MG4 Review

When the first renewed MG models landed in the UK, they were pretty lacklustre and mainly justified their existence with low prices. The MG4 demonstrates once and for all that the company isn't an 'also-ran' player and can compete with – and even beat – some of the very best cars in the class.

So what do we have? This is a five-door, five-seat family hatchback that's within a few millimetres of a Volkswagen Golf in every dimension. The MG4 isn't some half-hearted parts-sharing exercise with a petrol-powered model, however, and uses a chassis exclusively designed for EVs. That means the wheels are pushed out to the corners of the car as there's no engine up front, giving more passenger space than you'd ever find in a fuel-powered model.

On the road, the MG4 demonstrates why EVs make such great everyday and commuter cars. The controls are light, accurate and responsive, helping the car feel predictable and confidence-inspiring on the road. And, because there's no engine or gearbox to spin up to speed, you can jump into gaps in traffic the moment you spot them. Performance is pretty strong, too, with every version pulling hard all the way up to fast motorway speeds without a hint of strain.

There's a choice of three battery pack sizes – 51, 64 and 77kWh – with the middle version expected to be the most popular. MG's advertised figures rate the 51kWh model at 218 miles to a full charge, with the 64kWh achieving 281 miles and the extended 77kWh version claiming 323 miles. Those numbers will be close to the best-case scenario, however, so expect around 25% less than stated if you're travelling long distances in cold weather, for instance. DC fast charging means the benchmark 10-80% charge can be completed in less than 40 minutes from a fast-enough charger.

All that's impressive, but the MG4 truly secures its victory on the bottom line. At the time of writing, entry-level cars cost from just less than £27,000. You can add another £2,500 to spec the larger 64kWh battery, and a further £3,000 for the upgraded Trophy trim. Jump up yet another £3,000 and you'll gain the extended 77kWh battery pack, but we reckon the extra range isn't really worth the money, making the mid-spec model the sweet spot in the range.

Those prices are good but what's even better is buying an MG4 on the used market. Our look at electric car depreciation shows that EVs usually lose a big chunk of value over the first 12 months, with the rate of depreciation then slowing to a level much closer to fuel-powered cars. In other words, you can save an absolute fortune by buying an MG4 that's just one year old and avoid the worst of its depreciation.

Like almost every other brand, MG has embraced minimalism for the MG4's interior. There's a two-spoke steering wheel that feels relatively nice in the hand, with a smattering of thumb controls and a fairly small driver's information screen behind it. Then there's the central infotainment system with a panel of shortcut buttons beneath it, and a small 'shelf' with the rotary gear selector and a spot for your phone beneath that.

And that's about it! Annoyingly, all your climate control adjustments and drive mode selections are carried out through the screen. MG's even removed the start-stop button – the car turns on when you're belted in place with your foot on the brake, and turns off again once you've parked and opened the door. Forgive us for sounding old-fashioned, but we'd probably take a few more traditional controls here and there if we had the choice, as the MG4's overly screen-based approach can feel a bit fiddly.

Material quality is a step up from old MG models, and feels on par with other mass-market brands like Ford or Peugeot. It's still not outstanding, however, with a little too much black plastic for our tastes and harder, scratchier surfaces used lower down in the cabin. There are a few soft-touch materials on the door cards and centre console to give your elbows somewhere nice to rest, but we felt the seat upholstery on our SE-trimmed car looked a little cheap. Trophy cars gain part-faux-leather trim, plus heating for the front seats and steering wheel.

As mentioned, the MG4's centre infotainment screen has a busy life because it handles not only your navigation and entertainment functions, but also all your climate controls and vehicle drive settings. For the most part, it's up to the task – the resolution is sharp and it's very responsive to taps and swipes. Fixed on-screen shortcuts on the right-hand side make it fairly easy to jump between functions, and you'll find physical buttons for the home screen and volume adjustment below.

Probably the screen's biggest shortcoming is its height, if you'll pardon the pun. It's fairly wide but isn't especially tall, which means menus need a widescreen layout to fit properly. This means some on-screen buttons end up being quite small, and are harder to hit with your finger as a result. While we're complaining, the driver's screen behind the wheel could be better thought out – the layout is a bit scatterbrain and includes a Tesla-style 'visualisation' of the cars around you that's more distracting than useful.

The screen setup in every MG4 is the same at least, so you don't need to upgrade to Trophy trim to get the most modern-looking setup. There are a few extra features for buyers that do pick a Trophy car, however, such as a 360º parking camera, a wireless phone charger and built-in sat nav. All models include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, however, so you're not dependent on MG's own navigation software.

A key benefit of ditching a car's engine is you can push the wheels all the way out to the vehicle's corners. This creates more space between the wheels without increasing the overall length, which means you can unlock much more passenger space without taking up any more room on the road. The MG4 makes the most of this advantage, serving up an enormous cabin compared to similar family hatchbacks.

Most rivals in this class can't seat one very tall adult behind another, with the rear passenger running short of legroom. Not so in the MG4 – you can push the front seats all the way back to fit even the loftiest of basketball players, and still have enough room for a tall adult behind them. The only cars in this class that rival this feat are other EV hatchbacks like the Volkswagen ID.3 and Cupra Born – no fuel-powered models come close to the MG4's passenger accommodation.

A small but slightly sour note is that the rear backrest is a little too upright. That makes it a little harder to recline or slouch in the seat, which might be a bit disappointing for very tall rear passengers because they aren't afforded quite as much headroom as they have legroom. Accessing the cabin is easy, at least, thanks to the MG4's long doors that swing wide, revealing large openings that are easy to climb through. This also makes it easy to load a bulky child seat into the rear row, as you won't be bending around the car's bodywork. Just be careful when opening the rear doors, however, as they're longer than you might expect.

You get a 363-litre boot in the MG4, which is pretty standard for the class, lagging a little behind the 385-litre Volkswagen ID.3 and Cupra Born. The space itself is reasonably long, but width and depth aren't especially huge, so drivers who often cart around bulky cargo might want to look at a more spacious model. We reckon buyers with babies or toddlers in pushchairs might struggle to fit all their clobber in the boot, but families with bigger kids should be able to get away with it.

In-cabin storage is a bit of a mixed bag. The door bins are a bit tight and unlined so anything you put in there risks rattling around. Similarly, the glove box is fairly wide and deep but quite short, so you'll need to think tactically about what kinds of biscuits you'll be able to stash in there. On the plus side, you get a big empty space between the front seats that's just large enough for a handbag or small rucksack, complete with cupholders and oddment storage beneath it. The rear floor is nearly flat, too, so you can store more soft bags in the cabin if you're not carrying a fifth passenger.

Our test car came with the most popular battery and motor setup. That means the mid-size 'Long Range' 64kWh battery pack and a single 150kW (203hp) electric motor on the rear axle. Pick this setup in entry-level SE trim and claimed range stands at 281 miles, or 270 miles if you upgrade to the higher-spec Trophy trim. Even if we assume a conservative real-world figure of 200 miles on a full charge – for example, motorway driving in winter weather – that's still plenty for most buyers' everyday needs if they have easy access to EV charging.

Speaking of charging, the Long Range 64kWh and Extended Range 77kWh batteries can DC fast-charge at up to 135kW. That's not exactly a blistering speed but it's enough to complete the benchmark 10-80% charge in 35 minutes – perfect time for a loo and snack break. The Extended Range pack completes the 10-80% charge in 39 minutes, and the standard 51kWh pack also takes 39 minutes because it can only charge at up to 117kW. Like most EVs, a full charge can be completed overnight from a 7kWh home wallbox.

Forget the numbers for a moment, however, because what matters is how polished the MG4's setup feels to use. All models are fairly punchy and our test car felt every bit as zippy as its 203hp output suggests, with the 0-62mph dash completed in 7.9 seconds. Acceleration is linear and even, with no hopping from the rear axle and just the faintest electrical whine accompanying the experience. There's no sense of the motor's power letting up even as you hit fast motorway speeds, so you never feel outgunned when overtaking traffic.

The accelerator responds predictably to movements of your right foot, with a smooth initial acceleration ramp in normal mode that stops you from snapping your passengers' necks back if you hit the throttle too hard. Swap over to sport mode and you can more obviously feel the instant kick to the back we've come to expect from many EVs. And, with barely any noise accompanying this respectable performance, it can be easy to go quite fast in the MG4 without even noticing. We also found the swap-over between the car's regen braking and physical brakes to be very smooth, with no perceptible change in how hard the car was slowing down.

We did notice the absence of some physical controls on the dashboard, however. You can only adjust the MG4's driving modes, or its level of regenerative braking through the car settings page on the infotainment system. This makes swapping into sport mode, for example, feel like less of an occasion. Oddly enough, regenerative braking can be adjusted separately from accessing the car's one-pedal-driving mode, which we feel is an unnecessary degree of complication.

We're happy to heap praise on the MG4's driving experience – and we will – but let's be clear… this isn't a sports car, nor is it an aggressive hot hatch. What the MG4 is, however, is an extremely well-rounded everyday car. If you're just looking for something that'll waft you from point A to point B while demanding a minimum amount of effort on your part, this car delivers in spades. Its controls are light, accurate and intuitive, so you're never guessing how much steering or how much pedal input is needed to place the car where you want.

There's definitely some body movement as you go over uneven surfaces, which exposes the car's slightly softer attitude, but it's never bouncy or crashy. Instead, the MG4 strikes a near-perfect balance between feeling composed and stable, while also being able to roll over and absorb impacts through the suspension before they make it to the base of your seat. You do feel the odd bit of patter through the suspension over poor surfaces but it doesn't really affect the car's generally comfortable setup.

The steering is fairly light and quick. You'll notice this if you try to flick the car through a fast direction change, as you're rewarded with no real sense of feedback through the rim, and some controlled-but-noticeable body roll. However, you'll also notice this if you're trying to manoeuvre the MG4 through tight urban settings, as you don't have to put in much effort at the wheel to make the most of the car's excellent turning circle.

We also tried out the MG4's adaptive cruise control and traffic jam assist feature. This lets you set a cruising speed, like normal cruise control, and the car will automatically follow the car in front of you in traffic at a safe distance. This operates all the way down to a complete stop, with the car automatically pulling away again once traffic restarts, all the way up to your set max speed, meaning you can crawl through long jams without ever pressing a pedal. Of course, like all semi-automated driving functions, you must be ready to take over at all times should the system encounter a problem or make a mistake.