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Vehicle tests
Road test: MG EHS PHEV
The MG brand sends a large and well-equipped SUV to Israel, with a claimed hybrid propulsion that allows driving only on electricity, and at a small (relatively) price.
We set out to examine whether it might really revolutionize the Israeli market
Tags
mg
Crossover
Plug in
Hybrid
David Lubinski
Joel Schwartz
Thursday, 25 February 2021, 09:05
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MG EHS Plug-in, a lot of vehicles per shekel (Photo: Keinan Cohen, Yoel Schwartz)
This has become MG's regular formula for launching every new model in the country: loading the car with MVN equipment at an exceptional level to the segment, and attaching a cheap (sometimes significantly cheaper) price tag to present an exceptional return.
This has been the way of working for a decade with the MG350, with the MG550, with the MG3 and in no attempt has it been able to raise sales of the same model left in Israel almost anonymous.
Israeli conservatism, fear of "life" with a Chinese car and a variety of different and strange factors prevented the brand's sales from rising.
Until ... last year.
We will not go into why this happened and sum it up with the well-worn adage of "the right model at the right time".
In this case: an electric version in a stylish crossover cover (ZS EV).
Exactly what was needed to meet the "buzz" that creates an electric vehicle wherever it is, and in the right design for the spirit of the time.
Now importer MG is trying to do it again, even hitting the table harder and clearer, with EHS - a larger crossover, equipped to the top of the ears, powered by a plug-in hybrid unit (PHEV) that can only run on electricity, and at a very attractive price.
On paper it seems that MG has another model that can cause competitors a headache, the question is whether this is also the actual situation?
This is exactly the question we set out to answer.
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To the full article
A long list of equipment that joins an excellent space (Photo: Ronen Topelberg)
Huge space with a surprising sense of quality
Let's start with the meaning - which is a big car.
Its length is 457.4 cm, its width is 187.6 cm, its height is 166.4 cm and its wheelbase extends over 272 cm.
These create a huge cabin, especially in the back.
The knee space is huge so that even large adults can sink into leather sofas, stretch legs, adjust the angle of the backrest and enjoy important air conditioning developers and a pair of charging sockets.
The third passenger will enjoy an almost flat floor for his feet, and on the other hand a slightly less comfortable backrest (because of the removable central handle).
The atmosphere of the space also continues to the front seats, which are also electrically adjustable with a wide console separating them.
The driver's seat is a bit short, and we were happy with a slightly lower seating capacity, but overall the seat turned out to be very comfortable for a long ride.
Adults can also relax here comfortably (Photo: Ronen Topelberg)
The huge space is wrapped in leather with nice red stitching, well-assembled, and rich in equipment that includes a digital dashboard (size 12.3 inches), a smart key for entry and start, front seats with electric heating and adjustment, electric trunk door opening and closing, interior lighting with choice Between 64 colors, outdoor LED lighting, with a huge and open panoramic roof above them all, great for winter sunny days and summer nights.
The finish, quality and richness well illustrate how far the Chinese have come in going down to the details, but not everything is perfect.
The multimedia system may enjoy a huge 10.1-inch screen, but its operation is cumbersome and requires too much browsing until the desired menu is reached, the resolution is not high enough compared to what is accepted today, and especially its response to touch is a bit slow.
Even the shortcuts that are easy to use, too few, omit shortcuts to important menus, and their speed of response is not really quick.
This is critical in the car, and not just because we got used to the smartphone that each of us has in our pocket.
The batteries reduce the volume to 463 liters, the seat layer will increase it to 1,287 (Photo: Keinan Cohen, Yoel Schwartz)
Give electricity and fuel
The MG EHS is a plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHEV).
That is, it combines an internal combustion engine (gasoline) with an electric motor that is powered by a relatively large battery, which can be charged from an external power source such as a private or public charging station (charging from an empty state to fill will take about 4.5 hours).
In addition there is also a regenerative charge that utilizes the energy in braking and deceleration to charge the battery.
In the case before us, this combination allows the ability to travel on pure electricity for 52 km, according to the manufacturer's statement.
It gets the power from a turbo-gasoline engine (which comes from GM) with a volume of 1.5 liters, 162 hp and 25.5 kg, And an electric motor that produces 122 hp and 23.4 kg. Together they combine 258 hp and 37.7 kg. For a moment you will also receive an 'over-boost' push of 48.9 kg in favor of acceleration, to stimulate the The big SUV reaches 100 km / h in 6.9 seconds.
Modern and sharp design that slightly in front reminds us of the Mazda CX5 and behind the Hyundai Santa Fe (Photo: Ronen Topelberg)
The two engines are connected via a unique electric gearbox made by MG, which combines on the one hand the petrol engine with 6 gears and on the other hand the electric motor with 4 gears.
Together, these two engines transmit power to the front wheels (only) through 10 gears that are synchronized with each other in several variations, to unite the different rpm at which the engines operate and maximize the utilization of both.
We lost you with the technical explanation? So leave it at that On the side, we will pull the electronic gear lever to the letter D and set off. EHS will take care of the rest on its own. Stabbing the right foot in the carpet will fly the crossover away surprisingly large and eliciting a smile. It's not that EHS is not as strong as the power is a bit dimmed.
If you receive it from work, you will receive a discount of about NIS 1,000 on the value of use (Photo: Ronen Topelberg)
10 gears allow cruising at low engine speeds, in a calmer, more economical and quieter ride.
On the other hand, when you have to lower the power to the road, you have to shift more gears along the way.
A kick-down response in a cruise, for example, is not always fast enough, when sometimes the action is simply too long and calculated.
The box lowers two gears, realizes it's not enough and then lowers another gear or two.
Most of the time the gears move efficiently, with the transition between them not noticeable even in a fraction of a jolt, but in some situations it does sound.
Not from the transmission itself but from the petrol engine in which the engine revolutions climb quickly.
12.3-inch digital dashboard (Photo: Keinan Cohen, Yoel Schwartz)
The manufacturer's statement on an electric range of 52 km, we checked twice and with air conditioning. For the first time only with a driver, especially on a long-distance road that scraped the 100 km / h and around 10 km on a flowing urban route. EHS recorded an electric range of 50 km km.
Another full charge, pressing the EV button, and set off for a second.
This time the vehicle is fully occupied, accumulating 20 km of fast cruising at 110 km / h, crawling 10 km on a highway in endless traffic, and another city trip in reasonable traffic. All of these led to an electric range of 54 km before the gasoline engine Shaken to life and put us in hybrid mode.
The bottom line is that with reasonable day-to-day use of relaxed driving and moderate acceleration, the manufacturer's electric range statement can certainly be restored.
So if your driving radius from the power source is a few tens of miles, you may not see a gas station for many days, or you will achieve almost imaginary fuel consumption compared to a regular fuel vehicle.
If you delay the charging of the vehicle, it will mainly consume the gasoline and will have difficulty integrating the hybrid array to save fuel (as opposed to combining the electric array with power).
This means that you mainly drive on petrol and carry another 250 kg of unnecessary weight of empty batteries, and the rest of the mambo-jumbo around the electric motor. Such a trip that included 54 km on electricity, and another 330 km in hybrid mode, Produced an average fuel consumption of 15.2 km per liter.
Not something, but matches results we got from PHEV models of other brands.
The operation of the systems and the touch screen could have been better (Photo: Keinan Cohen, Yoel Schwartz)
Family cruiser
EHS is a great vehicle and he does not hide it.
Its width on the road is noticeable, horseshoe turns should be done with advance planning (there is an array of peripheral cameras for reversing), and the steering wheel has real weight.
We have become accustomed to mute steering wheels feeling numb and underweight and it is definitely refreshing to meet a steering wheel that needs more than a little finger to turn it.
Total EHS exhibits reasonable dynamic capability, strong braking and pedal that even adds feedback to properly leverage the braking pressure (not common when there is a regenerative braking mechanism), with only the green tires whining under the load.
Despite the large rims (18 "), disruptions are easily absorbed.
At city speeds only high and cruel beats manage to disrupt the feeling of ease, and at long-distance speeds small disturbances disturb the serenity.
Equally important are the insulation qualities and here too it exhibits a very high level in silencing road, engine and wind noises.
Good suspension calibration, even if there are better competitors, and the successful insulation make the EHS a comfortable distance rubber.
When it comes to safety systems EHS misses nothing and includes autonomous braking, lane departure correction, adaptive cruise control with the option of crawling in traffic jams, including dead space warning at lane crossing, door opening warning when space is not available and more.
EuroNCAP gave the petrol version a 5-star rating in the crash tests.
The performance is impressive with a significant electric driving range of over 50 km (Photo: Ronen Topelberg)
Lots of car, little (relatively) money
At the end of the test I could already answer the question I started with: EHS came to make an actual table and not just according to the data sheet. It is not perfect - the sophisticated gearbox needs to be more polished, and some systems are more user friendly (emphasis on multimedia), but it is built and finished well, offering power unit efficiency, with electric range Raleigh relation declared, ride comfort is good, and plenty of Accessories. There is no doubt that in MG Study the material and create a machine breaks down stigmas about the qualities and abilities country of origin.
then comes the price: 159 thousand dollars. it Says it is about 6,000 shekels more expensive than the significantly smaller, much weaker, and also the least equipped, Kia Niro PHEV, 41-76 thousand shekels cheaper compared to the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV (which will be replaced soon) which is similar in size, but slightly weaker, and about 60,000 cheaper Shekels compared to the Peugeot 3008 PHEV front-wheel drive that is similar in size and equipment. Speaking of price, then it is impossible not to mention Tesla who joined the local swamp with a big bang. Compact in a sporty and low design, and in a fully electric vehicle that puts us in a different discussion regarding driving range, charging options, etc. and from anywhere
Aimed at an audience other than a big crossover.
At this price, EHS simply opens up a cost / benefit gap to them and offers great value.
Even in comparison to the crossover segment leader, Toyota Rav 4, Kia Sportage, and Hyundai Tucson, it presents significant advantages of space, equipment, significant powerful engine and of course the ability to drive on electricity only.
EHS has come to re-shuffle the cards and seems to have more than one mass up its sleeve to do so.
The EHS is excellent value for money (Photo: Keinan Cohen, Yoel Schwartz)
The most advanced is the most lucrative
Compulsory insurance starting at NIS 54 per month
By the insurance company WE SURE
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On the technical side: MG EHS PHEV
Engine, propulsion:
turbo-petrol, 4-cylinder, rechargeable hybrid, front
volume:
1,490 cc
combined power (hp):
258
combined torque (kg):
37.7
gearbox:
electric automatic, 10 gears (6 for petrol , 4 for electric)
Battery capacity (kWh):
16.6
Dimensions:
Length (cm):
457.4
Width (cm):
187.6
Height (cm):
166.4
Wheelbase (cm):
272.0
Trunk (Liters):
463
Performance:
Acceleration 0-100:
6.9 seconds
Maximum speed:
190 km / h
Competitors:
Toyota Rav 4, Kia Sportage, Kia Niro, Hyundai Tucson, Mitsubishi Outlander, Peugeot 3008
Price:
NIS 159,000
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