2022 MG HS Trophy Review | Philkotse Philippines

Crossovers are consistently gaining traction in the Philippine market. The emergence of such vehicles can be attributed to the arrival of Chinese car brands in the local market. Chery, Geely, and MG are just some of the car brands that catapulted the rise of crossovers in the Philippines.

MG HS: Is it the Best Value Compact Crossover? - Philkotse Reviews

That said, the ZS subcompact crossover shoehorned MG to be the eighth best-selling car brand in the local market in 2021. The ZS’ value-for-money offering sold more than 4,000 units, allowing MG Philippines to find its footing.

MG Philippines wants to capitalize on the success brought by ZS by introducing another crossover into its lineup. Say hello to the HS.

The MG HS is a five-seater compact crossover that goes up against the likes of the Ford Territory. It’s actually a close fight between the HS and the Territory when you look into the feature set as well as the price point.

So, what can the MG HS offer? Can it ride on the ZS’ momentum in the Philippines? Here’s Philkotse’s 2022 MG HS Trophy full review.

The MG HS Trophy, which is the top-spec trim, has a confident stance along with enough athletic aura. The front end is fitted with a stardust grille, allowing the HS to have a unique and distinctive look.

2022 MG HS Trophy

It is then complemented by LED headlights with “Snake Light” daytime running lights as well as sequential turn signals. The HS Trophy’s fascia also comes with foglamps with chrome surround, a large bumper, and a flat silver garnish that is going for a faux skid plate appeal. I do wish that the chrome surround on the foglamps are slimmer.

It is a bit plain when you turn to the side. But, you’ll appreciate the HS’ rather simple side profile the longer you look at it. On my end, I liked the HS Trophy’s prominent fenders. I also consider it to be one of the main design highlights of this MG crossover. Why so? Well, the front and rear fenders give the MG HS a bulky look. This allows the vehicle to have a simple yet confident finish.

Prominent fenders give the HS a bulky look

Aside from the prominent fenders, I also appreciate that the MG HS doesn’t come with thick black body cladding. The 18-inch alloy wheels give the HS Trophy a pinch of sportiness. It also has chrome trims on the roof rail, window surrounds, and the lower door area. This HS also comes with a “Trophy” emblem. But interestingly, it only has it on one side, which is on the left rear portion.

It comes with distinctive LED taillights

The LED taillights don most of the HS’ rear look. The taillights create an illusion that it’s like a pair of squinting eyes. The rear spoiler, integrated with the third brake light, gives a touch of sportiness to the HS. It also has a large bumper with a faux diffuser and dual exhaust pipes.

The MG HS’ cabin is dominantly black along with splashes of satin silver metallic trim, piano black accent, and red stitching. The overall dashboard layout might be simple but I find that not to be an issue. At least, the MG HS offers a clutter-free dashboard. However, one might get a bit of getting used to locating specific vehicle buttons.

Simple dashboard layout

I did struggle a bit in locating the hazard light button. It’s placed on the center console near the gear shifter, which I find unusual. Another unusual yet unique design that the HS has is the Super Sport button on the steering wheel. A nod to MG’s motorsport heritage. It’s a red button that reminds me of The Fast and the Furious movie. Remember the NOS button? Come on, don’t tell me you’re too young to understand that reference.

The MG HS Trophy comes with a tilt & telescopic leather steering wheel with paddle shifters, and cruise control. Leather seats are also present on the front and back. The driver gets a six-way powered bucket seat while the front passenger has four-way power adjust. It also has turbine-looking air vents for that added athletic aura.

You can't miss that red Super Sport button

Soft touch leather also fills the cabin, which is a plus considering the MG HS Trophy’s price point. What I also liked is that the high-touch surfaces inside the cabin are clad in leather. This gives you a premium-like feel when seated inside the HS.

Rear passengers are greeted with aircon vents and two USB ports

The rear seats can accommodate up to three average-sized individuals. Legroom is fine when three individuals are seated at the back. But the elbow room, especially for the middle rear passenger can be compromised a bit. Passengers are also treated with rear aircon vents. The MG HS Trophy also comes with a sunroof.

Loading cargo is not a problem

Loading cargo is not a problem for the HS. Accessing the cargo area is easy due to the powered tailgate. You can load a week’s supply of groceries without a problem, and the HS’ cargo area can also take on two to three medium-sized luggage easily.

The MG HS Trophy is loaded with essential tech features that make its price point enticing. I also appreciate that MG Philippines didn’t compromise by reducing the features found on the MG HS Trophy.

Apple CarPlay

Placed in the middle of the dashboard is a 10-inch infotainment touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, connectivity features that are becoming standard in brand-new cars. With the Apple CarPlay, apps such as Waze and Spotify are seamlessly mirrored onto the 10-inch screen. But, using Apple CarPlay onboard the MG HS posed an issue on my end.

The wired Apple CarPlay connectivity is consistent. It doesn’t disconnect while I was using it during the duration of my test drive. However, the lack of a physical button for the aircon fan speed took away some of the seamless user experience.

Here’s the thing – the adjustment for the fan speed is also integrated into the touchscreen. You need to exit the Apple CarPlay interface for you to adjust the fan speed. Then, you need to press the home button for you to select and go back to Apple CarPlay. These steps could have been eliminated if there was a dedicated button for the aircon fan speed.

The turbine-like aircon vents add to the HS' overall style points

The MG HS Trophy also comes with a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster. It changes appearance depending on the selected drive mode. This compact crossover also has cruise control, an electronic parking brake with auto brake hold, USB ports (front and rear), ambient lighting, a push start button, six speakers, among others.

Safety-wise, the HS Trophy is equipped with four airbags, a rear camera, rear sensors, cornering brake control, an anti-lock braking system with electronic brakeforce distribution, a blind spot information system, hill descent control, and tire pressure monitoring, among others.

The MG HS Trophy is powered by a 1.5-liter turbo gasoline engine that puts out 167 hp and 250 Nm of torque. The engine is connected to a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Powered by a 1.5-liter turbo gasoline engine

The first thing I noticed when I got behind the wheel is that the HS feels like a larger car. This is due to its bulky exterior. Its turbo gas engine delivers adequate power and relatively has good throttle response even in Normal drive mode.

The throttle response and power delivery become more responsive when you select the Sport Mode. As mentioned earlier, the HS Trophy also has a Super Sport mode for livelier driving characteristics. The engine RPMs stay on the higher range, resulting in a more athletic drive. But, I was expecting more power and grunt from the HS Trophy with the Super Sport mode engaged.

It also comes with bucket seats

I also felt a hint of shift shock on low gears. This can be felt when the HS Trophy is just starting to accelerate from a standstill. The gears also seem to be confused when you’re driving on an inclined or uphill road, which could take some of your driving confidence.

The steering wheel feels light, but it still has enough road feedback. It then gets firm as you start to gain speed, which is useful when you’re cruising on the expressway. Ride comfort is also nice as the HS Trophy’s suspension leans on the soft side. This gives you a relatively smooth drive as it can absorb road impacts within reason. There’s also a slight body roll when taking sharp turns, but it’s not that bothersome.

Despite that, I appreciate how MG integrated the HS Trophy with soft-touch materials in most areas of the front cabin. The high touch points are all clad in soft leather, giving you added driving comfort.

When it comes to fuel economy, the MG HS Trophy returned 9 km/l when I drove it around the city at an average speed of 20 km/h. On the open highway, it posted 15.6 km/l at an average speed of 90 km/h.

The MG HS Trophy showed a slightly more economical fuel efficiency rating compared to the Territory, based on our test. To put things in perspective, when I drove the Territory it posted 8.8 km/l in the city while it yielded 13 km/l on the highway.

Priced at P1,308,888, it’s evident that MG Philippines has another value-for-money crossover with the HS Trophy. It has a confident-looking exterior that comes with splashes of sporty styling cues. Its interior is clad in soft materials, and the number of tech features it has is abundant considering its price tag.

2022 MG HS Trophy

It also undercuts the Ford Territory when it comes to the price tag. But, the price difference is only marginal. Regardless, the 2022 MG HS Trophy has the arsenal to square up with its segment rivals.