Summary: The MG QS has its quirks (like many new Chinese arrivals) but it offers a lot for the money. It isn’t known just how long the driveaway price will be maintained.

2025 MG QS mid–size seven–seater SUV

Pricing:  from $46,990 (Excite, driveaway), $50,990 (Essence, driveaway)

Options: Premium paint $800

Warranty: Ten-years, 250,000 (when serviced by MG, otherwise seven-years/unlimited km), ten-years roadside assistance

Safety: Yet to be tested

Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine

Service intervals: 12 months or 15,000km

Power: 153kW @ 5300rpm

Torque: 360Nm @ 1750-3500rpm

Transmission: nine-speed dual clutch auto, front-wheel drive (Excite), all-wheel drive torque-on-demand (Essence)

Body: 4983mm (long); 1967mm (wide); 1778mm (high)

Build country: China

Kerb weight: 1940kg (Excite), 2030kg (Essence)

Towing capacity: 2000kg

Luggage storage: 203L (all seats upright), 517L (third row folded), 1052L (all rows folded)

Wheels: 20-inch alloy (Excite), 21-inch alloy (Essence)

Tyres: 245/50 R20 (Excite), 255/45 R21 Michelin Premacy E (Essence)

Spare wheel: space saver

Turning circle: not stated

Fuel tank: 65 litres

Claimed consumption: 8.4L/100km (Excite, 95 RON unleaded), 8.8L/100km (Essence, 95 RON unleaded)

Consumption on test: 9.2L/100km (600km)

seniordriveraus consumption on test: not tested

[review]

The QS is a car that is going to do big things for MG, or so it hopes.

The company’s first seven-seat offering, we’re told it has been designed with families in mind.

And MG says it’s a true seven-seater, not 5+2, combining practical versatility with premium styling.

But don’t expect an electric vehicle; this one’s powered by a good old conventional turbocharged petrol engine.

What’s it cost?

There are two grades: Excite and Essence. Both are powered by the same 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine.

Excite is front-wheel drive and priced from $46,990, while the Essence is all-wheel drive and priced from $50,990 – both figures are driveaway for a limited time (at the time of writing, until September, but we’re checking to see if it’s been extended).

Our test vehicle was the better equipped, all-wheel drive Essence, finished in metallic black pearl, a colour that adds $800 to the price.

Standard kit includes pop-out door handles, cloth trim and three-zone climate air with rear air controls, a micro-fibre leather finished steering wheel, power-adjust front seats and multi-coloured ambient interior lighting.

There are also 20-inch alloys, adaptive cruise control, auto lights and wipers, LED head, tail and daytime lights, rear parking sensors, electric tailgate and a panoramic power-operated sunroof.

Along with all-wheel drive, Essence ups the ante with little extras like 21-inch wheels, adaptive dampers, six driving modes instead of three, leather trim, heated and cooled front seats, electric lumbar adjustment, wireless phone charging, auto dimming rear view mirror, auto high beam, LED fog lights, front parking sensors, as well as 12-speaker Bose audio.

Infotainment is supplied in the form of a 12.3-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth, voice control, satellite navigation, AM/FM and DAB+ digital radio, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and generic, eight-speaker audio.

Another 12.5-inch screen provides the driver instrumentation.

There are five USB-C ports, two in front, two in the rear and one in the third row, with 12-volt outlets in the front and luggage area.

The Essence adds wireless phone charging and it accommodates two phones simultaneously, but the right butts up against the centre console and won’t accommodate longer phones.

Access to iSmart connected services is valid for 12 months.

The QS is yet to be rated for safety by ANCAP.

It comes with seven airbags, 360-degree camera, forward collision warning and auto emergency braking (no details on the latter).

A string of safety systems includes lane departure warning, lane keep assist, lane change assist, emergency lane keep, door opening warning, blind spot detection, rear cross traffic alert, drive monitor system, unsteady driver warning, traffic jam assist and intelligent cruise assist. That said the driver is assaulted by continual warnings, the reasons for which are not always obvious.

Missing is head-up display.

There are ISOFix child seat anchors for the outer rear seats as well as three top tethers, but no provision for placing a seat in the third row.

The QS is covered by MG’s 10-year/250,000km warranty (provided it is serviced by MG). Otherwise, it reverts to 7-year/unlimited kilometres.

Service is required every 12 months or 15,000km

What’s it go like?

At 4983mm in length, with a 2915mm wheelbase, the QS is an appealing reasonably large vehicle, that makes smart use of the available space.

The front seats are comfy, with plenty of second row legroom, which is where you want it most, and some room leftover for luggage with the third row of seats deployed. There’s even a storage nook below the floor to stow the security screen when it is not in use.

But access to the third row is easiest from the driver’s or traffic side of the vehicle which is not ideal from a safety point of view. Our little one was distraught to learn that her car seat could not be placed in the third row.

Not happy, not by a long shot!

Trendy, welcome back door handles pop out when the car is unlocked, but remain extended and exposed to damage until the car is locked again.

A 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine produces 153kW of power at 5300 rpm and 360Nm of torque from 1750 to 3500 rpm, with drive to the front or all four wheels depending on the grade, via a nine-speed dual clutch style automatic.

There are no gear change paddles, nor for that matter can one change gears manually using the transmission lever. However, there are six drive modes from which to choose: Normal, Snow, Off-road, Sport, Custom, and Eco.

All-wheel drive is a torque-on-demand system which means the Essence operates predominantly in front-wheel drive. The rear wheels come into play only when the system senses a loss of traction. This delivers better fuel consumption.

The level of power offered by the drivetrain feels adequate, but this could change easily with the car fully laden.

Throttle response is at best erratic, bordering on downright problematic.

It takes a second for the transmission to hook up and another second or two before the turbo spools up, then the car surges forward. Trying to master or feather the response is nigh impossible.

The brakes are abrupt too, kicking in quickly and sharply.

In contrast the electric brake lags when you put the car into park, which can be a worry on a steep driveway.

The soundtrack to this is provided by the bings and bongs from the safety assist systems, constantly warning of transgressions that are not always apparent.

It’s enough to drive one troppo.

One of the benefits of stepping up to the more expensive Essence is the addition of variable, adaptive suspension.

We’ve got to say the ride, even with 21-inch wheels and low-profile Michelin rubber, is pretty good, tending towards comfort rather than handling.

At the same time it is no soggy biscuit.

Ride quality is better around town than in the back blocks, but it should be borne in mind that the suspension is linked to whatever drive mode is active. Sport obviously makes it stiffer, but the Normal setting works just fine.

Like many cars these days, a pair of 12.3-inch screens, housed in a sweeping panel, forms the basis for instruments and infotainment. You get satnav, wireless Apple Carplay and Android Auto and, in the Essence, premium 12-speaker Bose sound.

Both screens can be configured to taste, while swiping the touchscreen reveals other menus.

Learning what controls what on the steering wheel is a matter of experimentation.

The up and down arrows on the right side are for volume, but there are no labels to indicate this. There’s no central volume control either, but a row of toggles along the lower edge of the dash do provide access to fan and temperature settings.

The auto climate setting takes ages to cool the cabin and will have you reaching for the controls.

The specs suggest the car has rain-sensing wipers, but we could not find an auto setting on the wiper stalk.

The front USB and 12-volt sockets are located in the lower console where it is difficult to see and access them.

On the morning of our final day with the car the infotainment system decided to revert to Chinese (see pic). Good luck getting it back to English.

The power-operated tailgate had a mind of its own too. Sometimes it refused to respond to the key fob; at other times it even refused to react when we pushed the close button located on the underside of the open tailgate. Looking back across the road we were surprised to see it still open. Hmmm . . .

A mesh-style retractable screen filters light from the sunroof, but is liable to transmit heat during summer.

With a 65-litre fuel tank QS prefers premium 95 unleaded. Fuel consumption is a claimed 8.4L/100km for Excite and 8.8 L/100km for Essence. We were getting 9.2L/100km after close to 600km.

That’s not particularly bad, but it’s not particularly good either, especially in the context of hybrid and electric vehicles.

The QS is rated to tow a 2000kg braked load and comes with a space saver spare.

This feels like a car that has been rushed into production before the engineers were happy to sign off on it, which might, for instance, explain the legacy ‘Ultimate’ badge on the front three-quarter panel.

In the old days it took years for new models to come to market.

What we like

• Attractive
• Seven seats
• Well equipped
• Priced to sell

What we don’t like

• Erratic throttle response
• Thirsty turbo petrol engine
• Lag before parking brake engages
• No head-up display

What over-50s need to know

So, you’ve seen the ads and the price caught your eye?

That extra row of seats could be handy when it comes to carting the grand kids around.

It’s comfortable and nicely fitted out too and it comes with just about everything except head-up display.

This seven-seater offers a lot of car for the price and the price will appeal to spendthrift retirees, but a few bugs remain to be ironed out — some hopefully sooner than later.

Throttle response is erratic and could lead to problems in some circumstances where time is of the essence.

Fuel consumption is on the heavy side and ideally the petrol engine needs to be replaced by a more efficient hybrid.

Take note the driveaway offer is due to end at the end of September (see above), so if you’re interested you better get in quick or miss out.

The QS isn’t a bad car, it’s just that it could be a much better car.

seniordriver comments

MG has a lot riding on the QS; the mid-size SUV market is booming and critical for sales success.

In the current environment, it sees a little odd that the QS is only offered with a turbocharged petrol engine.

Like almost all Chinese entrants, the QS is remarkably well-equipped, even down to the high-quality 12-speaker Bose audio in the Essence. That said, the on-again-off-again operation of the tailgate is a concern (and we question whether it’s symptomatic of more problems down the line).

As usual, it may be worthwhile asking what iSmart is going to cost you after the initial 12-month subscription.

Like many of its fellow countrymen, the MG is far too prone to annoying and patronising warnings. And it’s not always obvious what they’re trying to warn you about. That’s a potential distraction we can do without.

A strong sales feature is the generous 10-year warranty.

Not so appealing, however, is access to the third row being better from the driver’s side of the vehicle. Getting children in or out (and it will mostly be children back there) puts them (and you) at risk if you’re doing it from the right hand (traffic) side.

Six drive modes to choose from in the Essence is three better than the Porsche 911 Carrera we were in last week, and the MG is roughly six times cheaper than the 911. Of course, the cheaper Excite, like the Porsche, makes do with three.

Once again, the QS demonstrates that the Chinese are able to make an appealing and good-value vehicle. Its foibles may be the result of being rushed to market, but there is a good car in there just waiting to get out. Let’s hope it gets the opportunity.