Why MG ZS Pro is just the right car at just the right price

Our long term MG ZS Pro is clad in York White paintwork. Picture: Jaco van der Merwe There are so many Chinese SUVs to choose from these days that it’s become hard to tell them apart, never mind choosing between them. The average price South Africans spend on a new car is around R450 000, and it’s no surprise that competition around this price point is rife.

Established models like the Toyota Corolla Cross, GWM Haval Jolion Pro and Chery Tiggo Cross’ presence in this space is huge. They not only compete for top honours in this segment, but also for the country’s overall best-selling passenger car. Any manufacturer hoping to successfully challenge the established order in this segment needs to bring its A-game.

That is exactly what Chinese-owned British moniker MG has done with the introduction of the ZS Pro towards the end of last year. MG returned to the local market earlier last year with an SUV portfolio which included the medium-sized HS, and its ZS compact sibling. At the time, the latter was dated and already in the process of being replaced by the ZS Pro globally.

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MG kept the ZS as the more affordable and compact option, as Chery does with the Tiggo 4 Pro and GWM with the Haval Jolion City. The ZS Pro, on the other hand, serves as a step-up similar to the Cherry Tiggo Cross and Haval Jolion Pro. And it bridges the gap to the HS like the Tiggo Cross does below the Tiggo 7 and the Jolion Pro does below the H6.

WhileThe Citizen Motoringwas impressed with the ZS Pro during its short launch drive in October around Lanseria, a quick fling like that isn’t always a very accurate indicator of whether a car is a keeper or not. MG therefore afforded us the opportunity to take the relationship one step further by giving us a ZS Pro as a house guest for three months. A flagship Luxury model which retails for R431 500 clad in York White paintwork.

Compared to its ZS sibling, it’s easy to see that the Pro is around seven years younger. In fact, the solid wide-frame grille and “Predator Eye” LED headlights closely resembled the attractive styling of the MG3 hatchback. At the rear, you’d be forgiven for noticing a bit of BMW SUV styling in the mould of an X1 or older X3.The MG ZS Pro Luxury also features silver roof rails, integrated indicator lamps on the body-colour side mirrors and rides 18-inch black and silver alloy wheels.

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