MG Philippines has been on a roll since officially coming out as the sole authorized distributor of the British (but Chinese-owned) brand in October last year. Its offerings have been well received, particularly the ZS subcompact crossover (the other two are the RX5 compact SUV and the 6 liftback sedan), And now comes a fourth model that we guarantee will shake up both the compact and subcompact sedan categories.

We’re talking about the new MG 5, which the distributor introduced at the 2019 Cebu Auto Show this weekend. While the car won’t be formally launched in Metro Manila until an “MG Live!” concert event happening on October 3 to 6 at the Glorietta Activity Center in Makati City, it has already been available at MG dealerships since yesterday, September 13.

The MG 5 is curiously positioned in our market. The press statement sent to us insists that the car is classified as a “subcompact sedan” even though it has compact-sedan exterior dimensions: 4,601mm in length and 1,788mm in width (nearly similar to those of the just-launched all-new Toyota Corolla Altis). We suspect MG Philippines wants the 5 to do battle in the subcompact arena because it has subcompact propulsion under the hood: a 1.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine that produces 112hp and a claimed “best-in-class” 150Nm, and is mated to either a CVT or a five-speed manual transmission.

The pricing, predictably, is subcompact, too:

• 1.5L STD MT – P658,888
• 1.5L STD CVT – P718,888
• 1.5L COM CVT – P848,888
• 1.5L DEL CVT – P938,888

And like most modern sedan models on the market today, the 5 is equipped with a lot of desirable features (depending on the variant, of course). These include a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment head unit (with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), a 360° vehicle view, a power-adjustable driver seat, front airbags, four-wheel disc brakes, hill-start assist, automatic brake hold, a push start/stop button, cruise control, electronic climate control, tire pressure monitoring, a backing-up camera and a sunroof.

The new MG 5 comes with a five-year (or 100,000km) warranty as well as free one-year preventive maintenance service. In addition, buyers get to enjoy 24/7 roadside assistance via MG Philippines’ service hotline: +63 (2) 328-4664.

Expect this car to attract a lot of interest. The brand is changing the way vehicles are specced, priced and serviced. Check it out if you’re tired of the usual.