2025 MG IM5: Quick drive

7NEWS

5 days ago

The MG IM5 may have an MG Motor badge on its tailgate, but this is no ordinary MG.
Parent company SAIC Motor established IM Motors in 2020, in a joint venture with Alibaba and ZJ Hi Tech.
IM Motors is SAIC Motor's premium electric vehicle (EV) brand, targeting the likes of Zeekr. Like that formerly EV-only brand, it's also venturing into combustion-powered territory back home in China – it's launching its first extended-range electric vehicles (EREVs), which feature a petrol engine as a generator.
But the debut IM models for Australia are all-electric: the MG IM5 liftback, known in China as the IM L6; and the MG IM6 SUV, known in China as the IM LS6.
We had the opportunity to test out the technology of the IM5 at Sydney's White Bay Terminal, though we didn't get to drive the vehicle on regular roads. Fortunately, we also secured a drive of the IM6 prior to launch, allowing us to test it on actual roads. You can read that review here.
How much does the MG IM5 cost?
Unusually, MG has chosen to price the IM5 and IM6 identically – something that's sure to skew the sales ratio even more in favour of the IM6, we imagine, given our SUV-hungry market.
The IM5's two most obvious rivals are the (admittedly smaller) BYD Seal and Tesla Model 3.
The BYD is priced between $46,990 and $61,990 before on-road costs, while the Tesla is priced between $54,900 and $80,900 before on-roads.
To see how the MG IM5 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
What is the MG IM5 like on the inside?
If the exterior is curvy, the interior takes it to another level.
There's a very soft, organic look to the cabin, with nary a straight line to be seen – even the stitching details on the dashboard look wavy. This is supported by lots of softly padded surfaces, including the dash, doors and sides of the centre console.
It's like sitting in a big leatherette marshmallow and for those who like a more traditional, rectilinear look inside, it's a bit much.
A Highland Grey interior colour way is standard, though Dover Beige is a $990 option. This lightens up the interior even more, though we're concerned about how susceptible it may be to dirt – particularly the trim on the centre console.
The cabin is already bathed with light thanks to the expansive fixed glass roof. The company claims this has a double silver layer that results in 99 per cent ultraviolet rejection and 79 per cent infrared rejection. The tinting is quite dark, but an accessory sunshade is still available. It was a rainy day at the event, so it's hard to tell how the roof will cope with bright sunshine.
Go ahead and check out that interior image and try and find a button inside the IM5's interior. I'll wait.
In true modern Chinese (or Tesla) fashion, buttons have been discarded like relics. There are two touchscreens and if you don't want to use those, there's a voice assistant.
The steering wheel has a pair of slide wheels but lacks the traditional array of switchgear you'll find in most cars. There's no climate control array, though some shortcuts for HVAC settings are anchored to the bottom of the lower screen.
Technically, there are a handful of buttons – the door handles, for example, have been replaced with buttons. But even things like controlling the direction of airflow through the front vents must be done through a touchscreen.
Tesla fans, among others, will have no issue, but a lot of consumers will find this confounding – can't a handle be a handle, and a button be a physical button? It all worked fine in a parking-lot tech demo, but I'll be keen to get one of these out in the real world to see if this buttonless strategy works.
'Alright, so there are no buttons. There's no cassette player either, grandpa, so tell us how the tech works?' you may well ask.
Quite well, is the answer. The upper screen, which incorporates a traditional touchscreen and a digital instrument cluster, features an app menu and camera views as you'd expect as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
The lower screen features a menu of apps as well, plus functions like the climate control and parking systems. The interfaces look crisp and modern, and swipe shortcuts. There's so much to pore over in these screens, but we had limited time in which to explore.
There's also iSmart connectivity, allowing you to access vehicle information and control certain features like the climate control via a smartphone app.
Everything feels well screwed together, and the doors close with a solid thunk even though the glass is frameless.
The IM5's seats are cushy and comfortable, and feature heating, ventilation and power adjustment up front. They're not finished in leather, however, with leatherette the only upholstery available across the lineup.
Storage includes bottle holders in the doors, a centre console bin, and a handy shelf under the centre console that you could use for a handbag.
For such a large vehicle, though, space efficiency is so-so. The IM5 has a 2950mm long wheelbase, but rear seat accommodation is somewhat compromised.
With the front seats lowered to a comfortable position, toe room in the rear is significantly impacted and it feels a bit squeezy. Headroom, however, is quite good for someone around 180cm or tall, despite the rakish roofline.
You'll find rear air vents and map pockets plus a single USB-C outlet and a fold-down armrest with cupholders. Oddly, we couldn't find any heated seat controls, despite this feature being standard.
The rear bench also splits and folds 60/40, and has an adjustable backrest.
If you like the design of the IM5's interior but want more space, the IM6 has a virtually identical interior and an identical price tag. We can see a lot of buyers being tempted.
The IM5's sedan-like styling conceals a hatchback-style tailgate, but don't go thinking this is a huge load-lugger. Open the tailgate – the button is concealed as part of the IM logo – and you'll find a load bay that's surprisingly narrow.
MG claims cargo space of 457 litres, expanding to 1290L with the rear seats folded. There's also an 18L storage compartment under the bonnet.
To see how the MG IM5 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
What's under the bonnet?
Well, technically, there's an 18L storage compartment under the bonnet. But don't take that heading literally, and you're looking at a choice of three powertrain configurations.
The base IM5 Premium RWD uses a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery and a 400V electrical architecture, resulting in slower charging speeds than the others which use a nickel manganese cobalt (NCM) battery and an 800V electrical architecture.
MG quotes 20 minutes to charge the IM5 Premium RWD from 30 to 80 per cent using a DC fast-charger, against 15.2 minutes for the Platinum and Performance variants.
All IM5s feature vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality, with a maximum output of 6.6kW.
MG doesn't quote total system power and torque outputs for the flagship Performance AWD, which is the only variant with two electric motors.
It's also the only variant with standard air suspension and Continuously Controlled Damping, though you can option air springs on the Platinum.
All IM5s feature four-wheel steering and four-piston front brake calipers from Continental with ventilated discs at all four wheels.
To see how the MG IM5 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
How does the MG IM5 drive?
I'd love to tell you how it drives, but that will need to wait until we get one through the garage. I sure can tell you how it parks, though.
Our driving experience was limited to one loop around a boat terminal, which wasn't enough to get much of a feeling for the IM5's ride quality or handling.
The steering in Comfort mode is light but not completely vacant. There are selectable drive modes, allowing you to adjust aspects of the drive like the steering and throttle response.
All IM5s ride on double-wishbone front and multi-link rear suspension, but the flagship Performance also features standard air suspension and Continuously Controlled Damping.
Typically, if you want a sedan with air suspension you're looking at spending well over $100,000 for something with a three-pointed star on the grille, so it's great to see this technology at a more accessible price point.
We also got to experience the brutal acceleration of the Performance, which boasts a 0-100km/h time of 3.2 seconds.
Sadly, this was with somebody else behind the wheel, but the IM5 rocked me back in the softly padded passenger seat and, while I could hear the tyres scrambling for grip on the wet pavement, the electric liftback tracked straight.
Double-layered glass is used for all the windows for sound insulation. And if this thicker glass doesn't cut out sound enough for you, there's a standard (unbranded) 20-speaker sound system including four 'sky speakers' mounted up higher, as well as active noise cancellation.
We're keen to take this car to a poorly surfaced road with a high speed limit and see how all of this works in cutting out sound, but in low-speed driving the IM5 was hushed.
Our tech demo involved five stages in a rainy parking lot, allowing us to test the vehicle's AI Chauffeur technology and check out all its cameras, which are impressively high-resolution.
Semi-autonomous parking assist technology is nothing new, but the IM5's is some of the best we've experienced.
Some systems can be slow and dim-witted when it comes to detecting parking spots, but the IM5 identifies spots quickly. In one demonstration, we had to use the system to reverse into a spot on the right-hand side of a 'street' that had vehicles parked on the other side. Each time, the vehicle got unnervingly close to a vehicle on the left-hand side, but manoeuvred into position with no sweat – well, at least not from the vehicle.
There's also a one-touch pull-out function to help get you out of a spot, and the IM5 can handle both parallel and perpendicular parking.
What's more unique and impressive is the reverse tracking function, which allows you to press a button and have the vehicle reverse back for the last 100m – handy if you accidentally drove down a tight alley and lack the confidence to make your way back.
One function that is impressive but has less of an obvious practical use is the IM5's ability to use its four-wheel steering to crab. No, it won't throw a pot into the water to catch crustaceans, but it will turn all four wheels in the same direction at the same time at speeds under 18km/h.
This function is accessible by entering the Driving menu on the lower screen and pressing a button that's supposed to look like a crab. The car then gives you a dynamic checklist of criteria that need to be met before crab mode can work.
As you turn the wheel, it shows you the angle of your wheels on the upper screen. Don't move the wheel too much, and you'll feel the car crab across the road. It's unusual, and especially disconcerting when you're reversing – you need to turn the wheel in the opposite direction from which you'd normally do.
The four-wheel steering has a more obvious practical benefit in that it gives this car a turning radius of just 4.99m, something that the company says makes it as manoeuvrable as a small hatchback. And indeed, even in a limited demonstration we could see how nimble this big car was in tight quarters. There's up to 12 degrees of rear wheel steering.
It might be easy to steer, but the IM5 isn't easy to see out the back of. The rear window is more like an ovoid porthole, and there's no digital rear-view mirror – baffling for such a tech-rich car in 2025. You can touch one of the wheel toggles to provide a camera view on the touchscreen, but this isn't good enough.
But all is not lost for the IM5 in the visibility stakes, as despite missing out on a digital rear-view mirror it has something no rivals can match: Rainy Night Mode. This projects camera footage on the upper screen that has been enhanced and reprocessed to be made clearer, making it handy if, for example, your windows are fogged up.
Sadly, we didn't get an opportunity to test this because it was daytime, but it's an intriguing idea.
What do you get?
There are three variants in the MG IM5 lineup.
2025 MG IM5 Premium RWD equipment highlights:
19-inch alloy wheels
Tyre repair kit
Automatic LED headlights
Rain-sensing wipers
Heated, power-folding exterior mirrors
Electronic park brake with auto hold
Semi-autonomous parking assist
Hands-free power tailgate
Proximity entry and start
Panoramic glass roof
Rear privacy glass
26.3-inch touchscreen
10.5-inch touchscreen
Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
DAB digital radio
Leatherette upholstery
Heated and ventilated front seats
Heated rear seats
12-way power driver's seat
6-way power passenger seat
60:40 split/fold rear seats with adjustable backrest
3 x ISOFIX child-seat anchor points
256-colour ambient lighting
50W ventilated wireless phone charger
20-speaker sound system
Road Noise Control
3 x USB-C outlets (2 x front, 1 x rear)
Dual-zone climate control
Heat pump
The Platinum RWD adds:
20-inch alloy wheels
Hankook iOn high-performance EV tyres
The Performance AWD adds:
Pirelli P Zero tyres
Is the MG IM5 safe?
The IM5 has yet to be tested by ANCAP or Euro NCAP.
Standard safety equipment across the range includes:
Adaptive cruise control
Autonomous emergency braking
Blind-spot monitoring
Driver attention monitoring
Lane-keep assist
Emergency lane-keep assist
Intelligent Lane Change
Lane centring
Rear cross-traffic assist
Safe exit warning
Front and rear parking sensors
Surround-view camera
Tyre pressure monitoring
Front, side and curtain airbags
Far-side airbag
Its suite of active safety and driver assist technology is powered by 12 ultrasonic sensors, nine high-definition cameras, three millimetre-wave radars, one positioning unit and one inertial measurement unit.
How much does the MG IM5 cost to run?
MG's IM models are covered by a seven-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, though if you don't service within MG's network this drops down to a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty (or five years/160,000km if the vehicle is being used for commercial purposes).
The battery warranty is eight years, 160,000km no matter how you use it. The air suspension and four-wheel steering systems are backed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty.
There's a capped-price servicing program that spans five years/100,000km, with servicing required every 12 months or 20,000km.
To see how the MG IM5 lines up against the competition, check out our comparison tool
CarExpert's Take on the MG IM5
The IM5 is an intriguing addition to the local EV market.
Most buyers will go for the IM5's sibling, the IM6 SUV. That's fine, but for those of us who prefer a traditional sedan or liftback, the IM5 offers a compelling alternative to similarly sized petrol and hybrid vehicles.
The exterior is more attractive than the IM6, though the interior is almost identically styled (ie: polarising) even if it has inferior packaging.
But that rear hatch arguably makes the IM5 more versatile than the rival Tesla Model 3 and BYD Seal sedans, even if the load bay is rather skinny. And unlike the Tesla, you get a proper digital instrument cluster.
We still have a lot of questions about the driving experience. How does it handle? Are the driver-assist features well-calibrated, or will they drive you apoplectic with rage? How is energy efficiency and range in real-life driving?
All those questions couldn't be answered in a parking lot demonstration. What we did learn, however, is that the IM5 has some clever technology, a distinctive interior, and sharp pricing.
On a spec sheet, it looks fabulous. But we need to get one through our garage to see how it fares in the real world.
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Pros
Impressive performance for the price
Slick technology
Long list of standard equipment
Cons
Physical switchgear almost non-existent
Styling may polarise
Not as spacious as its dimensions suggest