Electric cars: Chinese bring station wagon MG5

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The MG5 starts in the summer and costs just under 35,000 euros

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MARCUS WERNER / MG

It is an unequal pair: The Porsche Taycan and the Chinese cheap import car MG5 are actually the first and only electric station wagons on German roads - amazing in a market where the body variant with ample loading volume has always been particularly popular.

So here is the luxury sports car with up to 761 hp, 260 km/h and prices up to 187,288 euros.

There the rather conservative vehicle from the Far East: at best 177 hp and even the top version cheaper than a set of new wheels and tires for the Porsche.

The two have in common the steep tailgate and a large cargo area.

Porsche itself does not even call the Taycan station wagon, preferring to use the marketing metaphor of cross-turismo.

Station wagon sounds a bit stuffy, like paint cans, traveling salesman sample suitcases or a colorful pile of family luggage.

However, MG is targeting precisely those customers.

In 2005, the Chinese company took over the trademark rights of the traditional British manufacturer (formerly: »Morris Garages«).

Before the summer it brings the five with prices from 35,490 euros at the start.

There's a handy car for that.

The design is rather sober on the outside, not as expressive as in many other electric cars.

Two large screens dominate the dashboard and the choice of materials looks anything but cheap.

But the bottom line is that the MG is a bit old-fashioned.

Quite different from the ID models from VW, for example.

But what does it matter if the car fulfills its purpose?

Inside, it is very spacious given its length of 4.60 meters.

It is also easy to travel in the second row.

Although the trunk has a deep step behind the loading sill, it holds 479 liters.

Anyone who folds down the asymmetrically divided rear seat in two easy steps expands the cargo space to 1367 liters.

And there is a nice detail that sets the MG5 apart from most station wagons: the 220 volt socket.

Craftsmen in particular will love these, believes company spokesman Marc Hecht.

This gives you power for your tools in the parking lot.

The MG5 is offered by us in two configurations: the basic model drives with a 130 kW motor and a 51 kWh battery, which is enough for 320 kilometers, in the higher version the battery has 61 kWh for 400 kilometers and the motor only does 115 kW.

But because both variants have a torque of 280 Nm, the sprint value is identical at 8.3 seconds and the top speed does not change either: At 185 km/h, this is higher than with most other electric cars, especially in the middle class.

Nevertheless, it is disappointing that there is no alternative to the MG in the price league.

For some brands, station wagons have long accounted for more than half of sales, at least in Germany.

But that was just before the triumph of the SUV, says automotive economist Ferdinand Dudenhöffer.

That has something to do with the development on the American market: “Without really admitting it to ourselves, we do have a bit of the same taste,” the head of the Center Automotive Research in Duisburg is convinced.

»The station wagons, known in the USA as Station Wagons, came onto the market there in the 1950s and enjoyed great popularity, such as the 1957 Mercury Station Wagon, the Chevrolet Bel Air Station Wagon or Elvis Presley’s Cadillac station wagon.«

Then the wave swept over Europe with the Opel Kadett Caravan and later also reached premium brands such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes.

»But the Americans have been tired of station wagons for a long time and recognize that the SUV is the measure of all things.

And just like back then with the station wagon, we have adopted this trend,” says Dudenhöffer.

The station wagon is increasingly being forgotten.

The trend is much more pronounced for electric cars than for combustion engines.

"The station wagon has its future behind it," says the car expert.

"And without a future, it's hard to get your foot in the door of electric cars." Anyone bringing new electric cars onto the market today starts with the SUV.

Mercedes Head of Development Markus Schäfer explains why the air for the station wagon is getting thinner: “If we were to offer two platforms side by side in all derivatives, our variety of variants would grow almost endlessly.

That's why we're concentrating on the world's most powerful models." That's why the EQE (the electric counterpart to the E-Class) will have a sedan and an SUV, but not a station wagon.

more on the subject

Alternative drive is booming: the electric car is a beacon of hope – how it is useful and how it is harmfulBy Patrick Stotz

Shut the hatch, station wagon dead?

No, for fans there is hope.

Opel will bring the Astra fully electric as a Sports Tourer in 2023.

The Hessians find it comparatively easy because the Astra - just like the MG - is a so-called conversion, i.e. a car that was designed as a combustion engine and then converted to an electric drive.

But soon there will even be station wagons on dedicated electrical architectures, from the VW Group.

Its Passat Variant model has so far been regarded as the ultimate representative and family station wagon.

And Audi claims, with some justification, that the Avant has made the station wagon attractive for higher earners.

Both brands want to build on that.

VW is planning an electric alternative to the Passat as the flagship of the European ID family.

Audi has recently unveiled a series-production study of the A6 e-tron Avant, which is scheduled to go into production in less than two years.

But why is it taking so long for this body concept to fully embrace the new era?

It has to do with the fact that the battery in electric cars is ideally housed in the floor of the car, says Audi chief designer Marc Lichte.

"With the first generation of these e-platforms, this tends to lead to higher bodies, which are of course easier to conceal with an SUV silhouette."

Because this is also a design that – unlike the station wagon – meets tastes worldwide, it made sense to start with cars like the e-tron or the Q4.

But when the second generation of electric platforms is launched in 2023, it will also be designed for flat body shapes right from the start, explains Lichte.

He is happy about the new design freedom - and the possible happy ending for the station wagon.