In most parts of the world, the MG5 EV (or Roewe Ei5) is the only fully electric estate. At the time of writing and in the UK, it’s available in two trims: the SE Long Range at £30,995 and the Trophy Long Range at £33,495; making it one of the more affordable all-electric vehicles on the market. When we put it through its paces, we were left impressed and could only find a few flaws – it received TotallyEV’s coveted Best Buy award.
In terms of audio, both trims come with the same six-speaker system with 3D sound processing. Unlike the manufacturer’s other all-electric vehicles, it’s refreshing to see both with the same upgraded audio system.
Click here to read the full MG5 EV review
MG5 EV audio setup
To tinker with the vehicle’s audio settings, one has to navigate to the appropriate menu on the 10.25″ infotainment system. Alongside a few volume settings, you’ll find a five-band equaliser and a few other options – here are our optimal settings:
- EQ Preset: Custom
- 80Hz: -3
- 500Hz: -1
- 1kHz: +1
- 5kHz: +1
- 16kHz: +1
- Balance & Fader: Centre
Note: the older 2020 MG5 EV featured a ‘Virtual Subwoofer’ option, but this has since been removed in the facelift model. From our own tests, it would seem MG has decided to have this option permanently enabled.
Nonetheless, it’s great to see the automaker offering an impressive degree of customisation and further, supporting both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto over a wired connection. These systems work temperamentally over USB, although, one can connect wirelessly via Bluetooth – the SBC and AAC codecs are supported only.
As for media controls, they can be accessed through the display or via a set of physical buttons found on the left-hand side of the steering wheel.
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MG5 EV audio performance
For a demo of the MG5 EV’s audio system head on over to our YouTube channel.
When it comes to its audio configuration, the MG5 EV has six speakers in total: there’s a tweeter within each of the A-pillars, and full-range drivers within each of the front and rear doors. Unfortunately, there’s no physical subwoofer in the boot, but as mentioned it would seem as if there’s a virtual subwoofer.
With that in mind, the sub-bass tones in Drop G’s remix of ‘Side To Side’ by Ariana Grande fail to provide a prolonged low-end extension. It cuts off toward the 30Hz region and struggles to reproduce a deep sub-bass rumble, which would have otherwise been present had there been a physical speaker in the boot. Here, the full-range drivers within the front and rear doors have their work cut out. With that said at around the 80Hz region, the system performs well and in certain songs even sounds boomy, thus leading us to reduce the EQ by a few notches.
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As for the mid-bass, it’s plentiful both at the front and rear of the cabin. In fact, we’d say it’s a bit overpowering in bass-driven tracks and led us to reduce the 500Hz frequency band by a notch.
Now, while the mid-bass frequencies are in ample supply, the same couldn’t be said about the mids, which are recessed and pushed back. Adding a notch to the 5kHz band does aid the upper mid-range, but anything more will lead to an artificial reproduction – likewise with the 1kHz EQ band; adding too many decibels to the EQ will result in an off-putting experience.
Take the Bee Gees’ vocals in ‘More Than Woman’, they’re not as forward-sounding as we’d have liked, but yet with our EQ settings still reproduce accurately. Adding to the 1kHz frequency band can immediately be heard, especially with Maurice Gibb’s unique vocal cords.
When it comes to the highs, they’re valiant at the front of the cabin. By adding a touch to the 16kHz frequency band, it helps bring out that zing at the top end. However, at the rear, the omission of tweeters does hinder sonic performance. Indeed, those sitting at the back won’t get that same toe-tapping feeling, which is quite unfortunate.
This perfectly leads us onto soundstage, which is a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, the system provides good instrument separation while on the other there’s a lacklustre width and depth. It’s more apparent at the rear, as there’s only a singular driver housed within each of the rear doors, which results in a somewhat uni-directional sound. At the front, however, it’s slightly better with the instruments in ‘Bang It To The Curb’ by Far East Movement & Sidney Samson coming to full fruition.
Finally, onto cabin noise, the MG5 EV provides a good degree of cabin insulation, which helps suppress exterior sounds at lower speeds. At higher speeds, wind can be heard deflecting off the A-pillars and road noise creeps in via the tyres. With a sound meter, we recorded 35-36 dBA at a standstill; driving at 20mph, 54-58 dBA; driving at 30-40mph, 63-67 dBA; and at 70mph, 73-75 dBA.
However, it’s worth pointing out that the sound meter was not able to record low-end resonance that could be heard while traversing uneven or rougher terrain. These unwanted sounds can also be heard in the manufacturer’s other fully electric models, though, it’s not too disconcerting in the MG5 EV.
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TotallyEV’s verdict on the MG5 EV’s audio system
While the MG5 EV’s six-speaker setup isn’t perfect – with its reproduction in the mids and sub-bass frequencies – it’s hard to ignore that this fun-sounding system comes bundled as standard in both the SE and Trophy Long Range.
Had the all-electric estate featured a few extra drivers at the rear of the cabin and a subwoofer, we might have had a near-perfect combo. Alas, that’s not the case, and we can’t see the manufacturer offering an upgrade to the system in the near future, either.
Given the system isn’t too shabby and should suffice for the average listener, it receives TotallyEV’s Approved audio award. What do you make of the MG5 EV’s audio system? Let us know in the comments section or via social media; we’re on: YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
