‘Maturity’ is a word that sprung to mind when I surveyed the interior for the first time.
Generally fine-feeling plastics combine with handsome patterned cloth on the seats and dashboard and a 10.3in touchscreen. MG deserves credit for its pleasing graphics, tiled home page, sensible menu layouts and standard smartphone mirroring.
There are no excuses for pranging or kerbing it if you go for the pricier Trophy trim, as this brings an incredibly clever surround-view camera, which if useful on the enormous Mifa 9 MPV from sibling brand Maxus feels almost superfluous in a 4m-long hatchback. It’s also good to see that sat-nav is standard even on the cheaper SE, although concerningly the system in our test car still thought we were at Autocar HQ in Twickenham while we were photographing it down in Brighton.
I was pleased to see a row of physical buttons on the dashboard, but all isn’t quite as it seems: the air-con button doesn’t actually adjust the temperature or fan speed, instead being merely a shortcut to the climate menu on the touchscreen, and if you’ve got Apple CarPlay or Android Auto filling the touchscreen, said button won’t do anything unless you first press the home button first to return to MG’s software. This means the simple act of cooling yourself down requires at least three prods and time not watching the road. In the Clio, the entire operation can be done almost subconsciously, thanks to twisty dials and buttons.
At least MG has made it easy to turn off the various EU-mandated safety systems and annoying bings and bongs: press the car icon on the right side of the screen and you’re presented with a list of on/off sliders, each with a helpful explainer paragraph next to it.
Actually, you might not even want to use it anyway: in its most ‘helpful’ modes, the MG Pilot system combines adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assistance pretty well, not being spooked by the ghost lines that haunt my commute, although as usual it leaves a gap to the vehicle in front large enough that someone is guaranteed to pull into it, and there can be a tendency for it to saw at the wheel through curves, rather than maintaining a gentle angle as a human driver should.
You don’t feel too close to your front passenger in the 3, taller drivers shouldn’t have too many complaints and there’s surely enough room in the back for two adults – although it’s disappointing that the rear bench isn’t split for more versatile loading. The boot, meanwhile, is a healthy 241 litres, as compared with 254 in the Clio, neither car suffering in terms of luggage capacity for its hybridisation.