Drivers urged not to buy popular car after 'critical' safety failure found

Car buyers have been urged to steer clear of a popular supermini from Chinese-owned MG after safety tests revealed a “critical” failure.

Crash safety organisation Euro NCAP, which highlighted a “fundamental weakness” with the MG 3, is now recommending people “consider alternatives”. Consumer group Which? has responded by slapping one of its don’t buy warnings on the model.

The MG 3 hatchback is available from £17,245 as both a petrol and full hybrid, and was launched in February 2024. More than 9,000 cars of this generation had been registered in the UK as of the end of March 2025.

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Euro NCAP announced that the MG 3 suffered a “critical safety failure” during its testing. It happened during what is known as a frontal offset test - one of the most demanding in the Euro NCAP programme.

It involves crashing the car at an offset angle and at a speed of 62mph into an obstacle. It was during this test that the right-hand seat adjuster of the MG 3’s driver seat failed, causing the seat to twist partway through the impact.

Euro NCAP says it is first time this particular failure has occurred in its history of testing hundreds of vehicles since it began work in 1997.

Despite what it called the “seriousness of the issue”, which it says “raises questions about how well the 3 can protect its driver in the event of an impact”, Euro NCAP still scored it four stars out of five thanks to its performance in other areas of the crash test.

However, it says that this is because its scoring system does not currently allow for a deduction or override in the case of such a component failure.

Dr Aled Williams, programme director at Euro NCAP, said: “It is troubling to find a car on sale in 2025 with a fundamental weakness in its seat latching mechanism, an essential part of the car’s occupant restraint system. This fault has been reported to the relevant Type-Approval authorities so consideration can be given as to whether a vehicle recall should be issued.

“For that reason, we would recommend that consumers consider alternatives to the MG 3, using the search tool on our website to pick the safest cars that meet their needs.”

The UK’s DVSA is said to be “actively monitoring the situation”.

Which? said: “It’s clear that the failure of the seat latching system is a very serious issue. As such, we are marking the MG 3 as a Don’t Buy as we do not yet have sufficient reassurance that this failure won’t happen again in the real world and there are other, similar cars that perform well in safety tests overall.”

According to Euro NCAP, MG has said it will implement changes to the driver’s seat latching mechanism from August and the driver’s airbag from October. But the body warned these changes will not be performed on vehicles already in the hands of customers.

Dr Michiel van Ratingen, secretary general of Euro NCAP, said: “China’s car industry has undergone a rapid rise, with an influx of new brands and new models, and the nation became the world’s largest car exporter in 2023, overtaking Germany and Japan.

“Many of those new cars are being sold across European markets. That creates more choices for consumers, but on the other hand, they need to know that any car they are thinking of buying is safe. We would urge all car makers to ensure they adhere to rigorous development and production processes, so that they maintain the safety standards that are prevalent in Europe.”

MG, once a British marque, is now wholly owned by SAIC Motor Corporation, the largest of the “Big Four” state-owned Chinese car manufacturers. Recent figures show nearly 51,000 MG cars were bought in the UK in the year to date, nearly double Mini’s almost 28,700, more than Renault’s 39,100, and close to Vauxhall 54,300.