THE FINAL CHARGE
Four months down, our time is up with MG’s HS plug-in hybrid, and the verdict is in
It did go quite fast. Both the time with our MG HS PHEV, and the car itself (with an asterisk). We normally test cars within a seven-day loan, but our long-termers (around four to six months) give us time to really learn and understand a car over a more intimate term, and there was a lot we learnt about MG’s plug-in. For a start, it’s confusingly called the
+EV, MG’s ambiguous nomenclature — we’ll just call it PHEV.
There were also a few things we still didn’t get to grips with, like the way it would switch between EV and petrol modes seemingly at random. For the record, a PHEV is designed and works better prioritising its EV battery range, but too often the MG would fire up its petrol engine in the garage, and we’d have to tap the EV button to go back to electric-only.
It’s also fast under the right conditions — that is, with a good amount of battery charge. For the name of science, we conducted some 0-100km/h tests in different states, and it proved fascinating
. . . at least to number nerds like us.
MG claims 0-100km/h in 6.9 seconds, which is decently quick from just a 1.5-litre turbo fourcylinder petrol. We recorded 6.9 seconds from its full offering of
189kW of combined petrol and battery power. But with a drained battery, it lost two seconds of speed, recording 0-100 in 8.9 seconds! Test three, with a recharged battery in EV-only mode, it was even slower, a leisurely 14.7 seconds to
100km/h, from its 90kW offering. Still, in EV mode it’s both quieter, more efficient and faster at suburban speeds: 0-60km/h, for eg, is just one second slower.
So from a drivetrain angle, the MG HS PHEV does an impressive job, regularly meeting its claims of
52km (WLTP), and also its petrol use claim of 1.7l/100km, which is wildly achievable (or not) based on EV/charging use. Of note, on longer journeys, when the battery is depleted, fuel use rises to
7l/100km. Though on the plus side, with a seven-year warranty (also covering battery), there’s another persuading factor.
Personally, I really wanted to like the MG HS, and I do, but it’s not without its faults — given I spent the most time in it, I seemed to be the most critical . . . maybe because I’m possibly most easily annoyed.
However, in managerial style, I’ll deal with the positives first: its power and torque is impressive for a 1.5. Radar cruise works to stop-start, which I love. It has a chilled centre console. It has CarPlay/ Android and it’s a great commuter that does an allaround admirable job.
The negatives are more, but I am being critical, so let me rapid-fire them. While they may not be deal-breakers, they are good to know: the turning circle is a large 11.9m, 0.5m bigger than a RAV4. It requires 95 octane. Battery regen doesn’t work while on cruise control, even when downhill. EV regen isn’t adjustable. There is no option for DC fast charging, so AC/wallbox only, meaning the fastest charge into the 16.6kWh battery will still take four hours minimum. Radar cruise defaults to the farthest setting, rather than last-used. The reversing
camera is both slow to respond and switches screens often at the worst times, just as you’re closing in/ slowing down to an obstacle. The suspension is softly sprung, which can prove floaty at times.
And my biggest bugbear is the steps in the transmission: again, when charged and petrolled, it’s almost imperceptible, but the gearbox reserves four speeds for EV mode, and six gears for hybrid; around 50 and 80km/h, there is a step — a two-second pause — as it shifts. So very 1990s.
These issues are all relatively minor and would all very easily be fixed and remedied in a future update. Looking at it as a whole, it’s a very value-packed PHEV, and one which offers a lot, even considering our model was the top-spec Essence, at $54,990, or $49,240 after the Clean Car cashback. With Mitsubishi’s latest Outlander moving up a scale or two, and Ford’s Escape ST PHEV entry model priced at $61k, the $51k Excite’s entry level price highlights it as a great value PHEV and NZ’s cheapest SUV PHEV, second only to the Prius Prime in PHEV offerings.
So a little sad to see it go, but the MG HS +EV (okay, just this once) endeared itself as an economical SUV worthy of a step into the clean car future.