2023 MG4 electric hatch rated five-star ANCAP safe

The 2023 MG4 electric hatch has been awarded a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating – a first for the Chinese brand under the independent automotive safety body’s latest 2020-2022 protocols.

Of the three models MG Motor Australia currently sells, the 12-year-old MG3 (Australia’s top-selling light car) remains unrated by ANCAP, the MG ZS (the nation’s most popular small SUV) has a four-star rating from back in 2017 and the MG HS mid-size SUV has a five-star rating based on ANCAP’s less stringent test regime in 2019.

Extrapolated from Euro NCAP crash tests carried out in 2022, the MG4’s local ANCAP result follows scores of 83 per cent for adult occupant protection, 86 per cent for child occupant protection, 75 per cent for vulnerable road user protection and 81 per cent for the safety assist category.

ANCAP said the MG4 performed well across all facets of testing, save for a couple of ‘marginal’ and ‘poor’ results in some individual tests.

The blemishes primarily stem from the lack of a centre airbag to prevent front occupant head clash in the vehicle-to-pole side impact test, as well as “excessive forward movement” of the rear passenger dummy in the full-width frontal crash test and “potential hard contact to the driver’s knees” in the frontal offset test.

Otherwise the MG4 yielded a healthy mix of ‘good’ and ‘adequate’ results, with special praise being heaped on its child occupant protection in the front and side impact crash tests, while maximum points were awarded for its adult occupant protection in the side impact and oblique pole tests.

Testers also made mention of the new EV’s autonomous emergency braking performance when it came to cyclist and vehicle detection – including when turning across the path of an oncoming vehicle – but rear AEB isn’t offered anywhere in the MG4 range.

ANCAP CEO Carla Hoorweg praised the MG4’s safety performance, which sees yet another zero-emissions vehicle offer five-star protection, and acknowledged its identity as the first MG model to be awarded a top ANCAP rating against the strictest 2020-2022 protocols.

The safety rating applies to all MG4 variants currently offered in Australia, but won’t extend to the inbound XPOWER flagship on account of its different – dual-motor – powertrain configuration, meaning the high-performance EV variant will have to be tested independently.

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