MG has updated the software in the ZS hybrid to address our criticisms of its willingness to run out of charge – and lose power. Has it worked?
2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ Excite
The second generation of Australia’s top-selling small SUV, the MG ZS, arrived in showrooms late last year with hybrid power – but it wasn’t quite as impressive as we’d hoped.
Drive was among the motoring media outlets to call out a tendency for the hybrid system to drain its battery without warning, and leave the driver with a fraction of the car’s rated power.
It would prove a particular issue if experienced when a burst of power was needed to overtake another car – or pull out into a tight gap in traffic – only to find there was none.
MG has listened, and earlier this year rolled out a software update intended to address the issues.
Have they worked, and is the revised MG ZS Hybrid+ now worthy of closer consideration? Let’s find out.
How much is an MG ZS?
The MG ZS range has been fleshed out to include a broad range of engines and equipment levels, but there remain two hybrids on offer: the Excite and Essence.
At the time of testing in early 2025, the Excite seen here was priced from $33,990 drive-away, but the price has since been dropped to $32,990 drive-away. The better-equipped Hybrid+ Essence is available from $34,990 drive-away, down from its $36,990 figure earlier this year.
MG changes its drive-away prices – which it technically markets as limited-time special offers – so for the latest information, check the MG website at this link.
Our test vehicle was finished in Sloane Silver Metallic paint for an extra $700, bringing its on-road price to $33,690.
That’s competitive with key Chinese hybrid rivals – the GWM Haval Jolion Premium Hybrid ($32,990 drive-away) and inbound Chery Tiggo 4 Hybrid Ultimate ($29,990 to $34,990 drive-away) – while undercutting established competition such as the Hyundai Kona Hybrid (about $39,500 to $41,000 drive-away, depending on the state of registration).
Standard features in the Hybrid+ Excite include 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, a 12.3-inch touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, 7.0-inch instrument display, keyless entry and start, single-zone climate control, fabric seats, leather-look steering wheel trim, a 360-degree camera, and a suite of advanced safety features.
It misses out on larger 18-inch alloys, a panoramic sunroof, heated front seats, a power-adjustable driver’s seat, leather steering wheel, and leather-look upholstery from the flagship Essence.
| Key details | 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ Excite |
| Price | $33,990 plus on-road costs $32,990 drive-away (special offer) |
| Colours available | Sloane Silver Metallic |
| Options | Premium paint – $700 |
| Rivals | GWM Haval Jolion | Hyundai Kona | Chery Tiggo 4 |
MG ZS best deals
You can find new and used MG ZS SUVs for sale at Drive Marketplace, while to check out the car in the metal, find your nearest MG dealer at this link.
If you’re looking for more pricing, specifications, and latest offers on the MG ZS range, click here.
How big is an MG ZS?
The latest MG ZS has made considerable strides over its predecessor in interior design and features, packaged into a larger body – now 4430mm long (up 107mm), 1818mm wide (up 9mm), 1635mm tall (18mm lower) and 2610mm in wheelbase (up 25mm) – for more space.
The Excite misses out on some of the Essence’s bells and whistles – leather-look seats, for instance – but it doesn’t feel stripped-out for a car at this price.
Manually adjustable cloth seats are standard in this specification, and they’re reasonably comfortable for smaller frames – but larger (and taller) drivers may find them a bit tight and lacking in under-thigh support.
The steering wheel is well sized and trimmed in a leather-like material but, frustratingly, it cannot adjust for reach, only height – so it’s harder than it should be for tall drivers to find a comfortable seating position.
Fabric accents on the dashboard and other key touchpoints break up a sea of black, but there are hard and scratchy materials elsewhere that demonstrate the car’s price, including a fake ‘stitching’ pattern on the hard-plastic tops of the door panels that is surprisingly sharp to the touch.
Storage is average for a compact SUV, with enough space in the door pockets for two 600mL bottles, a decently sized glovebox, and an umbrella pocket on the left side of the centre console. There were no obvious squeaks or rattles in this test vehicle.
However, the under-armrest centre storage box is small, the movable divider in the dual cupholders is fiddly, and anything you leave on the rubberised platform next to the gear shifter will find itself in the footwell after a sharp corner.
There is also no springing or damping on the centre console storage box lid, so open it quickly and it will bounce back on its hinge, shut itself, and bounce back once or twice more like you’ve dropped a bouncy ball. It doesn’t add to a feeling of quality.
Amenities include keyless entry and start, single-zone climate control, one USB-A and one USB-C port, and a 12-volt socket, but no wireless phone charger, heated seats or sunroof.
Tall rear passengers – including me, at 186cm (6ft 1in) tall – will find plenty of head room and knee room behind their driving position, but the design of the seat base means there’s not much room to slide their feet under the front seats.
Seating three adults abreast is best only for short trips, and the human in the middle position will need to straddle a hump in the floor. It’s better for kids, though, with large windows for great visibility, and two outboard ISOFIX and three top-tether anchors for kid seats.
Rear passengers will find bottle holders in the doors, air vents, and a single USB-A port, but there’s no fold-down centre armrest with cupholders, nor map pockets in the Excite trim.
Boot space is claimed at 443 litres behind the rear seats, or 1457L with them folded, offering ample space for suitcases and slightly less adventurous trips to Ikea.
The two-position boot floor helps with practicality, as do the lights, bag hooks, and netted side pockets in the cargo area, but no spare wheel, just a puncture repair kit. A power tailgate is also absent, and we noticed the manual tailgate needed a powerful slam to shut properly and allow its latches to grab.
| 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ Excite | |
| Seats | Five |
| Boot volume | 443L seats up 1457L seats folded |
| Length | 4430mm |
| Width | 1818mm |
| Height | 1635mm |
| Wheelbase | 2610mm |
Does the MG ZS have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto?
All hybrid versions of the MG ZS use a 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen fitted with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – through the USB-A port only – embedded satellite navigation, and AM, FM and digital DAB radio.
The software looks slick, and the screen resolution, but it’s not the fastest to respond to inputs, and a lack of physical controls can make it hard to use on the move.
While there are physical hotkeys for volume – as well as turning the air conditioning off and on, and activating defrosters – there aren’t dials or buttons for fan speed or air temperature.
There is a workaround: owners can bind the one of two star-icon buttons on the steering wheel to, among other functions, the air conditioning, pressing which allows the joysticks to be moved up and down for temperature, and left and right for fan speed.
It works well… unless you’re using smartphone mirroring. The star buttons can be pressed, and moving the joysticks works – you can feel the fan speed change – but there is no graphic on the screen to indicate what’s being changed, until you press the home button to return to the native MG software from smartphone mirroring.
Ahead of the driver is a so-called ’12.3-inch’ instrument cluster, which is comprised of a 7.0-inch display showing basic information, flanked by digitised speed, RPM, fuel and temperature readouts.
It is clear and easy enough to navigate, but any activation of the safety systems – such as the lane-keep assist – will swap the display away from the menu the driver selected and to a graphic of the car in a lane.
The Excite only offers a four-speaker sound system, and perhaps unsurprisingly, it’s not great. Audio quality is muddy, no matter what genre of music you pump through it, and not even up to the standard of the Essence’s six-speaker system, which by class standards is merely average.
Camera resolution is acceptable but also not brilliant. Buyers get a year’s free access to the MG iSmart app, with remote vehicle tracking, control of its locks and lights, cabin pre-heating, and more. It will switch to a paid subscription after the first year, should you choose to stick with its functions.
Is the MG ZS a safe car?
The MG ZS hybrid is covered by a four-star ANCAP safety rating based on crash testing conducted in 2024 by sister organisation Euro NCAP under the most stringent test protocols.
It was derived from category scores of 75 per cent for adult occupant protection, 84 per cent for child occupant protection, 73 per cent for vulnerable road user protection, and 79 per cent for safety assist technology.
As a vehicle’s ANCAP rating is determined by its lowest-performing category, the ZS missed out on five stars as it fell short of the 80 per cent minimum result needed in adult occupant protection for a top score.
| 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ Excite | |
| ANCAP rating | Four stars (tested 2024) |
| Safety report | ANCAP report |
What safety technology does the MG ZS have?
A broad suite of safety equipment is fitted to the MG ZS, and plenty of it works well – but other parts would benefit from further refinement.
There’s no intrusive driver-facing attention camera like other new MGs – which can beep and bong at the driver for glancing away from the road – and the lane-keep assist is reasonably smooth, if occasionally a little grabby.
Lane-centring technology is offered on the ZS, and it does a decent job at holding the middle of the lane, but it can be hard to trust at times, and has a tendency to wander between the white lines.
However, the adaptive cruise control is not particularly smooth, applying and lifting off the accelerator pedal in a lurchy motion, while the traffic sign recognition tech includes an overspeed chime that beeps once the car exceeds the limit it has detected, even if it has misread the sign.
The lattermost feature can be switched off, but it reactivates every time the car is restarted. It’s not as annoying as some brands’ systems, but it’s far from the best on the market.
MG’s latest electric car – the ZS-sized S5 small SUV – has introduced an ‘MG Pilot Custom’ mode that lets you set the safety systems to your desired setting, no matter whether that’s on, reduced, or off, at the touch of a button after restarting the car. We hope that comes to the ZS with a future model update.
Six airbags are standard – meaning no front-centre airbag to prevent head clashes in a severe side impact – and there are rear parking sensors to join the 360-degree camera, but no front sensors for tight spaces.
| At a glance | 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ Excite | |
| Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB) | Yes | Includes pedestrian, cyclist, motorcycle, junction awareness |
| Adaptive Cruise Control | Yes | Includes stop-and-go |
| Blind Spot Alert | Yes | Alert and assist functions |
| Rear Cross-Traffic Alert | Yes | Alert only |
| Lane Assistance | Yes | Lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, lane-centring assist |
| Road Sign Recognition | Yes | Includes overspeed chime |
| Driver Attention Warning | Yes | Includes fatigue reminder, no driver-facing camera |
| Cameras & Sensors | Yes | Rear sensors, front/rear/360-degree cameras |
How much does the MG ZS cost to service?
The MG ZS is covered by a 10-year/250,000km warranty, which – unlike ’10-year’ guarantees from Nissan and Mitsubishi – does not require owners to service the vehicle within the company’s dealer network to unlock the last five years, and by extension the full decade, of coverage.
It applies to ‘private use’ customers. Drive the ZS for a rideshare or food delivery service, and a ‘commercial use’ warranty is activated to the tune of seven years or 160,000km for the vehicle and its hybrid battery pack.
A decade of roadside assistance is also offered by MG, as long as the vehicle is serviced at the brand’s dealers. Each service activates the next year of coverage.
Service intervals are set every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first, and it’s not too expensive to maintain: $656 over three years/45,000km and $1232 over five years/75,000km.
That undercuts a GWM Haval Jolion Hybrid ($2020 over five years/70,000km), Hyundai Kona Hybrid ($2575 over five years/75,000km), and even a Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid ($1275 over five years/75,000km).
A year of comprehensive insurance coverage from a leading insurer is quoted at $1965, based on a comparative quote for a 35-year-old male living in Chatswood, NSW. Insurance estimates may vary based on your location, driving history, and personal circumstances.
| At a glance | 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ Excite |
| Warranty | 10 years, 250,000km |
| Battery warranty | 10 years, 250,000km |
| Service intervals | 12 months or 15,000km |
| Servicing costs | $656 (3 years) $1232 (5 years) |
Is the MG ZS hybrid fuel-efficient?
Despite the new software, there have been no changes to claimed fuel consumption ratings for the ZS hybrid, at 4.7 litres per 100 kilometres in mixed driving, 0.9L/100km (yes, that’s really what the spec sheet says) in urban areas, and 6.9L/100km in extra-urban and highway conditions.
We didn’t drive cars with old and new software in identical conditions, but our testing was representative enough to get a gauge on what the update has done for real-world fuel consumption, away from the lab test.
In the pre-update ZS Hybrid+ Essence, we saw an indicated 5.3L/100km over a mix of environments, with city consumption dropping as low as about 4.0L/100km in optimal conditions.
In the latest model, we saw 6.1L/100km over our test period. That’s an increase of 15 per cent, though we spent more time on this occasion trying to deplete the battery.
In similar conditions, and general terms, fuel use in the updated ZS is about 5 to 10 per cent higher than before.
The 1.5-litre engine still requires 95- or 98-octane premium unleaded petrol.
| Fuel efficiency | 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ Excite |
| Fuel cons. (claimed) | 4.7L/100km |
| Fuel cons. (on test) | 6.1L/100km |
| Fuel type | 95-octane premium unleaded |
| Fuel tank size | 41L |
What was wrong with the MG ZS hybrid, and how has MG worked to fix it?
The focus of this test was to determine if the changes MG has made to the ZS have solved the issues with the first version.
What was wrong with the outgoing car? This is what we said in our launch review last year:
“Put your foot down and the car will not initially call on its maximum reserves. It will use EV power to start with, before turning on the petrol engine a few seconds later and giving you a second push into the seat, like activating nitrous in a car-racing video game.
“But the biggest issue is the car’s willingness to run its battery close to flat before turning the engine on.
“Hybrids from rival brands will rarely let their batteries deplete below 40 or 50 per cent, always ensuring there is enough performance left in reserve for an overtake. But the MG ZS (and MG 3) will drop the battery below 15 per cent charge.
“Put your foot down in this state, and the car will struggle to muster more than about 45kW – not the 158kW on the spec sheet.
“While we experienced it most frequently on a hilly country road in the ZS, in the related MG 3 hybrid – which MG has confirmed carries the same power management software – we’ve had it happen in a 50km/h zone, after the car used up all its electric power to climb a hill, then when asked for a burst of power to overtake a car, felt like it had the handbrake on.
“It would prove particularly troublesome if the driver attempts to make a tight gap in traffic ahead of oncoming cars, but puts their foot down to find the car offering little power.
“There is no way for the driver to manually call on the engine, and unless they’re looking at the battery charge screen on the instrument cluster, no warning of when this will happen.”
What has MG done to fix it? In its own words, per a media release:
“The Hybrid+ powertrain will actively charge the battery when more load on the powertrain is detected, the engine will charge the battery to retain a moderate State of Charge (SoC).
“When on an incline, the Hybrid+ powertrain has been recalibrated to engage the engine when the vehicle is driving with moderate or higher speed. The overall experience will be a balanced experience of power delivery and efficiency.
“[And] when vehicle speed is over 100km/h, the Hybrid+ powertrain will engage the engine to ensure sustained power depending on the battery SoC.”
Is the updated MG ZS hybrid better to drive?
Yes and no. Let us explain.
The ZS Hybrid+ still leans heavily on its electric motor to push the car along, and with a full battery, it’s happy to accelerate the vehicle from rest to about 80km/h in silence – longer than its rivals.
As promised, the petrol engine fires into life more often than it did before, and works to keep charge in the battery. That’s especially noticeable up a steep hill, or if you’ve been stopped at the traffic lights for a long time.
But the update seems to have boosted the RPM at which the engine revs once it’s turned on, so it doesn’t take much of an incline – or any at all, as long as the battery has run low – for the four-cylinder to kick on and scream at 3000–4000rpm, like it’s stuck in a normal car’s first gear.
It takes away from the serenity of the electric motor, and makes for a bipolar experience, from zippy performance on EV power when the battery is charged, and a raucous note when it’s not.
While the software changes may have hurt refinement, they do a better job at keeping the battery charged in the 50 to 80 per cent range in normal driving… mostly.
On one very specific occasion, despite the new software, we managed to recreate the power loss issue.
The first 500 metres of my commute home from the Drive office involves a 100-metre downhill stretch, over an altitude change of five metres, followed by a 450-metre-long uphill section, climbing by 23 metres (figures calculated from Google Maps).
I started the car outside the office to find it with about two out of eight bars of the battery remaining. The car began in electric mode, coasting down the hill, and recuperating energy.
But as it climbed the hill, it continued to run on electric power, depleting the battery to one bar – the conditions that, in our last test, caused maximum power to drop to about 45kW under full acceleration.
Spotting the level of charge, we floored the throttle, only to find that – once again – the car couldn’t muster much more than 50kW for the first few seconds of acceleration, by which time, if this were an overtake scenario, you would run out of space.
To MG’s credit, this occurs far less frequently than in the pre-update ZS hybrid. We tried to recreate this scenario over our time with the car – being gentle on the throttle in electric mode to deplete the battery, then flooring it – even on the same road, but could never get the battery charge low enough, and with enough space to accelerate hard.
However, there’s no hiding that the issue did re-occur, and the new software has not eradicated the problem.
MG can’t be blamed exclusively for this. We’ve noticed similar behaviours in other hybrids with electric motors that produce more power than the petrol engine: they’re far more susceptible to running out of juice than hybrids where the engine can muster more than the electric motor.
Something else that remains from the pre-update ZS hybrid is the inconsistent delivery of the power, even when the battery is fully charged.
Floor the accelerator in electric mode and it takes a few seconds for the car to recognise your input, turn on the petrol engine, rev it up, and give you the thrust you expect. Having the engine on more often helps, but it’s still not perfect.
We also found that, as before, the car discovers a second rush of acceleration during an overtake on a country road. Even with the engine on, it takes a few seconds with your foot on the throttle for the car to deploy full power… which occurs right as you’ve finished the overtake.
The ZS uses what MG says is a ‘three-speed’ transmission. We understand it to operate more like two drive speeds for the engine, plus one for the electric motor – which goes some way to explaining the step in the power delivery under hard acceleration.
In optimal conditions, the software update has not affected straight-line performance. We timed the Excite from 0–100km/h in 7.5 seconds on our satellite timing gear, 0.2sec quicker than the Essence we drove last year with the original software – a difference that can be explained by the cheaper model’s fewer luxuries and, therefore, lower weight.
The rest of the MG ZS hybrid drive experience is familiar from before.
Comfort over bumps is acceptable but not class-leading. The suspension feels a touch firm over potholes and sharp impacts, yet lacks the high-speed body control and sure-footedness of some rivals, but generally speaking it will be fine for most customers.
The steering is light at low speeds, but dial up the pace and it gets surprisingly heavy, especially as you wind more steering lock on in a tight corner.
Handling is average for the class, with not too much body roll, but mediocre Kumho tyres that lack confidence in wet weather, and see the Excite require close to 40 metres to stop from 100km/h – below average for the small-SUV category.
The transition from the electric motor’s regenerative braking to the ‘friction’ disc brakes is well calibrated, though, and there are three levels of regen to choose from.
Wind noise is well isolated from cabin occupants, but there is some tyre roar.
| Key details | 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ Excite |
| Engine | 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol Electric motor |
| Power | 75kW petrol 100kW electric 158kW combined |
| Torque | 128Nm petrol 250Nm electric 465Nm combined, claimed |
| Drive type | Front-wheel drive |
| Transmission | 3-speed automatic |
| Power-to-weight ratio | 112.1kW/t |
| Weight (kerb) | 1410kg |
| Spare tyre type | Tyre repair kit |
| Payload | 470kg |
| Tow rating | 500kg braked 500kg unbraked |
Can an MG ZS tow?
The MG ZS Hybrid+ is rated to 500kg, no matter whether the trailer is fitted with electric brakes.
A payload – the maximum mass of passengers, cargo and accessories the car can legally carry – is 470kg, which is sufficient for circa-90kg passengers and some luggage.
Should I buy an MG ZS?
The MG ZS Hybrid+ offers plenty for buyers on a budget to like. It’s priced in line with its key rivals, there’s a respectable equipment list, a spacious cabin, and comfort and handling that will suit many buyers, all backed by a 10-year warranty.
Software updates have addressed some of the hybrid’s flaws. It’s not as prone to running out of battery charge, and performance is slightly more consistent.
But it has come at a cost: noise. The hybrid system is not as smooth and refined as it used to be, and that power loss issue hasn’t completely disappeared – a consequence of how MG has elected to balance the outputs of the petrol and electric power sources.
If you like the look and feel of the MG ZS, we would recommend the turbo-petrol instead, as it trades the hybrid’s fuel economy for performance you can trust.
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