MG HS

By Bill McCarthy

---

Is there a better value SUV on the road than this plug-in hybrid? It’s a serious question, and yes there are some brilliant candidates, but in terms of sheer value for money, HS takes some beating.

Price, well it speaks for itself and starts at just over £31k and still comes with the market leading or matching seven-year warranty and features MG Pilot, a raft of safety measures usually seen as an optional extra on rival brands.

The HS is the largest of the SUVs coming in just above the equally stylish ZS. There are two models, the Excite and the Exclusive, driven here.

MG’s first plug-in hybrid, it combines a 90kW electric motor with a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine.

This delivers a combined power output of 258PS and an electric-only range of 32 miles.

The power unit is mated with a 10-speed auto transmission to deliver rapid pace, allowing it to hit the 60mph mark in 6.9 seconds. Economy is a theoretical 155.8mpg, but I found it to be quite thirsty when the electric range was exhausted, with an estimated mid-40s mpg.

At just over £33k for the range-topper, it has thrown down the gauntlet to more established and much more expensive competitors.

The eye-catching design features the iconic MG badge dominating the deep grille, flanked by LED headlight clusters and large air scoop. 

Sitting on smart, 18-inch alloys, the muscular lines slope to the rear where the twin tailpipes and an aluminium lower bumper give it a sporty finish.

The large interior has good head and legroom all round and this model has comfortable electrically operated leather seats giving the driver a commanding view of the road.

It features an array of soft-touch finish to dash and sports seats, with fewer of the harsher solid plastics.

Standard kit includes keyless entry with push button start, a 10.1 inch colour touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and electric folding and heated door mirrors and 360-degree camera.

There is also a leather finish to the multi-function steering wheel, while the central touchscreen infotainment system controls with sat nav, DAB radio/CD/aux and phone connectivity.

The goodies get better as you move up the range and this range-topper adds front and rear LED sequential indicators, dual-zone climate control, ambient lighting and panoramic sunroof and electronic opening tailgate. 

Rear seat passengers are catered for too with the reclining seats.

On the road the ride is comfortable while handling is decent enough apart from the occasional wallow on corners.

It delivers plenty of pace for a car of the size, while emissions of 43g/km make it cheap to tax and put in a low category for benefit-in-kind taxation.

The size of the car is matched by the boot space with an impressive 448 litres of luggage space. Folding the rear seats flat extends the total capacity to 1,375 litres. There’s also a dual height boot floor.

Safety kit is impressive with the MG Pilot set up offering safety aids, including Active Emergency Braking, Lane Assist, Adaptive Cruise Control, Forward Collision Warning, Blind Spot Detection, Lane Departure Warning System and Rear Cross Traffic alert.

Using a Type 2 fast charger, the MG HS Plug-in Hybrid can be charged from zero to 100 per cent in just 4.5 hours.

Factfile

MG HS Exclusive PHEV

Price: £33.595

Mechanical: Combined 258PS 1,498cc, 4cyl petrol engine and electric motor driving front wheels via 10-speed auto gearbox

Max speed: 118mph

0-62mph: 6.9 seconds

Combined mpg: 155.8

CO2 emissions: 43g/km

BiK rating: 12% (2022)

Warranty: 7yrs/80,000 miles

Genesis G70 Shooting Brake

By Bill McCarthy

---

The Genesis models are coming thick and fast and one of the most stylish must surely be this estate. The designers have cleverly targeted their audience with trim and and styles with more appeal to younger buyers and the Shooting Brake, is a prime example.

Like many estate type cars or tourers, style and practicality have been married to deliver coupe-like styling, with little compromise on interior space.

The term “shooting brake” supposedly from turn-of-the last century England, where it referred to a car used to transport a hunting party and its gear. “Brake” referred to a chassis that was used to break in horses.

It eventually just came to refer to early wagons in general. 
The term was later applied to custom-built wagons by high-end coachbuilders and subsequently became synonymous with station wagon or nowadays estate.

Both Mercedes and Jaguar have produced shooting brake models and this newcomer sits easily with that company.

With a choice of Premium Line, Luxury Line and Sport Line trim levels, it certainly is a premium, stylish vehicle with its sleek, coupe-like profile and featuring the signature crest grille quad lamps and not forgetting the Bentley lookalike winged bonnet badge.

The Sportline model adds dark-chrome finish for the window surrounds and front grille, which also gets a dark tinted chrome mesh insert. It also features 19-inch alloys with red Brembo brake calipers.

To the rear of the vehicle, where a single-piece glass hatch accommodates part of the light cluster and a “floating type” integral spoiler.

Rear wheel drive, it features a powerful 2.2-litre diesel engine mated to an eight-speed auto box that offers reasonable economy while delivering decent pace.
Packed with high end goodies, it is spacious with a premium interior.

It also features artificial intelligence that learns about the driver and builds on existing state-of-the-art advanced autonomous driver assistance.

One of the star attractions are the two main binnacle dials which turn into cameras to show the road it is turning into when the indicator is activated.

A real safety feature that helps keep cyclists and pedestrians safe.
This is a proper premium motor with state-of-the-art technologies, quality materials, and a finish to create  what the GENESIS describe as ‘a fighter jet cockpit appearance.’

Central is the 10.5-inch HD infotainment screen and 12.3-inch TFT instrument cluster controlling connectivity and navigation functions.

It operates the impressive sound system, while the Genesis Connect system offers voice recognition and live updates and smartphone integration.

Boot spaces on these type of estates or tourers are not as capacious as some of the older styles, but with 465 litres available, expanding to 1,535-litre load area with 40:20:40 split-fold rear seats, it offers plenty of stowage space.

On the road, the refined 200PS diesel delivers smooth acceleration. It powers to 60mph in around 7.5 seconds, with little diesel noise. Plenty of punch but delivering real world economy of around 40mpg.
Eco, Comfort, Sport, and Sport+, selections allow the driver to go from fuel economy right through to a more sporty drive, by tweaking steering, suspension, throttle and transmission response.

The ride and handling are excellent, with tuned suspension and electronically controlled adaptive dampers soaking up the worst of the potholes, while delivering agile handling for such a big car.

A mechanical limited slip differential also improves handling and traction on twisting roads.

Factfile

Genesis G70 Shooting Brake 2.2D Sport Line

Price: £41,430

Mechanical: 200PS, 2,199cc, four-cylinder diesel engine driving rear wheels via eight-speed automatic transmission

Max Speed: 140mph

0-62mph: 7.5 seconds

Combined MPG: 40.7-41.8

C02 emissions: 177-182g/km

Bik rating: 37%

Warranty: Five years/unlimited miles