MG HS 1.5 T-GDi PLUG-IN HYBRID

MG electrifies bargain family SUV to accelerate its astonishing growth

- PIERS WARD

An increase of 75%: MG's recent sales success is in danger of becoming a cliché, but even against the backdrop of the constant headlines, that quarter-on-quarter gain is quite the statement.

The HS family SUV does the grunt work for the Chinese brand, earning more than 40% of sales and outselling stalwarts like Volkswagen's Tiguan. No wonder, then, that MG has now introduced a plug-in hybrid version.

Two trims are available. We're sampling Exclusive, which is priced from £33,595, while Excite comes in at £31,095. Either way, the HS is a long way under the Kia Sportage PHEV, which costs £41,795 (or at least it would if you could buy a plugin Kia at the moment #chipcrisis).