MG HS 2025 review: Essence long-term | Part 3

MG now has a genuine mid-size SUV challenger in its stable.

After living with the MG HS Essence for the past three months it’s easy to see the giant leap forward the brand has made compared to the previous version. We clocked up more than 2000km and spent more than 70 hours behind the wheel.

Our fully loaded Essence grade sits atop the HS range and is priced at about $44,000 drive-away, but it can be had for $40,990 drive-away for a limited time.

That easily trumps top-of-the-range rivals of the Toyota RAV4, Mazda CX-5, Hyundai Tucson and Nissan X-Trail by about $10,000 or more.

You will do without some things, though.

If you want hybrid power you’ll need to look somewhere else, at least until the HS plug-in hybrid arrives in the third quarter of this year.

All-wheel drive is also nowhere to be found, again the plug-in hybrid version should solve that issue.

The value equation diminishes a little because of those missing features, as range-topping rivals come with those boxes ticked. Despite that you're still thousands of dollars ahead if you are considering the HS.

Further boosting the HS’s value credentials are its 10-year/250,000km warranty, which is one of the best in the business and only behind Nissan’s recently installed 10 year/300,000km guarantee. Unlike Nissan’s — and Mitsubishi’s 10 year warranty — you don’t need to service the HS at a MG dealership to lock in the gargantuan warranty.

This is also backed by a 10-year capped-price servicing program, but it is expensive at $5741 over that time.

You’ll need to pop into your local dealership every 15,000km or 12 months, which is par for the course.

2025 MG HS Essence. (Image: Dean McCartney)

The fourth and eighth service are particularly expensive at $936 and $1647, respectively.

The new HS has brought fresh styling that mimics the new MG3 small hatchback and recently released ZS compact SUV, and it also moves away from the Mazda look-alike design of the previous model.

It brings much sleeker styling with a crimped front end with narrow LED headlights. The back has more of a sharply sloped rear window and snazzy creases along with brake lights that run the length of the vehicle. The sides aren’t boring panel slabs either but have some creases to help add a bit of texture to the vehicle’s design.

This is topped off with contrast elements that run along the bottom of the side panels and the sizeable wheel arches house good looking 19-inch alloy wheels.

2025 MG HS Essence. (Image: Dean McCarthy)

Inside there is a roomy cabin, which is thanks to the long wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear wheels). This opens up plenty of legroom for backseat passengers and makes installing a front facing child seat a cinch, and my two-year-old couldn’t kick the seat in front!

The interior materials feel premium with synthetic leather-wrapped seats and steering wheel. There isn’t too much hard plastic around and there are plenty of storage options.

There are two big 12.3-inch screens, one for the multimedia and the other for the driver’s instruments.

Unfortunately there is a lack of physical buttons in the centre dash, which means you’ll need to jump into the centre screen to change the climate controls and use other vehicle functions, which is fiddly on the move.

2025 MG HS Essence. (Image: Dean McCartney)

The boot is an ok size, but can’t compete with the best in its class.

Safety is comprehensive on paper with all the boxes ticked. The driver attention warning and speed warning are particularly annoying, though.

The driver attention warning will beep at you despite looking straight ahead. If you adjust your glasses or scratch your nose it’ll go off and if you squint into the sun it goes ballistic as it thinks you’ve fallen asleep.

The speed warning beeps when you go about 1km/h over the speed limit, which is fine, but it often misreads speed signs meaning you cop aural abuse for no reason.

2025 MG HS Essence. (Image: Dean McCartney)

On the road is where the HS has made some of its biggest strides. 

The engine is powerful enough for a family SUV, with the 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol motor making 125kW and 275Nm. It is paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch auto that can be twitchy at low speeds and can hesitate if you want to accelerate off the mark. Be mindful of this at intersections and if trying to push through tight gaps, best to wait for more time.

It's thirsty, too, drinking about 10L/100km during the three-month loan. It dropped to about 9.0L/100km the past month due to longer freeway runs.

It also needs premium unleaded petrol, which makes its fuel consumption even more disappointing.

2025 MG HS Essence. (Image: Dean McCartney)

The HS has well sorted suspension that manages to soak up most bumps with ease and still exert enough body control as to be fun to drive through the bends.

One big complaint for me is that the big side mirrors blend into the front pillar creating a big blind spot to the right. You often have to crane your neck or sit up a bit in your seat to see if a car is coming at a roundabout or a pedestrian is approaching at a crossing. More than a few times a car was lurking in that blind spot.

Acquired: October

Distance travelled this month: 781km

Odometer: 3903km

Average fuel consumption this month: 9.1L/100km (measured at the pump)