KIA Sportage or MG HS Essence - Which car would I choose?

💵 Variety of discounted auto gear below 👇
Welcome to yet another honest car comparison video from the perspective of a private owner who wants a good balance of value for money vs. car features they get.
Today we are looking at brand new KIA Sportage 2022 and comparing it to equally sized SUV for sale in Australia - MG HS Essence, top of the range Petrol engine model.
Which one is better? Is Kia better than MG? Or has MG earned its place under the sun with much more competitive value propositions outside of their MG EV range? Let's take a closer look and decide...
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Put simply, because those brands have good products -- which is why I'm still promoting those here -- BUT they don't have a web sales portal of their own, or fail to pay me commission, or I'm simply not certain that their promised discount code applies properly and you are getting the discount I've promised you in the video... So it is my duty to at least redirect you to a trustworthy sales site, such as Amazon. I apologise if this causes any inconvenience, and I hope that it does not! 😉👌
📑 VIDEO CHAPTERS 📑
00:00 - Welcome!
01:20 - The looks
02:15 - The finishes
05:05 - Back seats
06:50 - Front seats
07:45 - Ergonomics
09:15 - Engine Power
10:35 - Price and Value
13:15 - My verdict
#MG #KIA #Sportage

[@ValueCarsAU]

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[@philhare4439]

Another great review! My daughter just bought an MG HS Essence X . I have to say it is a brilliant car. Performance (168kW and 360N/m) is amazing and inside is better than most German cars. I'm sold on them and can't wait for more new products from MG.

[@ValueCarsAU]

Thanks, Phil! Does she use AWD much? 🤷‍♂️😉👍

[@philhare4439]

@@ValueCarsAU No. She didn't need it - just wanted it for some reason ..

[@stefanocioni2587]

I have the same car but can’t compare interior to German quality, no way, not the new ones, but hey everybody has an opinion

[@tobes7319]

It’s interesting. I don’t care about the bells and whistles so much, I just want to know for $40k my 7 year warranty and servicing is spot on. I’ve had a Kia for 5 years and had no issues. The steering column went after about 4 years, my car was off the road for a week. They gave me a free loan car for the week, repaired my car and it cost me nothing. Most importantly, I didn’t have to argue with them, they just sorted it out. I’m not saying MG won’t do that, but with MG and Haval etc, I feel like we have not seen them operate here long enough to really gauge what the ongoing servicing, warranty and reliability will be like. Nice looking cars at good price points though.

[@ValueCarsAU]

I completely agree with you mate. We don't know yet how MG/LDV/SAIC behaves long term on our shores, but from what I've seen at MG service at least - they were fine. Time will tell though 🤷

[@KnicksFanInOz]

Great review mate. It's an interesting comparison and I agree with most of what you said. For me, I don't like MG's exterior and for some reason the whole 'super sport' button really irks me as I find it's really tacky. I'll be interested to see what they do when they re-design the HS though, whenever that may be. Sportage pricing really does feel like 'overs' though. I don't mind the exterior but I don't love it, the curved screens are most definitely the big positive, but the rest of the interior does feel... lacking for the price. I own a Cerato GT and I have found Kia to be good to deal with, the car drives very well (although it's firm), so from that perspective Kia is now a reputable brand. But $16k more? Sheesh, not in my book. MG's interior mostly look pretty good, the seats and the back seats certainly look better than Sportage in my opinion too. Lack of space is a big one though. I've got the new Outlander Exceed on order and we got it for $48k. It was about $8k more than the Haval Ultra which I was comparing to at the time, and I found the $8k to be more 'palatable' as the Outlander wowed us. It's obviously subjective but I feel like when you are pushing 10-12k+, the likes of HS and the H6 really are hard to beat. I know you did a brief review earlier, but I think the top of the range H6 Ultra vs HS Essence is the most interesting comparison.

[@ValueCarsAU]

Thanks James, appreciate the words of support and a thoughtful comment. I haven't driven an Outlander, so wouldn't be able to comment, but I too found Kia a bit "cheap" for its ridiculous price range, especially when compared to HS. And I agree with you about the gimmicky sport mode button - it's a complete "lol", as far as I'm concerned, but hey, I didn't mind it too much while I had the car...

[@LancashireBob]

Hi Dimitri. Great video again from you. As a UK HS owner I would like to say that the Sportage interior looks terrible compared to the MG. All those marks and fingerprints would drive me crazy on the piano black. Even the small amount in the HS gets a bit scruffy looking. Microfibre Cloths at the ready 🤣. Overall though because MG have used a good mixture of materials and Matt black it's easy to keep it looking smart inside. I know you have an achilles heal about DCT but the longer you use one the more you adapt the better it gets. I'm on my third vehicle over nine years all been Dual Clutch and I wouldn't permanently drive another Manual box car. In the UK we have the EXCLUSIVE as the top model mines a 2022 model full digital dash. Better speed on the infotainment system etc etc. For the price the HS is very hard to beat. Kia should have produced a Two Wheel Drive version with higher specs for a similar price to the HS. For the foreseeable future I can't see me moving from the HS as nothing in the UK is worth paying thousands extra for. Look forward to the next Video. Bob 👍

[@ValueCarsAU]

Thanks, Bob, always great to hear from you. People here in AU are mostly concerned about long-term support we'll get from MG/LDV/SAIC... How did you find it in UK, as I assume the brand has been on your shores longer than on ours, right? By support I mean - service, parts, what do people say, generally?

[@LancashireBob]

@@ValueCarsAU I can't offer much information about LDV as the brand just doesn't seem to be in the Uk. As for MG they are going from strength to strength. A popular choice for many people because of the size and specifications. There is nothing else with such a high amount of standard equipment for the price. Dealerships are a mixed bag. Personally mine has been fantastic so far. We definitely have the Nostalgia of MG. People born in the 50s and 60s remember the MG sports cars and the popularity of them. Even though the present MG is a far cry from those days. It's still a nostalgia thing. I'm amazed at the amount of people who come and look at the HS when it's parked in town. They can't believe its badged as MG. The UK has the update version now. Full digital dash etc. MPG is reasonable I use premium fuel and achieve 40mpg in town traffic. For sure MG has a good foothold in the UK market and that will continue to rise over time. The ZS electric and the HS PHEV are selling very well. It can take some time to get one though. I waited 3 months this year for my HS but have seen stories of people being quoted possibly a year from order to collection. I can see things improving as MG carries on with strong sales in the UK. If they ever release a full electric HS then I believe they will clean up in the uk. Hope your family is well 👍👍

[@yagizakinci4249]

Great comparison video. Go for the HS if you don't have $16k to throw away. Mg will not disappoint you and hey good news they have fixed the infotainment system in the HS it's much faster now but the transmission is still the same. But it's bearable.

[@ValueCarsAU]

Thanks mate, did they actually fix infotainment in the Australian version? Or are you talking about an overseas one? I guess we'll see when we take my wife's ZST into service and ask for a software update, if one is available... 🤞

[@shadyxxx1876]

Mate, picking my MG HS next week in the UK and I don’t think the infotainment system is or has been improved from Dimitri’s previous vids

[@havivelbaz]

How is The multimedia in the HS ? I heard it's so laggy and when you get a call during it get stuck

[@ValueCarsAU]

I barely used it, but thought it was okay if you're not a particularly refined audiophile

[@mharro88]

I think the MG ZST essence/Excite is the best car MG has made to date... Especially it's transmission. The MG Phev is up there too but too expensive for their first gen Hybrid and hybrid will die before petrol cars will

[@ValueCarsAU]

I agree, even though I'm a big MG HS fan too.

[@mharro88]

@@ValueCarsAU the most ideal car to me would be a ZST PHEV

[@matthewdonnelly7599]

love your videos! I was choosing between MG or Kia!, why don’t you have you MG HS anymore? :(

[@yagizakinci4249]

Hi Matthew. I have test driven both cars and was fall in love with Kia Sportage. I know the curved screen and the outside look of the Sportage is gorgeous. But I assure you mg HS will not disappoint you. You will be saving a lot of money if you go with mg HS for same futures that Kia can offer. I recently bought mg HS essence X and the car is no Less luxurious than Sportage. And they definitely fixed the most problems and the infotainment system in the new HS is much faster. I have no issues in terms of lag. Only advice that I can give is, if you don't need and all wheel drive go For the essence not essence X. I'm averaging around 11.5 Little in city driving on the X. Normal essence will be cheaper to run and buy. But if you don't do lot of KMs and would like to go camping every now and than, Essence X is lot more powerful and capable car for a off road.

[@ValueCarsAU]

Hey Matt, check out my reasoning video on my channel - I talked to my viewers about it... Was a semi-hard decision. Hard because I love pretty much everything about the car and its value for money. "Semi" because I hate DCT and really dislike their lackluster infotainment system (at least on our AU 2021 model).

[@ValueCarsAU]

I agree with Yagiz here too - don't go for X, you don't need AWD and just save your money, Matt.

[@martingibbons1324]

A classic remains a classic where as space age ultra modern dates very very fast.

[@ValueCarsAU]

I agree!

[@MyFoxworld]

When for a look at an MG HS a few days ago. Coming from a Nissan qashqai for the last three years I took one look at it from the side and thought it looked exactly like my qashqai. I didn't even bother looking it after that and went for a test drive in a 3008 instead.

[@ValueCarsAU]

Well if it's just about the looks, then 3008 does look (subjectively) better. But when you start counting the price, quality, features, etc - that's a much harder balance of things to get perfectly right.

[@MyFoxworld]

@MG Owners AU It's probably a nice-looking car for most people, but for me, I'm sick of that generic look. If i was going for that look.. 25k for a new MG or a second-hand Volvo XC40 I'm picking the Volvo all day long with its bigger boot and much better looks. You could also get a top of the range Mazda CX-5 with only 15/20k miles on it for the same money. Both cars have been around forever so they are tried and tested. Nobody knows about the reliability of the MG HS after say 4 or 5 years down the line!

[@martingibbons1324]

The 7 year warrant does give a little piece of mind@@MyFoxworld

[@stefanocioni2587]

$50k is very over priced and many better cars in that price range; mg is the clear winner

[@ValueCarsAU]

Chinese cars today what Korean used to be 10 years ago! Give it 10 years, MG prices will skyrocket too! ;)

[@TheMarathonomahos]

Hyundai is real leather, MG is leatherette

[@ValueCarsAU]

Any other smart assertions?

[@IamCooper-rk5bn]

I’ll take the Kia over any Chinese made product any day of the week. Chinese cars might look nice, but wait 5-10 years and see how they hold up.

[@ValueCarsAU]

Koreans held up fine... I'd look at the brand, not at the country of origin. Plenty of shit cars from more established brands like VW.