MG S5 review: living with it in Malaysia

The driving position feels conventional in the best sense: the instrument display sits directly ahead, frequently used functions remain available from the steering wheel, and wireless phone mirroring reduces the need to live inside MG's own menus. The cabin's 2,730 mm wheelbase is more important than the exterior styling suggests, because it gives adults usable knee room in the second row without sacrificing the 453-litre boot.^[1]

Independent reviewers broadly agree that the new cabin is a major step forward from the ZS EV. Honest John praised its finish and ease of use, while RAC judged the technology and interior substantially improved. The reservation comes from Australian testing and owner discussion, where occasional touchscreen lag is reported. That makes a test drive with your own phone connected worthwhile: the core layout is sensible, but screen responsiveness matters when climate and vehicle settings sit inside it.^[2]

The S5's family-car case rests on space rather than visual drama. Rear air vents, a flat-feeling rear floor and generous legroom make the second row genuinely useful, while LUX equipment such as powered ventilated front seats is particularly relevant in Malaysian heat. The panoramic roof brightens the cabin, although buyers who regularly park outdoors should also consider the extra solar load and use the remote pre-cooling function.^[1]

Comfort impressions vary with road and market. UK reviewers describe the S5 as easy-going and comfortable, but an Australian road test found the city-focused tune less settled once the surface became faster and rougher. Our reading is that the suspension isolates sharp urban impacts well and keeps the body controlled, but it is not a luxury-SUV float. Try it over the expansion joints and broken surfaces you actually use, rather than judging it only on a smooth showroom route.^[3]

The upper dashboard and major touch points present well, while harder plastics remain lower in the cabin where they are less visible. That material mix is normal at this price. More important are the consistent panel fit, solid-feeling controls and absence of obvious trim movement. Independent reviews likewise identify interior finish as one of the new car's strongest improvements.^[2]

Software is the area to watch over ownership. Forum users tend to praise MG's mechanical hardware more strongly than its interface polish, mentioning occasional choppiness and expecting updates to improve it. These are owner reports rather than evidence of a universal fault, but they are a useful reminder to check pairing, cameras, navigation and driver-assistance settings during handover.^[4]

Rear-wheel drive changes how the S5 deploys its power. Because the front tyres steer without also having to deliver the motor's torque, hard acceleration does not tug at the wheel. The five-link rear suspension and low-mounted battery help the body settle progressively, while XDS can brake an inside wheel to reduce understeer. It remains a family SUV, but the responses are cleaner and more balanced than the specification-sheet phrase 'electric SUV' might imply.^[1]

The COM's 125 kW and 250 Nm are sufficient for normal use; the LUX's 151 kW, 350 Nm and official 7.0-second 0-100 km/h time provide stronger overtaking performance. Reviewers describe the steering as light and predictable rather than richly communicative. Regenerative braking adds useful deceleration in traffic, but drivers should still learn the brake-pedal transition and choose the regeneration level that keeps passengers comfortable.^[5]

Official Malaysian specifications list 120 kW maximum DC charging for the 49 kWh COM and 150 kW for the 62 kWh LUX. Those are peak figures, not a promise that the car will hold that rate throughout a session: battery temperature, charger output and state of charge all affect the curve. For travel planning, a 20-80% stop is normally more time-efficient than waiting for the final 20%, where every EV deliberately slows the charge to protect the pack.^[1]

Both variants use a 7 kW AC onboard charger. That is well suited to an overnight wallbox routine, but owners without reliable home or workplace charging should calculate their public-charging pattern before buying. The LUX's larger pack and higher DC peak reduce long-distance friction; the COM is financially compelling when daily mileage is modest and the car can return to a charger each night.^[1]

The official WLTP figures are 340 km for COM and 446 km for LUX. Treat them as consistent comparison figures rather than guaranteed road range. Sustained high speed, repeated hard acceleration, heavy rain, elevation changes and continuous air-conditioning all increase consumption. A separate long-distance test of the larger-battery S5 achieved roughly 240 miles against a 288-mile WLTP claim, illustrating why an operating buffer matters on highway trips.^[5]

The LFP battery chemistry is well suited to frequent charging and prioritises durability and thermal stability. The useful ownership question is not simply which variant travels furthest, but how much reserve remains after a normal week. Buyers whose longest common journey fits comfortably inside the COM's practical range may gain little from carrying and paying for the larger pack; frequent interstate users gain more from the LUX's extra range and charging headroom.^[1]

The Malaysian specification includes seven airbags and the MG Pilot ADAS 2.5 suite, including adaptive cruise control with traffic-jam assistance, autonomous emergency braking and lane-related support. Equipment presence is only half the story: buyers should use the handover to learn alert sensitivity, cancellation controls and the conditions in which each system operates. Assistance systems reduce workload but do not replace observation or braking responsibility.^[1]

On Lowyat's locally assembled MGS5 EV thread, the recurring theme among MG EV owners is that the hardware is the strong half of the package. Existing MG4 and S5 drivers report no mechanical complaints after months of use and rate the drivetrain and chassis highly, while the criticism lands on software polish — the infotainment is described as usable but occasionally choppy, a trait several posters attribute to the wider Chinese-EV segment rather than to MG specifically. Buyers cross-shopping used MG EVs in that thread are told the same thing: buy it for the driving, expect over-the-air updates to keep improving the screens.^[6]

Verified S5 EV owner reviews echo the comfort story. Owners describe the ride and the action of the interior controls as feeling a segment above the price, call the car stress-free and easy to drive around town, and single out cabin space and an infotainment system that is easy to learn. One review notes the car can feel slightly unsettled at very high speed, which lines up with our own experience — this is a chassis tuned for composure rather than autobahn stiffness.^[7]

The handling talk is the most interesting part of the owner feedback, and it matches the rear-wheel-drive, XDS-equipped hardware. Owners of the current car say the steering is sharper and body control noticeably tidier than the previous S5, describing the responses as predictable and linear rather than sports-car communicative. For a family EV in this bracket, that is exactly the compliment MG was aiming for.^[8]

Independent Malaysian press coverage of the CKD car reaches the same conclusion from a value angle: more performance, more equipment and a lower price than the imported model it replaced. That is the single biggest reason S5 EV threads stay positive even when owners are picking at the software.^[9]