The MG3 Excite is fitted with 16-inch alloy wheels, power windows, air conditioning, a 10.25-inch touchscreen, digital driver’s display, cloth upholstery, polyurethane appointed steering wheel and halogen projector headlights.

Essence variants get rain-sensing wipers, white artificial leather upholstery, a 360-degree camera, remote smartphone control of the air conditioning and heating, LED headlights and a sunroof.

The MG3 has a sleek interior design with elements of the MG4. Flourishes of tartan call back to the previous car while clever soft material lift the ambience.

A sunroof is available to let more light in and the amount of technology inside is good.

The MG3 is fitted with a 1.5-litre direct injection four-cylinder petrol engine as standard developing 81kW at 6000 rpm and 142Nm at 4500 rpm. It drives the front wheels using a CVT automatic.

The Hybrid+ has a different 1.5-litre four-cylinder running in the Atkinson cycle. It is paired with an electric motor for combined peak outputs of 155kW and 420Nm. A three-speed automatic sends power to the front wheels.

The five-seat MG3 gets manually adjustable front seats with cloth upholstery standard. Artificial leather is available in upper trims.

The rear seat is compact but fit-for-purpose for a city car with enough space for adults in a pinch.

MG claims a 0-100km/h sprint of 8.0 seconds for the hybrid model.

No claim is made for the petrol's sprint – though we imagine it's over 10 seconds – or top speed.

With a 46L fuel tank the petrol MG3 is theoretically capable of driving 760km from a full tank.

The hybrid's extra efficiency means its smaller 36L fuel tank is good for over 1050km driving range according to ADR combined figures.