logo
MG's cheapest model now even cheaper

MG's cheapest model now even cheaper

West Australian01-05-2025

MG Australia has introduced a new entry-level variant to its second-generation
MG 3
range, bringing the light hatch tantalisingly close to the title of Australia's cheapest new car.
The MG 3 Vibe joins the lineup priced at $21,888 drive-away. That makes it $1000 cheaper than the current range-opening MG 3 Excite petrol, which is currently priced at $22,888 drive-away as part of a promotional offer available until the end of this month (May 31).
Unlike the Excite and Essence versions of the latest MG 3 released last year, there is no Hybrid+ powertrain available for the Vibe. It also misses out on a handful of goodies like alloy wheels, push-button start, and electric folding mirrors.
MG Motor Australia CEO Peter Ciao said the more affordable new MG 3 variant's introduction was intended to provide 'great value for Australians as they look to purchase a new car', as the brand recognises 'many Australians are doing it tough with the cost of living'.
Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal.
Browse now
.
Powering the MG 3 Vibe is the same petrol engine available with both the petrol Excite and Essence grades: a 1.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder producing 81kW of power and 142Nm of torque.
This is mated with a continuously variable automatic transmission, with drive sent to the front wheels only. The Vibe rides on 15-inch steel wheels instead of the 16-inch alloys found across the rest of the range.
Inside, owners still get the same 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen and 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster seen in the Excite, the former accompanied by Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.
It retains many elements from the Excite including halogen headlights, a reversing camera, fabric upholstery, and a six-speaker sound system.
The Vibe also features part of the MG Pilot safety suite, though it misses out on blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic assist. All MG 3s are still covered by MG's 10-year, 250,000km warranty.
With the addition of the Vibe, the MG 3 undercuts rivals like the
Suzuki Swift Hybrid manual
($24,490 drive-away), and is comfortably cheaper than the base
Mazda 2 Evolve
($30,402 drive-away) after Mazda
axed the base Pure and Pure SP grades
for 2025.
However, MG hasn't outdone Kia, which is no longer represented in the light car segment after the axing of the Rio, but whose entry-level version of the smaller
Picanto Sport manual
remains Australia's cheapest new model at $21,340 drive-away. The Picanto
became Australia's lowest-price new car
when the previous-generation MG 3 was replaced in mid-2024.
So far in 2025, the MG 3 is Australia's best-selling light car. To the end of March, MG has shifted 3081 examples, significantly more than the 1468 sales recorded for the Mazda 2 and the 1044 new homes found by the Suzuki Swift Hybrid.
Full 2025 MG 3 pricing is detailed below:
MORE:
Everything MG 3

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Qantas launches huge sale on premium seats
Qantas launches huge sale on premium seats

Perth Now

time16 minutes ago

  • Perth Now

Qantas launches huge sale on premium seats

Luxury travellers rejoice, Qantas has announced a sweeping sale on premium cabin fares across its international network. From Thursday, travellers will be able to access more than 80,000 discounted first class, business class and premium economy seats across almost every one of Qantas' international destinations. Using cash or points, customers can travel across Asia, the UK, South Africa, North and South America, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, with some destinations fetching big discounts. Premium cabin seats are discounted to popular international destinations. NewsWire / Luis Enrique Ascui Credit: News Corp Australia Travellers making their way to New Zealand can enjoy $999 premium economy seats on return flights from Sydney to Auckland. Qantas international chief Cam Wallace said the airline had strong interest in premium travel options on its long-haul international flights. 'This sale is one we know our customers will love, with discounted premium seats across almost our entire international network, including over peak periods like the northern hemisphere summer and Christmas holidays,' Mr Wallace said. With the sale extending out across those peak travel periods, Australians making their way to international family or seeking a global getaway over the holidays will have access to Sydney to London return premium economy flights from $3799 and Sydney to New York from $4299. The sale extends to tickets for international flights across the next year. NewsWire / David Swift Credit: News Corp Australia There are further benefits for those repeat Qantas customers. 'And for our frequent flyers, it's a fantastic opportunity to maximise their points with Classic Plus seats now on sale,' Mr Wallace said. 'It's another way we're providing great value and more choice for our members to fly in premium cabins to their favourite destinations.' The sale runs until midnight Wednesday, June 18, unless sold out earlier. Flights can be booked up until May 2026, with some selected dates blacked out. The fares include baggage, in-flight entertainment and food and drinks. The full list of routes on sale is available on the Qantas website.

Home solar battery contracts ripped up as promised government rebate ditched
Home solar battery contracts ripped up as promised government rebate ditched

The Advertiser

time3 hours ago

  • The Advertiser

Home solar battery contracts ripped up as promised government rebate ditched

Households in NSW promised federal and state government discounts on a new home solar battery have been told they are no longer eligible for both and will need to start from scratch. Australians with rooftop solar rushed to take advantage of the new federal "cheaper home batteries" discount - worth about $4000 on a typical 11.5kWh battery - in the wake of Labor's May election win. Many installers took orders and started fitting batteries on the basis the federal rebate could be claimed after July 1 on top of any state schemes. But the NSW government on June 10 announced it was scrapping its existing discount after only seven months. Instead, it decided to expand a program to encourage households to sell power stored in batteries back to the market through virtual power plants. This left installers with a lot difficult phone calls to make to battery customers who they'd promised would receive both the state Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) discount and the federal rebate on new batteries. Some customers who had not yet had a battery fitted were offered refunds on their deposits, or new quotes with the NSW discount - sometimes worth thousands of dollars - removed. "There have been no circumstances where people can claim solar battery installation incentives under both the commonwealth and NSW schemes," a spokesman for the NSW energy department said. "We recommend that households and small businesses contact their installer to discuss any quote that claimed both incentives would apply." Installers would likely have to bear the cost of the state discount they expected where households had already paid for, and received, their battery. Solar Battery Group, which operates nationally and has been installing 40 batteries a day since the government's re-election on May 3, was one of those. "If the customer is adamant they don't want to change the size of battery or the specifications, then yes, we will wear it," chief executive James Hetherington said. "We've had a lot of people wanting finance that are very confused because those [NSW] laws changed." Mr Hetherington said each business made a choice about how to respond to the federal funding - but new policy "hand grenades" were coming thick and fast across the country. "They did warn all of us: 'Install at your own risk'," he said. "They made that quite clear and we all made our own individual decisions on what risks we were going to take based on our own margins, on our own business models." He said the industry was moving very fast. "It's never moved like this in its history with batteries. "It's had this, obviously, many times with solar and solar panels, but the battery industry is not used to this, so it's got a few growing pains in the next six months," Mr Hetherington said. A spokeswoman for Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the federal battery discount was always designed to be used in conjunction with state incentives. "We designed the cheaper home batteries program to be stackable with state incentives, and it is," she said. "NSW are now also offering a battery incentive, for joining virtual power plants, which is stackable with ours. "The design and balance of NSW incentives is a matter for them, but giving more people more support to get batteries and join [virtual power plants] is good news for the industry." But the industry at a wider level was nonetheless disappointed in the cancellation of the NSW battery installation discount. "The announcement of the new NSW scheme was not the outcome they had expected or wanted," Smart Energy Council acting chief executive Wayne Smith said. "Industry has been operating under a great deal of uncertainty as they awaited clarity around the NSW PDRS that's caused considerable pain for many," he said. "The cuts to the scheme will continue to cause pain." RESINC Solar and Batteries founder Leigh Storr did not offer customers both NSW and federal installation discounts. "I feel for any installers who've jumped the gun," he said. "What they've been selling on is hope." He said the cheaper home batteries discount was a large enough incentive on its own to encourage battery take up. "I'm in huge support of what Chris Bowen has done," Mr Storr said. The PDRS scheme in NSW, which delivered about 11,000 rebates in first six months of the program, will be scrapped after June 30. Instead households with batteries are eligible for up to $1500 to help more connect to virtual power plants, which take customers' excess energy stored in batteries and sell it on. "From 1 July the NSW Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) incentives for installing a battery will be suspended, but the consumers will have access to higher incentives under the commonwealth cheaper home batteries program," an NSW energy department spokesman said. "Incentives under the NSW PDRS to connect batteries to virtual power plants (VPPs) will almost double, and can be stacked with the commonwealth program." Any new batteries cannot be turned on before July 1 in order to be eligible for the federal discount under the $2.3 billion cheaper home batteries program. Households in NSW promised federal and state government discounts on a new home solar battery have been told they are no longer eligible for both and will need to start from scratch. Australians with rooftop solar rushed to take advantage of the new federal "cheaper home batteries" discount - worth about $4000 on a typical 11.5kWh battery - in the wake of Labor's May election win. Many installers took orders and started fitting batteries on the basis the federal rebate could be claimed after July 1 on top of any state schemes. But the NSW government on June 10 announced it was scrapping its existing discount after only seven months. Instead, it decided to expand a program to encourage households to sell power stored in batteries back to the market through virtual power plants. This left installers with a lot difficult phone calls to make to battery customers who they'd promised would receive both the state Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) discount and the federal rebate on new batteries. Some customers who had not yet had a battery fitted were offered refunds on their deposits, or new quotes with the NSW discount - sometimes worth thousands of dollars - removed. "There have been no circumstances where people can claim solar battery installation incentives under both the commonwealth and NSW schemes," a spokesman for the NSW energy department said. "We recommend that households and small businesses contact their installer to discuss any quote that claimed both incentives would apply." Installers would likely have to bear the cost of the state discount they expected where households had already paid for, and received, their battery. Solar Battery Group, which operates nationally and has been installing 40 batteries a day since the government's re-election on May 3, was one of those. "If the customer is adamant they don't want to change the size of battery or the specifications, then yes, we will wear it," chief executive James Hetherington said. "We've had a lot of people wanting finance that are very confused because those [NSW] laws changed." Mr Hetherington said each business made a choice about how to respond to the federal funding - but new policy "hand grenades" were coming thick and fast across the country. "They did warn all of us: 'Install at your own risk'," he said. "They made that quite clear and we all made our own individual decisions on what risks we were going to take based on our own margins, on our own business models." He said the industry was moving very fast. "It's never moved like this in its history with batteries. "It's had this, obviously, many times with solar and solar panels, but the battery industry is not used to this, so it's got a few growing pains in the next six months," Mr Hetherington said. A spokeswoman for Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the federal battery discount was always designed to be used in conjunction with state incentives. "We designed the cheaper home batteries program to be stackable with state incentives, and it is," she said. "NSW are now also offering a battery incentive, for joining virtual power plants, which is stackable with ours. "The design and balance of NSW incentives is a matter for them, but giving more people more support to get batteries and join [virtual power plants] is good news for the industry." But the industry at a wider level was nonetheless disappointed in the cancellation of the NSW battery installation discount. "The announcement of the new NSW scheme was not the outcome they had expected or wanted," Smart Energy Council acting chief executive Wayne Smith said. "Industry has been operating under a great deal of uncertainty as they awaited clarity around the NSW PDRS that's caused considerable pain for many," he said. "The cuts to the scheme will continue to cause pain." RESINC Solar and Batteries founder Leigh Storr did not offer customers both NSW and federal installation discounts. "I feel for any installers who've jumped the gun," he said. "What they've been selling on is hope." He said the cheaper home batteries discount was a large enough incentive on its own to encourage battery take up. "I'm in huge support of what Chris Bowen has done," Mr Storr said. The PDRS scheme in NSW, which delivered about 11,000 rebates in first six months of the program, will be scrapped after June 30. Instead households with batteries are eligible for up to $1500 to help more connect to virtual power plants, which take customers' excess energy stored in batteries and sell it on. "From 1 July the NSW Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) incentives for installing a battery will be suspended, but the consumers will have access to higher incentives under the commonwealth cheaper home batteries program," an NSW energy department spokesman said. "Incentives under the NSW PDRS to connect batteries to virtual power plants (VPPs) will almost double, and can be stacked with the commonwealth program." Any new batteries cannot be turned on before July 1 in order to be eligible for the federal discount under the $2.3 billion cheaper home batteries program. Households in NSW promised federal and state government discounts on a new home solar battery have been told they are no longer eligible for both and will need to start from scratch. Australians with rooftop solar rushed to take advantage of the new federal "cheaper home batteries" discount - worth about $4000 on a typical 11.5kWh battery - in the wake of Labor's May election win. Many installers took orders and started fitting batteries on the basis the federal rebate could be claimed after July 1 on top of any state schemes. But the NSW government on June 10 announced it was scrapping its existing discount after only seven months. Instead, it decided to expand a program to encourage households to sell power stored in batteries back to the market through virtual power plants. This left installers with a lot difficult phone calls to make to battery customers who they'd promised would receive both the state Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) discount and the federal rebate on new batteries. Some customers who had not yet had a battery fitted were offered refunds on their deposits, or new quotes with the NSW discount - sometimes worth thousands of dollars - removed. "There have been no circumstances where people can claim solar battery installation incentives under both the commonwealth and NSW schemes," a spokesman for the NSW energy department said. "We recommend that households and small businesses contact their installer to discuss any quote that claimed both incentives would apply." Installers would likely have to bear the cost of the state discount they expected where households had already paid for, and received, their battery. Solar Battery Group, which operates nationally and has been installing 40 batteries a day since the government's re-election on May 3, was one of those. "If the customer is adamant they don't want to change the size of battery or the specifications, then yes, we will wear it," chief executive James Hetherington said. "We've had a lot of people wanting finance that are very confused because those [NSW] laws changed." Mr Hetherington said each business made a choice about how to respond to the federal funding - but new policy "hand grenades" were coming thick and fast across the country. "They did warn all of us: 'Install at your own risk'," he said. "They made that quite clear and we all made our own individual decisions on what risks we were going to take based on our own margins, on our own business models." He said the industry was moving very fast. "It's never moved like this in its history with batteries. "It's had this, obviously, many times with solar and solar panels, but the battery industry is not used to this, so it's got a few growing pains in the next six months," Mr Hetherington said. A spokeswoman for Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the federal battery discount was always designed to be used in conjunction with state incentives. "We designed the cheaper home batteries program to be stackable with state incentives, and it is," she said. "NSW are now also offering a battery incentive, for joining virtual power plants, which is stackable with ours. "The design and balance of NSW incentives is a matter for them, but giving more people more support to get batteries and join [virtual power plants] is good news for the industry." But the industry at a wider level was nonetheless disappointed in the cancellation of the NSW battery installation discount. "The announcement of the new NSW scheme was not the outcome they had expected or wanted," Smart Energy Council acting chief executive Wayne Smith said. "Industry has been operating under a great deal of uncertainty as they awaited clarity around the NSW PDRS that's caused considerable pain for many," he said. "The cuts to the scheme will continue to cause pain." RESINC Solar and Batteries founder Leigh Storr did not offer customers both NSW and federal installation discounts. "I feel for any installers who've jumped the gun," he said. "What they've been selling on is hope." He said the cheaper home batteries discount was a large enough incentive on its own to encourage battery take up. "I'm in huge support of what Chris Bowen has done," Mr Storr said. The PDRS scheme in NSW, which delivered about 11,000 rebates in first six months of the program, will be scrapped after June 30. Instead households with batteries are eligible for up to $1500 to help more connect to virtual power plants, which take customers' excess energy stored in batteries and sell it on. "From 1 July the NSW Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) incentives for installing a battery will be suspended, but the consumers will have access to higher incentives under the commonwealth cheaper home batteries program," an NSW energy department spokesman said. "Incentives under the NSW PDRS to connect batteries to virtual power plants (VPPs) will almost double, and can be stacked with the commonwealth program." Any new batteries cannot be turned on before July 1 in order to be eligible for the federal discount under the $2.3 billion cheaper home batteries program. Households in NSW promised federal and state government discounts on a new home solar battery have been told they are no longer eligible for both and will need to start from scratch. Australians with rooftop solar rushed to take advantage of the new federal "cheaper home batteries" discount - worth about $4000 on a typical 11.5kWh battery - in the wake of Labor's May election win. Many installers took orders and started fitting batteries on the basis the federal rebate could be claimed after July 1 on top of any state schemes. But the NSW government on June 10 announced it was scrapping its existing discount after only seven months. Instead, it decided to expand a program to encourage households to sell power stored in batteries back to the market through virtual power plants. This left installers with a lot difficult phone calls to make to battery customers who they'd promised would receive both the state Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) discount and the federal rebate on new batteries. Some customers who had not yet had a battery fitted were offered refunds on their deposits, or new quotes with the NSW discount - sometimes worth thousands of dollars - removed. "There have been no circumstances where people can claim solar battery installation incentives under both the commonwealth and NSW schemes," a spokesman for the NSW energy department said. "We recommend that households and small businesses contact their installer to discuss any quote that claimed both incentives would apply." Installers would likely have to bear the cost of the state discount they expected where households had already paid for, and received, their battery. Solar Battery Group, which operates nationally and has been installing 40 batteries a day since the government's re-election on May 3, was one of those. "If the customer is adamant they don't want to change the size of battery or the specifications, then yes, we will wear it," chief executive James Hetherington said. "We've had a lot of people wanting finance that are very confused because those [NSW] laws changed." Mr Hetherington said each business made a choice about how to respond to the federal funding - but new policy "hand grenades" were coming thick and fast across the country. "They did warn all of us: 'Install at your own risk'," he said. "They made that quite clear and we all made our own individual decisions on what risks we were going to take based on our own margins, on our own business models." He said the industry was moving very fast. "It's never moved like this in its history with batteries. "It's had this, obviously, many times with solar and solar panels, but the battery industry is not used to this, so it's got a few growing pains in the next six months," Mr Hetherington said. A spokeswoman for Energy Minister Chris Bowen said the federal battery discount was always designed to be used in conjunction with state incentives. "We designed the cheaper home batteries program to be stackable with state incentives, and it is," she said. "NSW are now also offering a battery incentive, for joining virtual power plants, which is stackable with ours. "The design and balance of NSW incentives is a matter for them, but giving more people more support to get batteries and join [virtual power plants] is good news for the industry." But the industry at a wider level was nonetheless disappointed in the cancellation of the NSW battery installation discount. "The announcement of the new NSW scheme was not the outcome they had expected or wanted," Smart Energy Council acting chief executive Wayne Smith said. "Industry has been operating under a great deal of uncertainty as they awaited clarity around the NSW PDRS that's caused considerable pain for many," he said. "The cuts to the scheme will continue to cause pain." RESINC Solar and Batteries founder Leigh Storr did not offer customers both NSW and federal installation discounts. "I feel for any installers who've jumped the gun," he said. "What they've been selling on is hope." He said the cheaper home batteries discount was a large enough incentive on its own to encourage battery take up. "I'm in huge support of what Chris Bowen has done," Mr Storr said. The PDRS scheme in NSW, which delivered about 11,000 rebates in first six months of the program, will be scrapped after June 30. Instead households with batteries are eligible for up to $1500 to help more connect to virtual power plants, which take customers' excess energy stored in batteries and sell it on. "From 1 July the NSW Peak Demand Reduction Scheme (PDRS) incentives for installing a battery will be suspended, but the consumers will have access to higher incentives under the commonwealth cheaper home batteries program," an NSW energy department spokesman said. "Incentives under the NSW PDRS to connect batteries to virtual power plants (VPPs) will almost double, and can be stacked with the commonwealth program." Any new batteries cannot be turned on before July 1 in order to be eligible for the federal discount under the $2.3 billion cheaper home batteries program.

New report reveals Aussie women are bearing the brunt of rising costs widening the retirement gap
New report reveals Aussie women are bearing the brunt of rising costs widening the retirement gap

West Australian

time4 hours ago

  • West Australian

New report reveals Aussie women are bearing the brunt of rising costs widening the retirement gap

A new report reveals Australian women are bearing the brunt of the nation's cost of living crisis and are sacrificing their own financial futures to keep households afloat. Insights Exchange's Consumer Trends report found women were excessively squeezed by rising living costs and family obligations that were causing stress, worry and anxiety. Researchers surveyed 1474 Australians finding women were 21 per cent less confident than men about their retirement, with only 27 per cent feeling positive about their financial future. More than half of the women surveyed said their ability to meet household expenses had worsened over the past year. The report found 43 per cent of Australians supported dependent children and ageing parents but women carried most of the responsibility. Insights Exchange chief executive officer Nichola Quail said when women were meant to be most financially stable, they were caught between caregiving and rising costs leaving little room to think beyond the next bill. 'It is a national issue hiding in plain sight,' she said. 'It's not just stressful; it's unsustainable.' One female respondent aged 56 said she could not see herself surviving until retirement. 'I don't eat to ensure I pay my rent. My electricity is about to be disconnected,' she said in the report. One woman aged 57 said the cost of living crisis had left her with a general feeling of hopelessness. While another women aged 38 said being able to afford to live a comfortable life without working insane hours was a big struggle that would only get worse. 'Female caregivers experience heightened financial vulnerability and workplace anxiety while navigating complex social connections,' the report stated. 'These patterns suggest women are carrying a heavier psychological burden, potentially exacerbated by financial stressors and societal responsibilities.'

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store