2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ Review

Hybrid SUVs are a major player in the Australian sales charts as of late. Manufacturers are catching on to the demand of Australians and starting to offer more hybrid options. MG is one such manufacturer that has also realised this and have promised to offer a more diversified range of powertrain options. The first step of this plan was the MG 3 small car but the car tested here will undoubtedly have more sales impact, especially considering that the car it’s replacing is been the most popular small SUV in Australia. Enter the new 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+.

The ZS Hybrid+ promises great fuel economy mixed with the SUV practicality that Australians have come to love. Add in a nice to drive package with as strong warranty and what’s not to like? We tested the top spec MG ZS Hybrid + Essence to find out if it should be your hybrid small SUV of choice.

How much does the 2025 MG ZS Hybrid cost to buy?

For now, there are two variants offered in the ZS Hybrid+ lineup: the entry-level Excite – priced from $33,990 drive away nationally – and the higher-spec Essence that we’re testing here. Priced at $36,990 drive away, the ZS Hybrid+ Essence is the top-spec ZS, while there are also non-hybrid models due in 2025 that will lower the price of entry to the new ZS range to likely below the $30,000 mark, which is where the majority of current ZST sales lie.

ZS Hybrid+ Excite standard equipment:

• 17-inch alloy wheels with a tyre repair kit
• Dusk-sensing automatic LED headlights
• Rain-sensing automatic wipers
• Keyless entry with push button start
• Roof rails
• Heated and auto-folding exterior mirrors
• Fabric upholstery
• Single-zone automatic climate control with rear air vents
• ‘iSmart’ live services (one-year subscription)
• 7.0-inch digital driver’s display in a 12.3-inch binnacle
• 12.3-inch touchscreen
• Wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• AM/FM/DAB+ digital radio
• Six-speaker sound system
• 4x USB ports (2x front, 1x rear view mirror, 1x rear seat)
• Eco, sport and normal driving modes
• Adjustable regenerative braking
• Alarm

ZS Hybrid+ safety equipment:

• Six airbags
• Auto emergency braking (AEB)
• Adaptive cruise control
• Intelligent speed limit assist
• Adaptive lane guidance
• Lane keeping assistance with lane departure warning
• Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert
• Auto high beam
• Driver attention monitoring
• Door open warning
• Rear collision warning
• Tyre pressure monitoring
• 360-degree camera
• Rear parking sensors

ZS Hybrid+ Essence adds:

• 18-inch alloy wheels
• Leather steering wheel
• Synthetic leather upholstery (black or white)
• 6-way electric driver’s seat with manual lumbar adjustment
• Panoramic sunroof
• Heated front seats
• LED front reading lights

ZS Hybrid+ colour range:

• Dover White
• Lunar Grey Metallic (+$700)
• Sloane Silver Metallic (+$700)
• Emerald Green Metallic (+$700)
• Brighton Blue Metallic (+$700)
• Diamond Red Metallic (+$700)
• Black Pearl Metallic (+$700 and fitted to our test vehicle)

While there is a healthy level of standard equipment on either ZS Hybrid+ model, we think that there should be some additions considering that this is a brand new car in 2025. A telescoping steering wheel, an auto-dimming rear mirror, wireless smartphone mirroring and LED exterior indicators should be included, while we think ambient lighting would lift the cabin ambience further as well.

Competing with the ZS Hybrid+ are the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid, the Hyundai Kona Hybrid and the Haval Jolion Hybrid and these three competitors make the ZS Hybrid+ Essence look like excellent value for money. Priced at $38,990 drive away, the Jolion Hybrid Ultra is the cheapest competitor but is still $2,000 more expensive than the ZS and features less equipment. The equivalent Toyota Corolla Cross Atmos Hybrid 2WD costs roughly $51,300 drive away and the Hyundai Kona Hybrid Premium (with sunroof) roughly $48,000 drive away – significantly more than the ZS.

How efficient is the 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+?

Under the bonnet of the 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ is a 1.5-litre engine that is paired to an electric motor as well as what MG calls a “three-speed hybrid transmission”. Combined outputs for this drivetrain are 158kW of power and 465Nm of torque and its claimed 0-100km/h time is a reasonable 8.7 seconds. In comparison, the Jolion Hybrid makes 140kW/375Nm, the Corolla Cross 146kW and the Kona 104kW/265Nm, making the ZS Hybrid+ well endowed for grunt in the small SUV segment.

The claimed average fuel consumption figure for the 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ is 4.7L/100km, with claimed CO2 emissions of 110g/km – the Jolion’s claim is 5.1L/100km, the Corolla Cross 4.3L/100km and the Kona Hybrid just 3.9L/100km. Annoyingly, the trip computer of our ZS Hybrid+ reset often but we regularly saw figures as low as 4.3L/100km on most journeys and our test car was brand new as well. Unlike all of its rivals here, however, the ZS Hybrid+ needs minimum 95RON premium unleaded, which is something to consider as it will add slightly to the fill up cost.

What is the 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ like to drive?

The previous ZS and ZST aren’t known for offering an amazing driving experience, but considering how lovely the MG 4 is from behind the wheel, is the new ZS an improvement on the previous model? Overall, it’s definitely better – it’s more refined, better dynamically and more comfortable – though there is still some room for improvement. The new model’s larger dimensions – now 4430mm long (up 107mm), 1818mm wide (up 9mm), 1635mm tall (18mm lower) and 2610mm in wheelbase (up 25mm) – make it feel more planted and more mature on the road, which will definitely please the target market.

Dynamically, the ZS Hybrid+ is a definite improvement on the ZS and ZST it replaces – and is definitely nicer to drive than the Jolion – but a Kona and Corolla Cross are more fun from behind the wheel. The ZS Hybrid+’s chassis is definitely set up for comfort and it generally is quite comfortable, though the ride in the top-spec Essence can initially be a touch sharp. The steering is nicely weighted no matter the drive mode selected but offers not much feel. It’s not a sports car but the handling is reasonable, though there’s quite a bit of body roll and – like the previous model – feels a bit high, though that could be down to the odd driving position.

Still, the new generation ZS Hybrid+ feels planted at most speeds, especially at highway pace where the ride settles nicely. Hybrids can sometimes be annoying on highways – largely due to CVT transmissions – but the ZS Hybrid+’s three-speed hybrid transmission feels more natural than a CVT and makes for ample refinement at that speed. The staged power delivery is odd, however as only once you’ve had your foot down for a few seconds does then all the power – from both the petrol engine and electric motor – arrive, causing torque steer and wheelspin. It could definitely be smoother but – in a weird way – it is fun.

The ZS Hybrid+ can stay in EV mode for surprisingly long thanks to its 1.83kWh battery, which sits underneath the rear seats. We were impressed with just how much driving we could do on EV power before the petrol engine kicked in – if there’s enough charge, it’ll easily handle up to 50km/h or so on light throttle. The active safety systems in the ZS Hybrid+ have also been improved compared to the ZST, though could still be further massaged to reach Toyota and Hyundai levels of refinement. The lane keeping assistance is strong and the overspeed alarm is annoying, though the active safety package is far superior to Haval’s and the 360-degree camera is excellent.

How practical is the 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+?

If you’ve been in the previous MG ZS or ZST, you’ll be aware that the interiors of those cars were clearly built to a price. But sit in the interior of the new 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ and you don’t get that impression any more – it’s significantly more modern, better quality and more practical this time around. There are good quality materials and the screens used in the interior are nicely integrated as well.

The door cards where you rest your arm are covered in a soft touch synthetic leather, the dashboard is soft to touch and even the faux leather on the seats is nice to touch. Gone are the days of plastic fantastic interiors from cheaper cars. One thing we weren’t too fond of, however, is the hard plastic portion of the upper door cards, especially with their fake stitching – if they were soft touch, it would feel even nicer inside the ZS.

We wish the driving position had more adjustment in the ZS too. At the moment, it’s reasonably comfortable – it even has lumbar adjustment, which is a first for us in an MG product – but the steering wheel doesn’t adjust for reach, which means that some drivers won’t reach their ideal driving position.

The 12.3-inch touchscreen that sits in the centre of the ZS’s cabin looks more premium than anything we have seen previously from this manufacturer, despite using the same software as the MG 4. It features inbuilt satellite navigation, live services, wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and digital radio. The screen quality is good and unlike the previous ZS infotainment systems, the one in the ZS is responsive. The six-speaker sound system is also better than we expected it to be but we’d love to see a more premium sound system option – same with features like ambient lighting and a larger driver’s display.

The rear seat of the ZS is roomier than the previous car, and is quite spacious for the segment. MG says that the new ZS has grown in both length and width than the last car and that is shown in the rear seats most – not only is there plenty of room, even for taller adults, but there are also good amenities on offer: air vents, one USB-A port, map pockets and door pockets for bottles, though not a central arm rest.

The boot of the ZS Hybrid+ has also grown with this new model. With the rear seats in place it has 443-litres of boot space (84L more than old ZS) and with the rear seats folded, that opens up to a healthy 1,457L or 270L more than the old ZS. There is also an LED boot light, under floor storage, bag hooks and some cargo tie down points – though no spare wheel, annoyingly.

Is the 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ expensive to service?

Like other new MG products, the 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ is equipped with a 10-year/250,000km warranty. As MG will tell you, its warranty is industry-leading in many ways – GWM covers its products with a seven-year warranty, while both Hyundai and Toyota offer even less at just five years.

Its service intervals for the ZS Hybrid+ are 12-months or 15,000km – an improvement on the 10,000km intervals of the old model – and the cost to service the ZS Hybrid+ over five years/75,000km is $1,232 or just $246.40 per service. In comparison, the Haval Jolion Hybrid costs $1,650 to service over the same period, while the Corolla Cross – from a brand known for cheap servicing – even asks $1,250.

Should I buy a 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+?

On paper, the 2025 MG ZS Hybrid+ smashes it out of the ballpark for MG in Australia. It’s great value for money, is covered by an industry-leading aftersales package with low running costs and features a gutsy and efficient hybrid drivetrain. Is it as positive in real life?

Mostly, yes. The ZS Hybrid+ drives well and can be quite efficient in real life, while its cabin is good quality, practical and packed with technology like an intuitive 12.3-inch touchscreen. It’s also more attractive than the previous model, and its sizing is also better too. Counting against the ZS Hybrid+ is an odd driving position, a strangely non-linear hybrid power delivery and that it’s still missing some bits of standard equipment despite costing a lot more money than the previous ZS (though that’s in part due to the hybrid-only lineup for now). But overall, it’s clear to see that the new ZS Hybrid+ is a serious player in the small SUV segment and if you’re after such a car, it should definitely be on your test drive list.