The MG ZS stands as a firm favourite with Aussie small SUV buyers, in a close-fought arm wrestle with the Hyundai Kona and Mitsubishi ASX for supremacy in a cut-throat competitive part of the new-car market.
Launched here in late 2017, and updated in 2020, MG subsequently added the ZS EV before launching this new-gen version in late 2024. It has initially been offered in hybrid and naturally aspirated petrol versions to maintain its position at the pointy end of the sales race. However, there’s nothing like a turbo model to add some extra spice to your compact SUV line-up.
And that’s what we have here, the ZS Essence Turbo, a punchy, keenly-priced addition to MG’s local range. Stay with us to see if it has enough boost pressure to muscle its way onto your new-car short list.
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MG ZS 2025: Essence Turbo
| Engine Type | Turbo 4, 1.5L |
|---|---|
| Fuel Type | |
| Fuel Efficiency | 6.9L/100km (combined) |
| Seating | 5 |
| Price From | $30,990 |
| Safety Rating |
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Price and features – Does it represent good value for the price? What features does it come with? 8/10
8 / 10
Cost of entry for the MG ZS Essence Turbo is $31,990, drive-away, which is a pretty sharp price in one of the most hotly contested segments in the Australian market. Worth noting the sizeable gap to its Essence Hybrid+ stablemate at $40,217, drive-away.
That low-$30K positioning puts the Essence Turbo up against a swag of well-credentialled rivals including the GWM Haval Jolion Premium Hybrid 2WD ($32,990, drive-away), Hyundai Kona 2WD ($32,500), Kia Seltos Sport FWD ($33,050), Mazda CX-30 G20 Pure FWD ($33,940), Mitsubishi ASX LS ($30,490), Nissan Qashqai ST FWD ($34,665), Subaru Crosstrek 2.0L ($34,990) and Toyota Corolla Cross GX 2WD ($33,980). All prices before on-road costs unless otherwise noted.
To grab a value-for-money edge against this challenging field the MG needs more than just an attractive price tag. And the ZS Essence Turbo boasts an impressive standard features list.
Over and above the safety and performance tech we’ll get to shortly, included are 18-inch alloy wheels, climate control air, multiple drive modes, a 12.3-inch multimedia screen and 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, keyless entry and start, a panoramic sunroof, synthetic leather trim, six-way power adjustment for the driver’s seat, six-speaker audio, rain-sensing wipers, Android Auto, Apple CarPlay and Bluetooth connectivity as well as digital radio.
There’s also auto LED headlights (as well as LED DRLs and tail-lights), a leather-trimmed steering wheel, built-in sat nav, adaptive cruise control, a hi-def 360-degree camera view, a reversing camera and auto-fold exterior mirrors.
At the MG’s price point - drive-away, remember - that’s a strong basket of standard fruit.
Design – Is there anything interesting about its design? 7/10
7 / 10
From its narrow, acutely angled headlights to the deep gill-like inlets sitting either side of its large grille, the MG ZS conforms to the currently popular 'make it look a bit like a shark’ school of front-end car design.
From the nose back, this five-seater’s overall proportions follow a familiar small SUV template, without any significant pulse-quickening deviations.
And by the time you get to the back, the rear door and tail-light treatment is borderline generic. Replace the MG octagon with any number of other mass market automotive logos and you wouldn’t look twice.
That said, the shape is well balanced, the standard 18-inch rims fill the wheel arches nicely and our test car’s rich and lustrous ‘Diamond Red Metallic’ paint finish drew multiple compliments during our time behind the wheel.
The interior is simple with some cool touches thrown in, like the aero-style geometric vents with a bright, brushed finish around their leading edge, a neatly integrated 12.3-inch media touchscreen in the centre of the dash and another of the same size in front of the driver for instrumentation.
There’s a sensible mix of physical and digital controls for major functions and the steering wheel is flat on the bottom and the top. It adjusts for height, but disappointingly, not reach.
Materials around the dash and doors are soft-touch, which is nice, and the synthetic leather seat trim, with lighter contrast stitching and perforated centre panels looks and feels good.
Practicality – How practical is its space and tech inside 8/10
8 / 10
At just over 4.4m long, a fraction more than 1.8m wide and a little over 1.6m tall the MG ZS is a little larger than the small SUV norm, but conversely its 2610mm wheelbase is shorter than average.
That doesn’t appear to impact interior packaging, however, with plenty of room up front and more than adequate breathing space between driver and co-pilot.
For storage, there’s a medium-size lidded box (which doubles as an armrest) between the front seats as well as a pair of cupholders in the broad centre console, with a bay for wireless device charging near the gear-shift.
The glove box is generous, there are bins in the doors with room for decent size bottles and a drop-down sunglasses holder sits overhead.
In the back there’s heaps of head and legroom for me (at 183cm) sitting behind the driver’s seat set to my position.
Three full-size adults will be getting a little too up close and personal for anything other than short-ish trips, although a trio of up to mid-teenage kids will be right at home.
Big tick for adjustable air vents at the back of the front centre console and storage options include map pockets on the front seatbacks and bins in the doors with room for up to medium-size bottles.
No fold-down centre armrest in the back is a miss given one would typically feature a pair of cupholders.
Power and connectivity options in the front console include a USB-A plug (for power and media connectivity), a USB-C socket (power only) and a 12-volt outlet. Points, too, for a USB-A near the rear view mirror for a dashcam and another for back seaters. But no 12V in the boot (which can be handy when camping or picnicking).
What the boot does have, however, is a class-competitive volume of 443 litres with the 60/40 split-folding rear seat upright. Enough to swallow the large (124L) and medium (95L) suitcases from our three-piece set.
Remove the cargo tray and the smallest (36L) case will find a home, too. Boot space expands to 1457L with the rear backrest lowered.
The space is well lit, there are tie-down anchors to help secure loose loads and handy wells behind the rear wheel tubs on both sides. A space-saver spare sits under the floor.
And if you’re keen on towing, you might want to think twice about the ZS as it’s limited to a 500kg trailer (braked or not).
Under the bonnet – What are the key stats for its engine and transmission? 8/10
8 / 10
As its name implies, the ZS Essence Turbo is powered by a 1.5-litre, turbo-petrol, four-cylinder engine sending 125kW (at 6000rpm) and 275Nm (at 4500rpm) to the front wheels via a continuously variable auto transmission (CVT).
It’s an all-alloy unit, featuring direct fuel-injection as well as variable valve timing on the intake and exhaust side which helps optimise engine response.
Efficiency – What is its fuel consumption? What is its driving range 6/10
6 / 10
The ZS Essence Turbo’s official fuel consumption figure on the combined (urban/extra-urban) cycle is 6.9L/100km, the 1.5-litre turbo four-cylinder engine emitting 161g/km of C02 in the process.
Over a combination of city, suburban and some freeway running we saw an average of 9.6L/100km, which is getting up there for a small SUV. And bear in mind you’re looking at a minimum fuel requirement of 95 RON premium unleaded.
Worth noting its roughly 25 per cent more expensive ($40,217, drive-away) ZS Essence Hybrid+ sibling is not only far more powerful, but significantly more frugal, with an official combined cycle figure of 4.7L/100km. Mind you, it would take a while for that economy to make up for the more than $8K purchase price difference.
Based on the car’s 55-litre fuel tank, theoretical range between refills is close to 800km, which drops to just over 570km using our real-world test consumption number.
Driving – What's it like to drive? 8/10
8 / 10
Stand-out qualities once behind the wheel of the ZS Essence Turbo are its comfy ride, responsive throttle and low noise levels.
Although MG doesn’t quote a 0-100km/h acceleration time, you can expect triple figures to come up in around eight seconds, which is rapid enough for the cut and thrust of city traffic.
And power delivery is satisfyingly linear. There are no laggy clues that a turbo engine resides under the bonnet, although maximum pulling power doesn’t arrive until 4500rpm, which is unusually high for a forced induction engine.
But there’s still plenty of oomph low down and the CVT auto is one of the better examples, keeping the engine on the boil nicely without any engine droning drama. Freeway cruising is a breeze.
That said, a pair of steering wheel paddles for stepped manual ‘gear’ changes would be a nice addition to take maximum advantage of the engine’s willing nature.
But you have to be realistic in terms of standard mechanical spec at a low-$30K price point. If you're in the mood, the switch to ‘Sport’ mode revs things up, though.
Suspension is by struts at the front and torsion beam at the rear, the car remaining well balanced during quick lane changes or through sharp corners.
Tyres are 225/50 Giti ‘GitiComfort’ on 18-inch alloy rims and despite that sizeable wheel diameter (for the class), a relatively cushy tyre sidewall height also helps with overall refinement.
The front seats are comfortable and supportive enough, although the small gap between the headrest and my noggin meant I was constantly bumping against it. Kind of annoying but it may have more to do with my XXXL melon than the restraint design.
The electrically assisted steering is accurate and road feel is fair, although the squared-off wheel design takes a bit of getting used to and its adjustment is stuck in 1994, shifting for height but not reach.
Braking is by discs all around (ventilated front) and they wash off speed effectively with a progressive pedal action.
An 11.2m turning circle isn’t exactly tiny, although all around vision is clear, and parking, assisted by the 360-degree camera view, reversing camera and rear parking sensors, is straight forward.
Niggles? The handbrake has to be applied manually, which may sound like a classic first-world problem, but the majority of new cars now apply it automatically when parked.
A ‘bing-bong’ overspeed warning, related to the traffic sign recognition function, is infuriating, as is the need to shuffle through multiple menus every time you drive the car to turn it off. Hyundai and Kia have recently minimised this issue with a short-cut button, which we suggest MG takes a close look at.
And one misty morning I noticed the bottom four rows of the rear screen demister had gone out on strike, which doesn’t feel great from a quality point-of-view.
In a similar vein, I recently spent time in the ZS Hybrid+ and thought one of the suspending cords on the rear parcel shelf hadn’t been properly fixed. Turns out the small plastic fitting holding the string had pulled out of the tailgate door and wouldn’t stay put when pushed back in. Awkward.
Warranty & Safety Rating
Safety – What safety equipment is fitted? What is its safety rating 8/10
8 / 10
ANCAP has assessed the MG ZS but only hybrid variants. So, even though that resulted in a maximum five-star score, this turbo model is technically untested.
No surprise then that the car is equipped with a full suite of active (crash-avoidance) tech including auto emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control, lane change and lane keeping assist, blind-spot monitoring, driver attention alert, forward and rear collision alert, rear cross-traffic alert, tyre pressure monitoring, a 360-degree camera view and more.
And it’s important to note these systems are well calibrated in that any micro corrections they make are only sporadic and relatively subtle, even in adaptive cruise mode where less refined systems are often found out.
Then, if despite all that, a crash is unavoidable there are six airbags onboard - dual front, front side and full-length curtain. Would be nice to see the increasingly common front centre bag but it’s MIA for the time being.
There are three top tether points for child seats across the second row with ISOFIX anchors on the two outer positions.
Ownership – What warranty is offered? What are its service intervals? What are its running costs? 7/10
7 / 10
MG covers the ZS with a 10-year/250,000 km warranty which is way ahead of the mainstream market norm of five years/unlimited km.
Roadside assistance is complimentary for the first 12 months and automatically extended for an additional year after each annual service at an authorised MG dealer, for the duration of the warranty. Nice.
Scheduled servicing is every 12 months/10,000km, the latter measure a little short of the more common 15,000km distance.
MG’s ‘Precise Price’ program sets out maintenance pricing for the duration of the warranty, the lowest cost over that 10-year period being $302 and the highest $1463, for an annual average of $686.60.
Pricey when you consider a similarly specified Toyota Corolla Cross averages $398.68 per service over the same period.
Verdict
The MG ZS Essence Turbo has a lot going for it. It’s keenly priced, well equipped, spacious and comfortable with good performance, refinement and safety. On the downside, it’s thirstier than it should be, despite a stonking 10-year warranty servicing is relatively pricey and there are some low-level quality concerns. But should it be on your $30-35K small SUV shopping list. One hundred per cent, yes.
Pricing Guides
Range and Specs
| Vehicle | Specs | Price* |
|---|---|---|
| Essence | 1.5L, SPEED CONTINUOUS VARIABLE | $28,990 |
| Essence Turbo | 1.5L, SPEED CONTINUOUS VARIABLE | $30,990 |
| Excite | 1.5L, SPEED CONTINUOUS VARIABLE | $25,990 |
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