In the early days of crash testing in the 1990s, few vehicles were able to achieve top scores in occupant protection, but nowadays most modern cars pass with flying colors. Late last year Euro NCAP subjected the 2025 MG 3 hatchback to its usual barrage of crash tests, and it experienced an extremely concerning and dangerous fault, one that the organization has never seen in 29 years of crash tests: the driver’s seat latching mechanism failed, causing the seat to partially dislodge and twist during the front offset crash test.
The Chinese-made MG 3 still received an overall safety score of four out of five stars, but that’s only because Euro NCAP’s scoring system does not currently allow for a deduction or override in the case of such a component failure. NCAP recommends that consumers consider other vehicles over the MG 3 because of this safety concern. MG initially argued that the failure was due to improper latching of the seat before the test, but Euro NCAP standard procedure involves confirming that the seat’s latching mechanism was locked in place prior to the crash.
MG is improving the seat latch design moving forward
MG was once a proud British carmaker, but it is now wholly owned by SAIC Motor Corporation, the largest of China’s state-owned car manufacturers. The MG 3 is classified as a supermini, with competitors including the Renault Clio, Volkswagen Polo, Toyota Yaris, Dacia Sandero, and Suzuki Swift. It’s not sold in the United States, but in European markets it’s one of the most affordable superminis, save for the Sandero.
As a result of the seat mechanism failure, the driver dummy incurred significantly worse lower leg injury metrics, and its head bottomed out the airbag and contacted the steering wheel, resulting in an “adequate” head protection rating. In response to Euro NCAP’s findings and confirmation that it checked the seat latch position prior to the failed crash test, MG has committed to improving the design of the seat latch mechanism as well as the driver’s airbag to ensure they remain robust in an accident.
Euro NCAP will review its protocols moving forward, seeing as how current protocols allow the MG 3 to still earn a four-star rating despite this critical failure. It said, “please note that from 2026, Euro NCAP will be changing the way we make our safety assessment.”
