MG
S5
Model Profile
From $41,990
Driveaway estimate · NSW · priced Aug 2026. Varies by state. Details →
MG's first purpose-built electric SUV finally drops the awkward petrol-car-turned-EV act. The S5 EV replaces the popular ZS EV with something designed as an EV from the wheels up, riding on the same rear-drive platform as the MG 4 hatch. That layout is the S5's quiet party trick: in a value class where almost everything drives the front wheels, this one sends its power to the back, and drivers keep reaching for words like composed and engaging. Since the July 2026 update, it is Essence-only, in 49kWh (335km) or 62kWh (450km) form, and priced to undercut most of the badge names it parks beside.
2025
Replaced the MG ZS EV
10yr / 250,000km
8yr battery cover
up to 450km
Essence 62
What matters to you?
335–450km
Range125–150kW
Power453L
Boot space8years
Battery warrantyRange shown across the S5 line-up. Pick a priority to see the numbers that matter to you.
Images are illustrative and digitally rendered. They may not reflect the exact variant, colour or trim. Details →
Living with the S5.
The S5 EV is MG's answer to a simple question: how cheap can a properly modern electric SUV be without feeling cheap. It gives back a cabin a size above its price, a rear-wheel-drive chassis making for one of the more engaging experiences in the budget class, and a warranty most premium brands can't match. It is not the fastest or the longest-legged EV you can buy, but for a family stepping out of a petrol small SUV, it answers the questions that actually close the sale.
Value is the through-line. Both grades wear the same Essence equipment, so the running-cost case is identical either way: an energy figure around 169Wh/km, servicing every 15,000km or 12 months at a capped $300 a visit, and roughly $1,500 across the first five years on 2026 pricing. The headline is the cover: 10 years or 250,000km of warranty, plus eight years on the battery, which quietly de-risks the one thing budget-EV buyers still worry about. Charging runs to 6.6kW on AC and the DC ceiling climbs with the battery, so a public top-up is quick enough to suit real family use rather than lab claims.
The whole range decision is a battery choice, not an equipment ladder. The Essence 49 pairs a 49kWh LFP pack with 335km of WLTP range and a 125kW motor good for 8.2 seconds to 100km/h. The Essence 62 steps up to 62kWh and 450km, and since the MY26 update it also gets a stronger 150kW/350Nm motor that trims the 0-100 sprint to 7.0 seconds. Same seats, same screens, same panoramic roof: you are simply buying more range and more shove, which is why roughly six in ten buyers pick the bigger battery.
Underneath sits MG's dedicated EV platform, the one it shares with the MG 4, and it shows in the packaging: a flat floor, a roomy back seat and a 453-litre boot that opens to 1441 litres folded. Reviewers single out the cabin, with its soft materials, suede-like console and, thankfully, real physical dials for climate and volume under the 12.8-inch screen. It is not flawless: the ride, reviewers note, carries a firm edge on coarse surfaces, and the claimed range only ever matches the class rather than beating it. But as a value package the S5 EV is hard to argue with, and the rear-drive chassis gives it a character its rivals mostly lack. Rare rear-drive value.
#2
Behind only the MG 4 hatch among MG's EVs through the first half of 2026.
S5 Range Walk
The S5 EV range is a two-rung battery ladder, not a trim walk. Both cars are Essence grade with the same equipment, screens and panoramic roof, so the only real question is how much range and performance you need, and whether the extra $5,000 earns its keep.
- 01
Essence 49
City and value buyersFrom $41,990
The entry point at $41,990 drive-away: a 49kWh LFP battery, 335km of WLTP range, a 125kW/250Nm rear motor good for 8.2 seconds to 100km/h, and up to 120kW DC charging. Full Essence equipment.
- 02
Essence 62
Most buyersFrom $46,990
For $46,990 drive-away, the bigger 62kWh battery lifts range to 450km and, since the MY26 update, brings a stronger 150kW/350Nm motor (0-100 in 7.0s) and 150kW DC charging. Equipment is otherwise identical to the 49.
Driveaway estimate · NSW · priced Aug 2026. Varies by state. Details →
Under the skin.
How much can the MG S5 tow?
The MG S5 is rated to tow up to 750 kg with a braked trailer and 750 kg without trailer brakes.
Heaviest braked trailer allowed, quoted as ATM: the loaded trailer including ball weight.
750 kg
Limit for trailers without their own brakes.
750 kg
Gross vehicle mass: the most the loaded vehicle may weigh, ball weight included.
2,150 kg
Gross combination mass: vehicle and trailer together. MG does not publish one.
Not published
The vehicle as delivered, before people, cargo and accessories.
1,660 kg
Everything you may add, ball weight included. Calculated: 2,150 kg GVM minus 1,660 kg kerb weight.
490 kg
Calculated
Downward load on the tow ball; it counts toward GVM.
75 kg
What's left once the van is hooked up
Hook up 750 kg with 75 kg on the ball and the Essence 49 has 415 kg of payload left for people, cargo and accessories.
MG does not publish a GCM for the S5, so the tow rating and the GVM are the governing limits shown here.
Assuming 10 per cent of the trailer weight.
Two adults plus luggage is roughly 400 kg.
Fits within every published limit.
Tow rating
0 kg under the 750 kg braked rating
Vehicle GVM
15 kg spare after the ball weight and your load
Combined GCM
GCM not published for this vehicle
Tow ball limit
0 kg under the 75 kg ball limit
The rules and the fine print
Figures are manufacturer maximums for the Essence 49and can change with model year; the compliance plate and handbook of your exact vehicle govern. In Australia, trailers over 750 kg GTM (the loaded weight on the trailer's own wheels) need their own brakes, and over 2,000 kg they need brakes on all wheels plus a breakaway system. Ball weight typically runs 8 to 12 per cent of ATM. Axle loads and tyre ratings are not modelled here. Checking a different car against your van? Use the towing calculator.
How it protects.
ANCAP · Tested 2025
This vehicle achieved the highest possible ANCAP safety rating, with strong results across occupant protection, pedestrian safety and safety-assist technology.
Buy the S5 EV Essence 62 if you want the most range, power and standard kit for the money in a budget electric SUV, and you value a rear-drive chassis and a decade of warranty over a prestige badge. The cabin punches above the price, the physical controls are a relief after a run of touchscreen-only rivals, and running costs stay low. Cross-shop the BYD Atto 3 and Geely EX5 if you want a slightly plusher interior, the Kia EV3 or Hyundai Kona Electric if outright range leads your brief, since each of those can travel further on a charge. But few of them drive as sweetly or come backed this long. Drop to the Essence 49 only if your kilometres are short and mostly urban.
- Rear-drive chassis is engaging for the class
- Cabin feels a size above the price
- 10-year / 250,000km warranty plus 8-year battery cover
- Real physical climate and volume controls
- Sharp drive-away pricing against every rival
- Claimed range only matches the class, never leads it
- Ride has a firm edge on coarse roads
- Essence 49's 125kW motor is adequate rather than punchy
- No spare wheel, just a repair kit
Where the S5 has been.
Past generations. Context, not the car on sale today.
The S5 EV is a new nameplate, but it fills the shoes of a familiar one. It replaces the MG ZS EV, one of the first affordable electric SUVs sold in Australia, and marks MG's shift from converting petrol cars to building EVs from scratch.
2020-2024: the ZS EV
MG's first electric SUV in Australia was an EV conversion of the petrol ZS. It sold well on price and undercut rivals like the Hyundai Kona Electric, but its combustion-car origins showed in packaging and driving manners. It ran out in 2024 to make way for the S5 EV.
2025 onward: the S5 EV
Built on MG's dedicated rear-drive EV platform, the S5 EV is a clean-sheet design that shares nothing structural with the old ZS EV. Larger, better packaged and better to drive, it launched in April 2025 and was simplified to Essence grades in the July 2026 update.
Asked about the S5.
By Yuri Cartland, Editor