We pick up our new MG HS PHEV Trophy on 2nd September 2026, and from the 3rd I’m giving myself a slightly ridiculous challenge.
My normal commute is around 19 miles each way, or 38 miles a day. Two days therefore comes to 76 miles.
The MG HS PHEV has a 24.7 kWh battery and an official WLTP electric-only range of up to 75 miles.
You can probably see where this is going.
I need 76 miles from a car officially rated for just 75.
The aim is to leave home on the first morning with a full battery, complete two full days travelling to work and back, and see how much charge is left when I arrive home on the second evening. If the petrol engine has to kick in a mile from home, I've lost. If I make it back entirely on electricity, I've won.
And then, obviously, I'll want to beat it.
Yeah, I am ever so slightly competitive.
The 76-mile challenge
My regular route should make this particularly interesting. Around 70% is on 60 mph roads, with the remainder largely through 30 mph villages and built-up areas. Much of it is winding Yorkshire country roads, with bends, junctions and regular changes of speed.
That means plenty of opportunities to lift off early, coast and use regenerative braking rather than simply sitting at 70 mph on a motorway for mile after mile.
I'm not planning to crawl around trying to manufacture a record either. The idea is to drive normally and see what the car can genuinely achieve on my everyday commute.
The league table
I'll keep my top five attempts here, ranked by how much battery I have used after completing the full day's commute.
So yes, the league table records individual 38-mile commuting days because the car will inevitably get used for other journeys between attempts. Whenever I manage two consecutive days where the MG is used for nothing except commuting, I'll also record whether it completed the full 76 miles entirely on electricity.
| Position | Date | Dist. | Charge used |
Temp. | Weather | Heating / AC | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | |||||||
| 2nd | |||||||
| 3rd | |||||||
| 4th | |||||||
| 5th |
The interesting part will be seeing what changes the result.
Temperature should make a noticeable difference, as will rain, heating and air-conditioning, traffic and probably even the exact route I take. A mild September commute could look very different from a freezing January morning when the battery and cabin both need warming up.
Over time I should end up with a reasonably useful bit of real-world MG HS PHEV range data, rather than one isolated journey carried out in perfect conditions.
And because it's a plug-in hybrid, there's no real range anxiety involved. If I don't make the 76 miles on electricity, the petrol engine simply takes over and gets me home.
I've just lost that round.
Can the MG HS PHEV really do 75 miles on electric?
That's what I'm hoping to find out.
MG gives the HS PHEV an official WLTP electric range of up to 75 miles from its 24.7 kWh battery. Real-world range will inevitably vary with temperature, speed, weather, heating and driving style.
My commute gives me an unusually neat test: 76 miles over two working days, just one mile beyond the official figure.
So 75 miles isn't actually my target.
76 is. Like I said, I have a competitive streak when I want to.
Got a thought on this? Share this post or say hello elsewhere online.