MG Reviews

The Excite is the upper mid-grade of the MG HS mid-size SUV range and is the first grade that can be chosen either as a front-wheel drive or as an all-wheel drive.The front-drive Excite wears a drive-away price of $34,990 and is equipped with a 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine, which produces 119kW/250Nm and drives the front wheels via a seven-speed dual clutch automatic. Meanwhile, the all-wheel drive ‘Excite X’ wears a drive-away price of $37,990 and ups the engine to a 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbocharged unit, capable of producing 168kW/360Nm, and driving all its wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch automatic.Front-wheel-drive variants have an official/combined fuel consumption of 7.3L/100km, while all-wheel-drive variants have an official/combined consumption of 9.5L/100km. Either engine requires mid-grade 95RON unleaded fuel.Standard equipment on the Excite includes 18-inch alloy wheels, a 10.1-inch multimedia touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android auto connectivity, built-in sat-nav, a semi-digital dash cluster, LED headlights with animated indicators and LED DRLs, interior ambient lighting, alloy pedals, an electric tailgate, and a Sport mode for the engine and transmission.Like all HS grades, the Excite comes equipped with the full ‘MG Pilot’ active safety suite, with freeway-speed auto emergency braking, which works up to 150km/h and detects pedestrians at up to 64km/h, lane-keep assist with lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alert, auto high beams, traffic-sign recognition, and adaptive cruise control with traffic-jam assist.The Excite comes equipped with synthetic leather interior trim for its seats and steering wheel, and despite a high seating position has ample room for adults in both the front and rear seats. The boot comes in at 451-litres (VDA), which is around the middle to lower end of the mid-size SUV segment, and sports a space saver spare under the boot floor.The Excite is covered by a seven-year and unlimited-kilometre warranty promise, although capped-price servicing had not been locked in at the time of writing.

The Vibe is the lower-mid grade of the MG HS mid-size SUV range, wearing a drive-away price of $31,990.Like the entry-level Core, it is available only as a front-wheel drive auto, sporting the same 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine (119kW/250Nm) mated to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.The Vibe has an official combined fuel consumption figure of 7.3L/100km, although in our weekly test of the Core we scored an as-tested figure of 9.5L/100km. All HS variants require mid-grade 95RON unleaded fuel.The Vibe shares the same basic equipment as the entry-level core, with a 10.1-inch multimedia touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, 17-inch alloy wheels, a semi-digital dash cluster, and halogen headlights with LED DRLs. On top of that, the Vibe scores keyless entry to go with its push-start ignition, synthetic leather interior trim and steering wheel, electrically auto-folding wing mirrors and a set of roof rails.The Vibe maintains the full active safety suite including freeway-speed auto emergency braking, which works up to 150km/h and detects pedestrians at up to 64km/h, lane-keep assist with lane-departure warning, blind-spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alert, auto high beams, traffic-sign recognition, and adaptive cruise control with traffic-jam assist.Like the Core below it, the Vibe has ample room in the front and rear for both passengers and storage despite an unusually high seating position. The boot is capable of consuming 451-litres (VDA), which is at the lower end of the mid-size SUV segment and scores a space saver spare under the boot floor.The Vibe is covered by a seven-year and unlimited-kilometre warranty, although capped-price servicing had not been locked in at the time of writing.

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