Confessions of a Cynical Finn and the MG HS That Wasn’t Actually Rubbish

Alright, listen up. You might know me as your resident curmudgeon, the Finn who thinks everything (except saunas and Kimi Raikkonen) is a bit overrated. So, when clueless Avis at Heathrow shoved the keys to an MG HS 1.5 T-GDI DCT my way, I about spat my tea out. MG? Like, the brand that makes those questionable sports cars gathering dust in forgotten corners of car shows?

Let me tell you, this entire situation had “rental car disappointment” written all over it. I pictured a plastic-fantastic interior, an engine that wheezed like a consumptive hamster, and handling that would make a moominship look agile. But folks, buckle up, because this little MG turned out to be a bit of a surprise.

The Enormous Bargain Makes You Question Your Sanity (in a Good Way)

Now, I’m a simple person, living in nordics. We don’t do flashy. We do practical, reliable, and wallet-friendly. And let me tell you, the MG is the epitome of that last bit. This car’s price tag had me convinced there had been some sort of administrative error. They must have accidentally given me the keys to the CEO’s Bentley, right? Nope. Just a genuinely well-equipped MG. It had all the bells and whistles – sat nav, fancy climate control – the kind of stuff you usually find stuck on German behemoths with a price tag that could buy a summer cabin in the Finnish archipelago. The interior, while not exactly hand-stitched reindeer hide, was far from the plastic torture chamber I envisioned. The materials felt decent, and the design wasn’t an eyesore. Honestly, I’ve seen worse interiors in some so-called “premium” brands whose names rhyme with “Schmaudi.”

Surprisingly Fun on the Road (Except When It Wasn’t)

Here’s the thing. MG might not exactly scream “driving enthusiast,” but this little HS held its own on the road. Let’s be honest, it’s not going to win any drag races. Think of it more like a plucky underdog, happy to pootle along at a leisurely pace. But here’s the surprising bit – it handled corners with surprising aplomb. Maybe it’s because my expectations were set to “performs like a shopping trolley on ice,” but those twisty B-roads outside London were a breeze. It was comfortable on the motorway too, soaking up bumps like a champ.

Now, we can’t have sunshine and rainbows all the time, can we? The engine and gearbox combo left me a bit…confused. It felt a tad sluggish, like there was a disconnect between putting your foot down and anything actually happening. Maybe it was just yearning for the freedom of a Finnish motorway with no bloody speed cameras (unlike the M25, which seems to have one every other lamppost). The gearbox was a bit of an enigma as well. Sometimes smooth, sometimes clunky, it never quite settled on a personality.

Infotainment System Stuck in the Stone Age

Then there’s the infotainment system. Let’s just say it wasn’t exactly cutting edge. Responding to inputs with the enthusiasm of a hungover sloth, it felt like it belonged in a car from the last decade. Trying to change the radio station felt like navigating a particularly grumpy moose through rush hour traffic. Come on, MG, you nearly had it all there!

The Verdict: A Surprisingly Competent Contender (with Reservations)

Look, here’s the deal. The MG HS isn’t going to win any awards for groundbreaking design or mind-blowing performance. But for the price, it offers a surprising amount of car for your money. It’s comfortable, decently well-equipped, and handles well enough (except when it doesn’t). If you can live with the slightly sluggish engine/gearbox combo and the infotainment system that would make a Nokia brick seem responsive, then the MG HS might just be the quirky, wallet-friendly surprise you’ve been looking for. Just don’t expect to win any reindeer races on the way to your mökki.

About the car:

MG 1.5 T-GDI DCT
Fuel: bezin
Power: 162 HP
Model: 2023