2025 MG HS PHEV Review: Big Battery, Keen Pricing, and Screen Frustrations

The 2025 MG HS PHEV is a compact-to-midsize crossover manufactured in China by SAIC Motor and sold across Europe under the British heritage badge. It enters the popular family SUV sector with a pricing strategy intended to undercut established European and Asian competitors. In Germany, the second-generation MG HS PHEV starts at 39,990 euros for the entry Comfort trim, while the tested Luxury specification commands a list price of 41,990 euros. The model competes directly against the Volkswagen Tiguan 1.5 eHybrid, which requires a German base price of 48,655 euros, the Ford Kuga 2.5 Duratec PHEV starting at 45,500 euros, and the Hyundai Tucson 1.6 T-GDI PHEV, which opens at 44,690 euros. In hindsight, the aggressive pricing posture of SAIC Motor has become a familiar playbook across European showrooms, though the metal beneath must now justify itself on engineering merit. The vehicle measures 4,670 millimeters in length and carries a 2,767-millimeter wheelbase.

On official European test cycles, the MG HS PHEV carries a 21.4-kilowatt-hour usable battery pack that yields an official combined rating. The manufacturer claims a pure electric range of 100 kilometers under WLTP standards, with city cycles rated at approximately 127 kilometers. WLTP figures suggest an electrical consumption rate of 21.8 kilowatt-hours per hundred kilometers alongside a weighted fuel consumption figure of 0.5 liters per hundred kilometers. Those metrics reflect testing protocols where the initial portion of the test distance is covered exclusively on stored battery charge. Official technical sheets from SAIC document that the fuel tank holds 55 liters of petrol.

Laboratory testing figures rarely match tarmac realities, as real-world electric driving ranges typically fall 15 to 30 percent below official WLTP claims depending on ambient temperature, route topography, and road speed. In highway driving at a steady 130 km/h in mild weather, independent evaluations, including testing conducted by Germany’s ADAC, demonstrate that the MG HS PHEV exhausts its usable battery capacity after approximately 65 to 70 kilometers. Urban commuting delivers substantially better efficiency, allowing careful drivers to extract roughly 85 to 90 kilometers of purely electric momentum before combustion intervention, tracking closely with the ADAC Ecotest mixed result of 87 kilometers. Once the cells are depleted and the car reverts to full hybrid operation, real-world petrol consumption climbs to approximately 7.3 liters per hundred kilometers. The onboard computer displays energy flow and consumption data across both the driver instrument display and the central console.

The high-voltage traction pack inside the second-generation MG HS PHEV utilizes lithium iron phosphate, commonly known as LFP chemistry, supplied by REPT Battero. LFP cells offer notable structural advantages over nickel-manganese-cobalt formulations, most prominently exceptional thermal stability and a cycle life that comfortably exceeds two thousand full discharges without substantial degradation. The pack tolerates daily charging to one hundred percent state of charge without the accelerated cathode stress that plagues ternary chemistries. However, LFP cells exhibit lower gravimetric energy density, adding roughly two hundred kilograms of dead weight compared to smaller ternary packs. Their open-circuit voltage curve remains nearly flat across eighty percent of the discharge cycle, which challenges the battery management software to calculate remaining state of charge accurately. In cold winter conditions, increased internal impedance slows lithium-ion transit, curtailing both cold-weather range and regenerative braking intake until internal cell temperatures normalize. MG backs the traction battery with a manufacturer warranty covering seven years or 150,000 kilometers.

Underneath the exterior sheet metal, the 2025 MG HS shares its modular platform architecture with the Roewe RX5 produced by parent group SAIC Motor. The unibody construction incorporates high-strength steels across more than seventy percent of the shell to provide torsional rigidity during impact events. Under the bonnet sits an internal combustion engine displacing 1.5 liters, featuring direct fuel injection and variable geometry turbocharging to produce 105 kW (143 PS) and 230 Nm of torque. It couples with a front-mounted permanent magnet synchronous traction motor rated at 135 kW (184 PS) and 340 Nm, accompanied by a separate integrated starter-generator. Power routing to the front wheels relies on a dedicated two-speed hybrid automatic transmission rather than a continuous planetary gearset or a twin-clutch assembly. Thermal management for the high-voltage pack relies on active liquid cooling, though cabin climate regulation omits a thermodynamic heat pump in favor of resistive electric heating elements. The combined powertrain delivers a factory rating of 200 kW (272 PS) and propels the front wheels from zero to 100 km/h in an advertised 6.8 seconds.

The suspension hardware consists of MacPherson struts at the front axle and an independent multi-link arrangement at the rear. Passive steel coil springs work in tandem with conventional hydraulic shock absorbers, leaving adaptive damping or active leveling off the options catalogue. Around town, the soft spring calibration isolates passengers from minor road imperfections, absorbing utility cuts and drain covers without jarring impacts. In hindsight, that pliant setup proves less controlled at higher cruising velocities, where the vehicle’s unladen curb weight of 1,830 kilograms creates noticeable float over long undulations and allows pronounced lateral roll through highway off-ramps. Steering inputs through the electrically assisted rack feel light and deliberately insulated from the front contact patches, offering modest self-centering torque regardless of driving mode. Independent emergency braking tests conducted from 100 km/h on dry asphalt revealed a stopping distance of 38.0 meters, a figure that trails European class standards by several meters. Braking is handled by ventilated discs at the front and solid discs at the rear, housed behind standard nineteen-inch alloy wheels fitted with 225/55 R19 tyres.

DC fast charging is entirely unavailable on the European specification.

The cabin layout is defined by a pair of 12.3-inch digital displays mounted side by side behind a continuous glass pane across the dashboard. Upper dashboard surfaces receive synthetic leather upholstery and contrasting stitching, while lower console moldings revert to hard, scratch-prone grained plastics. Common convenience controls have been relocated entirely into the central touchscreen, eliminating physical buttons for temperature adjustment, blower intensity, air distribution, and seat heating. Adjusting the climate requires multiple screen taps on small graphical sliders, pulling eyes away from the road surface for several seconds during transit. Consigning basic heating controls entirely to a glossy panel is akin to replacing the physical knobs on an induction range with a smartphone application; it adds steps to a reflex action and demands complete visual attention. Even the activation toggles for the front and rear fog lamps are buried inside a submenu on the digital display rather than living on the steering column stalk. The steering wheel carries capacitive touch pads alongside two programmable physical shortcut buttons on the lower spokes.

Boot capacity in the MG HS PHEV measures 441 liters with the rear seats in place, expanding to 1,291 liters when the 60:40 split rear bench is folded flat. Rear legroom remains generous for tall adults thanks to the stretched wheelbase, although the seat base sits somewhat low to the floor. My teenage son, who usually ignores automotive architecture in favor of his phone, noted that connecting his device requires a physical USB cable because wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are absent. The native infotainment software exhibits sluggish responses during initial vehicle startup, and several translated menus in the German localization feature literal curiosities, such as labeling vehicle status parameters as a health center. The optical driver fatigue monitoring system mounted atop the steering column sounds persistent audible chimes if the driver turns their gaze to check a blind spot for more than two seconds. Onboard alternating current charging is governed by a single-phase 6.6 kW unit, which means connecting to standard German 11-kilowatt public AC posts or household wallboxes draws through a single 16-amp phase, capping charging throughput at roughly 3.3 kilowatts. A complete recharge from a standard 11-kilowatt three-phase wallbox requires approximately seven hours, while a 22-kilowatt charging point reduces that duration to roughly three and a half hours.

Independent inspection data from TÜV and breakdown registries from the ADAC show mixed historical outcomes for SAIC-built MG models in Germany. First-generation MG HS models experienced repeated owner complaints concerning 12-volt battery parasitic draw, intermittent infotainment blackouts, and erratic automatic emergency braking interventions. The mechanical components in this new generation appear sturdier, as the four-cylinder petrol unit relies on a durable timing chain rather than an oil-immersed wet belt, and the two-speed hybrid gearbox avoids the mechanical clutch packs of complex dual-clutch transmissions. The LFP battery cells demonstrate inherently robust resistance to thermal stress and should outlive the vehicle under regular charging habits. However, the software layer governing powertrain handoffs, chassis driver aids, and onboard climate commands remains the most fragile link in daily ownership, with sporadic system freezes requiring complete vehicle restarts. SAIC Motor warrants the complete vehicle against mechanical and electrical defects for seven years or 150,000 kilometers.