BEFORE we get into the breakdown, let us start by saying SAIC Motor Malaysia's MG5 is a safe car to be in and just as safe to drive.

Having personally driven it we also found the car to be surprisingly comfortable and stable at high speeds by B-segment sedan standards.

Unfortunately there is no avoiding the elephant in the room - that the car scored zero stars in the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) rating.

A scathing assessment that raises all sorts of queries including concerns of how safe is it to drive or be a passenger in the MG5.

In all fairness the model is road-legal and does come with modern safety features. But with such a rating the big question is how safe is it then?

Different region, different equipment

According to SAIC Motor Malaysia, the most direct answer is that the MG5 we have locally comes from Thailand and is not the same model found in Australia.

A minor difference is that the Thai model, as the ones Malaysia gained, comes with seatbelt pre-tensioners.

Ours also come with the MG Pilot driver assist safety system with features such as Lane Departure Warning, Lane Change Assist, Blind Spot detection, Rear Warning Collision Warning and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. Standard is Electronic Stability Program, Anti-Lock Brake system (ABS), Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD), and Traction and Cornering Brake controls.

All of this come in addition to 6 SRS airbags.

It doesn't sound like much but these features are key to more technical aspects of the scoring.

Scoring itself is highly affected by the year and region the model is assessed in - factors that we'll revisit later in the article.

As highlighted in the report, the MG5's ANCAP 2023 crash test said the car was not fitted with seatbelt pre-tensioners for either the front or rear seating positions. 

Other factors that didn't help the MG5's rating include a seatbelt reminder (SBR) system that was only fitted as standard to the front seating positions while absent in the second row seats.

Dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting airbags are standard while a centre airbag to prevent occupant-to-occupant interaction is not available.

Autonomous emergency braking (AEB, Car-to-Car and Vulnerable Road User) is standard, however AEB (Junction, Crossing and Head-On) is not available.

Lane support system (LSS), speed limit information function (SLIF), driver monitoring system (DMS) and child presence detection (CPD) system is also not available. 

In addition to a low safety score for Safety Assist (13%) the MG5 also didn't do too well in its Adult Occupant Protection (37%), Child Occupant Protection (58%), and Vulnerable Road User Protection (42%) scoring.

Fix up, Mix Up

Previously we mentioned that both year and region play a major role in the New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) scoring. These are variables that you could argue play to or work against the model's advantage.

Safety standards for example become more stringent with each passing year - more technologically advanced safety features like Advance Driving Assist System (ADAS) 2.0 become more of an expectation than a bonus. 

That said, a model which was scored in a previous year retains its ratings moving forward. This meant an older car that scored in a previous year most likely underwent a more year-appropriate (or less strict) scoring.

Simply put, those same models might not get the rating they would have by today's safety standards based on the default features. 

Similarly different regions (Euro NCAP, ASEAN NCAP, etc) have their own priorities when it comes to safety scoring much like how the same model in different countries have varying features or even names.

Without overcomplicating the matter, ADAS is deemed high priority in Australia's NCAP case which is heavily reflected in their scoring. 

SAIC did say they would send the updated MG5 for re-assessment in Australia with changes made to the Australian MG5 model (by having all the necessary features added) in December 2023. However there has been no update since.

Safety first

If you're wondering how a zero-star NCAP rated car can still get sold in Malaysia, the answer is that there is nothing wrong with the MG5 and it is, again, perfectly road-legal. The caveat is that it didn't meet ANCAP's safety standards at the time of assessment.

Additionally, there is no word if SAIC would submit the MG5 for an Asean NCAP assessment given the complexity and costs involved - a regional decision that also apparently depends on SAIC Thailand to spearhead the initiative.

To be clear, NCAP's testing doesn't determine if a car is safe for the road nor is it a mandatory approval for cars to get sold in whichever market it is present. 

Instead it functions as a guideline for higher safety standards in vehicles for the public that, at that point in time, should be met and practiced. 

The MG5 itself has been long approved for sale in a number of countries by their respective government bodies. It is just unfortunate that the ANCAP scoring had to come about at a time when the MG5 is due for an update in said markets.

One can only guess why SAIC decided to send the model in for scoring at such a late stage of the model's lifecycle, and for that the company only has itself to answer to - quite the taint too, what more it being the only MG model to have a zero-star score while the others range between 3 to 5-stars.

Rest assured the MG5 model in Malaysia is a different one from the one found in Australia. Personally, to not recommend it would be to say older car models are not as safe as newer ones and therefore should not be sold anymore even as second-hand sales.

That said understandably there's that looming concern of the poor safety score it received.

To that end customers should not compromise on their personal acceptance when it comes to safety and make the call how much ANCAP's assessment weighs in on the MG5's appeal and acceptance.

Read up more on SAIC Motor Malaysia's MG5 here and stay tuned for our review.