MG Motor UK ZS Hatchback

1.0T GDi Exclusive 5dr [2023]

MG has made waves over the past few years.

After rising from the ashes of the MG Rover collapse in the mid-noughties under Nanjing Automotive (which later became part of SAIC Motor), a few forgettable cars followed over the next few years.

But MG soon started showing signs of recovery, and as it began electrifying its lineup, it suddenly made a giant leap forward.

The MG4 EV stunned automotive journalists in the United Kingdom.

At a time when electric cars were still costly, MG managed to do what no other manufacturer had done: produce an affordable electric car without seemingly cutting any obvious corners.

The car was also practical, offered decent performance and handling, was well-equipped, and had an impressive interior.

Since then, MG has been riding that same wave.

Now, the automaker is taking some of its older cars back to the drawing board to give them a new lease of life – and that includes the MG ZS.

The previously petrol-powered car had already been relaunched in all-electric form with the ZS EV. And now it’s had an overhaul, returned to us in the form of the Hybrid+, a self-charging full hybrid.

Has the success of the MG4 EV provided sufficient inspiration for this new hybrid, or was it just a one-off fluke that MG just happened to get right?

We desperately hope it's the former – and we are about to find out.