MG S5 EV Five-Star ANCAP Safety Rating: What Brisbane Buyers Need to Know

The MG S5 EV achieves a five-star ANCAP safety rating (the highest possible result) under the demanding 2023-2025 assessment criteria. Introduced to Australia in May 2025, the MG S5 EV is a small battery-electric SUV available in four variants across two battery sizes. The rating was published in May 2025 and applies to all variants built from March 2025 onwards.

With an Adult Occupant Protection score of 90 per cent, the MG S5 EV matches the MG HS as the joint highest adult occupant result across the entire MG range currently rated by ANCAP in Australia. The full MG S5 EV range is available at Barton's Motor Group, your local MG dealer serving Brisbane and South East Queensland.

What is an ANCAP Safety Rating, and Why Does it Matter?

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) independently crash-tests and rates new vehicles sold in Australia and New Zealand at accredited facilities, completely independently of manufacturer safety claims. A five-star rating is the highest result achievable.

ANCAP assesses four key categories: Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection, and Safety Assist. The MG S5 EV performed strongly across all four, with Adult Occupant Protection as its standout result.

The MG S5 EV (built from March 2025) achieved the following results under 2023-2025 criteria:

The rating applies to all four variants sold in Australia and New Zealand, built from March 2025 onwards. It expires in December 2031.

What Was Tested

The MG S5 EV was assessed through a frontal offset test at 50 km/h, a full-width frontal test at 50 km/h, a side impact at 60 km/h, an oblique pole test at 32 km/h, far-side impact tests, and whiplash protection assessments.

What the Results Show

Adult occupant protection is the MG S5 EV's strongest category at 90 per cent, joint highest with the MG HS across the entire current MG ANCAP series. The passenger compartment remained stable in the frontal offset test. The driver received adequate chest protection and adequate upper leg protection, with good protection across all other body regions. Dashboard structures were noted as a potential source of injury for the driver, and a 0.50-point deduction was applied for variable contact in the frontal offset test.

The front passenger received adequate chest protection, with good results across all other critical body areas. The vehicle-to-vehicle compatibility penalty was 1.72 points, indicating a relatively lower risk to occupants of an oncoming vehicle.

In the full-width frontal test, driver protection was adequate for the chest and good across all other critical body areas. For the rear passenger, neck and chest protection were both adequate, with good protection of all other body areas.

The side impact result was exceptional: the MG S5 EV scored the maximum available 6.00 points, with good protection across all critical body regions. The oblique pole test returned near-maximum points at 5.93 out of 6, with adequate chest protection and good results across all other areas.

The far-side impact score was the full 4.00 out of 4.00, with the centre airbag providing good head protection for both front seat occupants and adequate prevention of occupant excursion in both the vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-pole scenarios.

The rescue and extrication score was 2.17 out of 4. The rescue sheet scored no penalty and door opening scored no penalty. The multi-collision braking system earned 1.00 point. No eCall system is fitted (0.67 default awarded). Doors passed submergence testing, though window opening functionality was not demonstrated, which limited the submergence score. Whiplash protection scored 3.96 out of 4.

What Was Tested

Child occupant protection is assessed through dynamic crash testing using six-year-old and ten-year-old child dummies in frontal offset and side impact scenarios, as well as a practical assessment of how standard Australian and New Zealand child restraints can be installed.

What the Results Show

The MG S5 EV returned strong child occupant crash test results. In the frontal offset test, protection was good for all critical body areas of both child dummies, with the exception of the ten-year-old dummy's neck, which was rated adequate. The frontal test scored 15.96 out of 16. In the side impact test, protection of all critical body areas was good for both child dummies, with maximum 8.00 out of 8 points scored.

The MG S5 EV is fitted with ISOFix lower anchorages on both rear outboard seats and top tether anchorages across all rear seating positions. Most assessed child restraint types can be installed in most rear seating positions. One practical note: both booster seat types could not be correctly installed in the centre rear position. Families who regularly use a booster in the middle seat should plan to use the outboard positions.

The MG S5 EV is fitted with a child presence detection (CPD) system as standard across all rear seats in both Australia and New Zealand. This system is present and fitted to the vehicle. However, similarly to the MG4 EV Urban, the CPD system did not meet ANCAP's specific requirements in the assessment and scored zero points. Buyers should be aware the system is present on the vehicle but note that its performance did not reach the ANCAP assessment threshold.

What Was Tested

Vulnerable road user (VRU) protection covers the physical construction of the vehicle's bonnet and windscreen and the performance of the AEB system in detecting and reacting to pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.

Physical Impact Results

The MG S5 EV bonnet and windscreen provided good or adequate head protection to pedestrians over most of the bonnet surface, with marginal and poor results at the stiff windscreen pillars, the base of the windscreen, and the front of the bonnet. Pelvis protection was mixed, with areas of both good and poor performance. Femur protection was good to marginal. Lower leg protection was good with maximum points awarded.

Autonomous Emergency Braking: Pedestrians, Cyclists, and Motorcyclists

The VRU AEB system operates from 4 km/h to 85 km/h and was assessed across a comprehensive range of real-world scenarios.

Forward pedestrian AEB performance was the standout result in this category, earning the full 7.00 out of 7 pointswith collisions avoided or mitigated in all forward test scenarios including turning scenarios, day and night. This is a perfect forward pedestrian AEB score and is among the strongest in the series. In reverse (AEB Backover), performance was rated marginal, providing some mitigation but not reliably. This is worth noting for driveways and car parks.

Cyclist AEB performance was rated good, with collisions avoided or mitigated at all test speeds including turning scenarios. The MG S5 EV provides an information-only alert when a cyclist is approaching from behind. It is important to note that this is information only, with no warning or door retention provided, which is a lower level of cyclist dooring protection than the MG HS and MG 7, both of which provide a warning in addition to information.

Motorcyclist AEB in forward scenarios was rated adequate overall, including in turning scenarios. This is a step below the good rating achieved by several other MG models. The lane support system in car-to-motorcyclist emergency lane keeping scenarios was rated weak (0.50 out of 3), which is the primary area of underperformance in the VRU category and is worth noting for motorway driving where lane-keeping in the presence of motorcyclists is relevant.

What Was Tested

Safety Assist evaluates the active safety technology suite: AEB for car-to-car scenarios, lane support, speed assistance, seat belt reminders, and driver monitoring.

Car-to-Car AEB

The MG S5 EV AEB system operates from 4 km/h to 150 km/h. Testing returned good performance across all standard car-to-car tests. AEB Junction performance was good and AEB Crossing performance was good. However, AEB Head-On performance was weak (0.25 out of 1), meaning the system is largely ineffective at detecting a head-on collision with an oncoming vehicle. This is worth noting for motorway and highway driving.

Lane Support System

The lane support system operates from 60 to 150 km/h, covering lane keep assist (LKA) and emergency lane keeping (ELK). Both LKA and ELK were rated good in car-to-car testing, earning the full 3.00 out of 3 points, a perfect lane support score and a genuine strength of the MG S5 EV relative to other models in the MG range.

Speed Assistance and Driver Monitoring

The MG S5 EV includes a speed assistance system with camera and map-based speed sign recognition, a manual speed limiter, and an intelligent speed limiter as standard. Intelligent adaptive cruise control (iACC) is not available on the MG S5 EV.

A direct driver monitoring system (DMS) is fitted as standard, detecting driver fatigue with warning and intervention capability. Distraction detection is also present but provided a warning only, with no intervention capability, which is reflected in the driver monitoring score of 0.90 out of 2.

No eCall system is fitted to the MG S5 EV. The 0.67 default point does not indicate a fitted system. Seat belt reminders with occupancy detection for all seating positions scored the full 1.00 out of 1.

The following safety features are standard across all MG S5 EV variants sold in Australia and New Zealand:

• Dual frontal airbags (driver and front passenger)
• Side chest-protecting airbags (front seats)
• Side head-protecting curtain airbags (front and second-row seats)
• Centre airbag
• Autonomous emergency braking: car-to-car (4-150 km/h), pedestrian forward and reverse, cyclist, and motorcyclist
• AEB Junction (car, pedestrian, cyclist, and motorcyclist) and AEB Crossing
• AEB Head-On
• Lane keep assist (LKA) and emergency lane keeping (ELK)
• Lane departure warning (LDW)
• Forward collision warning (FCW)
• Blind spot monitoring (BSM)
• Speed sign recognition (camera and map), manual speed limiter, and intelligent speed limiter
• Direct driver monitoring system (fatigue detection with intervention; distraction warning)
• Child presence detection system (all rear seats, standard; did not meet ANCAP assessment requirements)
• Cyclist dooring information alert (information only, no warning or door retention)
• Seat belt reminders with occupancy detection (all seating positions)
• Multi-collision braking system
• ISOFix anchorages (rear outboard seats) and top tether anchorages (all rear positions)
• Rescue sheet for emergency responders

At Barton's Motor Group, we believe Queensland buyers considering an electric SUV deserve the same level of honest, independent safety information as any other purchase decision. The MG S5 EV's five-star ANCAP result is independently verified, and its 90 per cent adult occupant protection score and perfect lane support result place it among the stronger-performing small electric SUVs available in Australia at its price point.

For buyers making the transition to electric, the MG S5 EV delivers a five-star rated, well-equipped battery-electric SUV across four variants. Key areas to understand before purchase include the cyclist dooring system providing information only (not a warning), the weak AEB Head-On result, and the weak LSS motorcyclist emergency lane keeping result. Our team is happy to walk through any of this in detail.

Visit Barton's Motor Group to see the MG S5 EV in person, arrange a test drive, and speak with our team about which variant suits your needs. Browse current stock and make an enquiry at Bartons.net.au.