MG RX5

Like the exterior design, the interior cabin too feels a bit staid and simple for an SUV of this category. However, the cabin feels well put together, and has an airy appeal to it, with the bright black and beige dual-tone upholstery.

The flat-bottom steering wheel with audio and Bluetooth controls looks and feels nice along with the silver-finished lower spoke, however, the instrument console looks a bit boring. The wide touchscreen infotainment system at the centre is flanked by vertically laid trapezoidal AC vents with flat upper edge and has a rectangular housing for automatic climate control buttons just below it. This entire cluster is housed in a T-shaped soft touch beige finished dashboard panel which looks upmarket. The lower portion of the centre console, which houses the transmission lever, is finished entirely in faux wood, which looks a bit overdone.

With features like electric sunroof, powered driver’s seat, and electric parking brake, the MG RX5 tries to appear as a modern package in terms of equipment. The space inside the cabin too is well managed, with more than enough room for five passengers with ease.

While the MG RX5 feels modern and sharp to look at, it somehow lacks the character and individuality of modern age SUVs, with little heritage to exhibit. The design looks pretty normal, but thanks to modern features, it manages to look upmarket.

The frontal look of the MG RX5 looks quite bold, thanks to the wide front grille with horizontal chrome slats tapered from the middle. This grille, which has tapered lower edges at the bottom, is flanked with angular full LED headlamps, which alone adds some bling to the front fascia. The large fog lamps do get inverted L-shaped chrome accents, while the body cladding with thick scuff plates adds to the rugged appeal.

The MG RX5 impresses with its uniformity and proportionality in its side profile design, with a sharp character line flowing sideways and typical SUV traits such as roof rails and side body cladding. The machined alloy wheels and chrome finished shoulder line adds some elegance to the side look of this SUV.

The rear profile of the MG RX5 goes with the angular theme of the SUV, with trapezoidal tail lamps, which get a sleek chrome bar in between them and look tempting courtesy the sleek LED inserts within them. The large scuff plate at the bottom of the rear bumper only makes the SUV look rugged from the rear.

Based on a monocoque frame, the MG RX5 is fitted with Macpherson struts at the front and independent multi-link setup at the rear. While the SUV does suffer by a bit of body roll around corners, the stiff setup of the suspension ensures that it feels sure-footed on straights.

The MG RX5 is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, which is capable of pumping out a maximum power output of 169 PS and a peak torque output of 250 Nm. This engine is coupled to a 6-speed manual gearbox in the base variant and a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic in the other two variants.

The MG RX5 is bestowed with class-leading safety kit on board like front and side airbags, ABS with EBD, cornering brake control, electronic stability control, traction control, hill hold control, hill descent control, anti-roll protection, electronic parking brake, tire pressure monitoring system, reverse parking sensors, and camera. 

The MG RX5 might lack the soul and individualistic character from the visual point of view in and out, but appears as a well put together package, with a refined petrol engine, spacious cabin and decent comfortable ride quality.