Cadillac Lyriq vs MG HS

What's the difference?

It's got a couple of quirks, but the Cadillac Lyriq is a pretty convincing, and definitely American, take on a premium electric vehicle in Australia. The only issue, I think, is that, while the brand is obviously iconic in the USA, it's not that well known in Australia, and we are a market now awash with pretty good, and often much cheaper, EVs from China. It's a hyper-competitive market. Only time will tell if Cadillac can convince Australians that its badge belongs among the European premium marques.

There are a few niggles with the latest MG HS, for example the annoying driver-attention monitoring and expensive maintenance costs. We’ve not had a full sample of its open-road performance yet either, which may prove more telling.

Yet the HS is shaping up to be one of the most successful product updates of recent years, second only to, I don’t know, the MG3? The family SUV is also backed by a 10-year warranty and, despite the drastic improvements, doesn’t cost a whole lot more than before.

The entry-level Vibe is our pick, there's no need to spend more. It features all manner of safety equipment and a quiet drive but with cloth upholstery that doesn't get all sticky and sweaty in the Australian climate.

The end of 2024 is the tipping point where MG goes from cheap and cheerful to a real headache for established players. Perhaps not for the strongest in the segment like the RAV4 and Nissan X-Trail, but the HS is now an easy car to recommend for a family looking for a spacious SUV that drives their dollar further. The hybrid will boost appeal further when it arrives next year.

Note: CarsGuide attended this event as a guest of the manufacturer, with meals provided.

The Cadillac looks… well, it looks American, right? A kind of difficult-to-describe Americanness that’s somewhere between an SUV and state car.

That’s not an insult, by the way. I personally think the Lyriq looks kind of pretty, with its bold elements countered by the surprisingly gentle touch applied in places, like its razor-thin daytime running lights (DRLs).

I’ve got to say, it doesn’t look much like any of the other new SUVs arriving, or a knock-off German brand. It’s got its own persona.

The cabin of the Lyriq is predictably plush, with comfy massaging seats, soft-touch materials and plenty of tech, but it is a little shiny and busy in places for my tastes. Minimalist this is not.

But I do like the fact that – when I’ve got Apple CarPlay hooked up – I can just leave the screen be. My driving stuff is accessed by the wheel, and everything else I want is accessible through physical buttons.

There are some strange elements, though. The grab handle on the driver’s side, which isn’t replicated on the passenger side, is odd, and likely a byproduct of the factory moving the steering wheel. Some of the central storage bins are too small to be really useful, and I hate gloveboxes that can only be opened through the screen.

Though the previous HS had shapely bodywork, the wheels sat too far in-board and the rear end looked awkward. It’s not the same story with the new model which is designed as a family SUV first, rather than a converted hatchback platform.

Part of the improved looks are better proportions. The new HS is 81mm longer, 14mm wider and rides on a 45mm longer wheelbase yet sits 21mm lower for a sleeker appearance.

The front end takes cues from the new MG3 and ZS design language with a broad grille and thin LED headlights. At the back, MG’s design team references the UK’s capital with ‘Shard’ lighting signatures that also appear in the alloy wheels.

It is still fairly anonymous, though perhaps that comes from a lack of familiarity with the brand. The painted wheel arch cladding and metallic-only paint give it a premium boost.

The biggest improvement is inside, where the HS takes plenty of inspiration from the excellent MG4 electric car with the hexagonal steering wheel (though here with perforated leather finishing), high-set controls and confident lines. It’s a welcome, modern change after the old car’s bloated cabin design.

There are soft-touch rubbery materials in all sorts of prominent places, including on the dash top, front and rear door cards as well as where the driver’s knees rest on the doors and transmission tunnel.

It’s a big boat, the Lyriq, stretching more than five metres long and almost two metres wide. That’s not much shorter than, and in fact slightly wider than, something like a Nissan Patrol, just to put it into perspective. Though of course it’s nowhere near as high as a proper 4WD.

Predictably, though, its dimensions mean plenty of room in the boot, which opens to reveal a very useable 793 litres of luggage space. Drop the seats, and that number grows to a massive 1722 litres. 

But the Lyriq does without any spare wheel of any kind. A tyre repair kit is your only option.

Now, the backseat. And I know this is likely only of interest to parents of newborn babies, but that’s me, so I noticed. These are some of the best ISOFIX attachment points I ever used. Usually you’re fumbling around between the seat cushions trying to line up the latch points, but the Lyriq's solution — while perhaps not the most visually alluring – puts the brackets beneath plastic lift-up flaps, and they're so damn easy to use. 

But there are some quirks in the backseat, too. Those same ISOFIX attachment points, which are so great for baby seats, are less great for the adults actually sitting in the back. You can feel the hard plastic covers, and what feels like the bracing bar running across the backseat, beneath the cushions. It's not diabolical, and if you shift your rear-end forward slightly you can't feel it at all, but it's a strange quirk all the same.

Elsewhere in the backseat, there is plenty of room for backseat riders, and you can control your own temps, too.

There is nothing especially ground-breaking about the MG HS’s front cabin. The cupholders are medium-sized and the door bins have enough storage for a one-litre bottle, so this is no Skoda Karoq when it comes to clever cabin solutions.

Telling a tale of the HS’s Roewe RX5 base car’s earlier 2022 launch (and the staggering development speed of personal technology) the lack of USB-C charging ports is now frustrating with all USB ports regular old-school items. Apple CarPlay or Android Auto phone mirroring requires a cabled connection.

The centre multimedia screen is high resolution with day selectable light and dark modes. It was a little laggy to use MG’s software, however, especially when swiping across menu screens. 

There are four hard shortcut buttons beneath it that can jump to the home screen, activate the HS’s front and rear demister and turn the ventilation on and off.

To adjust the temperature you need to go into the touchscreen, though there is a persistent shortcut on the main menu.

A 12.3-inch digital cluster has several selectable info displays and can show navigation mapping and directions in Excite and Essence trims. 

The seats are comfortable and supportive and it's easy to find a good driving position thanks to power-adjust driver's seat and tilting/telescoping wheel adjustment. The front passenger does not get height adjust, though, and is set too high.

Where the extra size pays dividends is in the back seat which has ample room for passengers beyond 185cm, especially when it comes to leg space. The fold-out armrest is sturdy, too, with twin cupholders. Rear air vents are fitted to only the top-spec Essence.

For baby capsules or child seats the HS has ISOFIX anchors fitted to all three rear seats matched with a trio of top tether points.

The MG HS’s boot is about average for the class measuring 507 litres. It grows to 1484L with the 60:40 backrest folded. For reference, class leaders include the Toyota RAV4 (580L), Nissan X-Trail (585L) and Volkswagen Tiguan (up to 615L with rear seats slid forward). 

There are few amenities, with no 12-volt socket, only one (dim) boot light and no shopping bag hooks. The carpet isn’t bargain basement and the luggage cover is sturdy with additional separated storage compartments below the floor and netted cubbies off to the side. 

MG has also been smart in packaging a space saver spare tyre beneath the boot floor (and a cumbersome Styrofoam piece).

Shock horror, the new HS is 10 per cent more expensive than before… but that still makes it $33,990, drive-away, for the basic Vibe — easily undercutting established rivals from Honda, Mazda, Toyota and others. 

You get a lot for that extra $4000, too, right down to basic presentation. There’s no fridge-like solid white paint with all six hues either metallic or pearlescent for no extra cost. MG even offers the upper trims with the option of an eye-catching tan upholstery colour. 

The three-strong trim line-up starts with the Vibe: dusk-sensing LED headlights, 18-inch alloy wheels, adaptive cruise control, auto wipers, tyre pressure monitoring, a six-speaker sound system, nice cloth upholstery and six-way power adjust driver’s seat are standard.

The Excite sprinkles in 19-inch alloy wheels, perforated synthetic leather upholstery, navigation, fog lights and MG’s 'iSmart' connectivity system for a smart $36,990, drive-away.

The range-topping Essence gains a panoramic sunroof, rear privacy class, a power tailgate, front parking sensors, wireless phone charging, eight-speaker audio, 10-way power adjustable driver’s seat with memory, seat heating, dual-zone climate control, rear air vents and wireless phone charging for $40,990, on-the road. 

The short of it is that, although MG’s prices are up, even the basic Vibe is a more enticing proposition on price than the new Chery Tiggo 7 Pro Urban ($39,990, drive-away) and established Mazda CX-5 Maxx (currently on offer for $37,990, drive-away).

It also is much closer to the popular GWM Haval H6 ($31,990-$37,990, drive-away) — if only MG had brought ventilated seats to the flagship Essence then this mid-sizer would be (almost) sold on paper alone.

All Aussie Lyriqs are dual-motor affairs, with an electric motor at each axle producing a total 388kW and 610Nm, which in a car this big, which weighs just under 2.7 tonnes, is more than enough to get the Caddy up and moving, but not enough to make it feel like a supercar. The two motors mean AWD, of course.

The new HS petrol has a 1.5-litre, turbo-petrol, four-cylinder engine that develops 125kW at 5000rpm and 275Nm from 3000-4000rpm, with those outputs up 6.0kW and 25Nm on the old car.

MG claims new engine features, including the variable geometry turbocharger, centre-mount variable valve timing and a lighter dual-mass flywheel, add up to a 30 per cent improvement in engine response.

More importantly, the insulation is excellent. You barely hear any unpleasant engine noises out on the road and although the four cylinder’s tone isn’t sexy at full-throttle, it is warm and pleasant enough.

The HS petrol is front-wheel drive only which may rule it out for some buyers, but there is a saving grace. The new seven-speed type dual-clutch transmission behaved itself impeccably on a brief first encounter taking in awkward hill starts and reverse manoeuvres. It’s a huge improvement over prior efforts and more refined than even a Hyundai or Kia dual-clutch.

MG claims a 0-100km/h acceleration time of 9.6 seconds, which is about right for entry-level versions of the HS’s typical rivals.

MG no longer offers a more powerful 2.0-litre turbo but a plug-in hybrid with a punchy 223kW and an all-new full-hybrid option will join the line-up in the first quarter of 2025, details of which are yet to be confirmed.

The Lyriq is equipped with a 102kWh lithium-ion NCMA battery, which delivers an ok 530km on the combined cycle. I say 'ok', because the BMW iX offers 600km-plus, while the dual-motor Polestar 3 is more like 630km claimed. Energy consumption is a claimed 22.5kWh per 100km on the combined cycle. 

When it comes to plugging in, the Lyriq is set up for 190kW DC fast charging, with the brand promising 128km of range in 10 minutes, or 10 to 80 per cent in just under 30 minutes. At home, a 7kW wall ox will deliver more like 43km an hour.

In the ADR combined (urban-extra urban) fuel efficiency cycle, the MG HS petrol is rated at 6.9L/100km, emitting 156 grams of CO2 per kilometre in the process. A 55-litre fuel tank gives the HS a theoretical driving range of around 800km.

We weren’t able to get a true read on the fuel consumption but the trip computer showed 8.1L/100km after an hour-long run. It lacks an idle start-stop system and requires 95 RON premium unleaded petrol.

The first thing you notice behind the wheel of the the Lyriq is just how whisper-quiet it is on the road. Cadillac makes a big deal about its 'Active Noise Cancellation' tech that's deployed here – it uses sensors to monitor road vibrations and the like, and then uses the car's stereo to create what it calls an 'anti-noise' signal.

It all sounds pretty high-tech and complicated, but it also works, with the Lyriq a seriously quiet and composed way to get around, with only the artificial EV noise really noticeable in the cabin.

Even travelling past freeway speeds, the Lyriq remains quiet, which does lend the whole experience a sort of premium vibe.

The Cadillac is also one of those cars that thinks solidity means premium, from the solid 'thunk' of the doors shutting to a general heft and weight to the steering, there's nothing feather-light or agile about the Lyriq experience, but it does all feel a little artificial, and like it's trying to be heavy on purpose.

The Lyriq, then, is no out-and-out performance car – it's 2.5-tonne-plus kerb weight and Olympic swimming pool dimensions largely put an end that – but it's more than brisk enough to get up and moving, with its twin-motor powertrain finding grip even in slippery conditions. It's brisk, but not brutal.

The Lyriq hasn't been tested or tuned in Australia, but happily it doesn't have that floaty, wafty suspension style so popular in the USA. This one feels to have at least had an international tune, which removes some of that marshmallow softness and makes you feel connected to the road.

The steering, too, feels direct enough and easy to predict, and the overall impression is one of quiet, calm motoring, which is probably what it says on the tin of any premium vehicle.

MG’s launch drive program was too brief to really get under the skin of the HS, which is a shame because the initial signs are extremely positive.

Compared to the old ZS, in which a gumnut hitting the roof was loud enough to distract you from your thoughts, the new car is packed with sound deadening for a vastly more premium experience.

The electronic power steering system has a natural ratio (2.6 turns lock-to-lock) and weighting in 'Comfort' and 'Sport' modes, which cannot be said for rivals such as the Chery Tiggo 7 and Haval H6.

This new HS rides nicely, too, with enough compliance from the suspension without sacrificing body control — at least around town. It has struts up from with a multi-link rear end which is not a given, even in this segment.

There were a few sharp-edged bumps that sent a shock through the body but that is to be expected on Sydney's awful roads. The new HS rides about as well as a Mazda CX-5 and believe us, that is a dramatic improvement.

Visibility out the front and sides are good as is the comfortable driving position, however I wasn’t able to move the driver’s side mirror far enough out for my liking. That’s a small blip in an otherwise strong first showing.

The MG HS has not yet been evaluated by an independent safety testing body such as ANCAP or Euro NCAP.

MG has fitted the new HS with seven airbags, including driver and passenger, front side, side curtain and a centre airbag.

The HS has a long list of active safety and driver assistance features, such as front and rear auto emergency braking with junction detection, lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control with stop and go and driver-attention monitoring.

I can’t say all the aids are perfect but the adaptive cruise control and lane-keep assist systems were less intrusive than those in Chery and Haval products.

The regularly-beeping driver-attention monitoring remains a constant frustration as it does across almost every brand at the moment.

Cadillac has built a pretty convincing ownership package around the Lyriq, which begins with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, and an eight-year, 160,000km battery warranty. Beyond that, you also get five years of servicing, and five years of roadside assistance, free. 

Then you get a year’s free public charging through the Chargefox network and a free home wall box charger. If you have a wall box, or don’t want one, you can trade the home charging for an extra two years of free public charging.

MG has recently moved to a 10-year/250,000km new car warranty in Australia which covers the HS and is the longest non-conditional offer in the market.

GWM/Haval, Kia and SsangYong remain at seven years while Mitsubishi requires you to service the car at a main dealer for its 10-year guarantee.

This long warranty period should help allay concerns for new MG buyers that the brand stands behind its products.

Less impressive is the cost of maintenance, which adds up to $2354 over five years/75,000km with a particularly steep $936 service at the four-year mark. There’s a big $1647 service at 120,000km, too.