Facelifted MG HS coming this year

MG Australia has confirmed an updated version of its MG HS mid-size SUV is due Down Under in the second half of the year, and that the update will encompass both combustion and electrified variants.

In a statement issued to carsales today, an MG Australia spokesperson said they could “confirm that there will be an update for the entire HS range this year”, but stopped short of disclosing any particulars of the update.

However, we understand the local facelift will mimic the stylistic changes for the new Thai HS range, bringing an entirely new front bumper and headlights, refreshed alloy wheel designs, a subtly tweaked cabin and some minor changes to the rear bumper and tail-lights.

It’s unclear whether the HS will be treated to any significant specification changes, though the most likely eventuality is for a general upgrade of all the key systems and interfaces or minor material upgrades around the cabin.

The Thai line-up suggests no changes will be made to the existing 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder powertrains or the force-fed 1.5-litre plug-in hybrid.

The different drivetrains develop 119kW/250Nm, 168kW/360Nm and 189kW/370Nm respectively and all are paired to automatic transmissions, but the nature and configuration of said transmissions varies: seven-speed DCT, six-speed DCT and 10-speed auto, in that order.

MG Australia sold 10,948 HS vehicles last year, equating to 6.2 per cent of the sub-$60,000 medium SUV segment, which is a smaller share than the best-selling Toyota RAV4, Mazda CX-5, Mitsubishi Outlander, Kia Sportage and Hyundai Tucson.

The current MG HS launched here in early 2020 with just a handful of 1.5-litre variants before the gutsier all-paw 2.0-litre joined the ranks the following year, ahead of the electrified HS +EV which became and still is Australia’s cheapest plug-in hybrid vehicle at $46,690 drive-away.