MG ZST 2020 Review

MG is hovering just outside the top-10 brands in Australia and is set to top 10,000 sales by the end of 2020.

It has become the country’s fastest-growing badge with sharp pricing and a seven-year warranty, but the company knows it must do more and do it better to ensure it is not forever tagged as the Chinese cheapie.

The ZST is punchier, and the MG Pilot package of safety assistance is very impressive, but the car is still missing many of the ‘one per-centers’ that lift any newcomer up a level.

The 2021 MG ZST drives into a slightly confusing position.

MG Australia will continue to sell the existing MG ZS small SUV while rolling the ZST in as its compact headliner, a flagship of sorts, as a 2021 model.

So pricing for the 2021 MG ZST is $29,490 for the Excite variant and $32,490 for the Essence, both drive-away. But the existing ZS still opens the action at $21,990 drive-away.

MG will continue to have price leaders but it wants the ZST to become a genuine competitor to a broad basket of rivals, including the Hyundai Kona and Mazda CX-30.

MG says the ZST is a significant update with visual changes, a punchier drivetrain – including an engine with 40 per cent more power – and a claimed 50 per cent improvement in rigidity, not in the body structure but the way the suspension is attached to the chassis.

Even the basic Excite is extremely well equipped, with everything from keyless entry and push-button start to LED headlights, 17-inch alloys with Michelin Primacy tyres and rain-sensing wipers. The only extra is metallic paint at $500.

The real ‘excitement’ is in the cabin, where there is a tablet-sized 10.1-inch touch-screen infotainment display, sat-nav, air-con, a genuine leather-wrapped wheel, faux leather trim, six-speaker sound, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and a height-adjustable driver’s seat.

Ramping up to the Essence brings a giant glass sunroof, called ‘stargazer’ in MG-speak, a full digital instrument display, front seat heaters and an electric-driver’s seat, a different design of alloys and, for bragging rights, MG logos on the front head restraints.

MG Australia is only expecting a four-star ANCAP safety rating for the 2021 MG ZST, as there is no change to the body structure or the six-airbag package.

But it has loaded its MG Drive package into the car with forward-collision warning and auto safety braking, lane departure warning, radar cruise control, blind-spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert.

It’s claiming a class first with traffic jam assist and the car also has front and rear parking cameras which can create a 360-degree view that is also available in 3D.

The car can read traffic signs and provide an audible and visual warning when you go above the legal limit, and the adaptive cruise control has a ‘follow me’ feature, which some car-makers call Stop & Go and allows the car to drive away by itself if the car in front accelerates from low speed or a stop.

There is some other clever thinking in the car, with five USB ports including one on the side of the rear-view mirror for a dash-cam connection, and it has the basics right including vanity mirrors on both sun-visors, and a sunglasses holder

The original MG ZS was marked down for its underwhelming petrol engines, a normally-aspirated 1.5-litre and a turbo 1.0-litre, but things are significantly better in the 2021 MG ZST.

The turbo triple, with signature syncopated engine note, makes a respectable 115kW of power and 230Nm of torque. There is no claim for the 0-100km/h sprint, but there is a solid surge away from a standing start and there is plenty of overtaking shove.

The transmission is an Aisin six-speed automatic, the car is front-wheel drive, and the driver can make manual changes with the shift lever – although the pattern requires pulling back instead of pushing forward to change down – but there are no flappy paddles behind the wheel.

The 2021 MG ZST is easy to park, has plenty of space for four people and luggage, and the build and interior materials quality is impressive – not just for a Chinese car, but properly impressive for the small SUV class and price.

It gets along nicely enough, but is more blandoid than you might expect as the performance model in a range with an MG badge.

The MG ZST is quiet at highway speeds, but when the road gets rough or twisty its weaknesses are exposed. The ride gets bouncy, yet there’s still significant impact harshness over potholes, and the steering is numb – even with a choice of three electric-assist settings.

It’s a car that is crying out for some local tuning, and MG Australia admits that it currently looking for help on that front.

It’s the same for the horn, which is fine for a polite toot in traffic but is far too feeble to send a warning to sheep or kangaroos. There was no time to check the headlights during our daytime preview drive, but they’re unlikely to be a stand-out.

The driving position exposes the car’s roots, as it is clearly intended for short people. There is not enough adjustment in the steering column, the seat cannot be dropped low enough, and if you push the electric adjustment button all the way in the Essence it will push the head of a 180-centimetre driver into the roof. Yes, I know from experience.

The MG ZST is only a mid-range drive in a class packed with serious SUV contenders, lacking the finesse and performance of the Mazda CX-30 and without the well-tuned suspension of the Hyundai Kona. And that’s just for a start.

But will buyers really care when they are getting great value with a seven-year unlimited warranty with seven years of roadside assist?

My first proper drive in a new-age MG went much better than expected.

Of course, it helped that I drove the flagship of its top-selling SUV line-up, but the 2021 MG ZST has more ‘surprise-and-delight’ stuff than anyone would expect of an affordable – let’s not say cheap – Chinese car.

I laughed when I walked away from the ZST after leaving the keys in the car and got a reminder with a loud series of beeps, and I was captivated by the 3D 360-degree camera view at this price.

Everywhere you look there are things to like and enjoy, including the extra USB for a dash-cam, and the air-con was truly chilly on a warmish Sydney day.

It’s not a great drive, far from it, but the basics are OK. And there is plenty of scope for improvement.

Non-enthusiast drivers will be more than happy with a car that is calm and quiet, and can keep up with the traffic, but wasn’t impressed when a simulated panic stop had the rear of the car moving slightly sideways as the front suspension compressed and jacked most of the weight away from the back.

There was also a coarseness in some of the minor controls, like the rubber feel to the shift lever in one car and a gravelly feel to the electric-window adjustment in both review cars.

The suspension needs to be better for Australia, some of the minor controls are coarse and the horn is plain feeble. But, all-in-all, the MG ZST is surprisingly un-bad and a car that will work very well for a lot of ordinary Aussies.

How much does the 2021 MG ZST Excite cost?
Price: From $29,490 drive-away
Available: Now
Engine: 1.3-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 115kW/230Nm
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Fuel: 7.1L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 162g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Four-star (ANCAP 2017)