New Chinese car hit with three star safety rating: 2025 MG MG3 petrol and hybrid small hatchback gets three star ANCAP score in blow for Toyota Yaris and Mazda2 rival

The new MG3 hatchback has been slapped with a three star safety rating by the Australiasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP).

The new MG3 launched in June this year and brought significant safety upgrades compared to the previous model. This safety tech, among a multitude of other upgrades, led to a price increase of about $7000 compared to the old version.

New versions are equipped with auto emergency braking, lane keep assist, blind spot warning and rear cross traffic alert, while the old version had no active driver aids.

ANCAP boss Carla Hoorweg, said it wasn’t all bad news for the MG3.

“The MG 3’s safety scores were healthy in some areas, particularly vulnerable road user protection, however there are still a number of opportunities for MG to deliver safety improvements and we encourage them to consider these findings in future vehicle upgrades,” she said.

“This rating for the MG 3 is important as its predecessor offered limited safety.”

The old version was never tested by ANCAP, despite this lack of equipment.

The MG3 scored four stars for adult occupant and child occupant protection with 72 per cent and 74 per cent scores, respectively. 

A five star rating for vulnerable road users helped boost the score, but the three star rating for active driver aids pushed it below the four star overall threshold.

ANCAP marked the MG3 down for a lack of a centre airbag, which is designed to stop head clashes between front seat passengers in a side-on collision.

The MG3 received poor and marginal results for child occupant protection in several crash tests.

Rear seat adult passengers also fared poorly during a crash test as the seatbelts allowed excessive head movement. Both the head and chest areas received marginal scores.

The MG3 was penalised for a higher risk to the legs of front seat passengers in a crash.

The lack of more advanced auto emergency braking tech for reverse and crossing pedestrian situations held it back as did the lack of a driver monitoring system.

MG3 said it will continue to invest in the safety of its vehicles and take ANCAP’s scores on board.

“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 MG3,” said an MG spokesperson.

“We have been in active discussions with our parent manufacturer, who are already implementing enhancements to further elevate safety features for the all-new MG3. We anticipate the additional safety measures will bring the current rating to a higher level, in line with our expectations.”

The three star score for the MG3 follows a zero star rating for its cut-price MG5 sedan earlier this year.

MG said it would add additional safety tech to the MG5 as part of a vehicle upgrade.