MG HS review: We test drive the all-new version of Britain's favourite budget-friendly family SUV

The MG HS is Britain's most popular budget-friendly family SUV, with the sub-£24,000 car sitting eighth in the overall car sales charts for 2024.

But MG Motor - owned by China's SAIC Motor - will hope to see demand spike in the second half of the year with the arrival of an all-new version with sleeker looks and even more space.

And it really is 'all-new'; it has grown in size, the interior has been comprehensively overhauled and the engine options thoroughly updated.

With the changes comes a nominal increase in price. But will Britons mind the slight hike if the car is vastly improved and still affordable?  We tested the 2024 MG HS at launch in Bedfordshire to find out.

How popular is the MG HS in Britain?

Being MG's best-selling car is no mean feat for a brand that's had a ginormous sales boom in the last few years.

In 2021, MG was crowned the fastest growing mainstream vehicle brand seeing a 76.3 per cent year-on-year growth by June, outselling 2019 volumes in just six months.

The company was awarded the mantle of fastest growing mainstream vehicle brand for a second consecutive year just 12 months later as demand continued to grow.

And 2023 would have sparked plenty of smiles in Chinese boardrooms, with overall sales of 108 per cent compared to 2022.

The HS has been pivotal to this stratospheric rise. 

In January, it became the first model in the brand's 100-year history to top a UK monthly sales chart. 

So far in 2024, a whopping 16,730 have been sold - far more than Ford Focuses and Vauxhall Astras. 

Some 57,000 HS' have been sold in just four years with Britons drawn to its practical size and wallet-friendly pricing, previously starting as low as £23,495.

It accounts for around 5 per cent of the 'C-segment' family SUV market.

There's no denying that this is an important model for MG, but it's also a very significant car for the large SUV market because it offers buyers a much cheaper option than the other most popular similar-engine alternatives: the Kia Sportage goes for £32,575, the Nissan Qashqai from £32,710 and the Hyundai Tucson starts at £33,765.

2024 MG HS: What's new?

What isn't new might be an easier question to answer. 

That's because this isn't a run-of-the-mill facelift with a few subtle tweaks - it's a properly 'all-new' HS.

The car is much larger – it could eat the old model for lunch.

The wheelbase is 45mm longer, it's 14mm wide and the lower profile reduces the height by 21mm.

The exterior look has been given a much more athletic overhaul with new headlights, new lightbars and a new grille shared with the new MG3 and the forthcoming ZS.

The interior has had a premium upgrade with a new design, new materials and updated modern tech.

Engine options now consist of a new generation 1.5-litre petrol with either a six-speed manual or a seven-speed 'wet clutch' automatic for higher efficiency, faster response and smoothness. 

The manual is cheapest, starting from £24,995, so only a slight increase of £1,500 over the model it's replacing.

Top speed for the manual is 118mph - the auto can go 3mph faster, topping out at  121mph.

However, the manual accelerates from 0 to 62mph in just 9.4 seconds - the seven-speed auto is, surprisingly, marginally slower at 9.6 seconds.

There are safety assist updates, connectivity additions and practicality improvements, but the biggest change is the improved plug-in hybrid (PHEV) performance.

The new plug-in hybrid HS – a tax relief smart buy?

Customers looking for a greener option can have the new-generation 1.5 turbo petrol engine combined with a 154kW electric motor in the new plug-in hybrid variant.

This starts from £31,095, meaning drivers will have to make the most of cheaper electricity than unleaded fuel to claw back the £6,100 price premium spent over the conventional petrol.

The Long Range 24.5kWh battery gives a massive 75 miles of pure electric driving without assistance from the internal combustion engine.

Thanks to this impressive zero tailpipe emissions driving on offer, the new HS PHEV means company car drivers can take advantage of much lower benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax rates.

The current rate is 5 per cent for the PHEV fixed until 2025, when increments increase by 1 per cent until 2028.

MG's Head of Product David Allison told us he's expecting this to provide a financial advantage over C-Segment competition that can't offer this same BIK, and to potentially mop up customers who don't want to stick with a fully-electric car but still want the tax savings benefits zero emissions offer.

How does it drive?

We took both the six-speed manual petrol and the PHEV out for spins at the official launch.

Because HS is a low-cost SUV, our driving expectations weren't sky high.

And, as expected, it's a fine drive - though not great.

MG has made cabin noise quieter, which makes it more enjoyable over a few hours and it's definitely more comfortable than its predecessor.

I drove the base SE trim on the petrol car and even with the basic cloth seats, I found it very nicely cushioned. 

It was easy to adjust the driving position to a suitable setup for any driver thanks to multi-way electric seat on all trims. It provided me with a good command over the road.

I did find the wing mirrors obstructed visibility somewhat at junctions but otherwise the benefit of the higher and wider road presence made it feel very safe and dominant on country roads to the M1.

The gearbox was smooth and enjoyable to use, but the car did lag more under acceleration than expected, even for its 9.4-second 0-to-62mph 'sprint' time.

We didn't try the seven-speed automatic, but performance stats are similar, so it will likely come down to preference on whether you like to change gear yourself or not.

The HS handles speed bumps with aplomb and it is smooth at higher cruising speeds. It's not the most refined car in its class but it can handle rougher road surfaces with enough ability for day-to-day family driving.

The PHEV is heavier than the petrol, which you do notice around bumpier country roads, but the noiseless EV driving around small villages and towns makes it a serene ride.

The electric-only instant acceleration is a winner for families and those prone to car sickness as it removes any friction in acceleration or deceleration.

MG has updated its plethora of driver assist systems to additionally include: door warning beeping, active rear cross traffic alerts and a new driver monitoring system.

The latter is - to be frank - very annoying.

Driver monitoring is notoriously irritating across all manufacturers and models but the HS' system had a mind of its own. It was going off constantly; even sat at a traffic light it pinged when I turned my head fractionally to check if the light had changed to green.

Add that to speed limit warnings, lane departure warnings and traffic control features and driving ends up being a moving cacophony of very distracting noises. 

Turning them off took a lot of fiddling and menu hopping - more distracting than anything it warns you against.

A lot of people will wish to deactivate them as soon as they get in the car.

The interior – comfort, space and practicality

Thanks to the increased dimensions, the 2024 HS is even roomier than the outgoing model - and that already had great space for passengers over six feet.

The legroom and headroom can't be faulted: I could add a head and shoulders and still be comfortable and even the longest-legged people will have plenty of space to stretch out.

It's also easy to get child seats in thanks to the wide door openings and you can fit a pair of child seats in the back as there are dual ISOFIX points. 

You can feel entirely confident taking three kids abreast in the back on long holiday drives without anyone throwing a tantrum for being overly cramped.

An important practicality improvement is the boot size, which has increased 44 litres on the previous car.

This will be welcomed as an issue with the outgoing model was that passenger space had been prioritised over boot capacity, but MG's fixed that on the 2024 car.

With the seats up you get 507 litres and with them folded down there's 1,484 litres available. Both measurements are the same on the plug-in hybrid model too. 

This beats the Ford Kuga's 412 litres and the Nissan Qashqai's 504 litres, but the Hyundai Tucson still leads with a capacious 620 litres.

The interior's had a 'premium' makeover, looking much more polished and upmarket than before.

Obviously, the Italian leather seats for an extra £500 is the most opulent option, but both the cloth SE and black synthetic leather Trophy trims are finished to a higher level than before, even if they still have some plastics to save money.

What new tech is there?

Gone is the outdated single TomTom looking screen. Now you get two 12.3-inch HD displays – a driver's digital view and a touchscreen which seamlessly stretch across the dash.

The system is well-designed with two themes to choose from and three modes: Maps, ADAS (Advanced Driving Assistance System) and Digital.

While the additional ADAS are more of a hindrance than a help, the 'Transparent Chassis' camera is a great addition. It allows you to virtually see what's under the wheels to avoid expensive and frustrating mistakes such as curbing the wheels or driving over inexplicably high manhole covers.

There's also now a 360 camera which is HD (some MG cameras can be a fair bit fuzzy, especially on the MG5).

Smart phone integration is available for the first time which allows you, through the iSmart app, to unlock doors, check the vehicle, locate it, connect to Wi-Fi and pre-condition the aircon and seats amongst other things. 

Pricing structure and delivery times

You can save around 10 grand if you buy the new MG HS instead of a rival large SUV.

The entry level ICE SE trim starts from just £24,995, while the Trophy starts from £27,495 and goes up to £29,495. And the price increase from existing HS across both grades is just £965.

The PHEV is coming in a month or so and will cost from £31,495. A conventional self-charging hybrid version will follow early next year.

As previously mentioned, the HS undercuts the Kia Sportage, the Nissan Qashqai and Hyundai Tucson by some margin: they each cost from £32,575, £32,710 and £33,765 respectively.

It's also cheaper than the Ford Kuga ST Line 1.5 Eco Boost which starts at £37,070.

Then, if you factor in the PHEV company car tax relief you could be laughing all the way to the savings bank.

And the HS continues to have class-leading residual values - on average 6.2 per cent better than the class average, so your purchase will stay sweeter for longer.

MG HS: The Cars & Motoring verdict 

If you need a large and practical family SUV and budget is the priority over driving experience, then the HS is going to an the obvious choice. Especially after the jump up in spaciousness and boot capacity.

While it's not the most powerful or impressive to drive, you will be clocking up the miles with the knowledge you've probably saved around £10k.

The design improvements both outside and in have brought the car into the mid-market low premium realm. 

Its only major downfall is the incessant ADAS bleeping, which needs to be addressed. Otherwise, shortcomings can be overlooked.

The HS is now an SUV that will blend into any smart car park or school drop off line, whereas the outgoing model just wasn't stylish - so sales are likely to be strong from the start.