2 days ago
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A seven-seat SUV is coming to complete the petrol-powered MG SUV range in Australia, with a chance for hybrid or plug-in hybrid power at a later date.
Family Cars
MG is due to launch its first seven-seat family SUV in Australia by the end of next year, as it outlines plans to climb the sales charts in pursuit of top-selling Japanese and South Korean brands.
The name for the new large MG SUV is yet to be locked in, but it is likely to be known as the QS – splitting the current ZS small SUV and HS mid-size SUV in the alphabet.
Due in Australian showrooms sometime next year, it is widely expected to be a restyled version of the Roewe RX9, a large SUV sold by MG and Roewe parent SAIC in its home market.
Another Roewe model – the RX5 – formed the basis of the latest MG HS, with an MG front fascia, conventional rather than pop-out door handles, and a bespoke interior.
It is sold as a six-seater in the brand's home market, but Australian models would adopt a seven-seat layout.
Roewe's largest SUV is driven by turbo-petrol power, rather than a diesel engine – or any form of electrification, at least in the SUV's current form overseas.
Prices are yet to be confirmed, but the MG QS could be one of the most affordable seven-seaters on sale, given the latest HS starts from $33,990 drive-away.
Company executives have previously confirmed a new seven-seater is on the way next year, but MG Motor Australia CEO Peter Ciao let slip the name when asked to outline the brand's 2025 launch plans.
"ZS ICE [new non-hybrid] will come next year, and the HS hybrid and the plug-in hybrid will come next year. And then QS will [also] come next year."
MG Motor Australia head of product Akshat Ahuja quickly added, acknowledging the seven-seater: "Yeah, we have another SUV [on top of ZS and HS] ... We still are deciding the name for that."
SAIC and MG are yet to trademark the QS name, but it is logical as it effectively splits the brand's other two SUVs in the alphabet – Q is nine letters after H (for HS), but nine letters before Z (for ZS).
The seven-seater is likely to play a core role in helping MG achieve bold sales targets of breaking into Australia's Top Five best-selling car brands by the end of 2027, and the Top Three by the end of 2030.
It is the last Top 10 brand in 2024 without a seven-seat model in Australian showrooms, and one of just four in the Top 20 without one.
The QS is yet to be revealed, nor be spied testing, but the above illustrations by Theottle show what an MG-badged RX9 could look like, with styling changes informed by the RX5 to HS conversion.
Interestingly, the SUV has already gone on sale as an MG in the Middle East, but as the MG RX9 – not the MG QS – and with the Roewe's exterior styling, not an MG-specific nose.
The export-market version is fitted with a different interior, trading the Roewe's three dashboard screens – which measure 47 inches corner to corner – for two 12.3-inch touchscreens similar to the HS.
The RX9 measures 4983mm long, 1967mm wide and 1786mm tall, on a 2915mm wheelbase – making it 17mm longer, 37mm wider, 31mm taller and 65mm longer in wheelbase than a Toyota Kluger.
Available features overseas include leather trim, power-adjustable heated and ventilated seats in the first and second rows, 21-inch alloys, adaptive suspension, and a 12-speaker Bose stereo.
Powering the SUV in its home market a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder developing 178kW/392Nm, matched with a nine-speed torque-converter automatic transmission and front- or all-wheel drive.
A 170kW version of this engine and transmission combination has received government approval for sale in the HS locally, but is yet to reach showrooms.
In the Middle East, the RX9's 2.0-litre engine is detuned to 150kW/350Nm, likely to help meet strict Euro 6b emissions rules.
A hybrid or plug-in hybrid version of the QS could be added at a later date, as MG has confirmed it will grow its hybrid and plug-in hybrid range to five models – but only four have been accounted for.
Less likely is an electric QS, as future MG electric SUVs will use dedicated electric-vehicle underpinnings, rather than adapt a petrol car platform.
Family Cars Guide
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family.
