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Here's Why the MG3 Is Not Worthy of Its Badge

From British Leyland to Austin and Rover, most of the traditional British auto industry big names are long gone. Only Jaguar and Land Rover are in what you could call a position of strength, capable of competing with he big players in the global arena.
MG3 1 photo
Photo: MG
And yet thanks to a Chinese investor, the MG badge has been resurrected, currently selling rebadged versions of Asian market vehicles that are put together using knocked down kits in Britain.

The smallest of the new MGs is the MG3, a supermini that competes with the Ford Fiesta and Vauxhall Corsa, mainly sold through UK dealerships. At just under £10,000, it's one of the least expensive models in its class.

Good, right? Not really. Just like Nissan is misusing the Datsun brand, MG's logo doesn't belong on a Chinese-developed cheap city hatchback. XCAR's reviewer Alex Goy recently tested the little MG3 and says it's an "OK" car, just not a real MG. His video really made us sigh in sadness at the crippled sight of an ancient giant. So what if the supermini is frugal and doesn't leak oil like its ancestors? The world has enough boring, practical motors already.

Since MG was long dead before SAIC or BAIC (or whatever their Chinese parents are called) resurrected it, most people don't remember what all the hype is about. But this brand is as rich with history as Aston Martin or Jaguar.

MG starts for Morris Garages, a company founded by Cecil Kimber in the 1920. His initial business was selling Morris' cars until he realized that they could be improved by lowering the suspension or tweaking the engines.

Cecil perfectly understood what the people wanted: a car that was relative cheap, but fun. His tuned Morris vehicles could be driven to work during the week and raced on the weekends. And most importantly, MGs were moderately priced. Remember, the company was founded in the early days of the financial depression, when most people really couldn't afford to buy and own Bentleys and Rolls-Royces.

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About the author: Mihnea Radu
Mihnea Radu profile photo

Mihnea's favorite cars have already been built, the so-called modern classics from the '80s and '90s. He also loves local car culture from all over the world, so don't be surprised to see him getting excited about weird Japanese imports, low-rider VWs out of Germany, replicas from Russia or LS swaps down in Florida.
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