Alex Robbins is contributing editor at Telegraph Cars where, as well as responding to readers’ queries, he also contributes reviews of new and used cars, together with articles on buying and selling. 

His knowledge of the used car market informs his many buying guides relating to the best buys in particular sectors, with an emphasis on value for money.  Every week he will answer your questions on buying and selling, as well as solving your car problems, whether consumer or mechanical.

Do you have a motoring dilemma you’d like our expert to solve?  For consumer and used car advice, or car faults, email CarsAdvice@telegraph.co.uk and include your subscriber number. This week’s question…

Dear Alex, 

My daughter is considering the purchase of a new MG ZS SUV. I understand that this car is made in China, and while Japanese cars generally have a good reputation I do not know anything about the Chinese product and would much appreciate your guidance. She has all this model’s good points from the MG dealer, but in your opinion are there any traits that might be less desirable and that the dealer won’t mention?

– CT

Dear CT,

The ZS is pretty good to drive, reasonably quiet and rides in a surprisingly sophisticated manner. It’s also very roomy for its size, with a big boot and lots of space in the back seats.

With regard to actual reliability information, there isn’t much out there yet, simply because MG sales were pretty low volume until very recently. Therefore we haven’t seen a large enough proportion of them get old enough to be able to judge whether and in what ways they go wrong. 

However, MG did finish 10th out of 30 manufacturers included in the What Car? Reliability Survey, while the ZS came 41st in the Auto Express Driver Power survey, with a creditable score of 86 per cent. These are solid and respectable results, if not quite at the top of the class. 

What’s more, you get a long warranty – seven years or 80,000 miles, whichever crops up first – which will bring some additional peace of mind in case things do go wrong. Carefully check the terms and conditions before buying, though, as cover with some of these longer warranties can become less comprehensive in later years. 

Downsides with the ZS include the interior, which feels a bit cheap in places, and the touchscreen entertainment system, which is rather unresponsive and fiddly. But perhaps the most significant negative must be the ZS’s EuroNCAP crash test results, which aren’t quite up to the standards of its rivals’; adult crash protection is below-par at 71 per cent, while child protection is a decidedly sub-standard 51 per cent. 

So really it depends how much weight you put on those crash test scores. The ZS really is very good value, but there’s no doubt it doesn’t quite match up to the safety standards of its modern rivals. If you’re prepared to live with that extra layer of risk, it’s largely a good car to drive and an easy one to live with. 

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