Plug-in’s a petrol fan
NEW MG HS USES ITS BATTERIES DIFFERENTLY TO RIVALS
BUDGET brands or car makers that deliver excellent value for money have always appealed to me. I was flying the flag for Skoda before Volkswagen bought the company, back when the jokes were rife and a Skoda had its engine in the boot.
It’s why I’m a big fan of Dacia and of MG today. And there’s nothing the motorist and consumer needs more in 2022 than a motor that’s going to save money, either in its outright purchase or monthly payments.
MG’S range, until the new MG4 arrives later this year, is made up of the ZS crossover, which is available as a BEV, a hatchback called the MG3, and the MG5 which, apart from the Porsche Taycan is the only fully electric estate car you can buy.
Finally there’s the HS, which is MG’S answer to the Ford Kuga. It’s this car we’re testing here. With a simple internal combustion engine the HS is pretty good value for money starting at £21,138, but we’re testing the PHEV version which, although very competitively priced, is £34,290. That’s in Exclusive spec, while the lower grade Excite costs £31,095.
Under the bonnet sits a 1.5-litre petrol engine that along with a 90kw electric motor produces a combined 258PS. That’s a fair bit of shove and gives the MG 0-62mph performance of 7.1sec.
You would have to do a lot of modifications to your 1972 MGB GT sports car to get acceleration like that. The engine and electric motor drive through a 10-speed automatic gearbox to the front wheels only.
Hidden under the floor is a 16.6kwh battery that gives the HS a claimed electric range of 32 miles. Our test-drive results indicate that in the real world you’ll probably achieve something close to that number. The HS PHEV is unusual in that it moves away under petrol power rather than electric – most PHEVS do the opposite.
Also unusual is the car’s preference for using its internal combustion engine during general driving.
In most PHEVS, if you simply jump in and go without fiddling with any modes, the battery’s juice will be used up in no time if motorway or dual carriageway driving is involved.
The MG, on an 80-mile motorway trip with some quick A-roads at the other end, still had most of its electricity left. That’s actually quite useful, but when you press the button marked EV on the centre console to drop it into electric-only mode, it has the habit of still firing up its engine.
An issue far more annoying than any of the above is a poor overall range. You’ll be doing well to manage 250 miles in the MG and that’s less than the MG5 estate will do on pure battery power alone.
I strongly suspected that to fit the battery in, the fuel tank had been reduced in size. And sure enough, a phone call to MG reveals that the standard HS has a 55-litre fuel tank while the PHEV’S holds only 37 litres.
The HS has a presentable interior with not too much hard plastic. There’s a leather-wrapped steering wheel in the Exclusive but a big disappointment is that too many functions have to be carried out through the touchscreens.
One of the reasons I like Dacias, MGS, Kias and Hyundais is that they have stuck with buttons for important and regularly used functions.
Here, on this HS, the software seemed rather slow to react and I kept losing Apple Carplay and had to re-select it.
The ride is comfortable, handling surefooted – even if there’s a fair bit of body roll – and if you don’t thrash the engine too hard the car is quiet at speed.
As often is the case with PHEVS, the boot is slightly smaller because of the battery but at 448 litres versus 463 litres the drop in capacity is minimal.
The MG HS PHEV is still good value, but it is not as capable as the other cars in MG’S range.
However, that won’t put off too many customers who like to spend their money wisely.