Oops! New MGS9 PHEV seven-seat SUV coming to Europe, but you weren’t supposed to know that
Crash-safety organisation Euro NCAP has inadvertently announced MG’s first seven-seat SUV is coming to Europe
Meet the new MGS9: MG’s first seven-seat SUV, which will serve as its rival to highly rated family haulers like the Skoda Kodiaq, Peugeot 5008 and Kia Sorento, plus the value-focused Chery Tiggo 8 that has just arrived.
The car is already available in Australia as the MG QS. However, we didn’t hear it would be coming to the UK or anywhere in Europe from anyone at MG.
Instead, the news was inadvertently announced by Euro NCAP when it released the results of its crash tests on the MGS9 PHEV, showing the car being smashed to smithereens before the car company even had a chance to tease the new name.
This has all happened just a month after Euro NCAP accidentally revealed the new MGS6 EV, again, before the car manufacturer could make any announcements about the car itself.
At least the MGS9 has received the maximum five-star crash-safety rating from Euro NCAP, plus 84 per cent and 85 per cent scores for adult and child-occupant protection, 74 per cent for vulnerable road users, and 77 per cent in the safety assist category. All those results are on par with its key rivals, although the Skoda did score slightly higher in some areas.
The only other detail we can discern from Euro NCAP’s report is that the MGS9 will feature a 1.5-litre petrol engine, suggesting it will use the same plug-in hybrid system as the MG HS, which you can currently save nearly £7,000 on through our Buy A Car service.
If true, the petrol engine will be paired with a single e-motor and a relatively large 24.7kWh battery that in the HS PHEV delivers a pure-electric range of up to 75 miles.
The MGS9 should arrive in the UK sometime in 2026, but exactly when isn’t clear yet. Although we don’t have to wait to find out more about it because, as we said, the car is already on sale down under.
MG says it offers “true seating for seven, not just a 5+2 set-up,” which you’d hope given that, at 4.98 metres long, the MGS9 is more than 200mm longer than the already very spacious Skoda Kodiaq. Its 2.92-metre wheelbase is also about 120mm longer than the Skoda’s, and the second row of seats can slide forward to provide more cargo space.
According to MG, there’s 203 litres of boot space available with all the seats in place, 517 litres with the third row folded down and 1,052 litres when all but the front seats are down.
Up front, the dashboard is almost identical to that of the latest MG HS, with the 12.3-inch central touchscreen and 12.3-inch driver’s display housed in a single panel, and a row of physical shortcut buttons beneath. However the QS gets wood-effect trim on the dashboard and centre console, similar to a Volvo XC90.
Considering that the plug-in hybrid MG HS starts from £32,245 at the time of writing, the seven-seat MGS9 PHEV is likely to cost from around £35,000, which would allow it to undercut the Skoda Kodiaq and Peugeot 5008.
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