The MG4 is the current Company Car of the Year for 2023. It’s a full electric car. But what if an EV isn’t quite right for you or your employees, but you want to reduce your BIK & utilise some electric mileage ? MG’s got that covered too with it’s HS plug-in which we sampled recently.
Model choice
There are two trim models in the range, Excite & Exclusive, both coming well equipped. Excite offers heated front seats, keyless entry, a parking camera, auto headlights & 18″ alloy wheels. Exclusive adds a panoramic roof, leather upholstery, a powered tailgate, ambient cabin lighting & LED headlights.
Engine & powertrain
The HS plug-in is powered by a turbocharged 1.5 litre petrol engine supported by an electric motor & 16.6 kWh battery. A 10-speed automatic gearbox makes progress very relaxing.
Electric range, emissions & mpg
MG claim a 30 mile electric range, with CO2 emissions of 43g/km & a theoretical range of 156mpg, taking it into the 11% bracket for Benefit-in-Kind.
Charging
Fitted with a small 16.6 kWh battery, charging up at home overnight on a 7kW wall box, we use a Rolec, http://www.rolecserv.com/home-charging when rates are cheapest, should take under 3 hours.
Performance
Weighing it at under 1,80kg gives the HS PHEV a decent amount of power; 255bhp & 370Nm of torque means in Sport mode, a 0-60 mph time of 6.9 seconds with a top speed of 118mph.
Exclusive spec
Our Exclusive test car comes with a leather steering wheel, leather upholstery, DAB, SatNav, Apple CarPlay & Android Auto, keyless entry wit push button start, Adaptive Cruise control, dual zone air-con, 6 speakers, a 10.1″ touchscreen, & heated electric front seats.
Safety
MG Pilot, MG’s safety suite includes Acvtive Emergency Braking, with pedestiran & cycle detection, Intelligent Speed Assist, Traffic Jam Assist, Blind Spot Detection, Lane Keep Assist, Rear Cross Traffic Alert & Intelligent High Beam Assist.
Practicality
The HS is MG’s largest car & the space on offer is really very good. Hop front you can stretch out & in the rear two will sit comfortably. The centre rear seat is raised & hard, so not the greatest selling point if your’e sitting there. As this is a PHEV, you do sacrifice some boot space to make room for the hybrid battery, but the 448-litres offered is still very usable. If you lower the rear seats this increases to 1,375 litres, although the seats don’t fold flat to the floor. Your charging cable can be stored in the cable bag provided.
Driving
Unlike the electric MG4, the HS plug-in is quite noisy when you set off, with a noticeable whine from below. Despite its relatively small battery, the weight & location underneath the boot make for some unsettled rides over poorly maintained roads which was disappointing. There’s a noticeable battery judder we’d usually associate with a pure EV fitted with a large battery, but the HS somehow manages to be just as fidgety.
On a series of local country roads, the HS feels softer & handles finished tarmac rather better. Bends though do show up it’s tendency to pitch & roll much like a large SUV & with the leather seats being on the firm side, the ride is only so so.
It’s a much improved performance on the motorway though. The ADAS system activated by a stalk on the left side of the steering wheel, is easy to set & to adjust & at motorway speeds on good tarmac with few turns, the HS PHEV is an excellent performer. It’s also quiet in the cabin.
Real world range
We drove the HS 225 miles in our week utilising the electric range for local short journeys, managing 25 miles of pure electric driving. Combined economy at that point was 89.9mpg. In petrol mode & by selecting the Eco setting, we rumbled for almost 200 miles on a mix of motorway, A & B roads for an average return of 42.3mpg, which prove that you need to re charge the battery as often as you can.
Infotainment
The MG touchscreen features three vertical, bright coloured screen sections, from which you can scroll left & right to find the one you’re after. The menus are straightforward & there’s a home button located underneath alongside some other buttons to help if required. Connecting our iPhone was simple & utilising Google Maps was preferable to MG’s own SatNav which is bit fiddly to work. It’s not the greatest system out there, nor the worst, but it is a little slow to react to your choices, so do bear that in mind.
Interior quality
As with the whole MG range, the inside is decent enough, but it isn’t as good as what you’ll find from Europe or Korea. The HS though is a step-up from the insides of the MG3 & MG ZS & shows that the brand is steadily improving from model to model.
Pros
With the entry level HS PHEV costing just over £30,000, it’s incredibly good value for money. Furthermore, it’s spacious & very well equipped in its sector. With a plug-in to attract company car drivers further adds to MG’s fleet offering.Cons
You can’t escape the fidgety ride. The centre rear seat is both raised & a tad hard to sit on, so you’ll struggle to get comfortable. When you press the touchscreen, you’ll find that the menus are slow to respond. Handling is only okay.
Conclusion
The MG4 is our Car of the Year for a reason & a really good choice as your first company electric car. If however, a plug-in will work better for you, then you can still get low BIK & a 30 mile pure electric range from the larger HS PHEV. It’s anything from £5,000 – £7,000 cheaper than the plug-in SUV competition & yet again proves how far MG has come in a very short period of time. Whilst the ride & tech does let it down a little, neither are enough to put is off one as our next company car.
3.75/5
MG HG Plug-in Hybrid Exclusive
Price: £32,595
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4 cylinder turbo petrol-electric hybrid
Power/torque: 255bhp/370Nm
Transmission:10-speed automatic, front-wheel drive
0-60mph: 6.9 seconds
Top speed: 118mph
Economy: Claimed 155.8mpg/ In our test 43mpg
CO2 emissions: 43g/km
