MG HS Review & Prices

If you’re looking to get behind the wheel of a new mid-size SUV, the MG HS should be on your radar. It’s an alternative to the likes of the Peugeot 3008, Nissan Qashqai and Volkswagen Tiguan - but can be had for a lot less cash.

Think of it like the Aldi or Lidl of this segment. It’s trying to offer the same level of tech and practicality as the more established competition, but for better value. At what cost, though?

Well, for a start, you’re not going to stand out much looks-wise. Though the MG HS isn’t ugly,, there’s not much of an identity to it. It’s as if someone asked the designer to draw a car ambiguous enough to be used as a generic insurance advert prop.

It looks quite nice on the inside at least. Though you’ll need to read that with an emphasis on ‘looks’ - as it's a bit like an Ikea showroom. Once you start prodding surfaces, you'll quickly realise there is a lot of cheap-feeling, thin materials in here, which knock the HS down a mark.

Sitting at the centre of the dashboard is a 10.1-inch infotainment system. It covers the bases well — with satellite navigation built in as well as both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. It’s not the most sophisticated system and you may find it a little laggy, but considering the price point of the car that can be forgiven.

Space for rear passengers isn’t astonishing either, but it’s by no means tightly packed. Legroom does take a fair hit with a large hump in the middle, but headroom is pretty decent.

It’s a shame the MG HS’ boot is quite small, though. At 463 litres, it’s well behind the Skoda Karoq’s 521 litres and the Nissan Qashqai’s 504 litres. If you go for a plug-in hybrid version that dips even further to 451 litres because the battery is housed beneath the boot floor.

As for engine choices, you have the pick of a standalone 1.5-litre petrol engine or a plug-in hybrid model. There’s a considerable price hike for the hybrid, but it’s more economical and better to drive than the petrol.

That said, both are hampered by a horrible automatic gearbox: it’s so sluggish that you could brew a cup of tea in the time it takes to change gears.

If you can look beyond a driving position akin to being behind the wheel of a bus, the MG HS is pretty decent around town. Visibility is good and the HS feels light on its feet, plus a standard-fit reversing camera with sensors is a welcome addition. Go for the hybrid, and that’s upgraded to a 360-degree surround-view system.

At motorway speeds, the MG HS chews up miles comfortably too without much in the way of road and wind noise coming in. Just don’t expect it to be any fun on a back road, where it wobbles like a plate of jelly. The steering is a bit vague, too.

On the whole, the MG HS presents itself as a decent bit of value in lower-spec guises but fails to seriously compete with cars like the Nissan Qashqai and Volkswagen Tiguan in all other respects.

If you’re keen to get even more value from an MG HS, check out the carwow deals page to see how much you could save.