MG HS review

A low starting price often implies rough edges and cut corners, but there’s actually an awful lot to like about the HS’s interior. MG has made a real effort to lift its quality beyond that of its predecessor (the woeful MG GS), and it shows.

The steering wheel is wrapped in tactile perforated leather, the switches work with pleasing precision and there are huge swathes of soft-touch plastic and faux-leather on the dashboard and doors. In terms of interior finish, the HS gets pretty close to the impressive Mazda CX-5 and the Peugeot 5008.

The 10.1in infotainment touchscreen isn’t too tricky to navigate and even has a couple of physical shortcut buttons, but it’s not all good news. We found it frustratingly laggy, with a long delay between pressing an icon and anything actually happening. Still, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone connectivity are standard on all models, as is sat-nav, Bluetooth and a six-speaker DAB radio (four-speaker with the petrol-engined Excite trim).

Most of the dashboard features are easy to use, but the climate control and heated front seats are accessed via the infotainment screen, making them fiddlier to adjust on the move than they need to be.