Let’s start from the outside. Being an MPV, there’s only so much you could do with the design. Some may critique the design for looking disjointed, but it works nonetheless. For its transformation from Maxus to MG, the front bumper and grille’s been changed. There’s way more chrome now, enough even to satisfy those bald, white guys from Mad Max. The rest of the package sticks to whatever the Maxus was before, even down to the design of the wheels. Lazy? Maybe. But why fix if it ain’t broke.

A glance or two won’t be enough to find anything wrong with the G50’s design. However, those with keener eyes will notice gaffes, and get this, they only appear during inclement weather. Normally, a tall windshield such as the one found on the G50 necessitates larger wipers, right? In this case, they don’t. It seems MG simply plucked whatever they could find in their parts bin, and this leaves a significant portion of the upper windshield always left unwiped. The same issue could be said with the rear wiper. Positioned offset to the right, it doesn’t clean the rear glass well enough from the driver’s point of view. This partially obstructs the driver’s point of view.

Climbing aboard the G50 Plus is surprisingly easy. It’s clearly General Patronage—friendly to kids and geriatrics alike with its low floor and height ceiling. Compared to the love-it-or-hate-it black and red motif of the Maxus, MG opted for a more sensible all-black colorway. Poke around and the cabin is well-built for the price. There are a handful of hard, but sturdy plastics dotting the cabin; they’re also cleverly masked by pinches of soft plastics here and there too.

The large windshield aside, the G50 Plus doesn’t give the vibe that you’re driving an MPV. Instead, the lofty driver’s seat and wide dash gives strong whiffs that you’re behind the wheel of a crossover or SUV. The driving position is comfy and generally ergonomic despite the lack of telescopic adjustment to the steering column. The instrument cluster, a carryover element from the Maxus, has vertically-resting dials and a counter clockwise tach. It’s playful, but otherwise hard to read quickly. Thankfully, there’s a large LCD screen in the middle that can display all the pertinent info.

If anything, the biggest issue with the G50 Plus is its counterintuitive stalk layout. In its transition to an MG, designers opted to move the gear selector to the right stalk. Flick up for Reverse, flick down for Drive, and pressing the button at the end activates Park. Meanwhile, the left stalk operates the wipers. Twist up to operate the front, twist down for the washers, and press the button at the end for the rear wiper and washer. Flick the stalk and the turn signals switch on. Push it forward and the high beams activate. In time, it’ll be ingrained as part of muscle memory, but it’s just confusing as heck for the first few days.

Now, the reason for the gear selector’s move to the steering column is to free up space on the center console. True enough, you gain a place to put smartphones (there’s no wireless charger) and keys. The cup holders have also moved forward to a more accessible location, while its previous location now has a sizeable multi-purpose bin.

The “floating” 12.3-inch infotainment screen is easy enough to use, although it’s not without issue. The graphics are not as pixel-dense as what you’d come to expect in a Chinese offering, but they’re easy enough to read. The interface is supposed to offer quick access to commands and such, but some were made clearly for design’s sake. For example, changing the volume requires drivers to swipe down on the screen to access the slider (it’s got steering wheel controls though). Another is the change of the climate control switchgear from physical knobs to a row of capacitive buttons. Ergonomically, it’s a step backward. But hey, at least they did add Apple CarPlay and Android Auto this time around.

In terms of interior space, the G50 Plus remains one of the better packaged MPVs. It offers up to eight (seven in this Lux variant) seats, each one with individual headrests and three-point seatbelts. Head, shoulder, and knee room aren’t compromised in anyway with occupants from first to third row all treated equally well. Occupants in the third row not only get proper seatbacks, but their knees aren’t scrunched up during road trips. Moving back still, the cargo hold is already big enough for groceries with the third row up, but with the third row down, it can load its fair share of balik-bayan boxes and luggage.

As an MPV, you won’t be holding the G50 Plus to a high standard. Yet, it’s one of its greatest strengths. Compared to the Maxus, the G50 Plus now makes more power and torque—181 horsepower and 285 Nm of torque. While slightly portlier than before, it still improves its power-to-weight ratio. With just a handful of people aboard, it feels light enough on its feet, moving in a straight line as a spritely as a passenger car would.

Mated to the engine is a 7-speed dual clutch automatic. Bathed in oil (wet-type), it’s remarkably smooth with none of the rough edges you’d come to expect from a DCT for as long as it’s driven sensibly. Stop-and-go traffic won’t faze it and it also happens to keep the fuel economy up to a reasonable level: 6.99 km/L at 14 km/h. Take note that it does require 95 octane. However, all that smoothness goes out the window the moment the accelerator jabbed. At these times, the DCT will throw down gears which such force that the driver and passengers will get rocked continuously.

On the road, the G50 Plus offers solid drivability. While it can’t overcome the laws of physics—it will tip and understeer its way through bends—the softly-sprung chassis manages to feel composed in all but the most extreme cornering situations. Noise, vibration, and harshness is controlled though some tire noise do intrude into the cabin at higher speed. It also manages to soak up most ruts and bumps thrown its way, but there is noticeable chassis flex making the ride less than opulent when going over undulating surfaces.

On paper, the G50 Plus is pleasantly inflation-free. As mentioned, its price tag remains at P 1,288,888—the same price it had when it was called a Maxus way back in 2021. Alas, look through the spec sheet, and MG did omit a lot of features along the way like the panoramic sunroof and power tailgate. These features aren’t really missed, but the omission of the curtain airbags, front parking sensors, and 360-degree camera are.

Realizing that such a wide and potentially large market segment is up for the taking, MG decided to remake the Maxus G50 and give it another shot. And it worked. It surprisingly worked for what’s essentially a shot-by-shot rehash minus perhaps what could be debated as superfluous plot devices. It may not score high critically and won’t be winning any Academy Awards, but as far as the box office’s concerned, it’s shaping up to be a contender.