I have come down to Mt White in NSW to drive the all-new 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ five-seater small SUV.
The outgoing MG ZS was a practical car for family life. So let’s take a look at this new one.
Like its predecessor, the 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ has ISOFIX in the two outer rear seats that are not within plastic guides.
There are top tether anchorages in the back of all three backrests that are easily accessible through the boot.
Three child seats fit in the back of the previous model MG ZS EV, so I hope that when I test the all-new MG ZS with my range of child seats in a few weeks, it will also comfortably hold three child seats.
The new 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ has increased in size. It’s now 9mm wider and 107mm longer. MG says this extra space has gone into the interior rear legroom and boot space, which is fantastic news for families.
Legroom was already good in the previous model, with a 170cm driver fitting in front or a rear-facing child seat and a 186cm driver fitting in front or a forward-facing child seat. I look forward to seeing the difference the increase in the vehicle's length makes to the rear legroom when I test it with my family.
A new hexagonal-shaped 12.3” media screen…
… and 12.3” drivers display screen dominate the dashboard and are easy to use and navigate.
The 2025 MG ZS hybrid+ has a 360-degree camera to make parking and manoeuvring easy, giving great all-around visibility. The MG ZS hybrid+ comes in two models: the bottom spec Excite, which costs $33.990, drive away…
… and the top-spec Essence, which costs $36.990, drive away.
The Excite has an inbuilt navigation system, LED headlights, 17-inch alloy wheels, a DAB digital radio, rain-sensing wipers, 40:60 rear folding seats, iSMART, and MG Pilot.
The Essence comes with all of this, as well as a panoramic sunroof, PVC seat upholstery, door trim and armrest, 18-inch alloy wheels, and a 6-way driver's electric seat adjustment with lumbar support. It also has a heated front seat, a leather steering wheel, lit vanity mirrors in the front sun visors, and front seat map pockets.
The boot is 84 litres bigger in this all-new MG ZS hybrid+, and the battery is positioned underneath the seats, so it does not affect the boot space. The boot floor can be dropped down about 10cm, giving extra boot storage.
MG says it’s one of the biggest boots in its segment, but we’ll see how this translates to practical family storage when I test it with the full Thule range of prams soon.
The all-new ZS hybrid+ comes with 6 airbags as standard and is currently undergoing EURO NCAP testing but not ANCAP testing.
The 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ comes with MG Pilot safety suite including adaptive cruise control (ACC), lane departure warning (LDW), rear cross traffic alert (RCTA), intelligent high beam control, intelligent cruise assist, lane keep assist (LKA), emergency lane keep assist (ELKA), speed assistance system, forward collision warning (FCW), lane change assist (LCA), unsteady driver warning, automatic emergency braking (AEB), blind spot detection (BSD), and door opening warning (DOW).
For those who don’t want a hybrid, MG says we can expect the petrol variant to join the offering and be launched in Australia in the second quarter of 2025. An all-electric version is coming, too.
The all-new 2025 MG ZS hybrid+ works with the iSmart App on your phone. So you can remotely start the air conditioner before going to the vehicle to cool it down before your journey. You can also find your car, view everything about its status, like the tyre pressures and fuel, etc., and lock and unlock the doors.
The all-new MG ZA hybrid+ is an improved drive on the outgoing model. It's comfortable and confident in city traffic and on the highway. At highway speeds, I could hear a whistling from the wind in both models I drove.
It is comfortable for both driver and passenger, and I look forward to testing the rear passenger comfort for kids when I drive it with my family onboard.
During the press conference at the 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ launch, MG discussed its plans for 2025-2030. They talked of wanting to provide a vehicle that is the solution for every customer, and MG has plans for a ute before 2030 to complete that line-up. Hinting that 2025 will be a busy year for MG, there will be a lot of new models to look forward to next year, one of which we can look forward to is a seven-seater family SUV in the latter part of the year. When I asked if MG would bring out a people mover, MG Chief Operating Officer Giles Belcher said: “It is not on the table; it is not off the table. There is no table.” So I think large families may be waiting a while for that yet!
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