Ford Explorer vs MG S5 EV

The Ford Explorer costs £3,690 more than the MG S5 EV. On the headline specs that premium buys little measurable advantage - the two are closely matched on range, charging and space. The MG S5 EV is not just cheaper - it also offers 25 miles more WLTP range, 34 kW faster peak rapid charging and 30 kW more power. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the MG S5 EV comes out ahead overall.

The MG S5 EV is £3,690 cheaper to buy. Running costs are almost identical - about £168 a year either way, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the MG S5 EV comes out roughly £3,730 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 183 miles for the Ford Explorer and 208 miles for the MG S5 EV - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The MG S5 EV goes roughly 24 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 25-28 minutes.

The two are within 23 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 551 mm of total clearance for the MG S5 EV and about 528 mm of total clearance for the Ford Explorer. The MG S5 EV also turns in a 0.4 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.

Over a 8-year ownership window EVcarsguide's degradation model projects roughly 84% battery health for the Ford Explorer and 84% for the MG S5 EV. That is close enough that capacity loss should not decide between them. Both use NMC-type cells, so for daily use keep the charge limit near 80% to slow degradation. Both batteries carry a 8-year manufacturer warranty.