The all New MG HS continues MG’s aim of providing an excellent and unrivalled mix of specification, technology and price wrapped in a thoroughly modern exterior. Indeed, the HS has taken this idea and excelled with an interior that provides more shoulder, hip and head room in the front than any other car in its class as well as providing a perfect balance of style and practicality, a mix usually expected in cars costing twice as much.
In the exclusive edition on test the HS arrives with an stunning panoramic opening sky roof, an interior that provides soft touch trim that sweeps across the dashboard before integrating fully with the door cards and aluminium trim on the doors and centre console and subtle and changeable ambient lighting. Perhaps what first grabs your attention though are the superb and comfortable heated leather sports seats with their one piece back and six way adjustability. Matched with the fully adjustable steering wheel, getting yourself comfortable is simplicity itself. This interior is truly stunning.
What you also get with the all new MG HS is a striking new dashboard suitable for a top of the range SUV. In front of you are your speedometer and rev-counter with a large TFT screen sitting centrally in between allowing you to scroll through the large amounts of vehicle information available to the driver as well as displaying the speed digitally. It works really well and soon becomes an integral tool to your driving, whether that be maximising economy or checking your progress with the new MG Pilot suite of safety and driving technologies.
Dominating your eye-line though is the gorgeous 10.1″ colour touchscreen featuring DAB audio, Satellite navigation, Apple CarPlayTM, Android AutoTM, Bluetooth connectivity for calls and music streaming and access to the car’s features and settings. As with all modern cars, a few minutes going through the settings to adjust the HS to exactly how you want it is certainly time well spent and makes for an even more comfortable proposition.
And it’s through these settings that you configure the MG Pilot, a series of functions that provide you with MG’s next level MG PILOT, a collection of high-tech driver assistance technology designed to give you added confidence on the road whilst maintaining safety and simplifying everyday driving.
The technology included in the HS Exclusive Edition on test is incredible, especially when you consider the money that you’ve spent and provides you with a confidence boosting swathe of safety equipment meaning that longer journeys become something to truly look forward to and an opportunity to fully appreciate the comfortable, well specced interior and long legged ability built into the HS.
Simple, smooth and sophisticated, the engine itself is a 1.5T-GDI 4 cylinder unit displacing 1490cc, producing 162 PS @ 5500rpm and torque of 184 lb/ft @ 1500-4400rpm meaning the HS can sprint from 0-60 in just 9.6s whilst still delivering a combined mpg of 36.2. Impressive figures for such a large SUV especially as what this translates to on the road is an MG that can be hustled along at a fair old lick.
What I really like though is the feeling of completeness that the MG HS instils, a feeling that only increases as the miles and your familiarisation extend over time. A large boot, ample room for five adults and styling that helps the HS to stand out, combine to present you with an SUV that offers everything you need for a price that will simply blow you away.
How does starting at £20,995 sound to you?
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