MG S6 EV Essence AWD 2026 review

British-badged, Chinese-made MG Motor has been in Australia for a decade and its range is brimming with easy-to-recommend models, yet newer faces including BYD and Chery have overtaken the heritage namesake in annual sales.

Perhaps it’s product-driven — after all, the biggest single segment is medium SUVs and MG doesn’t have an electric one to rival the popular BYD Sealion 7, Kia EV5 and Tesla Model Y. Or at least it didn’t until the MG S6 EV arrived last week. 

Using the modular scalable platform (MSP) found under acclaimed, rear-drive MG4 hatch and S5 small SUV, the S6’s 74.3kWh usable NMC battery delivers promising driving range up to 535km (RWD). 

But more importantly, the price is right: $49,990 driveaway is the ask for the base model MG S6 Essence RWD, while the AWD we sampled is $56,990. Again, that’s driveaway.

The features list runs long with LED lighting all around, 20-inch alloy wheels, heated and ventilated, power-adjustable front seats, heated rear outboard seats, an 11-speaker sound system, 12.9-inch touchscreen with wireless Apple CarPlay, phone connectivity with digital key, and sat-nav. 

Aside from the extra 119kW electric motor, AWD versions of the MG S6 also score a fixed glass roof with sunshade.

How does the S6 EV drive?

The vast majority of affordable electric cars are little more than acceptable to drive. They’re generally too soft to deal with tricky Australian road conditions and higher speeds. 

The MG S6 breaks this mold in that it’s a genuinely competent family SUV. It feels secure and stable on the road, with the weight (about 2010kg for the AWD) low down, anchoring the car to the road. 

With firmer-than-expected steering feel and polished damping once you’re doing over 50km/h, the ride is superb as well, proving MG’s British and Spanish chassis tuning gurus are doing their jobs. 

Put the MG S6 through a series of bends and it steps up to the challenge with little body roll and plenty of confidence. 

That’s good because the MG S6 is rapid — 266kW and 540Nm might not sound wild in today’s EV world but 0-100km/h in 5.1 seconds makes it quicker than a Subaru WRX or Toyota GR Yaris. The sure-footedness provided by the S6’s AWD system is appreciated, too. 

There are five selectable drive modes (Normal, Sport, Comfort, Snow, Custom), these can be linked to one of the steering wheel shortcut buttons. Normal’s the most natural, with Comfort making the accelerator too doughy. None of the settings affect the ride as the S6 uses passive dampers and coil springs. 

And if there’s a complaint it’s that the low-speed ride can be clumsy and overly firm on the 20-inch alloys. But we’ll take this for the impressive body control.

The MG S6 offers customisable regenerative braking settings as well. Like the drive modes, you can set up one of the star buttons to cycle through Low, Medium, High and Adaptive. There’s a one-pedal mode, too – MG’s calibration is better than a BYD Sealion 7, though not quite as natural as a Tesla Model Y or Kia EV5. 

While we’re on buttons, the S6 retains a thoroughly straightforward control layout, including real indicator and wiper stalks plus a rotary gear selector where you’d expect to find it. 

On the whole, S6’s safety and driver assistance systems are tame and helpful. 

Drivers can select their favourite settings and tie them to the ‘MG Pilot Custom’ mode on the touchscreen. We found driver attention monitoring and lane-keep assist to be annoying enough to disable using this method. 

The MG S6 is yet to be rated by ANCAP but received a five-star Euro NCAP rating in October 2025. It features adaptive cruise control, forward and reverse AEB, lane-keep assist, a clear 360-degree camera, and more. 

How is the S6 EV’s interior?

Airy, well-built and with smartly laid-out physical switches, the MG S6’s cabin is a mighty nice place to be, in both the first and second rows. 

You can even choose from two colours, light ivory with faux wood detailing or more conventional black/grey look with imitation carbon fibre accents. 

MG says it fought to make sure both S6 trims and interior colours featured a cream headliner to let in more light — it works. The AWD’s glass roof adds to this effect, as do large rear windows. 

Technology is decent, with a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display, capable of showing a full map, sitting alongside a bright 12.8-inch central touchscreen. The processing power here is about average, and not as snappy as the Tesla Model Y or Zeekr 7X, but it gets the job done. 

As with many touchscreens, there’s content that is, occasionally, awkwardly hidden in sub-menus, such as driving mode controls and set-up. 

At least the MG S6 has tactile, metal controls for its air conditioning and ventilation. Temperature, fan speed and direction of the dual-zone climate control can be adjusted with physical switches, though ‘Auto’ and ‘Recirculate’ functions are still in the screen. 

The same is true of the heated and ventilated seat controls, though they persist at the bottom of the screen. You can hold your finger down and customise the touch target to engage heating or ventilation as needed. 

The seat faces are upholstered in faux-suede which is more temperate than typical vinyl upholstery and are power adjustable. We wish the driver’s seat had a greater range of adjustment for lumbar and some tilt customisation. 

With 10 speakers and a subwoofer, the MG S6’s sound system is decent, though audiophiles will want more bass and power for pumpin’ tunes. 

Back seat space is ample for adults with plenty of knee and head room for those over 180cm. The bench and backrest are supportive with outboard positions benefiting from heating. There’s no material downgrade either with squishy door tops and armrests — impressive given the S6’s price. 

Cargo storage is competitive in the S6, which claims 581 litres of boot space — comparable to a Kia EV5. The S6 also scores a frunk, perfect for storing the included charging cable if you need. 

Unfortunately, the S6’s packaging isn’t quite as superb as a Tesla’s — there’s no sub-floor boot storage, instead it’s just foam and 12-volt battery gubbins. Still, a sturdy cargo blind, boot lights, shopping bag hooks and lots of carpet make the S6’s boot a useful space. 

What are the S6 EV’s running costs?

The MG S6 is covered by a seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty in Australia. If you service with an MG dealer, this can be extended up to 10 years and 250,000km. 

Capped price servicing is competitive with rivals. Five years will cost $1376 for the tested S6 AWD (a little cheaper for RWD) and seven years $1877. Maintenance is due every 12 months or 25,000km, whichever comes first. 

We observed respectable efficiency on test. The WLTP driving range rating is 485km for the MG S6 AWD and our 15.6kWh/100km real-world test figure would equate to 478km from the 73.4kWh usable NMC battery. 

Where the MG S6 leaves a little on the table is charging speed. It can take up to 144kW on a DC charger, but the curve isn’t flat, so 10-80 percent will take 38 minutes according to the brand. 

This is equal to the Kia EV5 (though that car uses 100-percent charge friendly LFP chemistry) but behind the Skoda Enyaq, Tesla Model Y, BYD Sealion 7 and various other rivals. 

AC charging peaks at 11kW, so it’ll take around seven hours for the MG S6 to go from flat to full. 

The honest verdict

The MG S6 doesn’t jump to the head of the mid-size EV pack in any one area but as a complete package it’s hard to ignore. 

Mainly, it’s the compelling price and driving dynamics that make the difference for the S6 as it doesn’t break new ground in technology, charging speeds or efficiency. It’s just a good, refined and easy-to-recommend car. 

With more range and cabin niceties than a Kia EV5, better value than a BYD Sealion 7 and more polished than a Geely EX5, the MG S6 is definitely worth a look.