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You have all been waiting patiently and here it is… the MG HS and this is the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model. A five-seater family SUV, let's jump straight in and put it through our BabyDrive testing…

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Firstly I could fit three Infasecure child seats across the back seat of the 2021 MG HS PHEV. The Infasecure Optima and the Infasecure Serene rear-facing both fitted with the Infasecure Versatile Folding Booster beside them. They all fit really nicely across and installing them was easy. If you want to learn more about the child seats used in this review then you can here. I think you would get three Infasecure Attain or Achieve More child seats across, as they are narrow child seats, but I did not have them to test with at the time.

2021 MG HS PHEV with three child seats installed in the second row

There are three top tether anchorages, one in each of the rear seatbacks, that are easily accessible through the boot and there are ISOFix points in the two outer rear seats.

Legroom is quite generous and we found a 180cm driver could fit in front of a rear-facing child seat. A 184cm+ driver could fit in front of a forward-facing child seat and a 184cm passenger could travel in front of a rear-facing child seat.

There are air-con vents in the back of the MG HS PHEV which are great for keeping your rear passengers cool while driving along. There are also two USB ports for charging phones and kids' devices.

There are also two USB ports and a 12V socket in the front too.

Storage is good throughout the MG HS; in the front and the back the door bins are were well-sized to hold a large refillable water bottle and the handles are little storage wells too.

The central console box has a handy cooling function which is great for families so you can put kids snacks or drinks in there and keep them cool.

The cup holders in the front and back are practical and hold a reusable and disposable coffee cup. In the back, there is a handy lidded phone tray too.

In the front, there is also storage for a phone beside the cups too.

The glove box is a practical size and there are map pockets and a glasses case in the ceiling too. You can read more detailed descriptions of the storage in the ‘Storage' section below.

I have tested the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model and the charging cables are kept under the boot floor.

Boot space in the 2021 MG HS PHEV is good and it will hold twelve shopping bags from empty, which is one less than the Kia Sportage, two less than the Hyundai Tucson and three less than the Toyota RAV4 that fits fifteen.

2021 MG HS PHEV boot space for shopping with two rows of seats in use

The boot shape is practical, meaning the twin and double pram or strollers I tested both fitted in the boot with a really good amount of space around them for shopping or other gear, which is great for a car of this size.

2021 MG HS PHEV boot space for shopping with tandem stroller pram if two rows of seats are in use

The boot floor is nice and flat and carpeted, making it perfect for an emergency nappy change or to transport your family dog!

2021 MG HS PHEV boot space for dogs with two rows of seats in use

The media system in the 2021 MG HS PHEV took me a little while to navigate as this was the first MG I've tested and I found there is a considerable delay between selecting something and the system reacting, which I did find a little frustrating during my week with the car.

It does have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto though, which I find really helpful while driving.

There are some nice features within the MG HS media system, especially the ability to customise some of the driver assist settings.

My favourite is being able to adjust the volume settings for a lot of beeps and warnings too, which is great when you are driving little kids around so they are not disturbed by the various chimes.

You can control the air-conditioning through the media screen too.

The reversing camera image is of great quality and fills the whole screen.

As well as having a 360-degree 3D camera too! So you can see all around the exterior of your MG HS.

The MG HS PHEV has an indicator camera too, which comes on showing the side of the car you're indicating and giving you great visibility when turning or changing lanes. However I found you can't use the media screen for anything else while this is on, so if you are sat at traffic lights for example you can't adjust the aircon or anything like that until you turn it off.

Now this is the plug-in hybrid model (PHEV) which we found really economical during our week with our family. It has around 52Km electric range to the battery which we found enough for a couple of days of commute and running kids to school and playdates, and then we'd recharge it overnight at home or even better during the day using energy from our solar panels where possible. I liked the knowledge of having the fuel for longer trips and holidays and using electricity for everyday family life.

The MG HS PHEV has a nice quiet start, which is great with kids it starts the journey on a peaceful note (sometimes!). Also, it's great to sit using the battery instead of fuel to run the aircon when you get stranded with kids asleep in the back.

It has a flap on either side of the car, one for fuel and the other for charging, and it's a nice and simple car to charge. There is also a display in the driver's screen that shows you the distribution of energy between the battery and the engine, which I love to see!

You can see how much battery you have left in the bottom right of the driver's screen too, and how much fuel is left in the bottom left of the screen. It's well thought out and easy to understand.

The MG HS PHEV is a nice car to drive, it's great around town and visibility is good, making parking and manoeuvring in school and supermarket car parks easy especially with the great cameras.

For our family of four, the MG HS PHEV is a very practical option as a plug-in hybrid, five-seater SUV and BabyDrive. It's a really good allrounder; nice to drive and fits three child seats across with a good amount of legroom and keeping a generous amount of space for the boot to hold a twin pram. The cameras and media system are good too, it is just the delay in the media system that I found frustrating during my week with the car.

The 2021 MG HS scored a five-star ANCAP safety rating for the petrol variants only although the PHEV models are not yet rated. All MG HS models have six airbags as standard.

 

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Tace Clifford
About Tace Clifford
Tace Clifford founded BabyDrive in 2017 after discovering a huge information gap in mainstream car reviews that left new parents and expanding families in the dark when it came to one of the biggest purchasing decisions of their lives.

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