MG HS Five-Star ANCAP Safety Rating: What Redlands Families Need to Know

The MG HS achieves a five-star ANCAP safety rating (the highest possible result) under the demanding 2023-2025 assessment criteria. Introduced to Australia and New Zealand in August 2024, the MG HS is a medium SUV available in petrol, Hybrid+ (HEV), and Super Hybrid (PHEV) variants. The rating was published in November 2024 and updated in January 2026, and applies to all variants built from May 2024 onwards.

With an Adult Occupant Protection score of 90 per cent, the MG HS posts the highest adult occupant result of any MG model currently rated by ANCAP in Australia. For Redlands families in the market for a mid-size SUV, that headline result is backed up by genuinely impressive detail across most categories, along with a few areas worth understanding before purchase. The full range is available at Bartons MG at 103 Redland Bay Road, Capalaba.

The Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) independently crash-tests and rates new vehicles sold in Australia and New Zealand at accredited facilities. A five-star rating is the highest result achievable and is completely separate from manufacturer safety claims.

ANCAP assesses four key categories: Adult Occupant Protection, Child Occupant Protection, Vulnerable Road User Protection, and Safety Assist. The MG HS returned its strongest results in adult and child occupant protection, with Safety Assist representing the area of most variability.

The MG HS (AS33 series, built from May 2024) achieved the following results under 2023-2025 criteria:

The rating applies to all seven variants sold in Australia and New Zealand, built from May 2024 onwards. It expires in December 2031.

ANCAP conducted additional frontal offset and oblique pole tests on hybrid and plug-in hybrid variants to confirm battery integrity and high-voltage system safety. All petrol, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid variants are covered by the same five-star rating.

What Was Tested

The MG HS was assessed through a frontal offset test at 50 km/h, a full-width frontal test at 50 km/h, a side impact at 60 km/h, an oblique pole test at 32 km/h, far-side impact tests, and whiplash protection assessments.

What the Results Show

Adult occupant protection is the MG HS's strongest category at 90 per cent, the highest adult occupant score of any MG model currently rated by ANCAP in Australia. The passenger compartment remained stable in the frontal offset test. Both the driver and front passenger received adequate protection for the chest and lower legs, with good protection across all other body regions and no deductions. The vehicle-to-vehicle compatibility penalty was just 0.98 points, among the lower penalties in this test, indicating a reduced risk to occupants of an oncoming vehicle compared to many competitors.

In the full-width frontal test, driver protection was adequate for the chest and good across all other critical body areas. For the rear passenger, neck protection was adequate and chest protection was marginal, with good protection of all other body areas.

The side impact and oblique pole results were both exceptional: the MG HS scored the maximum available points in both tests, with good protection across all critical body regions in each. For Redlands families navigating the arterial intersections along Redland Bay Road, Mount Cotton Road, and through the Capalaba retail precinct, that side-impact performance is directly relevant to everyday driving. The whiplash protection score was the full 4.00 out of 4.00 and the far-side impact score was the full 4.00 out of 4.00, with the centre airbag providing good head protection for both front seat occupants.

The rescue and extrication score was 2.17 out of 4. The rescue sheet, door opening, and multi-collision braking all scored. No eCall system is fitted to the MG HS, with only a 0.67 default point awarded in that element. Doors passed submergence testing, though window opening functionality was not demonstrated, which limited the submergence score.

What Was Tested

Child occupant protection is assessed through dynamic crash testing using six-year-old and ten-year-old child dummies in frontal offset and side impact scenarios, as well as a practical assessment of how standard Australian child restraints can be installed.

What the Results Show

The MG HS returned an outstanding dynamic crash test result for child occupant protection. In both the frontal offset and side impact tests, protection of both child dummies was good across all critical body regions, with the MG HS scoring the maximum 16.00 out of 16 in the frontal offset test and the maximum 8.00 out of 8 in the side impact test. A perfect dynamic result across both crash tests is a genuinely impressive outcome for a family SUV and a key differentiator for Redlands families prioritising child safety.

The MG HS is fitted with ISOFix lower anchorages on both rear outboard seats and top tether anchorages across all rear seating positions. Most assessed child restraint types can be installed in most rear positions. One practical note for Redlands families: one of the assessed booster seats could not be correctly installed in the centre rear position. Families who regularly use a booster in the middle seat should plan to use the outboard positions. Our team at Bartons MG Capalaba can help you find the right seating arrangement.

No child presence detection (CPD) system is available on the MG HS.

What Was Tested

Vulnerable road user (VRU) protection covers the physical construction of the vehicle's bonnet and windscreen and the performance of the AEB system in detecting and reacting to pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists.

Physical Impact Results

The MG HS bonnet and windscreen provided good or adequate head protection to pedestrians over most of its surface, with weak and poor results at the sides and rear of the bonnet and on the stiff windscreen pillars. Femur and lower leg protection were both rated good, with maximum points awarded for both. Pelvis protection was mixed, with areas of both good and poor performance.

Autonomous Emergency Braking: Pedestrians, Cyclists, and Motorcyclists

The VRU AEB system operates from 8 km/h to 85 km/h. Whether navigating the school zones along Redland Bay Road, sharing the road with cyclists on the Redlands Coast trail network, or travelling through the Capalaba Central car park during busy periods, the system covers the range of suburban and semi-urban scenarios Redlands drivers face daily.

Forward pedestrian AEB performance was rated good, with collisions avoided or mitigated in most tests including turning scenarios, day and night. In reverse (AEB Backover), performance was rated marginal, providing some mitigation but not reliably. This is worth noting for driveways and car parks.

Cyclist AEB performance was rated good, with collisions avoided or mitigated at most test speeds including turning scenarios. The MG HS provides both information and a warning when a cyclist is approaching from behind, a full cyclist dooring alert covering the driver door, which is useful along the Capalaba Central and Park Ridge Road precincts.

Motorcyclist AEB in forward scenarios was rated good, including in turning and overtaking scenarios, earning the full 6.00 out of 6 points. The lane support system in car-to-motorcyclist emergency lane keeping scenarios also earned the full 3.00 out of 3 points, which is a strong result particularly relevant to motorway driving on the Gateway and Pacific Motorway routes used regularly by Redlands commuters.

What Was Tested

Safety Assist evaluates the active safety technology suite: AEB for car-to-car scenarios, lane support, speed assistance, seat belt reminders, and driver monitoring.

Car-to-Car AEB: Good Performance Across the Board

The MG HS AEB system operates from 8 km/h to 150 km/h. Testing returned good performance across all standard car-to-car tests. AEB Junction and Crossing performance were both good, making them particularly relevant to the intersection-heavy road network through the Redlands. AEB Head-On also earned the full 1.00 point.

Lane Support System

The lane support system operates from 60 to 130 km/h, covering lane keep assist (LKA) and emergency lane keeping (ELK). Lane keep assist was rated good. Emergency lane keeping was rated adequate in car-to-car scenarios. The system earned the full 3.00 out of 3 in car-to-motorcyclist emergency lane keeping scenarios.

Speed Assistance and Driver Monitoring

The MG HS includes a speed assistance system with camera-based speed sign recognition, a manual speed limiter, and an intelligent speed limiter as standard. Intelligent adaptive cruise control (iACC) is not available on the MG HS.

A direct driver monitoring system (DMS) is fitted as standard and can detect driver drowsiness and distraction. However, the system did not meet all ANCAP requirements and scored zero points in the driver monitoring assessment. This is the primary reason the Safety Assist score sits at 74 per cent. The DMS is fitted and warns the driver, but its performance did not reach the level required by the ANCAP scoring protocol. Seat belt reminders with occupancy detection for all seating positions scored the full 1.00 out of 1.

The following safety features are standard across all MG HS variants sold in Australia and New Zealand:

• Dual frontal airbags (driver and front passenger)
• Side chest-protecting airbags (front and second-row seats)
• Side head-protecting curtain airbags (front and second-row seats)
• Centre airbag
• Knee airbags (driver and front passenger)
• Autonomous emergency braking: car-to-car (8-150 km/h), pedestrian forward and reverse, cyclist, and motorcyclist
• AEB Junction (car, pedestrian, cyclist, and motorcyclist) and AEB Crossing
• AEB Head-On
• Lane keep assist (LKA) and emergency lane keeping (ELK)
• Lane departure warning (LDW)
• Forward collision warning (FCW)
• Blind spot monitoring (BSM)
• Speed sign recognition, manual speed limiter, and intelligent speed limiter
• Direct driver monitoring system (distraction and fatigue warning)
• Cyclist dooring information and warning alert
• Seat belt reminders with occupancy detection (all seating positions)
• Multi-collision braking system
• ISOFix anchorages (rear outboard seats) and top tether anchorages (all rear positions)
• Rescue sheet for emergency responders

At Bartons MG, we believe Redlands families deserve honest, complete information about the safety of every vehicle they consider. The MG HS's five-star ANCAP result is independently verified, and its 90 per cent adult occupant protection score and perfect dynamic child occupant crash test results place it among the strongest performers in the medium SUV segment at its price point.

Whether you are considering the petrol variants, the Hybrid+ efficiency models, or the Super Hybrid plug-in, our team can walk you through the full safety specification and help you find the right variant for your family. Come and see us at 103 Redland Bay Road, Capalaba, take the MG HS for a test drive, or call (07) 3245 2200 to speak with the team. Browse current stock at BartonsMG.com.au.