You know what Australia needed? Another big, floppy behemoth to trundle the tracks of leafy inner suburbs hunting food for our dinner.
It must have 7-seat capacity, and it must be able to do road trips 15 times a week carrying 500 tonnes of nonsense. So, MG gave us a QS.
I get so upset and off-centre about it all.
I wandered out to the yard to drown my sorrows in a vat of non-booze drink because I am on a non-booze kick. 25kg lighter, you’re welcome. My clothes have become like tents despite my still being built like a Sherman tank.
You might have noticed this progress in my weekly video, so if I may, I segue to this week’s review of the MG QS Essence AWD 7-seater SUV. It cost many monies less than Kia’s ageing Sorento, and they are both in the same segment as a Prado and other off-roaders of unrivalled butchness.
The segment is a cheeky mélange of FWD softies, AWD semi-softies, and 4×4 thugs, but they are as chalk and cheese when side by side.
With that in mind we set off in our MG QS, heading for a family outing into the countryside. Frankly, nature gives me hives and a nasty runny nose. I discovered the notion of scantily clad farmers running booted through fields in ripped jeans and open flowing flannies is a furphy. Even if it wasn’t, it certainly isn’t enough to tempt me further than a few metres from bitumen, and even that was only to find a place to video our review.
Above: MG QS AWD Essence Value for Money glitchy screen Review
MGQS #MGSUV #FamilySUV #CarReview #SUVReview #MGMotor #SevenSeatSUV #AWD #AustralianCars #CarReviewsAustralia
Help Support Gay Car Boys Subscribe to our Youtube Channel by SMASHING THE BUTTON ABOVE
ABOVE: MG QS Essence AWD
MG QS comes as a 2WD or AWD and is chockers full of delicious fittings.
The exterior design is unremarkable but monumental. Doors open wide and come with electric poppy-outy door handles, but only hinge at one end. If it all goes wrong at least you can lever them out Tesla-style. J’approuve beaucoup.
If the outside doesn’t get your juices flowing, the comfy cabin just might.
The rear door swings up, and inside there is the promised 7-seat accommodation. As with most large SUVs, the cabin is a cathedral and the second row’s stadium space is where most people would like to travel, were it not for the heated/cooled front seats.
The top models score leather, unusual for a Chinese car at this end of the market. MG QS Essence is currently selling for $47,990 drive away with other goodies like free servicing and so on. MG says the materials are premium, and while that might be a teeny porky too far. It doesn’t feel cheap or nasty, but what I couldn’t cop was the brown/beige two-tone theme and plastic wood. Personal taste? Sure, but it just looks like it is trying way too hard. The tone and texture palettes are off. Is it family, adventure, sophistication, or durability? It is trying to do it all and it is just a bit too much.
The Bose sound should rock, but it is more gravel than stone. Did I set it wrong? Not that I could find. That brings us to the infotainment system, and although it is called i-Smart to make it sound proprietary to MG, it is merely a UI face over the existential wretchedness of the truly terrible Android open-source software. It is plaguing every brand that it touches, and PR spivs are trying to spin their way out of it. Android Automotive OS is also built on the same sulky software and has the same psychotic personality, and it simply won’t do, it won’t do at all.
Screens go dark or freeze, features randomly change function or turn on or off uncommanded. The screen slows down and freezes, CarPlay refuses to connect, and some users report their audio as being thin and reedy. Our Bose was thin and reedy and I wondered if that was the problem.
Not once did the CarPlay auto-connect, and most days I had to re-pair my phone.
Likewise, the user has to turn off the gongs every trip. At one stage the speed sign read 45 in a 110 zone which would have meant more gongs. No ta. Begone with you, get in the bin. In all brands, even the posh ones, sign recognition is 50% right at best.
The ADAS was otherwise okay, until you turned the smart cruise on. Although it sits well in the lane and keeps a careful eye on traffic, every few minutes a triple gong sounds telling you to put your hands on the wheel, regardless of where your hands are. The same gong warns of other issues too. Drivers report using tape to cover driver monitors in many new cars because of the naughty-nanny-slaps every few minutes. A longer exposure to this barrage of beratement would send the average driver into a psychotic rage. I too taped over the sensor on top of the steering column, whence blissful Zen then ensued.
This, and the other ludicrous driver aids, are thanks to Brussels and Euro-NCAP. Australian ANCAP is tied to it, so what they get, we do too. China does not suffer the same irritation as these features can be permanently deactivated. What good is a feature if it is so distracting that it feels the need to tell you that you’re distracted?
The fickle infotainment aside, the drive was quite pleasant.
The drive modes don’t magically imbue the driveline with scintillating sprint-ability. 8.8 seconds to the hundy for the AWD and 8.4 for the FWD is leisurely and one might hope for that to be reflected in the economy, but alas. 8.8L/100km is the claim, 9.9L/100km is what-the-actual.
Ride on MacPherson strut/multilink is ably assisted by adjustable electronic damping on the range topper. It feels smooth, especially on rough stuff, but bitumen is where it will spend its time. To that end MG QS Essence feels at home although it leans in corners if pushed beyond a canter, so don’t. So, handling is adequate for a big barge but steering lacks the calibration found in a well-tuned Kia. It is ethereal regardless of setting so I left it on comfort knowing the QS is going to go where it’s pointed.
Even in sport mode the 9-speed auto is a little dim-witted. It makes the barely adequate 4-pot feel out of its depth with only one on board. With 7 passengers highway entry would need careful planning.
What We Think in Brief
The upshot is a big spacious conveyance whose looks are neither remarkable nor boring. The cabin is laid out well but for a steering wheel that lacks enough reach for a driver with a lanky tendency. There are loads of natty bits built in, including a full glass roof panel that opens, with, if you please, an electric roller shade.
The downside is the frightfully glitchy infotainment system which, like the IM6 the week before, required constant resetting. The gong for “hands on wheel” was beyond the pale and I would tape the sensor over to disable it.
There are now many entrants in this price and they range in size from the small/medium to the large. There are PHEV super-hybrids too, and with the lack of punch in this driveline, a PHEV with double the power is what I’d prefer. You simply can’t view any car in isolation any more. Compare, then compare again, and in the name of all that is holy, don’t use AI.
MG sales have been lingering at the bottom of the top ten while BYD guns for Toyota’s tiara. That is the importance of breadth matched with depth. BYD has BYO boats and makes its own batteries, taking vertical integration up a notch.
SAIC may have bought MG heritage but not the olde worlde charm, so MG is back to being a newish brand. As BYD rockets to the top, competition is thick on the ground, and as legacy brands are finally clocking the need to meet the market, things are heating up.
MG QS Technical Specifications And Pricing
2WD Excite: $46,990 driveaway ($43,990 promotional price)
AWD Essence: $50,990 driveaway ($47,990 promotional price)
| Feature / Specification | 2WD Excite | AWD Essence |
|---|---|---|
| Engine Capacity | 1986 cc | 1986 cc |
| Induction System | Turbo Charged | Turbo Charged |
| Maximum Power | 153 kW | 153 kW |
| Maximum Torque | 360 Nm | 360 Nm |
| Transmission Type | 9-Speed | 9-Speed |
| Drive Configuration | FWD | AWD |
| Seating Capacity | 7 | 7 |
| Fuel Tank Capacity | 65 L | 65 L |
| Combined Fuel Consumption | 8.4 L/100km | 8.8 L/100km |
| Combined CO2 Emissions | 191 g/km | 198 g/km |
| Tyre Size | 245/50 R20 | 255/45 R21 |
| Tyre Type / Spare | Space Saver | Space Saver |
| Tare Mass | 1904 kg | 1994 kg |
| Braked Towing Capacity | 2000 kg | 2000 kg |
| Overall Length | 4983 mm | 4983 mm |
| Overall Width | 1967 mm | 1967 mm |
| Overall Height | 1778 mm | 1778 mm |
| Wheelbase Length | 2915 mm | 2915 mm |
| Audio System | 8-Speakers | 12-Speakers BOSE |
| Driving Modes | 3 (Normal, Sport, ECO) | 6 (Normal, Snow, Offroad, Sport, Custom, ECO) |
More Stories
- Meet the 2025 MG QS: MG’s Budget 7-Seat SUV
- MG Freezes Prices and Extends Warranty as Hybrid War Heats Up
- Why Android Automotive OS is a Digital Nightmare
Help Support Gay Car Boys Subscribe to our Youtube Channel
Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
Leave a Reply