2026 MG HS Essence Hybrid+ review

How much is the MG HS?

These are MG's advertised prices as our rows hold them. MG advertises on a drive-away basis at times, so ask whether on-road costs are included when you are quoted:

• Vibe (petrol): $33,990
• Excite (petrol): $36,990
• Essence (petrol): $40,990
• Excite Hybrid+: $40,990
• Essence Hybrid+: $44,990
• Excite Super Hybrid (plug-in): $50,990
• Essence Super Hybrid (plug-in): $54,990

What each step up buys

The Vibe is the entry grade: cloth trim, a 10.25-inch touchscreen and 12.3-inch driver display, six speakers, 18-inch wheels, a panoramic roof, a power tailgate, keyless entry and a space-saver spare. The Excite adds synthetic leather and 19-inch wheels for $3,000. The Essence petrol moves to a 12.3-inch touchscreen, eight speakers, dual-zone climate and built-in navigation for another $4,000.

The Excite Hybrid+ is the same $40,990 as the Essence petrol, so at that price you are choosing between equipment and a hybrid. It brings the 12.3-inch screen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and navigation, but goes back to fabric trim, six speakers and 18-inch wheels. The Essence Hybrid+ adds the 360-degree camera, a wireless phone charger, a panoramic sunroof, eight speakers and 19-inch wheels.

The plug-in Super Hybrid grades follow the same pattern: the Essence version adds the 360-degree camera, wireless charging and eight speakers over the Excite. Both use a tyre repair kit instead of the space-saver the other grades carry.

What it costs on the road and per week

Treated as a list price, the Vibe's $33,990 comes to a drive-away estimate of about $36,880 in VIC and $36,390 in QLD. The Essence Hybrid+ estimate is about $48,340 in VIC and $47,270 in QLD, and the Excite Super Hybrid about $54,590 and $53,390. On our weekly-cost model ($5,000 deposit, five years at an assumed 7.5%, plus fuel, rego and tyres) the Vibe is about $199 a week in VIC and $198 in QLD, and the Essence Hybrid+ about $240 and $239. For the plug-in we cannot cost the fuel without a battery-flat figure, so its weekly number is repayments, rego and tyres only. Servicing and insurance are not in any of them.

How it compares at the same money

The GWM Haval H6 is the closest match: the H6 Lux petrol is $35,990 on our rows with 170kW, the Lux Hybrid $40,990 drive-away in VIC with 179kW and a 5.2L/100km claim, and the Ultra PHEV AWD $46,990 with 268kW and a 100km electric range. The H6 tows 2,000kg braked in petrol form and has a 560-litre boot. The Chery Tiggo 7 Urban is cheaper at $29,990 drive-away in VIC but has 108kW and no hybrid on our rows.

From the mainstream, the Toyota RAV4 GX Hybrid 2WD is $45,990 RRP with a 4.5L/100km claim and a 705-litre boot, but tows 800kg braked. The Mazda CX-5 G25 Pure AWD is $39,990 RRP with 132kW, all-wheel drive and a 1,800kg braked tow rating, but no hybrid. Our best SUVs under $50K guide lines them all up.

Petrol and Hybrid+

The 1.5 turbo petrol is rated at 6.9L/100km combined, 8.9 urban and 5.8 extra-urban, and it needs 95 RON premium unleaded. At $1.95 a litre over 15,000km that is about $2,020 a year, and premium usually costs more than that, so your real bill will run higher. The 55-litre tank gives a calculated 797km between fills.

The Hybrid+ claims 5.2L/100km combined, and its urban figure of 4.2 is well below the petrol's 8.9, which is where a hybrid earns its keep. That is about $1,520 a year on the same $1.95 sums, roughly $500 less than the petrol. The Excite Hybrid+ costs $4,000 more than the Excite petrol, so on fuel alone the payback is around eight years at 15,000km. Town-heavy driving shortens that. MG covers the hybrid battery for seven years or 150,000km.

The Super Hybrid plug-in

The plug-in has a 24.7kWh battery and a claimed 120km of WLTP electric range, with MG quoting 18kWh/100km. At the Victorian reference tariff of 27.5c/kWh a full charge costs about $6.80, and 15,000km driven entirely on electricity would be about $740 a year. Nobody runs a plug-in on electricity alone, but a commuter who charges every night and stays inside the range can get close.

The 0.7L/100km label figure starts with a full battery and says little about a long trip. We do not hold MG's battery-flat fuel figure, so we cannot tell you what the plug-in uses once the battery runs down. Charging is AC only on our rows: MG quotes about four hours on a 7kW wallbox and 10 to 13 hours from a portable charger on a household socket. Home charging is close to essential.

Warranty, servicing and roadside

MG quotes a 10-year, 250,000km warranty for the HS, with seven years of roadside assistance that renews when the car is serviced through MG. The Hybrid+ and Super Hybrid also carry a seven-year, 150,000km battery warranty. Read the warranty terms on MG's site, because the full 10-year cover depends on servicing with the MG network.

Service intervals are 12 months or 10,000km. That 10,000km is short: a driver doing 20,000km a year will be in for two services a year. MG advertises fixed "Precise Price Servicing" in its brochure, but we do not hold the per-visit prices for the HS, so we cannot give a five-year servicing total here. Get the schedule for your exact powertrain from the dealer.

We hold no resale figure for the HS. MG is a high-volume brand in Australia, which helps the used market, but resale for the plug-in in particular is still building a track record.

ANCAP and the assist list

The HS holds a five-star ANCAP rating from 2024: 90% adult occupant, 87% child occupant, 83% vulnerable road users and 74% safety assist, with an expiry date of 31 December 2031. The 74% safety assist score is the weakest of the four, and it is the one that measures how well the active systems such as AEB and lane support performed in testing.

Autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, rear cross-traffic alert and lane-keep assist are standard on every grade on our rows, and a driver attention monitor is listed on the petrol, Hybrid+ and Essence Super Hybrid rows. The 360-degree camera is on the Essence Hybrid+ and Essence Super Hybrid. The assist table below shows each item as standard, optional, not fitted or no data.

There are ISOFIX points on the two outer rear seats and top tethers on all three rear positions.

Space, boot and garage fit

The petrol HS is 4,655mm long and the hybrids 4,670mm, all 1,890mm wide on a 2,765mm wheelbase, with an 11m turning circle. Height is 1,655mm (1,663mm on the plug-in), so a standard garage and most car park height bars are no problem. Ground clearance runs from 166mm to 180mm depending on grade.

The boot is 507 litres seats up and 1,484 litres folded on every grade we hold, so choosing the hybrid or plug-in costs you nothing in luggage space on MG's figures. That is less than the RAV4's 705 litres and the H6's 560, and more than the CX-5's 466. A full-size pram should fit with the seats up, but check yours in the boot-fit tool below.

Trim is cloth on the Vibe, fabric on the Excite Hybrid+ and synthetic leather or PVC on the rest. Five seats on every grade.

Screens, phones and sound

Every HS has a 12.3-inch driver display. The touchscreen is 10.25 inches on the Vibe and Excite petrol and 12.3 inches on everything else. Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and digital radio are standard throughout; wireless phone mirroring is listed on the two Hybrid+ grades.

Audio is six speakers on the Excite grades and Vibe, eight on the Essence grades. Wireless phone charging is on the Essence Hybrid+ and Essence Super Hybrid. USB-A and USB-C sockets are both fitted, with two front and two rear on the Hybrid+ rows. MG's brochure notes that its iSMART connected services are free for the first 12 months.

The MG HS Essence Hybrid+ has 96 kW for every tonne of kerb weight, 340Nm of torque, a claimed 0-100km/h of 7.9s. It weighs 1,720kg and turns in 11m. These are the figures that shape how quickly a car gets moving and how easily it parks.

Power, weight and towing

The petrol HS uses a 1.5-litre turbo making 125kW and 275Nm through a 7-speed dual-clutch, with a claimed 0-100km/h of 9.6 seconds at 1,585kg to 1,630kg. The Hybrid+ pairs the 1.5 with an electric motor for 165kW combined and 340Nm of engine torque, and claims 7.9 seconds. The Super Hybrid lifts that to 220kW and 350Nm and a claimed 6.8 seconds, at 1,850kg to 1,900kg. Every HS is front-wheel drive; there is no all-wheel-drive version on our rows.

Towing is the same across the range: 1,500kg braked, 750kg unbraked and a 180kg towball download. That is ahead of the RAV4 2WD's 800kg and behind the CX-5's 1,800kg and the H6 petrol's 2,000kg.

MG does not print a payload, but gross vehicle mass minus kerb weight gives 475kg on every grade we hold. Five adults and a boot full of luggage can use most of that.

The verdict

The MG HS is a strong value case on its figures. The Vibe at $33,990 gets you a 507-litre boot, the full core assist list, a 1,500kg tow rating and a 10-year warranty for less than a base CX-5. The Excite Hybrid+ at $40,990 is the pick for a buyer who wants lower fuel bills without a plug: 5.2L/100km claimed, wireless phone mirroring and the same boot. The plug-in suits a household with a driveway and a wallbox, where 120km of claimed electric range covers most weeks.

Look elsewhere if you need all-wheel drive or heavier towing (the CX-5 and H6 rate higher), if you want lower fuel use from a self-charging hybrid (the RAV4 claims 4.5L/100km), or if you plan to run the plug-in on long trips, because we cannot tell you its battery-flat consumption and it has no DC charging figure on our rows.

Compare every grade on the MG HS listing, or set it against the Haval H6 in the compare tool.