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The MG ZS is a small SUV that’s cheaper – and roomier – than its price suggests. Is this second-generation model any good? Lawrence Allan finds out.
Things you'll like
- Impressive value for money
- More spacious than you’d expect
- Hybrid has strong performance and efficiency
Things to consider
- Lack of steering adjustment irritates
- Noisy at speed
- Petrol option doesn’t look great on paper
What is the MG ZS?
It’s unlikely you’ll still be confusing this with the sporty, Rover-based 2000s hatch and saloon of the same name, but just in case: the MG ZS of the modern era is the Chinese-owned brand’s smallest SUV option.
It’s also the most popular car MG makes, with over a million examples finding homes despite the first version only arriving in 2017. That clearly shows the public’s appetite for value-for-money – few other brands can offer quite so much for so little.
With this second-generation 2024-on model the overall recipe hasn’t changed a great deal at first glance. But there are some key upgrades: it’s bigger, for starters, but also comes with the option of a full hybrid powertrain for the first time.
That makes it one of the cheapest hybrid cars on sale – and expect the forthcoming replacement for the old, and hugely popular MG ZS EV to also be one of the cheapest electric cars on the market.
But a low price is one thing - making a car that people actually want to buy or lease is quite another. So is the new MG ZS any good? We’ll find out in this in-depth review.
Verdict: is the MG ZS a good car?
If your main criteria for a new car is bang for your buck, it’s hard to beat the MG ZS for sheer value. Nothing else offers this combination of space, quality and standard equipment for the money, while the punchy yet efficient hybrid option makes the most sense. We’d steer clear of the gutless and inefficient petrol model, however, while refinement could be better and the lack of steering reach adjustment is a big downside for tall drivers.
Pricing, specs & rivals
By far and away the biggest selling point with the MG ZS is the sheer amount of car you get for a modest amount of money. It’s difficult to ignore that when, spec-for-spec, most rivals are several thousand pounds more to buy outright.
Value-focused motorists will be eyeing up the entry-level 1.5-litre petrol model. Only available with a manual gearbox and in SE trim, it starts from just £19,995. That’s a few hundred pounds more than a Dacia Duster in its bare-bones Essential spec, and even undercuts several small hatchbacks like the Skoda Fabia and Volkswagen Polo.
The price premium for the Hybrid+ model is an entirely reasonable £2,450 – not much given the performance it adds. That’s in base SE trim, while the fully-loaded Trophy model is just £24,995. To put that into context, you’ll need another £1500 or so to get into the very cheapest Ford Puma.
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And it’s not as if you’ll be wanting for equipment even with the SE model. This comes with a 12.3-inch touchscreen with sat-nav, a reversing camera and rear parking sensors, LED headlights, climate control, keyless entry and a whole host of safety assists.
Stepping up to Trophy spec upgrades the alloy wheel size from 17 to 18 inches while also adding privacy glass, heated front seats, a heated steering wheel, faux leather upholstery, an electrically adjustable driver’s seat and a 360-degree camera system
Rivals
There are plenty of alternatives to the MG ZS, but not many that offer the same level of practicality for the money. The only real exception to that is the Dacia Duster, but even that isn’t quite as large as the MG.
Still, if outright space isn’t your ultimate priority you’ll probably want to consider the Renault Captur, Ford Puma, Hyundai Kona, Kia Niro, Peugeot 2008, Suzuki S-Cross and Vauxhall Mokka. The Nissan Juke and Toyota Yaris Cross are also options worth considering. Many of these models can be had with hybrid or fully electric variants.
MG ZS : Interior comfort, quality & technology
You’d naturally expect sacrifices inside the MG ZS when you look at the car’s price, but first impressions are surprisingly good.
Both the design and material quality are quietly impressive for something priced like a supermini. You get plenty of squidgy faux leather on the dash and doors, nicely padded armrests, a perforated wheel and lots of metal-like trim elements. The swooping centre console design is smart, too, as is the classy-feeling gearlever.
It’s certainly a more welcoming environment than the hard plastic-dominated Dacia Duster, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some issues.
One potential dealbreaker is the lack of steering wheel reach adjustment, which is just about acceptable on a budget city car but seriously disappointing in a new family car. It means anyone over six-foot needs to sit closer to the pedals and dash than they’d like to feel comfortable (or hunch over), and also means certain drivers will find the speedo blocked by the top of the steering wheel.
And that’s a shame, because the otherwise the high driving position gives a great view out and the seats are comfortable, if not overly supportive. There’s just enough physical buttons to make the cabin usable, too, including a handy customisable shortcut button on the wheel, but we’d like to see more physical climate control switchgear than there is.
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Infotainment, sat-nav, stereo and connectivity
Every ZS comes with a 12.3-inch touchscreen in the centre of the dash. It doesn’t face the driver like some systems and can be a bit obscured by reflections from the windows, but otherwise it’s a decent system overall.
The graphics are much nicer and easier to see than on the old ZS, while response times are also improved and the menus are fairly intuitive – if not perfect. Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard, as you’d expect, but one gripe is that you can’t adjust the climate control temperature or fan speed without exiting both and then reopening them – not easy on the move.
A digital driver’s display is standard on all ZS variants, too, and although the graphics aren’t bad it’s not the clearest layout. It isn’t very customizable, either, and while the steering wheel controls are thankfully physical buttons the way they operate functions can take some getting used to.
In terms of connectivity, you’ll find two old-style USB-A ports front and rear and a single USB-C up front – but the latter can only be used for charging rather than a wired connection. Look hard and you’ll find a fourth USB-A connection in the back of the rear-view mirror to power a dashcam. It’s aa shame there’s no wireless phone charging pad – but it’s a small inconvenience given the car’s price.
We’ve yet to sample the standard four-speaker audio system, but the Trophy’s upgraded six-speaker setup delivers acceptable sound quality for the price point.
How practical is the MG ZS?
The ZS might be MG’s smallest SUV, but its growth spurt makes it pretty much the same size as a Nissan Qashqai now. With dimensions of 4,430mm in length, 1818mm in width and 1635mm in height, it’s over 10cm longer than the old car while also being wider and taller.
That also makes it noticeably larger than anything at this price point – even the Dacia Duster can’t match it for length. And the spacious interior that results is probably one of the biggest selling points of the ZS.
There’s a generous amount of space up front, with even extremely tall or broad people able to get comfortable and enough cabin width to avoid banging elbows with your front seat passenger.
In the rear, too, the ZS is considerably more spacious than similarly-priced small SUVs and again more on a par with the Qashqai. It means a pair of six-footers sitting behind adults of a similar size have a good amount of knee space and loads of headroom to spare. Fitting three across the back is doable for shorter trips, too.
It’s also an airy environment thanks to tall side windows – great for kids who like to watch the scenery go by. In simple terms, you can’t get more accommodation for the money unless you’re preferred to ferret around on the used market.
Storage and boot space
There’s plenty of oddment storage to complement the ZS’s roomy cabin. That includes big door bins, a large glovebox, a cubby under the centre armrest, a pair of cupholders with an adjustable partition and a couple of small trays in the centre console for phones or wallets.
Things aren’t quite as good in the back. Although you get okay door bins and a pair of pockets in the front seatbacks – along with individual air vents, rare at this price point – you don’t get a fold-down centre armrest. That’s a minor gripe, though, as many small SUVs don’t.
The 443-litre boot is a good size – not far off a Nissan Qashqai’s, though a Dacia Duster’s is a bit bigger. Interestingly it’s actually slightly smaller than the old ZS’s boot, and that’s due to the hybrid model’s electronics leaving a strange rectangular box taking up the back of the boot area. Strangly, though, MG quotes the same boot size for the petrol model.
Still, you get a height adjustable boot floor to stop that box intruding on the main boot, while the seats fold in a 60/40 split which is typical for a small SUV.
Performance & drive: What is the MG ZS like on the road?
It’s clear that MG expects most people to opt for the hybrid version of the ZS, because the regular petrol model was quietly launched later and is only available in the entry-level SE trim.
Still, it’s an option for those looking to keep purchasing costs to an absolute minimum. The petrol engine is the familiar non-turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder, minus the hybrid’s electric motor.
It’s a full 160 kilos lighter than the hybrid, but a relatively sluggish 0-62mph time of 12.5 seconds combined with a modest 148Nm of torque means it’s probably going to struggle with a full load of passengers and luggage. It’s also only offered with a five-speed manual gearbox.
The Hybrid+ makes a lot more sense for most people. It uses the same engine but mated to a 136hp electric motor driving the front wheels, with combined power up to a much healthier 196hp and an impressive 465Nm of torque.
The engine mainly operates as a generator for a small 1.8kWh battery, but can power the wheels in tandem with the electric motor if you ask for full power. It’s also mated to a three-speed automatic gearbox – an oddity in this day and age, but all that’s needed when the petrol engine isn’t the dominant drive source.
With a 0-62mph time of 8.7 seconds, outright performance certainly isn’t lacking – it’s faster than any affordable SUV alternative. It’s also very smooth and nippy around town, where it acts much like an electric car. But there are some foibles.
Asking for a burst of power -for example when overtaking or joining a motorway - can leave you hanging while the petrol engine, slow-shifting gearbox and electric motor make up their minds about what to do. And when you do get full power, the engine can get noisy.
Similarly, when the battery is depleted and the engine kicks in the lack of gear options can mean revs sit at an uncomfortably high level at certain speeds – you either have to back off or speed up to encourage the car to pick a different ratio. These are similar issues to the Dacia Duster and Renault Captur hybrids, though, and certainly not dealbreakers.
Power, 0-62mph times
- MG ZS 1.5 petrol: 115hp/ 12.5 seconds
- MG ZS Hybrid+: 196hp/ 8.7 seconds
Ride and handling
While the MG’s hybrid system is effective, it doesn’t encourage keen driving – and that’s the same story with the rest of the driving experience.
Around town the suspension is relatively soft but not that well controlled, so it’s not as firm over bumps as a Ford Puma but less settled, and not as comfortable as a Dacia Duster. At least the turning circle is decently tight at 10.5 metres.
The ride is better at higher speeds where it helps take the edge off poor surfaces, but it still fidgets about a bit. At least the body doesn’t lean too much, and grip levels are decent enough for a car not likely to be exploiting them much.
However, the steering isn’t all that confidence-inspiring or direct, lacking feel and response when you initially turn in before becoming unusually heavy if you turn harder. It’s competent enough for a cheap family car, but certainly not a car you’d relish driving on twisty roads.
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Noise and refinement
The MG ZS is at its best below 50mph and under gentle throttle, where the car makes the most of its smooth hybrid propulsion. Pushing on or cruising on the motorway reveals a little more wind noise and a fair deal more road noise than SUV alternatives.
Similarly, at certain speeds (in our experience, around 35mph and going uphill at 70mph) the gearbox won’t upshift or will even downshift for no particular reason, leaving it revving away noisily. It doesn’t always do this, but when it does it’s an irritation.
Euro NCAP: is the MG ZS a safe car?
The latest MG ZS was crash tested in hybrid form by Euro NCAP in 2024, where it received a rating of four stars out of five. That’s still a decent score, and beats the three-star Dacia Duster, but you might expect better from a family SUV.
While no individual category scores provide cause for concern (child occupant protection is a strong 82%, for example) Euro NCAP marked the ZS down for not adequately protecting against occupants colliding with each other in a side impact.
Still, that’s not an issue unique to MG by any means. And the ZS still has plenty of equipment designed to help you avoid a crash in the first place, including autonomous emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, lane keep assistance, traffic sign recognition, adaptive cruise control and a driver attention monitor.
You even get blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert as standard – two features which you won’t always find as standard even on much more expensive family cars.
Fuel economy and running costs
It’s difficult to argue the merits of the pure petrol model over the hybrid on anything other than list price alone – particularly when you look at efficiency figures.
The 1.5 petrol manages 43.5mpg on the WLTP combined cycle. That’s not bad in the context of a family SUV, but considering the very limited performance it certainly isn’t anything to shout about.
Things are much better with the Hybrid+. Despite its huge performance advantage it manages 55.4mpg combined – better than an equivalent hybrid Kia Sportage or Hyundai Tucson, and on a par with the much pricier Nissan Qashqai e-Power.
It’s a similar story with CO2 emissions – the petrol emits 145g/km, while the hybrid emits just 115g/km. Although that doesn’t make a huge different to VED car tax costs under the current system, it certainly makes a difference in company car tax costs.
Not that either car is particularly affordable when it comes to Benefit-in-Kind. While MG doesn’t offer a plug-in hybrid ZS yet, a new version of the popular all-electric ZS EV is expected in due course, which is the one to go for if you’re lucky enough to have access to the company car list.
How much does the MG ZS cost to insure?
Insurance groups for the MG ZS are about average for the family SUV class, suggesting premiums shouldn’t break the bank. The entry-level petrol model sits in insurance group 16 – one lower than the cheapest Dacia Duster – while the Hybrid+ model sits in group 22. That’s some way off the Renault Captur hybrid in group 16.
MG ZS FAQs
Is the MG ZS a good car to buy?
We reckon the latest MG ZS is an excellent value SUV that gives you plenty of space, decent quality and lots of kit for the money. The hybrid option is a strong performer and delivers good fuel economy, too.
What are the problems of the MG ZS?
Our main issues with the MG ZS are a relative lack of refinement at speed, the lack of steering wheel reach adjustment on any model and the disappointingly slow and inefficient pure petrol model.
Does the MG ZS have wireless charging?
Strangely, although the outgoing MG ZS EV had wireless phone charging, the latest ZS doesn’t offer it on any model – although the electric version is yet to be launched.
