MG HS drive by Steve Rogers
You want a spanking new family SUV with £25k to spend.
What do you do?
Go to the nearest MG garage and have a serious look at
the HS.
This is the best value five-up SUV on the market by a
country mile. That does not make it the best, it is up against a car park full
of big hitting rivals, and it has its flaws but most can be excused given what
it offers.
The model range is short and sweet, SE or Trophy, one
engine option, manual or seven speed automatic, and an eye catching opening
price of £23,495.
My advice is go for the SE because it loses so little to the
Trophy. Heated front seats is the only luxury I would miss.
The extensive Pilot safety package is standard with
emergency braking, lane assist, rear cross traffic alert and cruise control the
standout features. Adaptive cruise control is only available on the automatic
(£1500 extra) which is a shame.
Big news this year is the facelift. The downside for
MG models, electric 4 aside, is they don’t have an identity. The HS, for example,
looks like a Mazda CX-5 face on. Well that has changed with a completely
restyled front. The grille, in particular, is very smartly designed, set lower
to soften the boxy SUV look, and along with the wider bumper provides that
identity.
It is when you step inside that you wonder what is
going on here. Granted the test car was the Trophy model with its red/black
leather trim and one piece front sports seats but how MG can pack so much in
for relatively little money is a mystery. This sort of spec costs thousands
more on the majority of rivals. If ever an interior punched above its weight
this is it.
Look below the waistline and you will find cheaper,
scratchy plastic and not so high quality carpets, but I defy anyone to complain
for this money.
At just over 4.6 metres, HS is a good size and it
shows in the cabin which is up there with the best for space. Rear legroom is
close to limo proportions although it has been achieved at a cost. Boot space
is adequate but down on the opposition and MG missed a trick by not putting the
back seat on runners, that way you get the best of both worlds.
Up front the layout is pretty standard with a 10.1in
free standing central touch screen and digital binnacle with plenty of
information. If you want a bobby dazzling layout then look to Peugeot 3008 or
Kia Sportage but the overriding impression is neat and tidy and reasonable
quality.
HS is certainly dressed to impress with a lengthy
equipment list even for the SE that includes the full safety suite, navigation,
auto dipping LED headlights, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Trophy’s extras
include powered, heated front seats and switchable drive modes along with a
power boost button on the steering wheel although I did not notice a lot of
difference in pick up.
MG has pitched the HS ride towards comfort so you will
not get the fun factor of a Seat Ateca or Mazda CX-5 but does a good job
absorbing bumps and potholes, and do we really want to tear around in an SUV?
On the engine front it is a petrol 1.6 litre turbo and
does let the side down on running costs. Performance is okay, just under 10
seconds to 60mph, a bit noisy with foot to the floor, but it is not good news
on economy. A week’s average returned 32mpg and even on a 150 mile round trip I
only managed 37mpg so running costs will be higher and the engine emissions are
pretty high as well so a hefty first car tax.
My only other complaints concern the brake pedal which
has too long a travel before engaging, no height adjustment for the passenger
seat, which is too high, and a noisy rear wiper all of which could be fixed in
a flash.
The MG story since it was taken over by a Chinese
consortium in 2006 is still a work in progress, but succeeding in the hottest
sector of the car market with a steady rise in sales and very much mirrors the
Kia footprint with the blockbuster seven year warranty incentive, and look what
it did for the Korean company.
If they carry on like this you cannot help but think
MG will become a much bigger player in the UK motoring scene.
Fast facts
HS Trophy 7spd auto
£25,995 (£26,540 tested)
1.6 litre GDI turbo; 160bhp
0-60mph 9.6secs; 118mph
36.6mpg combined
174g/km. 1st tax £1.040
Insurance group 22
Boot: 463-1454 litres
Towing capacity 1750kg
