MG HS (2024 - ) review

Looks-wise the MG HS may be forgettable enough you might struggle to remember where you parked it but in terms of running costs it does a better job of attracting your attention. Especially so if you go for the plug-in hybrid (PHEV, in the jargon), a big battery and powerful electric motor meaning it can travel up to 75 miles without needing the petrol engine at all. If you have access to a home charger and cheaper domestic electricity rates you’ll save on fuel costs but for company drivers that range and accompanying low CO2 rating drastically reduce Benefit In Kind to not far off that of a fully electric car. Factor in the convenience of running a hybrid and the cheaper purchase, finance or lease costs and it’s not surprising MG predicts a swing back from electric cars and into PHEVs for company drivers. For private buyers the petrol-only option is meanwhile cheaper upfront and reasonably efficient on fuel. If you still want a fully electric MG there are, of course, plenty of options as well, not least the all-conquering MG4!

We need to measure our expectations here against the fact this is a fresh model with a new engine and associated kit. But MG has formidable engineering resources back in China and customers seem satisfied thus far. A seven-year warranty also helps confidence levels that, should anything go wrong, it’ll be sorted out without you needing to pick up the tab.

It’s a familiar pattern these days but we have to balance the good intentions of the many and various bits of safety tech with how effective they are in day to day driving. On paper it looks good, with a generous package of driver assistance systems, including cyclist and pedestrian detecting auto emergency braking and useful features like a warning if you’re about to open a door into traffic and alerts for unseen traffic when reversing out of a blind parking space or driveway. That you get these as standard where many rivals reserve them for the options list or higher trim levels is impressive. It’s an industry-wide trend and not specific to MG but the reliance on screen operated controls for everything up to and including heating and ventilation remains a frustration, though, especially when taking your eyes off the road to operate them earns you a ticking off from the driver attention monitoring system. This is so sensitive it even bongs if you dare look at the speedo, mirrors or do a shoulder check when changing lane and got so intrusive we ended up putting a bit of tape over the face scanning camera to shut it up. Huge blind spots also make junctions and roundabouts more of a guessing game than they should be, the mirrors big enough to hide cyclists, motorbikes or even cars if you’re not careful.

Sensibly MG has avoided the temptation to fit the HS with ‘sporty’ suspension, correctly focusing on things like refinement and comfort that matter more for the target audience than carving corners like a hot hatch. While built in China MG does a lot of its development work on bumpy British roads and this shows in the way the HS deals with our lumpy Tarmac, speed humps and potholes. If not directly relating to comfort the feelgood factor of the much-improved interior quality also puts you in a positive frame of mind, the large and slightly squashy front seats a pleasant enough place to spend time. Those in the back get a good deal as well, the flat floor meaning decent legroom even if lose out and end up as piggy in the middle. The boot is a good size as well, and unlike the previous HS you don’t lose any luggage room to the batteries in the hybrid version.

MG keeps things simple with its usual two-model line-up of SE and Trophy trims, the vast majority of buyers going for the latter for the combination of value and kit. All get the twin-screen set-up of digital instruments in front of the driver and a touch-operated display in the middle, MG’s latest graphics and operating system seemingly less fiddly than those on older models. You can also run CarPlay or Android Auto albeit only on a cable, the car seemingly a bit fussy about which ones will connect and which won’t. Expect a rummage in the kitchen drawer until you find one that works and stick with it… Given you need that cable to run your apps the addition of a wireless charging pad on the Trophy trim feels a little wasted but you get other upgrades, including 360-degree cameras for parking, spangly looking 19-inch diamond cut wheels, power adjustable mirrors and seats, a power tailgate and more. This on top of the full LED headlights, parking sensors, reversing camera and more on the base model. If the all-black interior looks a bit oppressive the tan option seems a bit more premium and everything feels of much higher quality than on previous MGs.

We spent the bulk of our test in the regular 1.5-litre petrol model, which feels an effective and easy-going combination with enough performance to be getting on with, respectable refinement and crisp shifts from the optional automatic gearbox with all HS models driving the front wheels only despite the pseudo SUV looks. That’s fine, though, and while there is a manual option on this showing we’d be tempted to pay the extra for the automatic given it seemingly suits the car so well. While it was still a pre-production model we also had a quick go with the plug-in hybrid, which seemingly has plenty of go when running in the pure electric mode it can use for up to 75 miles on a single charge, at least by MG’s claimed figures. Enough to do most of your regular journeys without firing up the petrol engine either way, and even when that happens it’s so refined and quiet you barely notice anyway, meaning the PHEV effectively operates like an electric car you can drive without range anxiety given you can just top it up with petrol if there’s not the time or opportunity to plug in and charge.