Mark Slack – Road Test

MG4 – strikingly affordable

Since they relaunched in this country MG has been launching a raft of increasingly good vehicles and are now venturing strongly into EV vehicles. One of their newest is the MG4, and it has met with much praise from the motoring press. Whilst style is always a subjective matter the MG4 is certainly striking and helped by some equally striking colours that really suit the car.

The range starts from, in EV terms, a very reasonable €31,414/£26,995 for the lead-in SE specification that includes climate, auto dimming rear view mirror, five driving modes, four regenerative braking modes to assist battery charging, Apple Car Play and Android Auto, LED headlights and rear lamps, auto headlights, two-tone black roof, rear parking sensors, tyre pressure monitoring system and a plethora of safety kit.

Range varies from 218 miles at the entry level with a 51KWH battery, up to 323 miles in the top-spec’ extended range with a 77kwh battery. Charging times are very good with a 50kw rapid charger, which are becoming a tad more common, taking just 52 minutes from 10-80%. That reduces to under 40 minutes if you find a 150kw charger and a 7kw home charger will take around 8 hours to 100% charge.

On the road the MG is a smooth and comfortable drive with a very decent turn of speed when required. It’s also quite handy on the twisty stuff too! Comfortable seats and good levels of space make it a pleasant and accommodating automotive holdall. The standard black interior – fabric entry level and leathercloth and fabric for the higher trim versions – makes for an encompassing feel inside the cabin where lighter options might be welcome by some.

The touch screens are a tad ponderous and slow to respond. It’s something that I found on other MG models too but which seemed to be resolved, so let’s hope that’s the case with the MG4. I’m no fan of touchscreen technology so if you have it then it needs to respond quickly and easily.

Lower trim models, in my view, represent particular value for money but even the top model is a not unreasonable €43,291/£37,190 given its specification. Arguably the look and feel of the interior is where competitors will win over the MG4 with more tactile and upmarket cabins.

In the MG4 there’s yet another example of how the company has moved its brand forward into a new arena of striking and affordable EVs.  Especially if you choose Holborn Blue or Volcano Orange paint finish.