You could be looking at a couple of problems here. Either there’s a recurring problem with the car that is causing the check-engine light to illuminate, or the problem was fixed at one of the four previous service appointments, but the service team has consistently failed to zero (reset) the warning light.

In most cases, these check-engine lights are cancelled via the on-board scanning process which, coincidentally, would also tell you if there’s a constant problem forcing the check-engine warning to light up. Either way, it’s back to the workshop for an electronic vehicle scan to rule out the latter and/or reset the former.

Dual-clutch transmissions continue to haunt some manufacturers with poor reliability and short lifespans. I’m not going to categorically say that your gearbox is showing signs of premature wear, but the symptoms you’ve listed – harsh shifting, engagement delays and general harshness – are classic signs that a dual-clutch is not well.

There are many causes of this; wear in the clutch packs can cause shuddering and harsh shifting, while worn internals and iffy electronics can cause delays in the unit selecting gears. Either way, it’s straight back to the dealer for your car, but at least it’s still within the factory warranty period, so it shouldn’t cost you a cent to have it put right.

This type of transmission works beautifully when it’s in tip-top condition, but – speaking very generally – they have been known to give problems early in life and some manufacturers have moved away from this tech to a more conventional style of automatic transmission.

The MG GS launched in early 2017 with sharp pricing and stylish looks, but the company hasn't been keen to hand the cars out for press evaluations following a brief launch 'experience' drive with selected media in Victoria early last year. You can read into that whatever you'd like, but it doesn't scream "confidence in our products" to the team here at CarsGuide. That said, we have the MG ZS - a smaller SUV with similarly sharp pricing - due in the garage soon. Stay tuned for that review.