The MG I wouldn’t have bought — until this one

Jason Rieck · Gold Coast · 21 September 2026

I personally always thought of MG, once they got taken over, as unreliable. Poor build quality. That was my experience. Cheap plastics. Fit and finish that didn’t match the badge they were selling. I wrote the brand off and moved on.

They have seemingly improved over the years. And this week they put something on the table I did not expect: a full battery-electric dual-cab ute, launching in Australia first, that will legally tow 3.5 tonnes. That is the number that matters if you pull a van, a boat, or a trailer for a living. On paper, this one looks the business.

The vehicle is the MG U9 EV. MG’s local marketing director, Dimitri Andreatidis, pointed it straight at the oldest argument in Australian EV politics — the one that says an electric vehicle will not tow your boat. Being first here, he said, “reflects the importance of Australia to our business.”

That is not a throwaway line. Last month the rest of the market already moved.

August was the turning point

In August 2026, battery-electric vehicles outsold every other powertrain in Australia for the first time. About 27,000 BEVs against 25,824 petrol, 23,608 diesel and 18,662 hybrids, in a market of 108,760. BEV volume was up roughly 170 per cent year on year.

The 4x4 ute went the other way — down 27.1 per cent — as buyers wait for electrified options that can actually work. Australians are buying electric everything except the vehicle a lot of us work and tow with. That gap is where the U9 lands.

Under the New Vehicle Efficiency Standard, emissions limits for light commercials tighten through to 2029. Brands that cannot sell low- and zero-emission utes will bleed credits or pay penalties. That is why this segment is suddenly crowded.

What MG has actually put on the sheet

These are MG’s numbers, not projections.

• $78,990 plus on-roads. Drive-away around $85,000. Q4 2026. Seven-year warranty through the MG network.
• 102.2kWh LFP battery. 430km WLTP, unladen.
• 325kW / 700Nm, dual-motor AWD. 0–100 in a claimed 5.8 seconds.
• 3,500kg braked tow. 750kg unbraked. 685kg payload.
• 6.6kW V2L — CCS2 outside, three 2.2kW outlets in the cabin.
• 115kW DC (20–80% in a claimed 42 minutes). 11kW AC.
• Four-wheel air suspension. 236-litre frunk. Tub takes a pallet.
• MG quotes five-star ANCAP.

The competitive set, without the fog

The HiLux BEV is on sale, but it is a mine / farm / back-to-base tool with a shorter range. The BYD Shark 6 and Ford Ranger PHEV are hybrids — the Ranger’s electric-only range is about 49km. GWM, JAC and Chery PHEVs coming through 2026 are still hybrids.

That leaves the U9 as the first mass-market, full-battery dual-cab from a mainstream badge aimed at private buyers here. Until this week that lane was empty.

Why towing and V2L are the real story

Forget the 5.8-second sprint. If you tow, two figures matter. 3.5 tonnes is the legal max for this class — the filter diesel buyers already use. 6.6kW of vehicle-to-load will run fridges, an induction cooktop, tool batteries or a small site off the vehicle. A diesel cannot do that without a generator on the tray.

Volkswagen sells 2kW continuous V2L on the ID. California as a headline camping feature in Europe. The U9 nearly doubles it.

The honest caveats

I like what I am reading. I am not putting a deposit on one yet.

Towed range is unpublished. 430km is a lab figure with nothing on the hook. Expect that number to fall hard with a van or a boat behind it. Until someone tows a real load a real distance and publishes the kilometres, 3.5 tonnes only tells you what it can pull — not how far.

115kW DC on a 102kWh pack is modest in 2026. Fine if you charge overnight. Less fine if your week is highway DC stops with a trailer on.

Payload is 685kg. Usable, not generous, once you add people, a loaded tub and towball download. Do the weights before you fall in love with the brochure.

And $78,990 plus on-roads only holds if the thing lasts, and if the tow range is not a nasty surprise.

What I take from it

Caravan and boat people: this is the first sub-premium electric ute credibly aimed at towing. The rating opens the door. V2L is the campsite trick. Wait for an independent tow test before you sell the diesel.

Trades and small fleets: pallet tub, 6.6kW V2L, LFP battery. Model overnight AC against what you spend now on diesel and AdBlue.

The broader market: the ute segment is already shrinking while buyers wait. Rival announcements will come quickly. An electric ute price war here inside 18 months is realistic.

I was wrong to freeze MG in 2017 and leave it there. The early cars after the Chinese takeover earned the reputation they got, at least in my hands. This one looks like a different company. I would look at it. I would sit in it. I would want to see it pull.