MG7 Trophy+ Is A Sporty Chinese Fastback Sedan With British Roots

An MG7 Trophy, as seen in the Chinese capital Beijing in the summer of 2023. The big MG sedan looked great in dark green. I thought it might be British racing green for MG’s British roots. But nope, MG calls this color Emerald Green.

The MG7 is a sporty fastback sedan. It is made by SAIC in a factory in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. The MG7 was launched on the Chinese car market in 2022. It is the second Chinese MG with the MG7 name. The first one was the 2007-2013 MG7, which was basically a China-made version of the good old MG ZT sedan.

The Trophy+ is the top-trim level model of the MG7. Strangely, there is no Trophy without the plus. The other trim levels are Beauty & Elegance, Beauty Hunting Exclusive, Beauty Hunting Luxury, and then comes the Trophy+.

The interior color is called Malachite Green. Surely not the same green as Emerald Green. A lot lighter, indeed. The leather seats are sporty, and it has a 3-spoke steering wheel with a flat bottom. The twin-12.3-inch screen looks very sweet. The center tunnel has two cup holders, the lever for the automatic transmission, and a single wireless charging pad.

Even the rear seats look sporty, and there is a lot of legroom, like in almost any Chinese sedan. Size: 4884/1889/1447, with a 2778 wheelbase.

The Trophy+ model is also the raciest of the lot, with four exhaust pipes and five-spoke alloy wheels.

The MG7 is always front-wheel drive. The Trophy+ is powered by a 2.0 turbocharged four-cylinder ‘VTGI’ engine. Output is 261 hp and 405 Nm, hence the badge on the back. The engine is mated to a 9-speed automatic transmission. The top speed is 230 km/h and 0-100 is gone in 6.5 seconds.

Character time: 上汽名爵, Shàngqì Míngjué, SAIC MG. 

The Trophy+ has black badging, but because of the rather dark green exterior color, you can barely see the badges. They should be silver or gray, or even white. What is the point of driving an MG when you can’t show off to other folks..?

The MG7 was launched a year ago but it seemed very rare. I only met a few examples. I guess the EVs have taken over much of the market for speedy sedans by now. The petrol-powered MG7 may be a new car, and it looks great, but as a concept, it seems a tad too old-school for the Chinese car market in 2023.