LIKE the northern white rhino, the £20k new car is close to extinction.
So when another one comes along, its sales chances have got to be strong.
Provided it’s not an absolute duffer, anyway. And, spoiler alert, the all-new MG3 is no duffer.
It arrives first as a hybrid. Although quite rightly it’s not the sort you have to plug in. Small cars should be about simplicity, shouldn’t they.
The tested Trophy trim is just over £20k, but the MG3 Hybrid+ starts at £18,495.
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Later there will be a simple manual-transmission one, likely not much more than £15k.
It’s not just the hybrid drive that shows this is a properly new car.
Outside there are nice lines and jewel-like lights, even if its wheels do look a little small.
Inside, the dash has two connected high-def screens, and USB ports all over the place. The driver-assist systems are almost too keen.
Mind you, the actual design of the interior is a little dull. And there are places where you can feel the money being saved.
The trim feels cheaper than rivals, the rear seat doesn’t split-fold, and the steering wheel adjusts up and down but not in and out.
Still, there’s enough space that adults can get comfy in the front and back, if the journey isn’t too long.
And as a hybrid, this is about short journeys and city driving. Quite a lot of the time the engine shuts down and you’re in silent electric power. It’ll dribble along like that for maybe half a mile.
Then the engine starts up, partly to drive the car and partly to charge the battery. It sound a bit droney but the car swaps drive very smoothly.
The suspension is pretty good at urban potholes and speed bumps, too.
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On main roads you have decent power – motor and engine work together at full chat, even if it doesn’t feel quite as lively as the official figures suggest.
It’s quite a fun, chuckable little car. But you need to get used to the fact everything happens with a slight delay. Floor the throttle, and it hesitates before fully waking up. Same when you brake – not quite as much as you expected, then a lot.
The suspension floats and wobbles over a big bump, but eventually settles down.
None of this is a deal-breaker, but there’s extra polish in the way a Yaris or Clio hybrid drive. Unless you need the hybrid’s auto transmission, I’d recommend waiting for the cheaper manual.
The hybrid only really saves much fuel in town. And town drivers are low-mileage ones because they’re driving slowly.
So fuel cost isn’t the main thing they need to save on. They want to cut the monthly payments, insurance and parking.
Anyway, there are only two northern white rhinos left, and they’re both female.
Things aren’t quite that bad for the sub-£20k supermini, but having another one to swell the ranks looks like a good thing.
