MG HS Review 2024

There is a lot to like about the MG HS, not least its keen pricing, strong warranty, and generous amount of standard equipment. It also comes with good space for people and luggage, and the plug-in hybrid model has an excellent battery-only driving range. For anyone who wants or needs a mid-size SUV that won't be costly to own and run, the MG HS a solid choice.

You can choose the MG HS as a simple petrol-only model with a 1.5-litre turbocharged motor that delivers 169PS. Your only decision here is between six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic gearboxes, and we'd take the manual as the auto can feel a bit snatchy when pulling away from a standstill.

The other power option in the MG HS is the PHEV plug-in hybrid model. It uses the same petrol motor but with a battery pack and electric motor that boost overall power to 307PS, making it almost three seconds quicker over the 0-62mph dash than the petrol-only version. The PHEV also claims a combined EV driving range of 75 miles and carbon dioxide emissions of 12g/km, which will seal the deal for company drivers and many others.

There's no shortage of talented rivals for the MG HS, not leas the Ford Kuga, Mazda CX-5, Nissan Qashqai and Ariya, Peugeot 5008, SEAT Ateca, Volkswagen Tiguan, and even the Citroen C5 Aircross.

You can also never ignore the Hyundai Tuscon or Kia Sportage when thinking about this size of SUV, while the Renault Austral is another to consider carefully.

MG has come of age with its more recent models and the HS is no exception with build quality that is on a par with most in this sector. It's easily a match for the Ford Kuga or Nissan Qashqai, though a Mazda CX-5 is still a cut above.

Spend a few minutes delving about the HS's interior and it's only when you get to the more hidden reaches of the door panels and pockets will you find anything like a rough edge, and that's common to most of the MG's rivals. Everywhere else, the HS is finished in soft-touch materials that are put together neatly and feel more than solid enough to withstand family life.

Based purely on appearance, the MG HS's 12.3-inch infotainment screen, and matching size digital dash display, are every bit as impressive as those found in a Hyundai or Kia. They are joined together to form a broad sweep of screen data, and the graphics are clear and easy to read on both.

The infotainment set-up includes Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, so no hassle when you want to link up your smartphone. However, you will need to use a cable for this rather than do it wirelessly. On the plus side, Trophy models come with wireless charging for phones.

The only downside of the MG's infotainment is the way its menus are arranged. They are not as logically stepped as we'd like, so you can spend longer than is ideal working through screens to get to what you want, plus there are few shortcut buttons. We also dislike the fact the heating and ventilation is controlled through the infotainment screen rather than good old proper buttons, but that's not a unique problem to the HS, so we won't hold it against the MG too much.

The MG HS has always been one of the more spacious cars in its class and this generation is even roomier. That's great news for anyone who finds themselves in the back seat of the HS as there's loads of headroom, legroom, and shoulder width for two adults. You can even fit a smaller person in the middle seat without feeling hemmed in, though three adults will be pushing it for comfort on longer trips.

There's also decent space under the front seats for rear passengers' feet, which is not the case in all of the rivals to the HS. As well as this, there are Isofix child seat mounts in the two outer rear seats, and access through the back doors is good to make buckling up junior an easy task.

Fitting a pushchair into the boot won't leave you exasperated, either, as the HS offers 507-litres of load space with the rear seats in place. It's not the biggest boot in this class of car - the Kia Sportage and Citroen C5 Aircross easily better it - but the load sill isn't too high and the boot is a plain rectangular shape. Drop the 60-40 split rear seat backs and you can free up as much as 1484-litres of space in both the petrol and PHEV models.

Starting point for the MG HS range is the 169PS 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine, which comes with either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual-clutch automatic. Our preference is the manual as the auto can be a touch jerky as it pulls away from a standing start even when you try to be as smooth as possible with the throttle pedal.

The engine itself works just fine and delivers reasonable performance, taking 9.4 seconds to cover 0-62mph in the manual and 9.6 seconds for the auto. However, the engine does get a little coarse when worked further up into the rev range.

The PHEV model uses the same petrol engine but with power dialled down to 142PS. However, the plug-in HS's electric motor works with the petrol engine to deliver a combined 307PS, which means the PHEV is good for 0-62mph in a brisk 6.8 seconds.

The petrol engine is generally quiet and unstressed, while the battery can provide near silent EV driving for up to a claimed 75 miles. A two-speed automatic gearbox in the PHEV also offers very smooth driving in all conditions.

If you're a press-on kind of driver, you may find the 1.5-litre petrol engine in the MG HS a bit uncouth. When stretched towards the upper end of its rev band, the four-cylinder motor gets noisy and does not have the characterful whirr of some of its three-cylinder-engined opposition.

In the PHEV version of the HS, it's rare you ever need to work the petrol engine that hard as the EV side of the equation kicks in and delivers strong acceleration.

In either model of HS, there's some wind noise from around the door mirrors at motorway pace and a little tyre rumble, but not so much as to make you raise your voice to talk or turn up the volume on the stereo. In this respect, the MG HS is middle of the class for its refinement, a bit behind a Mazda CX-5 but better than a SEAT Ateca.

MG Pilot is a suite of safety equipment fitted to all HS models. It comes with front, side, curtain and centre front airbags, as well as two rear Isofix child seat mounts. You also get automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and bicycle detection, lane keep assistance and departure warning, blind spot assist, speed limit warning, and driver fatigue alert. On top of that, the HS has a forward collision warning, rear corss traffic alert, and door open buzzer.

Front and rear parking sensors are standard across the range, along with hill start assist, tyre pressure monitoring, and ESP traction control. Choose the HS with the DCT automatic gearbox and you also get adaptive cruise control and traffic jam assistance, and these features are included with the PHEV versions.

This MG HS had not been tested by Euro NCAP at the time of writing, but the previous generation model achieved a five-star rating and we have no reason to suspect this HS will perform any differently.

As we write, the MG HS is still too fresh out of the blocks to make a full judgement on its reliability. What we can say is MG ranked in the middle order of car makers in the most recent HonestJohn Satisfaction Survey, coming home 18th out of 29 manufacturers with an overall score of 88.83%.

MG certainly shows faith in its products as, like the rest of the company's models, the HS comes with a seven-year, 80,000-mile warranty as standard.

When it comes to getting insurance cover for your MG HS, the cheapest model is the 1.5T SE with manual gearbox that sits in group 21 (out of 50). That's a little bit higher than the group 17 rating for a basic petrol-powered Kia Sportage, but the MG should not be too costly with its premiums.

Further up the scale, the 1.5T Trophy with automatic gearbox is in group 25, with the plug-in hybrid models around three groups above.

Starting with the MG HS Plug-In model, its 12g/km carbon dioxide emissions means you should pay £10 for the first year's road tax. However, as it's hybrid power means it's classed as an alternative fuel vehicle, it's entitled to a £10 discount, so road tax is free for the initial 12 months. After that, it pays the standard rate, which is £190, but the £10 discount still applies to lower this to £180.

With the purely petrol-powered HS models, they emit between 168- and 172g/km, so the lower emitting manual gearbox versions pay £680 for the first year of road tax. Unfortunately, the automatic tips over into a pricier bracket and its customers will shell out £1095 for the first year's Vehicle Excise Duty. After that, the 1.5T models pay a flat £190 per annum.

Whether you want to go for the petrol or plug-in hybrid version of the MG HS, the cars come in two simple trim levels. This starts with the SE that has 19-inch alloy wheels, LED lights front and back, automatic headlights and wipers, rear privacy glass, electric windows all-round, and front parking sensors.

The SE also has the MG Pilot safety systems, manual cruise control, cloth upholstery with electrically adjusted front driver's seat, six-speaker stereo, sat-nav incorporated into the 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen, four USB ports, and a rear parking camera.

Upgrade to the automatic gearbox in the 1.5T petrol model and the MG Pilot safety system gains adaptive cruise control and Traffic Jam Assist.

With the Trophy model, you enjoy a side step that runs beneath the doors, rear parking sensors, and electric adjustment for the front passenger seats. The front seats are also heated in the Trophy and the driver's chair has powered lumbar adjust. Trophy customers also get synthetic leather upholstery, eight speakers for the stereo, a 360-degree view parking camera, wireless phone charging, automatic air conditioning, and a powered tailgate.