If you previously owned large capacity non-turbo cars (such as a V8 or large six-cylinder) you might notice that some newer, smaller-engined cars with turbochargers don’t always have the urgency you remember when pulling into traffic or leaving a green light. That said, turbo motors are less laggy than they’ve ever been thanks to new technology and lighter turbocharger internals, but they can still feel as though they’re taking a second to really get going when you put your foot down. But they shouldn’t make you feel like you’re putting your life in danger every time you try to merge into traffic.

Which means you may have a problem with your car or, depending on your expectations, maybe not. Car dealers have a bit of a reputation of delivering the old “they all do that, sir” line when confronting dissatisfied owners, but you don’t need to leave it at that.

You can ask for a written report showing the car’s boost graph and compare that with what the factory says the car should deliver. But an even simpler way is to find somebody else with the same make and model and ask if you can drive the two back-to-back. Perhaps the dealer has a mechanically identical car on their used-car lot that you could take for a test drive. If your car is noticeably slower to launch than the other, then you may have a mechanical or even a software fault that is affecting performance.

The other thing to remember here is that (unless you bought a manual version) your car has a dual-clutch transmission and these can also sometimes feel a bit slow to get cracking when you launch them. Again, the performance of the transmission should be able to be electronically checked and verified, so don’t rule that out, either.

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.