How much will it cost to run?

• Poor fuel economy from both engines
• Seven-year warranty coverage
• Some reliability issues reported

According to the official WLTP figures, the MG ZS can return average fuel economy of 42.7mpg when the VTi-tech and T-GDI engines are combined with a manual gearbox. Add an automatic gearbox to the latter, and economy drops to 39.0mpg. In all cases, we achieved more like 35mpg in our testing.

All those numbers are way off the pace for a small SUV. Similar engines in rival cars such as the Jeep Avenger and Vauxhall Mokka reach the upper 40s in WLTP testing and mid-40s in the real world. Then there are hybrids such as the Toyota Yaris Cross and Honda HR-V that can comfortably exceed 50mpg.

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Then there are CO2 emissions of 149g/km for the manual cars and 163g/km for the automatic. That jacks up the first-year VED payment on a brand-new ZS to uncomfortable levels, especially when the car starts with a relatively low list price.

Of course, the electric MG ZS EV costs less to run but is more expensive to buy in the first place.

Servicing and warranty

The MG ZS should be pretty cheap to service, but you might have to add travel costs if you live some distance from one of the 90-odd dealers. MG provides warranty coverage for seven years or 80,000 miles, with no mileage cap in the first year.

That’s up there with the best in the industry and bespeaks the brand’s confidence in its product. However, we have heard reports that MG can be finnicky about honouring the warranty. Spare parts supply can be an issue, as well.

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Reliability

• Long warranty suggests MG is confident
• Feels pretty well made
• But owners reporting some issues

We haven’t heard of any disasters afflicting the MG ZS, however our owner reviews suggest noisy gearboxes are a common fault. Some gearboxes have been replaced, which may or may not be directly related. Some owners have also commented that the body is made from quite thin metal that dents easily.

Otherwise, the car feels pretty robust and MG’s seven-year warranty offers some reassurance. The government’s vehicle recall check website shows none have been issued, which is a real rarity in a car that’s been on sale as long as the ZS.