MG won’t offer Australian suspension tuning for upcoming performance models

MG says Australian testing helps shape how its vehicles drive, but it won’t offer bespoke suspension tunes for upcoming performance vehicles – though it appears to have left the door open for other models.

“Our headquarters take us very seriously, they value our feedback. So even with all these cars that we have been launching now, we normally get the test cars about five months in advance in the country and they already get tested on the roads for different purposes,” MG Motor Australia head of product Akshat Ahuja told Australian media.

“If we were to develop specific products for Australia, we would definitely love to do the handling and tuning here.

“MG will provide local suspension tuning if it is required for any specific products. We’ll continue to evaluate this on a case-by-case basis.”

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“Realistically these days there’s a lot of testing now that goes on in Australia, and there’s cars here all the time – whether they get launched here or not, they come here for testing,” added chief commercial officer Giles Belcher.

“Australian feedback is much stronger than it’s ever been into the tune that goes in at the factory. We think the tune that comes out of the factory is pretty good.”

Mr Ahuja and Mr Belcher also teased unspecified performance models are due in 2025, but those won’t receive Australia-specific tuning.

“Talking about the performance segment, we do have some cars that we’re looking at bringing next year with some really high power outputs,” said Mr Ahuja.

“They are already tuned well, they already have great handling and probably won’t need much more work to launch them locally.”

The MG executives clarified these performance models aren’t just variants of existing model lines.

It’s unclear which vehicles they’re referring to, though next year it’ll launch the MG 7 sedan, which in China is offered with a 192kW/405Nm turbocharged 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine and performance equipment like an electronic limited-slip differential, adaptive dampers, and an adaptive three-stage electric rear wing.

Those outputs pale in comparison, however, with the vehicles from fellow SAIC Motor brand IM Motors, which MG intends to bring here and apply its octagon logo to.

The electric IM L6 and LS6 offer outputs of up to 579kW and 800Nm – more even than the 375kW and 725Nm outputs of the recently launched MG Cyberster.

While MG hasn’t confirmed local suspension tunes, rival (and fellow Chinese brand) GWM is doing the opposite, recently announcing that – like Kia and Hyundai – it will soon offer Australianised ride and handling.

In 2023, it started working on local tuning for not only its vehicle’s suspensions, but also their advanced driver assistance (ADAS) systems.

The upcoming Haval H6 GT PHEV and Cannon Alpha PHEV, due in the first half of next year, will be the first vehicles to receive local suspension tuning.

MORE: MG’s ambitious plan to be a top-three brand in Australia