The MG S9 PHEV will arrive this summer as the Chinese brand’s largest UK-market model to date.
Ahead of its launch in the coming months, the SUV was inadvertently revealed in Euro NCAP safety tests, where it earned a five-star rating.
UK pricing and specifications have yet to be confirmed but, as a 4.99m-long plug-in hybrid with seating for seven, it’s likely to be positioned as a cut-price alternative to the Land Rover Discovery and Volvo XC90.
In Australia (where it is soon to go on sale badged as the QS Super Hybrid) it will have a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine, a lone electric motor and a single-speed gearbox, combining to send 201bhp through the front wheels.
Euro NCAP revealed that it weighs 2160kg.
The pure-combustion QS sold in Australia offers 203 litres of boot space with the third row of seats upright, 503 litres with them down or 1052 litres with the two rear rows folded. It’s likely these figures will be reduced in the PHEV, as the battery in such a powertrain is usually mounted under the rear seats and boot floor.
Inside, the S9 bears a strong resemblance to the HS, with two large displays for the instruments and infotainment. Unlike that car, however, it has a row of physical switches for important functions such as climate controls and infotainment touchscreen shortcuts.
Like the rival Chery Tiggo 9, the S9 is likely to be priced from around £40,000, making it notably more expensive than the £32,345 HS PHEV that tops MG’s ICE car line-up.
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