Ford Escape vs MG HS

What's the difference?

The Ford Escape PHEV is a good option for a customer who knows they’ll live within the parameters set by the car. That’s the case with any plug-in hybrid, really, so in that regard, this new model is hardly a standout.

And it isn’t particularly outstanding in any other way either. I personally would have appreciated it if Ford had decided to add the plug-in powertrain to the Vignale flagship model instead - that model is more about luxury than sportiness, and would better fit the character of this powertrain in my opinion.

It’s a decent addition to the brand’s SUV range, and a welcome one to the segment, though it won’t be on its own for long.

MG is quietly establishing itself as a champion of the electric space, with this HS mid-sizer offering a compelling list of specs with a long electric range in an attractive package.

It is still lacking in a few obvious areas, from driving dynamics to charging speed, but it’s doing its part at the asking price to at least make a plug-in hybrid alternative worth considering.

I haven’t really warmed to the “I wish I was a hatchback” styling of the Escape, which has a softer-edged look to it than most of its rivals. I mean, compared to a Hyundai Tucson or Toyota RAV4, the Escape looks like a blob.

That mightn’t be an issue for you, and it’s hardly a reason not to buy the car, but I was also a bit disappointed that there’s no real specific highlights to make you realise you’re buying the PHEV model, which - at $15,000 more than the equivalent petrol version - should have something to differentiate it other than the addition of a small badge and the additional filler cap on the front quarter panel for the plug.

Even a different set of wheels would have sufficed. Alas, it’s an identical looking Escape to the petrol. That means the ST-Line trimmings, such as black highlights on the grille and bumper, side skirts, a rear spoiler, and those 18-inch wheels and lowered sports suspension.

The interior, as mentioned in the pricing section, does have a few changes over the petrol version, but they’re hardly game-changing additions.

MG’s success is not just in being one of the most affordable but making affordability so damn good looking.

Taking cues from Mazda’s successful glitzy design formula, the HS impresses with a chrome-embossed grille, chiselled light clusters, combining with a curvaceous bonnet for an eye-catching face.

Down the side the curvy lines continue, undulating over the wheelarches, to a well resolved rear-end, complete with tidy light clusters and even dual-exhaust pipes.

Look at this car a little too long, though, and you start to find more than a few flaws with its design.

Sure, it’s eye catching, but the 17-inch alloys do a pretty ordinary job of filling those big wheelarches, and there’s something a little off about the ride height.

You can also see the rear suspension control arms sitting well below the base of the rear, a reminder the HS is an SUV based on the MG6 sedan.

Suffice it to say, while it looks great at a few paces, up close it misses out on some of the nuance and poise of its rivals.

Inside follows the same formula of the outside, with attractive curvy lines, a sporty-looking steering wheel and a pair of dazzling screens.

Again, though, look closer and you’ll see this otherwise modern-looking interior is not as impressive beneath the surface.

The seats look plush but feel cheap with vinyl trim, and the same goes for the door cards and centre console. All have soft-touch surfaces which, in reality, are paper thin. It still beats having hard plastic in the doors, though, so context is everything.

The plastic trims throughout are also hit-and-miss, with some looking great, and others hard and nasty.

The +EV versions of the HS ditch the mechanical shifter in the centre console for an electronic one, which combines nicely with the digital dash to make the cabin feel more modern than even some more upmarket rivals.

The Ford Escape looks like it has all the bits to make a midsize SUV buyer happy. And while a fair few of the boxes are ticked, there are some elements that could be better. 

The big party trick is that the second row is on rails, so you can slide it forwards or backwards to improve the space for receipt occupants or improve your boot space. The maximised cargo area is 556 litres to the ceiling, while if prioritise second-row occupant space there is easily enough room for a 182cm / 6’0” adult to fit behind someone of a similar size.

In the boot there are remote levers for the second row seats to fold down, a 12 V outlet, and a soft parcel shelf which is easy to remove, too.

During my time with the car I had the seats slid back as far as they go to maximise cabin space, though I did test out whether it was worth having them forward and the boot space was appreciably better especially for a pram and some baby stuff.

The second-row is a 60:40 split for the backrest, with the smaller portion on the driver’s side. That may sound trivial, but we had our baby seat set up behind the passenger, and had to move it to the driver’s side when we picked up a large parcel as it wouldn’t fit with the smaller portion folded down. There are dual ISOFIX child seat anchor points for the outboard positions, and three top-tether hooks.

The boot space is good too, considering it has some extra hardware to contend with under the body, there is also a space-saver spare wheel under there which is nice. However, there is no dedicated hidey hole for the charge cable, and it doesn’t come in a nice stowable bag either - just a plastic ziplock thing. 

Perhaps the biggest letdown of the interior is the fact that you still get the tiny little tablet-style 8.0-inch touchscreen media display, despite there being a big 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster. The two screens almost look at odds with one another, and what’s even more frustrating is that the driver information screen cannot be configured to include the energy flow screen that you see on the smaller tablet style unit. 

That means you can’t watch what’s happening between engine, electric motor and battery, or a combination where you might expect to see that - instead it can only be seen in illustrative form on the smaller central screen. Big issue? Maybe not, but if you’re an eco-conscious customer who wants to know what their car’s high-tech powertrain is doing, while also wanting to use sat nav, or Apple CarPlay or Android Auto, or change the radio station… Well, you’re out of luck.

There is a much more basic and rudimentary display on the driver info screen that shows a small icon of an engine and battery and illuminates them when each part is in use, but really, Ford should have used the real-estate of the big driver info screen better. Toyota, Kia and Hyundai know how to do it better.

The material quality is okay, but it certainly doesn’t feel like a very special environment.There are rubberised liners on the doors which don’t look terrific or feel fantastic, and why there are soft plastic elbow pads, and up high on the dashboard, it is not of the most pristine quality. 

Storage is pretty good. There are bottle holders in the doors and two cupholders in the centre console, and the storage nook in front of the shift dial houses a wireless phone charger and two USB ports, plus a 12-volt plug. There is a strange little shelf section in front of the centre console bin, which is not fantastic in terms of size. There are rear bottle holders in the doors, map pockets and a flip-down arm-rest with cup holders.

That rotary dial shifter which does take a little bit of getting used to. Unlike some others, there is no ‘P’ for park button - instead you have to dial it all the way left. 

There are some particularly strange things about the HS’s cabin when it comes to practicality.

The seats are perhaps the biggest issue. Not only are they clad in a cheap feeling vinyl, but the seating position is very high, and you hardly sink into the seat base, leaving you with the impression you’re sitting on the car rather than in it. Weird.

Visibility is great out the sides of this car, but with the seating position the way it is, I feel like my head is close to the roof and the windscreen has a narrow letterbox aspect. This is complicated further by the rear vision mirror, which sticks a fair way down into your field of view.

The front of the cabin feels plenty wide enough, though, and there are some other practicality wins, like the multimedia screen which is easily within reach.

Its limited resolution is a benefit here, with the touch elements being big and easy to reach while you’re concentrating on the road, but the stock software is clumsily laid out and slow, taking a full second or two to react to some interactions.

This is especially notable as the entire climate system is operated via the touchscreen.

The cabin offers up decent storage. There are big bottle holders in the doors as part of a larger bin, and there are a further two large bottle holders in the centre console with a removable divider.

The armrest box opens to reveal a small storage area, which also has an internal vent for the air-conditioning.

Under the shortcut buttons up front there’s a flip-open tray with two USB outlets and a 12V port, but this little opening is so tiny it’s no good to store any kind of object. It’s also impossible to close the flip cover if you have something plugged in.

The rear seat is one of the HS’s best attributes. Compared to even the front seats, the rear passenger space is enormous, with ample width, headroom, and legroom.

The seats can recline slightly, and amenities are even impressive with two pockets on the backs of the front seats, large bottle holders in the doors, dual adjustable air vents, and two USB ports for rear passengers.

Of special note is the strangely lavish drop-down centre armrest, which is clad in soft trim and has a flip-open tray and dual bottle holders.

Rear seat space comes at a bit of a cost to boot capacity, though. The HS offers 451 litres, which is a little off-the-pace for the mid-size SUV segment. The rear seats intrude into the space a fair bit, and the floor is quite high.

It fit our three-piece CarsGuide luggage set, but only just, and it required removing the retractable luggage cover. Unlike the top-spec Essence, the Excite does not have a power tailgate.

No spare wheel in +EV versions of the HS, with the underfloor space housing a repair kit and a small cutaway for charging paraphernalia.

MG now calls its plug-in hybrid cars +EV. It says this is to help demystify the technology, by showing it’s essentially a combustion vehicle, plus an electric vehicle component.

If you ask me, ‘plus EV’ is actually more confusing, but the point is this new version brings the price down once again.

This is because the plug-in version of the HS originally launched in 2021, only as the top-spec Essence. The Essence is still one of the most affordable plug-in hybrids you can buy in Australia, but the new mid-grade Excite trim we’re looking at for this review brings it down further.

Wearing a drive-away price-tag of $46,990, the strategy here is to offer the more expensive plug-in hybrid technology at the cost of a mid-grade self-charging hybrid RAV4.

Elsewhere the HS Excite competes with higher grades of the currently combustion-only Hyundai Tucson and Kia Sportage, but the big threat for this car will likely emerge in the form of the self-charging hybrid Haval H6 which launces in the coming months.

The HS is immediately impressive in terms of its raw numbers, though, with a massive 16.6kWh battery pack granting it a relatively long 63km purely electric driving range (although this is to the more lenient NEDC standard).

Aside from its electric features, there’s an appealing list of spec items included, with 17-inch alloy wheels, a 10.1-inch multimedia touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto support, a 12.3-inch digital dash cluster, keyless entry with push-start ignition, six-way power seat adjust for the driver, heated front seats, dual-zone climate control, and a pretty good reversing camera.

What do you miss out on picking the more affordable Excite PHEV over the top-spec Essence? 18-inch alloys, a panoramic sunroof, improved seat trim, and, disappointingly, LED headlights. The Excite only ships with old-school halogen bulbs.

It’s also worth noting the hybrid RAV4s can be all-wheel drive at this price, while the +EV variants of the HS are front-drive only. Still, this mid-size SUV is one of the most affordable PHEVs on the market.

The Escape PHEV is the only model in the range to get a 2.5-litre petrol engine, which runs on the more efficient Atkinson cycle, and has a continuously variable transmission feeding power to the front wheels - that’s right, this Escape is 2WD/FWD.

The tricky bit is that it also houses a clever electric motor and generator, which is teamed to a 14.4kWh battery pack - which is big for a plug-in hybrid car. 

The electric motor is capable of 96kW of power, while the petrol engine can produce up to 112kW. All told, the combined system output is pegged at 167kW, though there is no peak torque output figure. Even so, that amount of power is a sizeable number for any midsize SUV, even if this particular one weighs in at more than 1800kg.

Speaking of weight, the PHEV is the least capable towing vehicle in the Escape range. It has a maximum braked towing capacity of 1200kg, where all the others can tow up to 1800kg. Unbraked capacity is unchanged, at 750kg.

This is where plug-in hybrids tend to get a bit complicated, so bear with us.

The MG HS +EV pairs a 1.5-litre, four-cylinder, turbo-petrol engine with an electric motor on the front axle. The two drive the front wheels via a new 10-speed traditional torque converter automatic transmission, instead of the dual-clutch which features in the combustion-only versions of this car.

The engine produces 119kW/250Nm on its own, while the electric motor produces 90kW/230Nm. The two combined produce 189kW/370Nm, making the +EV by far the most powerful HS on the market, capable of accelerating from 0-100km/h in 6.9 seconds.

Beware the PHEV fuel consumption figure. That’s a great thing to keep in mind if you’re shopping for one of these cars.

That’s because the combined cycle official figure only takes into account a mix of conditions across 100km of driving. That’s right - only the first 100km. So the best case scenario, for a car that is designed to use its battery to run emissions free until it runs out, before sparingly using the petrol engine to keep going.

As such, it is no surprise that the official combined cycle fuel consumption is just 1.5 litres per 100 kilometres, with CO2 emissions claimed at just 33g/km. That takes into account the WLTP battery range of 56 kilometres stated on Ford’s website.

For reference, I completed my test of the car with a total of 462.7 kilometres travelled, of which, the trip computer stated 292.3km was fully electric. Meaning the remaining 170.4km was driving using petrol.

The indicated energy efficiency was 20.0kWh/100km, which isn’t great against a claimed EV driving efficiency figure supplied by Ford, of 14.8kWh/100km to 15.6kWh/100km. 

While the indicated fuel consumption average was 3.1L/100km, so more than double the windscreen sticker’s indicated economy. 

However, when I did the maths, I used a real-world average of 3.9L/100km of petrol ($36.15 worth of petrol) and 43.2kWh of electricity (meaning a cost of $9.82 based on the NSW average energy price of $0.2274c/kWh).

So, to do 462.7km I paid $45.97. I think that’s okay, but bear in mind I included several longer trips (Sydney to Glenbrook, Glenbrook to the Southern Highlands and back, and Glenbrook to Sydney and back). 

As is always the case, if your intended operation for a PHEV is to use it primarily for urban running within its EV range capabilities, you will be better off than if you push it beyond and use the petrol engine excessively.

For reference, the fuel tank size is 45 litres, which is 12L less than the petrol-only versions. It can run on E10, but only if you can find E10 that is also 95RON premium unleaded.

If you wish, there’s also an app called Ford Pass Connect, which allows you to monitor your car’s state of charge, adjust its start and finish times for recharging and even works as a key for the car to allow remote access, too.

Worth noting the maximum charge rate on a 10-amp plug at home is 2.3kW, while on public charging (which typically runs a higher amperage rate) the max rate is 3.7kW.

The HS +EV backs its electric features with a relatively large 16.6kWh battery pack, allowing it a purely electric driving range rated at 63km.

This is on the more lenient NEDC standard, though, and our car was reporting between 40–45km on a full charge. Still pretty good for a plug-in hybrid mid-size SUV.

As a result of this well-supported system, +EV versions of the HS have an official/combined cycle fuel consumption figure of 1.7L/100km, but as with all plug-in hybrids this will depend on how you use it.

On my week-long test, the car returned a figure of 3.9L/100km, with the caveat I did run it out of charge on more than one occasion. The HS’s turbocharged engine requires mid-grade 95RON unleaded.

Take a moment to appreciate this mid-sizer still used less fuel than a tiny hatchback, but charging is a less impressive story.

MG says the +EV will charge to 100 per cent from the reserve level in five ours on a 7.0kW charging connection, the only problem is the numbers don’t add up.

If you divide 16.6 by five you get 3.3kW, which is the actual charging rate. For a battery this big, that’s too slow. To put it in perspective, it’s only slightly faster than if you were to charge it up from a wall socket, and makes this car best for those who can trickle charge it at home.

Even dragging out your grocery shop to, say, 2.5 hours, will only net you half this car’s battery, making it inconvenient if you need to rely on public charging to get by.

Being the ST-Line grade, you - like it or not - have to deal with the lowered ride and sportier suspension, which makes this car ride a bit more firmly than you might want.

I found the suspension to be the biggest detracting element in terms of the drive experience – the suspension picked up a lot of the small inconsistencies in the road surface and transmitted them into the cabin. It was fidgety a lot of the time, and on road surfaces with very poor quality, it could be a bit uncomfortable.

The steering was also bit too tuned for sportiness for a car that doesn’t really need to be quite so aggressively angled that way. It took a bit of getting used to – it was somehow both twitchy on centre but not quite as responsive across the radius of lock to lock as I’d thought it might be, given the initial steering response.

Having said all that, I threw it through a couple of twisty corners and there was a nice handling balance from the chassis and decent grip from the tyres, but I did notice that - being front-wheel drive, with all that power going through the front tyres, there were some instances of it scrabbling for traction, notably on wet roads and looser surfaces but also out of offset driveways.

Other gripes included brake pedal response that was quite abrupt and very sensitive to stopping inputs.

Now, let’s consider the driving modes.

There are different drivetrain setups depending on what you plan to do. EV Auto does the thinking for you, dipping between EV, hybrid and petrol modes. EV Now prioritises electric driving. EV Later saves your battery charge for when you think you’ll need it. And EV Charge means you’ll use petrol power to drive, and also to replenish the battery pack.

The throttle response was decent in EV mode, and in hybrid mode it is nice and quiet, and it drives in a very smooth way unless you really plant your foot hard, then it can be a bit vocal - but less raucous than a RAV4 under full throttle. 

The transition between the different drive modes was relatively seamless, as it will readily go between petrol or electric as required, and the four-cylinder is mostly hushed enough so that you won’t hear it too much, especially if you’re driving at higher speeds when it does.

Indeed it was relatively quiet for the most part, though the tyre noise was quite excessive at higher speeds on very coarse-chip surfaces. And in those instances I noticed I could feel the road surface through the steering wheel and the suspension, as it was quite jittery at times.

There is a low speed warning sound that is omitted below about 25km/h and it was quite handy while driving in enclosed car parks - no more accusations of creeping around silently at the shops.

Further, there are multiple drive modes, including Normal, Eco, Sport, Slippery, and Snow/Sand Assist, all of which are designed to make different situations easier to deal with. They will adjust engine transmission and steering response as well as stability and traction control limitations. I kept it in Normal, though a dabble in Sport showed that you’re allowed a bit more aggression from the powertrain in terms of acceleration.

Okay, so once you get past the weird seating position we mentioned earlier, it's immediately apparent this hybrid version of the HS is the best to drive in the range.

The powerful electric motor in this car makes it so much smoother and easier to drive than the combustion car. It’s got quiet, smooth acceleration and a nice gentle regen braking, and you never even need to worry about what the transmission is doing.

This 10-speed automatic is so smooth it’s hard to tell what it’s doing at any given time, an out-of-sight improvement over the dual-clutch automatics which appear elsewhere in the range.

Where the HS isn’t as impressive is in the steering. It’s nicely weighted but a bit vague when it comes to feeling. I’m not super confident of what the front wheels are doing, and I feel like it doesn’t handle the additional weight from the big battery pack particularly well.

It feels comparatively top-heavy with a tendency towards mild understeer when you push it, missing some of the confidence its more established rivals have.

The ride is mixed. It’s generally soft, so it’s comfortable over smaller bumps, but when you hit big ones, it is evident the ride lacks a bit of control, because it will bounce around, and feel a little unsettled.

This imbalanced ride and handling is one of MG’s weak spots generally, which is why I’m surprised the electric drivetrain is so sleek, even comparable to Toyota systems.

When it comes to controlling those electric driving functions the HS defaults to a hybrid mode, where it seems to use primarily electric drive at lower speeds, activating the engine automatically at higher speeds, or when the accelerator is more heavily applied.

The only issue I have with this mode is I’m not sure at times how or why it decides to run the engine. With rival systems you’ll get some kind of ‘eco’ indicator which gives you an idea of when the engine will activate, but in this car there’s just a percentage indicator on the dash, which isn’t too helpful.

Your only other drive mode option is to stick it in EV mode, which you can do via a button on the centre console. In this mode it will only use the electric motor, and it’s able to do this at quite high speeds, so even if you’ve got a bit of an expressway or something on your drive it won’t necessarily need combustion support. Meaning you can have genuinely fully electric driving if you’ve got somewhere to charge it up at either end.

There’s no combustion or charge mode like some plug-ins have, and there is also no way to control the regen braking, so it’s not as customisable as we’d like. And the regen tune is relatively mild, so it’s probably not as energy efficient as it could be, either.

Still, the hybrid systems are impressively smooth and as a result the +EV versions of the HS are simply the best in the range to drive by a solid margin.

Although the Excite is the more affordable of the two +EV variants, it doesn’t miss out on any of MG’s active ‘Pilot’ safety suite.

This means it scores all the key items, from auto emergency braking (detects pedestrians at up to 64km/h and vehicles at up to 150km/h), plus lane keep assist with lane departure warning, to the rear-facing items including blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

It also scores adaptive cruise control, which late last year received an update making it a bit less twitchy than in launch form.

Six airbags and the expected array of electronic braking, stability, and traction aids appear, but while combustion-only versions of the HS wear a maximum five-star ANCAP safety rating to the 2019 standards, the +EV versions are excluded from this rating as they arrived later.

As with the rest of the Ford range, you get a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty on the car, while the battery pack has its own eight-year/160,000km warranty plan.

And just like most other models in Ford’s range, there is a lifetime capped-price servicing plan, with the first four maintenance visits (due every 12 months/15,000km, whichever occurs first) incurring a $299 fee, which is cheap for the class.

You also get up to seven years of roadside assist if you service your car with Ford’s dealers.

MG has tweaked its ownership promise for its electrified models recently. While the brand generally follows in the footsteps of challenger brands like Kia by offering an ahead-of-the curve seven-year warranty, this has only just been extended to the +EV variants.

Strangely, there’s also a seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty for the high-voltage battery components, which is a bit different from the industry standard eight-year/160,000km warranty.

Capped price servicing has also been added covering the duration of the warranty. Each visit at 12 monthly or 10,000km intervals costs between $265 and $968, for a yearly average of $403.14.

Not expensive, but also not at the cheap end of the spectrum.