Stereotypes in the rear-view: the game-changing luxury SUV

FORGET every perception you may have about MGs being a quaint but unreliable car built in a shed somewhere in the English countryside.

- WILLEM VAN DE PUTTE

Okay, they may have had some success early in the previous century, and it’s a bit of an exaggeration to say so, but you know what I mean.

Recognised as a quintessential small British sports car that was fun to drive, they’ve had their ups and downs, including a short but unsuccessful stint in South Africa a few years ago.

The company has been owned by the Chinese for the last 20 years; first by the Nanjing Automobile Group and for the past 18 years or so by SAIC, which also has joint ventures with General Motors and Volkswagen to produce cars for the Chinese market.

Earlier this year, they returned to our shores with, you guessed it, two SUVs and the fantastic-looking all-electric Cyberster roadster.

Exterior

We drove the HS Luxury, currently their largest offering (there’s also the ZS) and found it to be a rather pleasant package. It’s still a Chinese-designed SUV but a bit more nuanced with a slimline front design featuring a gaping multifaceted chrome and gloss black matrix grille contrasted with super slim winged “hunting-eye” headlights. The dominating grille, I found, was particularly appealing to the overall look of the front end.

The back looks good with a raked rear window, a dual spoiler, and Shard-inspired LED taillights with a light bar extending across the boot, as well as decorative exhaust outlets.

It rolls on 19-inch alloys wrapped with Bridgestones.

Interior