2025 MG Marvel R electric SUV: New Model Y rival spied in Australia
09/20/2024 05:00 PM
The largest electric car yet from growing brand MG – a Tesla Model Y or Kia EV5-sized SUV – has been spotted testing on Australian roads ahead of next year’s launch.
MG will be the next major car manufacturer to challenge the top-selling Tesla Model Y in Australia, if photos of its newest electric vehicle testing on local soil are an indication.
Drive has spotted the successor to the Marvel R, a mid-size electric SUV sold by MG in Europe, testing on Sydney roads in a camouflage wrap ahead of its expected launch next year.
The current Marvel R is sold in Europe as an MG, but was designed by Roewe – another car brand owned by MG’s parent company SAIC – and is not manufactured in left-hand drive.
Its successor is planned to expand to right-hand-drive markets such as the UK and Australia, though it may wear a different name that better aligns with MG’s other petrol and electric cars.
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Prices could start from about £45,000 ($AU88,000) in the UK, according to Autocar – similar to a base Tesla Model Y, which is priced from £44,990 in the UK, or $55,900 plus on-road costs in Australia.
The Marvel R replacement is expected showrooms shortly after a replacement for the ageing ZS EV, expected to wear the S5 badge.
Spy photos of the Marvel R successor show it will wear front-end styling inspired by the MG 4 electric hatch, on which the new Model Y competitor and smaller MG S5 are expected to be based.
Dual-level LED headlights, a full-width LED tail-light bar, and 20-inch alloy wheels are visible on the prototype, which wears boxier bodywork than the current Marvel R.
MORE: 2025 MG S5 electric SUV shown ahead of official reveal – Will it replace the ZS EV?
The interior has not been photographed, but it is likely to follow the path of other new electric MGs with two large displays for instruments and infotainment, and a rotary gear selector dial.
A search of the test vehicle’s licence plate lists an ‘MG ES39 Evaluation Vehicle’ with a tare weight of 2040kg – on par with other mid-size electric SUVs.
Exactly what will power the Marvel R successor is unclear, but it is expected to be underpinned by the MSP electric-car architecture debuted under the MG 4.
The platform enables rear- or all-wheel drive, and battery capacities up to 150kWh, but there’s no guarantee the new SUV will use a pack this large.
The current Marvel R is rated to deliver between 370km and 402km of driving range in European WLTP testing from a 70kWh battery – compared to 455km from a 60kWh battery in the most affordable Model Y.
Likely to disappear for the new Marvel R is the flagship variant’s tri-motor drive layout – two at the rear, one at the front – which develops a combined 212kW for 0-100km/h acceleration in a claimed 4.9 seconds.
All vehicles built on the MSP platform to date have used single or dual motors, with the top-of-the-range MG 4 XPower quoting 320kW from its 150kW front and 170kW rear motors, good for 0-100km/h in a claimed 3.8 seconds.
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