Previously confirmed safety upgrades for the MG 5 sedan are still a few months away.
“It’s already a work in progress. We are in the final stages now of making that happen on the MG 5,” said MG Motor Australia senior product and strategy manager Akshat Ahuja.
“We will introduce the car with the additional safety features.
“Timing will be either towards the end of this year or next year. We are at the final stages, and we are working very closely with the authorities as well.”
When asked whether the MG 5 would be re-tested by safety authority ANCAP, MG Motor Australia CEO Peter Ciao said, “We’re working on that.”
MG confirmed in December it was working on a $4 million upgrade for the MG 5, comprising both hardware and software fixes, after it received a zero-star rating from ANCAP.
These upgrades include seatbelt pre-tensioners, to help firmly secure occupants in the event of a collision, and dynamic load tensioners MG says will help manage the force exerted on seat belts during a collision.
MG will also add a “calf protection panel” to sit under the front bumper to minimise the level of injury to pedestrians in a crash.
Software upgrades will include lane-keep assist, lane departure warning, and intelligent speed assist.
While the MG 5 already has autonomous emergency braking, this will be upgraded to a more sophisticated system that includes pedestrian, cyclist, and motorcyclist detection with junction assist.
The MG 5 will also get an occupant monitoring feature.
Not included in the upgrades, however, are blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert. These aren’t available on Chinese-built MG 5 sedans, apart from the restyled MG 5 Scorpio.
The MG 5 is currently the only vehicle in its segment in Australia to not offer adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane-keep assist or rear cross-traffic alert in any variant.
That also sees it upstaged by the new, smaller MG 3 hatchback, which offers these features across its range.
However, the MG 5 starts at $24,990 drive-away, while the MG 3 opens at $23,990 – but that’s before on-road costs.
It’s unclear how much MG 5 prices will increase with the update.
MORE: Everything MG 5
