Costs & verdict
Everyday costs, plus how reliable and safe it is
This is where the MG HS really comes into its own. In its cheapest form, it costs little more than the far smaller VW T-Cross despite being a similar size to the Mazda CX-5. The top-spec Exclusive model costs about the same as the entry-level Volkswagen T-Roc, Citroën C5 Aircross and less than the Peugeot 5008.
The HS Plug-in model is fairly cheap too, but doesn't cost much less than the all-round better Ford Kuga PHEV. Most manufacturers give bigger discounts than MG, so it’s worth checking for savings on the HS and its rivals by searching our free New Car Deals pages.
We'd happily recommend sticking with Excite and maximising the HS's value, but top-spec Exclusive trim has merit. It features dual-zone climate control, ambient interior lighting, electric and heated front seats, a powered tailgate, a panoramic sunroof and the LED headlights.
If you’re thinking of running an HS as a company car bear in mind that the petrol's official CO2 emissions are on the high side, so it's in the top 37% benefit-in-kind tax bracket. The HS’s low P11D price will go some way to offsetting that, though. However, the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is in the 12% tax band, which makes it a much more competitive company car proposition.
Officially, the 1.5 T-GDi petrol averages around 37mpg, which isn't terrible but trails the 1.2 Puretech petrol Peugeot 5008. In our tests simulating real-world driving, the 1.5 T-GDi manual managed a respectable 33.7mpg, which wasn't too far behind the 2.0-litre CX-5, Kia Sportage 1.6 T-GDI and 1.2-litre C5 Aircross.
The PHEV will officially average 155.8mpg, but that's unrealistic in the real world unless you mainly run on power from the battery, which, by the way, takes three hours to charge (from empty to full) with a 7kW home wall box.
Every HS has automatic emergency braking (AEB), lane-keeping assistance, blind-spot monitoring, automatic high-beam assist and even a rear cross-traffic alert system.
Such a long list of standard safety equipment is all but unheard of at this price point, and helped earn the HS a full five-star Euro NCAP crash-test rating. There were some noteworthy weaknesses with adult chest protection and child head protection in a crash and, overall, the C5 Aircross (with safety pack), the 5008, the CX-5 and the Toyota RAV4 proved safer.
MG performed reasonably well in the 2022 What Car? Reliability Survey coming ninth out of 32 brands, just behind Mazda and Kia, but ahead of Citroën, Skoda and Ford. MGs come with a seven-year manufacturer warranty, which is better than almost anything you’ll get elsewhere (even Hyundai’s five-year warranty can’t match it).
