With MG3, the brand of the SAIC automotive group aims to attack the B segment, the most popular in Italy, with a new hybrid that aims to be proposed not only as a competitive alternative to products such as Renault Clio and Toyota Yaris, but also as a different hybrid from usual. The MG3 powertrain is in fact a very particular hybrid, capable of working in series, in parallel or in full electric mode depending on the speed, thanks to a 100 kW electric motor (the same power as full electric cars in the same segment such as the Peugeot e-208) and one of the most capacious batteries, 1.83 kWh. For this reason MG calls it “Hybrid Plus“. For reference, just think that the hybrid version of the Renault Clio features a 34 kW electric motor and a 1.2 kWh battery. Toyota Yaris, the full hybrid B segment par excellence, has a battery of just 0. 76 kWh, which supports a 62 kW thermal engine and consists of a 1.5 liter Atkinson cycle engine with a power of 75 kW (102 horsepower).
But beyond the numbers, it is precisely the way in which the engine works that is different. Up to 50 km/h, the electric motor takes care of the traction, in purely electric mode. When you exceed 50 km/h up to 80 km/h, it is always the electric motor that transmits torque to the wheelsbut the combustion engine turns on to power the electric generator, which supplies energy to the battery and electric motor, like a series hybrid. Above 80 km/h, it switches to parallel mode: the two motors work together, both providing traction, depending on the power demand. As we will see, this scheme means that at least up to 80 km/h, the electric motor is the absolute protagonist, decisively characterizing the driving feeling.
For the first national test drive, MG took us to try out the MG3 on a complex route up and down the hills of Bologna, thus giving us the opportunity to put the new hybrid engine to the test in its different modes. And we must say that in this first drive the MG3 mostly surprised us. Upon departure, the feeling is exactly that of an electric car. Unlike most full hybrid cars, not only is the starting point decided, but the gear continues for a long time with the same fluidity as a full electric car. When the combustion engine turns on, you can perceive it mostly in the sound, while at the pedal the car continues to behave exactly as it did at the start, as if it were totally electric.
Compared to normal full hybrids, here the regenerative braking when the accelerator pedal is released is decisive: from the on-screen menu it is possible to select three regeneration levels, with the middle one as the default. For our driving we immediately activated the maximum level, which allows for almost “one pedal” type driving. This helps to keep the traction battery always at a sufficient charge level and therefore to make the hybrid powertrain operate at the optimal speed, also in terms of consumption.
Even uphill you can appreciate the fluidity of the ride, once again supported by the electric motor, something completely new in these conditions for a full hybrid car. By pressing on the accelerator during our ascent, or even on a stretch of motorway, we finally arrive at the thermal input on the traction. Compared to the Toyota hybrid, there is no infamous “scooter” effect here given by the CVT gearbox. MG has in fact implemented a three-speed gearbox, registered for speeds above 80 km/h. The engagement of the thermal engine on the traction is extremely fluid: there are no discontinuities in the torque delivery also because the thermal engine works alongside the electric, not replaces it. Towards the end of our journey, once again on the freeway and with the battery perhaps a little flat (the readability of the charge indicator in the instrument panel is not optimal), we heard the combustion engine come on noisily for the first time and ” revved up.” Overall though, the MG3 Hybrid is pretty quiet, even on the highway.
In terms of consumption, the average on our route was 6.1 l/100 km, a higher figure than the official 4.4 l/100 km communicated by MG, but it must be said that uphill, to test the car, we didn’t go easy on the accelerator.
MG wants to position MG3 very aggressively on the Italian market. Three versions are available with the following list prices: 19,990 euros for the standard, 21,490 euros for the Comfort and 23,490 euros for the Luxury, the version of our test. For the launch, MG has provided a financing formula with installments of 99 euros per month regardless of the version, playing on different advance payments and contractual duration with the simultaneous scrapping of an old vehicle. For example, with an ecobonus of 3,000 euros, the entry level version is available at 99 euros per month for 35 months, with an advance payment of 3,800 euros. The standard version, among other things, already comes equipped with a 10.25″ display for infotainment, rear camera and sensors, air conditioning with PM2.5 filter and adaptive cruise control with lane assistant.
MG4 is an electric that convinces when driving, a little less so in terms of software
Tags: MG3 Hybrid Preview electrifying hybrid
