Upgraded 2018 MG 3 arrives with auto

The 2018 MG 3 hatch has arrived in Australia with refreshed styling, more features, a longer warranty and a long-awaited automatic transmission as standard.

In fact, the Aisin four-speed auto is the only transmission offered with the refreshed 2018 MG 3, which is now on sale at $15,990 drive-away – up from $13,990 plus on-roads for the previous manual.

MG Motor Australia product planning manager Pavel Meck said up to 80 per cent of the light hatch market was automatic, but added that the five-speed manual could be reintroduced if enough buyers wanted it.

As we detailed in our first drive of the new 2018 MG 3 auto in China recently, the Mazda 2 competitor has been refreshed with new front-end styling to bring it in line with MG’s new corporate design, introduced with the MG ZS small SUV last year.

The MG 3’s interior has also been overhauled, with an all-new dash, steering wheel and seat fabric.

It’s not only an auto transmission that has been added to the MG 3 feature list; with the mid-spec Soul gone, standard inclusions for entry-level Core variant been significantly increased.

New for the MG 3 Core is a leather-clad steering wheel, steering wheel controls, satin chrome finishes, carbon-look centre console, tartan pattern seat fabric, cruise control, remote central locking, auto headlights, reversing camera, rear parking sensors, follow-me-home headlights, driver’s seat height adjustment and tyre pressure monitoring.

An 8.0-inch touch-screen incorporating Apple CarPlay functionality is also new.

The MG 3 Core now comes with 15-inch alloy wheels shod with 185/65R15 tyres. The spare is a full-size 14-inch steel wheel.

Meanwhile, the top-spec MG 3 Excite, at $17,490 drive-away (up from $15,990, plus on-road costs), now includes heated mirrors, variable intermittent wipers, rear spoiler, side skirts, 16-inch alloy wheels, six-speaker Yamaha 3D audio, ‘leatherette’ and fabric interior and rear seat map pockets.

The MG 3 auto is competitively priced. Using online pricing calculators, in inner-west Sydney a Toyota Yaris Ascent costs is $20,258 drive-away while a Mazda 2 Neo is $18,990 drive away.

The MG 3’s warranty is up from the previous model’s six years/unlimited kilometres to seven years/unlimited kilometres. Roadside assist is also up from the previous six-year offering to seven years.

The MG 3’s 1.5-litre petrol four-cylinder engine has been given a pull-though too. MG claims that fuel efficiency and power/torque are up while NVH is down thanks to a new Bosch engine management system, a new oil pump and strengthened, lighter/smaller key internal parts.

Peak power is up 4kW to 82kW and torque has improved by 13Nm to 150Nm.

While engine outputs are up slightly, so are fuel consumption and emissions. The MG 3 auto’s fuel consumption is 6.7L/100km on the combined cycle and the CO2 emissions figure is 159g/km. Those amounts are up from 5.8L/100km and 136g/km respectively for the outgoing MG 3 manual.

The updated MG hatch continues with a three-star ANCAP crash safety score — well down on the five-star rating key competitors have achieved in the light-car class.

MG sold just 72 MG 3s this year to the end of July, the fewest by far of any model in the sub-$25,000 light-car VFACTS segment, although that was with a manual-only model.

Danny Lenartic, senior marketing and communications manager at MG Motor Australia, would not be drawn on sales forecasts for the updated hatch.

“The benchmark keeps changing,” he said. “Sure, we have volume projections; we’ve already hit milestones that we’ve set. So now we’ve set benchmarks higher.”

How much does the 2018 MG 3 cost?
MG 3 Core auto — $15,990
MG 3 Excite auto — $17,490
* Prices include on-road costs (drive-away)