Booming Chinese brand has revealed its updated answer to the all conquering Toyota RAV4 Hybrid.
The new MG HS mid-size SUV broke cover at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed overnight with a massive advancement of the plug-in hybrid version leading the charge.
It sports a sleek new design with a new grille design, dynamic headlights and plenty of body creases in all the right places.
The new HS is also longer and wider than before, but is shorter thanks to a more contoured roof.
MG has stretched the wheelbase – the distance between the front and rear wheels – to make for a roomier cabin.
MG Australia hasn’t revealed local specification but has confirmed it’ll arrive in showrooms before the end of the year.
In the UK, the HS will come with either a petrol engine or a plug-in hybrid set-up.
The plug-in hybrid combines the standard petrol engine with a potent electric motor to make a combined 223kW, which is about 34kW more than the current HS plug-in hybrid.
MG has more than just extra oomph to boast about, a new 24.7kWh battery now delivers a driving range of up to 120km on pure electric power that is about double the range of the outgoing version.
The petrol-only version makes 125kW and 275Nm in the UK. MG hasn’t revealed fuel use figures for either variant.
MG also hasn’t officially revealed the interior details of the next-generation HS, but said it has two 12.3-inch displays: one for the multimedia and the other for the driver’s instruments.
And an image of the front seats shows a reworked cabin with soft touch materials covering lots of surfaces and textured inserts on the doors. Synthetic leather wrapped seats have extra side bolstering and there is contrast stitching. There also appears to be a camera pointed directly at the driver.
MG hasn’t revealed prices but it is extremely rare for new models to get cheaper, so expect a significant rise on the current version’s $30,990 drive-away starting price.
The Chinese maker recently launched its new 3 small hatchback in Australia and its price rose by about $6000 compared to the older model, so budget more for a new HS, too.
MG has firmly established itself as a mainstream brand in Australia and is a constant in the top 10 sellers list.
The HS has been the weak point in its local line-up, despite being in the most popular new car segment in the country.
The new model should boost its popularity against red hot rivals such as the Toyota RAV4, Mazda CX-5 and Kia Sportage.
MG previously confirmed to CarsGuide earlier this year it was also planning on bringing a larger seven-seat family SUV soon. This would fill one of the biggest holes in its local line-up.