Addtional info reinforces why China’s UK-flavoured make is confident its baby has the measure of Toyota’s tot. 

EXTRA information released about the MG3 in its upcoming hybrid format supports thought it could stand as a disruptive foe for a Kiwi-favoured rival.

Set to show here later this year, with a precise timing yet to be shared, the new model was unveiled internationally two weeks ago and replaces the current petrol version, in production since 2011 so patently time-worn.

The new car’s switch to full hybrid power means a change of marketing, and also a price increase over the current type which at $20,000 stands as NZ’s cheapest new car. 

MG New Zealand will not say how much more the incoming type will cost, but some overseas’ markets, including Australia, have notified a 25 percent increase on present pricing.

Even so, MG’s plan is to undercut the Toyota Yaris Hybrid, which has been cited as the primary rival and has been the preferred Kiwi choice in the small category.

The petrol electric Yaris, kicks off at $32,490, while another potential competitor, the Honda Jazz, starts petrol-electric from $36,700.

MG has suggested the MG3 hybrid will match, if not beat, the Toyota for practicality, efficiency and performance.

MG’s new Hybrid Plus powertrain (its first non-plugin hybrid offering) combines a four-cylinder 1.5-litre petrol engine producing, in isolation, 75kW, and a single electric motor producing 100kW, the latter feeding off a 1.83 kWh battery. 

Combined power output is cited at 143kW while torque is given as 424Nm, making the 3 markedly more potent than the Yaris hybrid, which has 85kW maximum combined output. Toyota does not cite a torque figure.

Whereas the current MG3 has offered with a four-speed automatic gearbox, the new car drives its front wheels exclusively through a three-speed auto.

MG touted the performance benefits of this unit “over the commonly used CVT often found in hybrids” - including Yaris - claiming its transmission avoids lag to give the car more responsive acceleration.

The Yaris Hybrid accomplishes the 0-100km sprint in 9.2 seconds. The MG3 is claimed to hit that mark in eight second flat.

MG has claimed the MG3 will offer a combined 4.4 litres per 100km, a big improvement on the current car, and have vastly reduced CO2 emissions, at 100g/km. Yaris Hybrid is cited as being thriftier and cleaner, with Toyota NZ claiming 3L/100km and 71g/km.

In respect to fully electric performance, the MG3 is claimed to have enough juice to cover short distances at speeds of up to 80kmh with the engine off, which trumps the Yaris.

The MG3 can also be driven in Series mode – with the engine functioning as a generator – or as a parallel hybrid, where the two power sources work in tandem to give the full output.

The car was designed at MG’s Shanghai studio, taking stylistic influence from the make’s current crop of crossovers and hatchbacks, and is slightly longer and wider that the present type. It will be built in China, too.

MG says regardless of that provenance, their’s is an Euro-centric car in respect to the driving feel. It says engineers in Europe and China collaborated to ensure the dynamics are fine-tuned for the requirements of various global markets.

The impetus was to deliver “a refined drive” while keeping MG’s ‘fun to drive’ ethos at its core”.

Precise details of the chassis remain cloaked, but MG said it benefits “from the use of new ultra-high-stiffness components” and that the suspension has been made lighter and tuned to give stronger grip.

The 3’s cabin design wholly departs from the current car’s. With the electric-assisted car comes ‘floating’ twin digital display screens – a 7.0in type for the instruments and a 10.25in infotainment touchscreen is as per the MG4 small electric car.

The MG3’s physical upsize is also evident, with a wheelbase that being 50mm longer, at 2570mm, is expected to free up leg room in both rows of seats. An increase in boot capacity, to 298 litres - large by supermini standards - also arrived from the longer overall footprint.