3. The dash is pleasant, there is a decent amount of equipment and the controls are all simple to use. It should also be fairly inexpensive to run and service, though earlier ZSs like yours require six-monthly rather than 12-monthly service intervals.

There are two engine options - a 1.5-litre four-cylinder model with a four-speed auto on the base Excite, or a 1.0-litre turbo three-cylinder version on higher-specification Excite Plus and Essence grades with a six-speed auto. Note that the latter powertrain is more expensive to service.

Plus, there's still a fair chunk of the manufacturer's warranty left, which is seven years, while capped-price servicing is also offered.

But the ZS does not offer AEB Autonomous Emergency Braking, so only rates a four-star ANCAP crash-test rating.

Additionally, the ZS's suspension is on the firm side in terms of dealing with road bumps, which might upset some occupants, yet there is not much of the 'fun factor' in regards to steering and handling finesse that rivals like the CX-3, Suzuki Vitara, Honda HR-V, Hyundai Venue, Holden Trax, Ford EcoSport and Hyundai Kona offer in spades.

We've also heard complaints about the interior's perceived quality being sub-par, cabin storage isn't generous and Android Auto isn't supported (though Apple CarPlay is).

Finally, the ZS' resale value trails all of the aforementioned competitors by a significant margin, meaning it's on track to be worth less when the time comes to on-sell it.

We can understand your feelings about the centrally-mounted screen in the Tesla, though you do get used to it surprisingly quickly.

As for the other models you’ve mentioned, we’ve had to get the crystal ball out to attempt to answer you!

The Polestar 2 will be on sale by the end of 2020, if all goes to plan. The company will be pushing hard to make that happen. 

The VW ID3 is likely not going to be here until 2021, likely the mid or latter part of that year. It certainly has a lot of potential, and with pricing set to start below $50,000, it could well be The People’s (Electric) Car. 

There are other options coming, though it depends on your diary and your budget.

You could consider the Tesla Model S, which may have been around for a while, but that also means it has a more traceable reliability history. It has a digital instrument cluster in the regular spot as well.

Have you looked at the Jaguar i-Pace? It has a claimed range of 470 kilometres, though it is on the pricey side of the equation, starting from about $125,000.

Indeed, a high price tag is a common theme among those EVs with big battery capacity and expansive driving range, because you’re basically covering the cost of the batteries with your money.

For instance, there’s the Audi e-tron quattro, which is due here in early 2020. That model will have a range of “more than 400 kilometres”, and - we suspect - a price tag above $120,000. 

The Mercedes EQC is about to go on sale, too. Range for that mid-size SUV is pegged at about 450 kilometres, but again, you can expect a high price tag.

If 2021 isn’t too long to wait, there’s the Volvo XC40 Recharge coming then. Based on our previous experience with Volvo XC40s, it’ll be a great small SUV, with predicted range of 400km - though we think that’s understating it, because it has a 78kWh battery pack, and it has AWD too.

At the more affordable end - though admittedly still not quite meeting your expectations for range - there’s the very impressive Hyundai Kona Electric, which has a WLTP range of 449km, and a price tag of around $65k. It isn’t all-wheel drive though.

And MG is about to launch a real upstart in the segment, with the ZS EV hitting showrooms soon for $46,990 drive-away, albeit with a range of 262km. It’s also FWD only. 

The Mini Cooper SE will also arrive in mid-2020, with pricing set to be less than $60k. But again, a range of 270km will likely rule it out for your needs, and its 2WD as well.

Another new small EV due next year is the Mazda MX-30. Pricing is still to be confirmed, and range isn’t great at about 300km. It’s FWD too. 

In short, at this point in time - and out towards the end of 2020 - it looks like you’ll either need to spend a big amount of money on a premium EV to get the best range possible, or you’ll have to get used to the Model 3’s screen. You could always get an aftermarket head-up display fitted…

Previously MG cars were produced out of Longbridge in the UK. Some of MG's research, development and design still takes place out of the Longbridge site but since 2016 MG cars have been manufactured in China and Thailand.