MG Motor UK HS review

“The most important car we’ve ever launched,” according to MG, while crediting the outgoing HS as a turning point in its post-Rover resurgence. Indeed, the HS is now rather a big deal, sitting pretty among the UK’s top 10 best-sellers for the past two years and on course for a third.

It’s been quite the turnaround for MG, in fact, with the carmaker now outselling Skoda, Peugeot, Vauxhall and many others and last year creeping into Britain’s top 10 best-selling car brands. It’s all a far cry from the mediocrity of the MG 6 saloon that kickstarted the Chinese era of MG on our shores.

While the old HS wasn’t exactly stellar, merely a bargain bin SUV that aped a few neat design cues and tapped into the burgeoning plug-in hybrid market to boost its appeal, it battled hard against the Nissan Qashqai, Kia Sportage, Vauxhall Grandland, Peugeot 3008 and Hyundai Tucson in the most popular aisle in the British car market.

Big shoes to fill…

Its second coming fills them more snugly, too, a new platform yielding a larger footprint. But rather than claim its increased length and width bring ‘sportier, more road-hugging looks’ as its rivals might, MG focuses on an altogether more useful gain: space. There’s more of it everywhere, with proper room for adults in the back seats and a boot that’s not only grown over the old HS but is now matched between pure petrol and plug-in models. A rare claim.

We’d forgive MG for shouting more about the design gains, though. This is a snazzier car than before; with its extra length all poured into the wheelbase, newly dinky overhangs contribute to an overall glow-up from dowdy, anonymous crossover to – well – a less dowdy, less anonymous crossover. It heralds a new MG design language, we’re told, and it’s broadly successful if a little generic. Is it just us who sees a whiff of Tesla in its rear light treatment?

What else is new for this generation?

There’s a turbocharged 1.5-litre engine that powers both pure petrol, hybrid and PHEV versions. In the former, it hooks up to a choice of six-speed manual or seven-speed automatic gearboxes for peak claims of 167bhp, 202lb ft and 0-62mph in 9.4 seconds. 

The middling-self charging hybrid pairs a slightly detuned version of the same engine with a 196bhp electric motor, on-board generator and 1.8kWh battery. Combined power is 221bhp and 251lb ft, with the 0-62mph sprint seen off 7.9s.

The plug-in hybrid is another beast entirely, pairing the same engine from the self-charging hybrid with a 207bhp electric motor for 366bhp, 419lb ft and 0-62mph in 6.8s. It also promises up to 75 miles of EV range courtesy of a 24.7kWh battery. That'll do a few school runs and then some. All models are front-driven only.

MG has also worked a lot harder on separating ICE and PHEV versions and each gets its own unique chassis tuning to avoid the pogoing-on-Prozac sensations of the old plug-in.

Are prices still good?

‘A medium SUV for the price of a small SUV’ is the claim. Which basically means a Qashqai rival for the price of a Juke. And lo you'll indeed find this at the cheaper end of the new car market, even if an increasing number of Chinese rivals are threatening to crowd it out.

Your entry point is £26,495 for a petrol manual in base SE trim, which still brings Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, a rear camera and parking sensors, a pair of 12.3in screens and a host of active safety equipment. Another £1,750 adds the seven-speed DCT auto, while £2,500 upgrades you to Trophy trim and its dual-zone auto aircon, heated leather seats, electric tailgate and 360-degree parking camera.

The so-called 'self-charging' hybrid starts at £29,495 in SE trim, and the PHEV £31,495, with the latter curiously adding side steps for an infinitesimally more rugged look. It also promises more resilient used values than its closest rivals.

This latest HS represents a useful step forward; a car whose looks, powertrain and perception of quality have all improved. Just be aware that its character hasn’t shifted too much and that most of its sophistication is skin-deep. Some cloying technology and truly irritating safety bongs also hint at a car made to fit industry regs and sell in droves now rather than feel relevant in a few years’ time.

Though in the face of cost-of-living challenges, there’s plenty to celebrate in a car that delivers so much space and equipment for the money – all backed up by a generous warranty – and the PHEV certainly makes a strong case for itself. We won’t begrudge anyone choosing one. It’s simply that we sense, as a TopGear.com reader, you’re a car enthusiast on some level. This second-gen HS won’t sate you, however much of a glow the Cyberster now casts over the MG range.