MG ZS

Dacia Duster-chasing crossover joins MG's hybrid powertrain push

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The growth of the MG brand in the UK has been so fast over the past five years that it has outstripped the rate at which the car maker has been able to spread its wings. There are many market segments in which MG remains unrepresented, so having spent 2024 renewing its established line-up, the next few years will be about plugging gaps in the firm's showroom range.

But given that it is already one of the UK's 10 most popular car brands in 2024 outselling Peugeot, Skoda, Renault and even one-time UK favourite Vauxhall - who knows where that process could take it.

Times have changed, clearly, since the days when MG could grab handfuls of market share by introducing value EVs, and its biggest-selling model currently is the plug-in hybrid HS SUV. But this test focuses on the smaller ZS SUV, launched in second-generation form last summer, and available exclusively with hybrid power.

DESIGN & ENGINEERING

PROS Innovative hybrid system with plenty of power; lighter than an EV

CONS No choice of powerplants yet

MG Motor UK is shifting its product strategy with this car. While the previous generation could be had as either a petrol model or an EV, this one shares both its platform and petrol-electric hybrid powertrain with the smaller MG 3 supermini.

The new ZS lifts a product positioning tactic well proven by other budget brands by straddling segments. You could say that, stretching beyond 4.4 metres in length, this car now sits between the B- and C-SUV segments. Hybrid power makes it a natural rival for the Dacia Jogger Hybrid, Toyota Yaris Cross, Renault Captur E-Tech and new Vauxhall Frontera Hybrid, though it carries a significant price advantage over even those cars.

The ZS rides on a strut-type suspension at the front and a torsion beam at the rear, and is front-wheel drive only all very class-typical.