MG ZS

ZS Excite highlights:

• 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment system
• Wired Apple CarPlay
• 6-speaker sound system
• Cruise control
• Leatherette upholstery
• Height-adjustable steering wheel
• Leather-wrapped steering wheel
• Synthetic leather trim on doors and shifter
• Tyre pressure monitoring
• 17-inch alloy wheels
• Front and rear fog lights
• Halogen headlights with manual height adjustment
• LED daytime running lights
• Automatic headlights
• 1 x USB port
• Analogue speedometer, rev counter
• LED daytime running lights
• Halogen headlights
• Manual driver’s seat height adjustment

It's back-to-basics in here, although the handsome steering wheel and Volkswagen-like switchgear on the doors add some glamour.

The synthetic leather-trimmed driver's seat has height adjustment as well as tilting and sliding, but unfortunately the steering wheel only moves up and down and does not telescope.

The centre screen is flanked by faux carbon-fibre trim, while silvery plastic inserts and soft touch points make it feel a little nicer. The vinyl seat trims are easy to keep clean.

The back seats are relatively capacious by class standards, for adults 180cm or below. The boot is 359L with five seats in use, which is about what you'd expect of a lower small hatchback.

A temporary space-saving spare wheel sits below the loading floor.

A key factor behind the ZS's take-up is its design.

It's fairly anonymous, but its curves and proportions are contemporary. Nobody will know you're in a budget SUV unless they're real car people.

• Sloane Silver Metallic
• Diamond Red Metallic
• Regal Blue Metallic
• Dover White
• Pebble Black

Servicing is required every 12 months or 10,000km, whichever comes first. MG offers seven-year capped price servicing under its Precise Price Servicing scheme.

The MG ZS’s first seven services are capped at $251, $298, $301, $359, $249, $350, $249.

It's a pretty simple bit of kit, with electric power steering with a few modes of resistance, MacPherson strut front suspension, and a torsion beam at the rear. It has disc brakes at each end.

It's not the final word in agile handling or cushy ride, but for those hopping out of a used vehicle should prove a pleasant enough bit of A-to-B transport.

The 2024 MG ZS is powered by a naturally aspirated 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine producing 84kW of power and 150Nm of torque.

It’s mated to a four-speed torque-converter automatic transmission driving the front wheels.

What you see is what you get, there are no options on the MG ZS.

MG has better stock of the ZS than most of its rivals.

The brand earlier this year welcomed its own shipload of cars Down Under, and hasn't been hit by the same supply crunch as other carmakers due to its different supply chains.

Boot space measures 359L up to the cargo cover. With the rear seats folded, this expands to 1166L measured up to the window line. The second row of seats fold down in a 60:40 split.

Nothing beats the MG ZS on price. At $21,990 on the road, it actually competes better against used cars.

In a market where rivals are jacking up prices, the MG has skated to top spot on the sales charts.

The company sold 29,258 ZS and ZST models in 2023.

We won't pretend it's a class-leader, and if you prefer to spend your money on brands with long and uninterrupted periods in the market, then it's not for you.

But if you want a new SUV for the price of rival used ones, then it's on a list of one at this price.

MG finished ninth in the 2021 sales race, ahead of Subaru and Honda.