MG HS 2025 review: Essence long-term | Part 2

Driving in Sydney in the lead up to Christmas is a chore. Let’s find out how the new MG HS fared in the heat and non-stop traffic.

After two months in the MG HS Essence I’ve driven more than 1300km and spent over 50 hours behind the wheel - or more than two days.

That’s a huge amount of time to spend in one car as a motoring journalist and after all that driving it has ironed out some of its foibles from the first month but accentuated some of the red flags, too.

Let’s talk about the good points first.

The engine is a cracker for a mid-size family SUV. It performs better than its 1.5-litre capacity suggests, with 125kW and 275Nm on tap.

That torque figure is key to delivering hefty performance in the middle of the rev range making for sturdy and spritely acceleration.

It’s quiet, too, with only a slight grumble entering the cabin. Pop the bonnet and you’ll see why, with noticeable sound deadening material blocking the engine noise from pumping into the interior. This helps add a level of refinement missing from earlier MGs.

The steering is well weighted and responsive, which makes it easy to pilot around town.

Last month I talked about the twitchy dual-clutch automatic that sent surges of power to the wheels and was lagging when accelerating on turning at intersections. 

Those elements are still there, but with more sympathetic throttle application than needed in other cars those issues are left in the rear view mirror. So be gentle with the HS and it will reward you with a smoother commute.

It’s a good size SUV, too. It's big enough to lug the family around but so big that it feels cumbersome around town. Driving the HS it’s easy to see why mid-size SUVs are the most popular vehicles in Australia.

This was confirmed navigating a mammoth Westfield shopping centre, jam-packed Woolies and cut-throat beachside car parks.

The HS never had an issue getting down tight concrete lined ramps or squeezing into parks next to big poles.

This was aided by excellent parking aids with detailed sensors that tell you the exact distance in centimetres between the object behind or in front. The top down view also helps make sure you’re lined up correctly.

The cabin is spacious with plenty of room for kids and adults in the back seat. A solid distance between the back and front seats meant our two-year old couldn’t kick the seat in front, as in some vehicles.

There were a few things that stung this past month, though.

The heat in Sydney was ramping up and the MG’s air con wasn’t as cooling as was needed, it took some time to cool down and blow the heat out of the cabin.

The black synthetic leather upholstery got particularly hot if it was in direct sunlight, too.

On one occasion the multimedia screen went completely green as we were parking, making the rear view and surround view camera unusable. Luckily this issue only happened once and hasn’t been seen since.

The driver attention warning was particularly frustrating. It would beep if I scratched my face, adjusted my sunglasses and it thought I was falling asleep when I was squinting into the sun one day I had forgotten my shades.

The boot isn’t as big as you’d expect in a car this size. I can fit more in my personal car that is a size smaller than the HS.

Fuel use and the cost of filling up also stung a lot.

MG claims the HS drinks 6.9L per 100km combined, or 8.9L/100km around town and 5.8L/100km on the highway. We couldn’t get below 10.4L/100km this month, which is about 17 per cent worse than the company’s city driving claim where we did most of our motoring.

It needs premium petrol, too, which meant it cost more than $100 to fill up.

Running costs are further hurt by pricey servicing, which costs $2354 over five years/75,000km ($471 per workshop visit).

The counterbalance to that is a sharp entry price — our range-topper is about $44,000, drive-away — and it comes with a benchmark 10 year/250,000km warranty.

For the next instalment we’ll hit the freeway and get out of town to see how it likes the open road.

Acquired: October

Distance travelled this month: 584km

Odometer: 3122km

Average fuel consumption this month: 10.4L/100km (measured at pump)