MG HS long-term test: report 3
Our sub-editor wants a spacious, comfortable and economical car for his long daily commute. Will he feel short changed by MG's bargain-priced family SUV?...
The car MG HS 1.5 T-GDI DCT Trophy Run by Chris Haining, sub-editor
Why it’s here To see whether MG's family SUV is a genuine bargain, or a car whose low price leads to too many compromises
Needs to be comfy and relaxing on a long motorway commute without costing the Earth on petrol; offer the practicality an action-packed life demands
Mileage 2989 List price £28,995 Target Price £27,689 Price as tested £29,495 Official fuel economy 37.2 mpg Test fuel economy 39.5 mpg
30 April 2025 – Those vital few inches
There are certain features that I find indispensable in cars these days, and my MG HS has most of them. My Twitter (I still refuse to call it X) addiction puts a big strain on my smartphone’s battery during the day, so being able to place my phone on a handy pad to wirelessly charge on the journey home is a boon.
Elsewhere, a driving seat with adjustable lumbar support soothes my long and increasingly feeble back, and automatically dimming rear-view mirrors fend off dazzle from cars with headlights like laser death-beams.
Just as important to me, though, is for the exterior mirrors to fold in at the touch of a button, and given that the MG’s mirrors are enormous on what is already a pretty wide family SUV, combined with how my drive narrows past my house on its way to my garage, I’m doubly glad that the HS is so-equipped.
They have two methods of operation. You can set them to automatically fold in when you lock the car, and then automatically unfold when you unlock, and this is enabled with a virtual toggle switch near the bottom of the lengthy Convenience menu via the infotainment screen. Or, there’s a button to manually bring them in and fold them out.
I initially set the mirrors to automatic mode; it makes them less vulnerable to damage when I leave the car unattended, whether in a car park or at the side of the road. Bear in mind, though, that this mode is only of use once you’ve left the car. So, when the last available slot in a Colchester multistorey had a van on one side and a concrete pillar on the other, I pressed the button to fold the mirrors in to win a few vital inches of door-opening radius, so my wife and I could actually get out. That was fine, but can you see where this is going?
Of course, on our return, plipping the remote control to unlock the car was met with the mirrors automatically unfolding, barring our path back into the car. This meant finding an alternative route around the back of the car and squeezing an arm through the narrow door aperture to press the button to fold the mirrors and open the doors wide enough to get in.
I’ve now abandoned the automatic mode and added pressing that button to my pre and post-drive routine.
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