LEADING CANDIDATE

FAMILY motorists looking for a small SUV that in the first place is affordable and also economical to run with petrol/hybrid power and has a decent amount of standard kit on board might feel it's difficult to find it in what is an increasingly busy sector of the market.

- BY DAVID WARD

Taking into consideration all these factors there is one clear candidate in my view - the MG ZS Hybrid+ - which at £22,245 is the cheapest of its kind in the current market place.

The now Chinese-owned MG brand have made great strides since arriving on these shores with a plethora of new models but this ZS Hybrid+ is the most impressive and not just because of its comparative low price but its overall package clearly aimed at the more cost-conscious family car buy wanting to move into the hybrid power arena.

Anyone thinking that a low priced new car will mean frugal furnishings and fittings but that's far from the case with the ZS Hybrid+ because it beats many rivals in this sector for the amount of standard features fitted and how spacious and comfortable it is and with a handy seven year/80,000 warranty.

There are simply two levels of trim starting with the base SE that comes with an easy to use 12.3-inch touchscreen, builtin sat-nav, reversing camera and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Pay another £2,500 and buys the top trim the Trophy which naturally has a few nice luxury comforts on board such as heated leather-like seats, heated steering wheel, rear privacy glass, handy 360-degree parking camera and much more.