Car news,  3 September ’24: New MG HS launches from $33,990, Volvo confirms 380kW/910Nm dual-motor EX90 for Aus, and more

---

Thanks for joining us this Tuesday 3rd of September, 2024. Notably in car news today: All-new MG HS midsize SUV launches in petrol guise from $33,990 driveaway, the Volvo’s first new seven-seater in a decade, the EX90, to land in Oz in 380kW/910Nm Ultra Performance guise.

Browse this issue:

• New-generation MG HS launches locally
• 380kW/910Nm Volvo EX90 Ultra Performance due here this year 
• Jeep slashes electric Avenger pricing prior to local deliveries 
• Queensland axes its $6000 electric car rebate…tonight
• 2024 Volvo EX90 Ultra Performance reviewed

New-generation MG HS midsize SUV pricing and spec

• The new-generation MG HS midsize SUV has launched in Australia in a three-trim lineup offered exclusively with petrol power prior to a PHEV version joining the ranks in Q1 2025.
  
• The new HS is larger and longer, featuring a completely redesigned interior that offers dual-12.3-inch displays right throughout the range that includes base Vibe, midspec Excite and flagship Essence variants. 

• The range kicks off with the entry Vibe variant at $33,990. The Excite is priced from $36,990, while the Essence tops things out at $40,990. While these are list prices, the national driveaway pricing is the same. 

• All variants are powered by an uprated 125kW and 275Nm 1.5-litre turbocharged four cylinder engine mated to a new wet-type dual-clutch transmission. All versions are front-wheel drive.
  
• All variants of the new HS fit the same MG Pilot suite of active safety and assistance and the new range features MG’s recently introduced 10-year/250,000km warranty.
  

Volvo EX90 electric seven-seater to pack 380kW/910Nm for Aus

• It’s now confirmed that Volvo will bring its first all-new seven-seat SUV in a decade, the electric EX90, to Australia in full-house Ultra Performance AWD guise.

• The Ultra Performance variant packs a dual-motor format that outputs a combined 380kW and 910Nm, yielding potent 4.9-second 0-100km/h potential for the 2.7-tonne-plus SUV. It shares its technical DNA with the Polestar 3. 

• It’s also expected, albeit unconfirmed, that the dual-motor versions of the EX90 will be joined by a choice of at least one single-motor rear-driven version locally. 

• While exact pricing is yet to be confirmed, it’s also expected the Ultra Performance will land in Australia at around the $130K mark when it launches later this year. Understandably, the single-motor guise would lob closer to the $100K.

Jeep slashed pricing of electric Avenger prior to launch

• Jeep has followed the lead of many EV importers of late by slashing the price of the new Avenger electric model before first deliveries take place in Australia this month.

• A trim of $4000 applies to the entry-level Longitude variant, which now arrives at $49,990 before on-roads. Both the midgrade Limited ($54,990) and top-spec Summit ($60,990) have both been treated to $3000 haircuts. 

• All grades of the compact-sized electric SUV are driven by a 115kW electric motor powered by a 54kWh battery with 400-volt architecture. 

• The range claim for the new Avenger is said to be up to 396 kilometres WLTP. Peak charging rate is 100kW DC and Jeep quotes 24 minutes for a 20-to-80-percent charge.

Queensland axing its $6000 EV rebate…tonight

• Queensland is the latest state to axe its EV incentivisation, called the Zero Emission Vehicle Rebate Scheme, which will conclude at midnight tonight.

• The scheme, which offered an enticing $6000 rebate on electric vehicles priced beneath a $68,000 threshold, is being wound up early after it was originally planned to run through until mid-2025. 

• Introduced in mid-2022, the scheme initially offered a $3000 rebate on EV vehicles priced at $58,000 or lower. The threshold was then raised by $10,000, and the rebate figure doubled to $6000, a year later. 

• Queensland is the fourth state to call time on EV rebates, the state government calling out plummeting EV pricing and an exhaustion of its $45 million funding for the scheme as key reasons.  

2024 Volvo EX90 Ultra Performance reviewed

• Chasing Cars senior contributor Nathan Ponchard flew to the US to drive the much awaited Volvo EX90 electric SUV, the brand’s first new seven-seater in a decade.
  
• In terms of positives, Ponchard found that the EX90 has sophisticated dynamics, impressive performance, good range and an exceptional B&W 25-speaker sound system.

• Aspects that Ponchard was less thrilled with in the new Volvo flagship includes the tempered luxury vibe of the cabin, the compromised storage and stowage, the projected circa-$130K price estimates and the make-do interior spaciousness 

• In the verdict, Ponchard questions whether Volvo has done enough with this all-important figurehead model for a brand (sort of) transitioning into an all-electric future, but surmises that “the more you ask of it…the better it gets”.
  

The next issue of Car News Today will be published on Wednesday 4th September at 4.30pm Sydney time.