This Chinese electric hatch is set to both undercut and outdrive many more expensive options.

Has any automotive brand had a stranger journey than MG? It started out as what was effectively a tuner in Oxford, England nearly 100 years ago, was quickly absorbed into Morris Motors and soon became famous for the affordable no-frills sportscars it produced until British Leyland axed the brand in 1980.

Multiple relaunches followed, although none stuck around for very long, and after what was MG Rover collapsed into bankruptcy in 2005 the MG brand ended up under the control of SAIC in China.

It’s fair to say that the modern era Chinese MGs have always been sold on price rather than excitement, but the new MG 4 is a significant step forwards. To think of it as being a cut-price Volkswagen ID.3 would be a little unfair, but only because the MG is actually better to drive.

Drive recently received confirmation that the MG 4 is coming to Australia, and we’ve already experienced one in the UK.

The existing MG ZS EV is an electrified version of a combustion car, but the MG 4 sits on an all new bespoke electric architecture, one that is going to underpin a growing range of full EVs.

This follows the herd with an underfloor battery pack and native rear-wheel drive through a single motor, although there are confirmed plans to also make a double-motor AWD version. Dimensions are pretty much an exact match with the ID.3, with the MG being 29mm longer at 4290mm, although its 2705mm wheelbase has 65mm less between its axles than the Volkswagen does.

We will have to wait for Australian spec, but if it matches the UK range it will be simplicity itself. In Blighty buyers have the uncomplicated choice of three models and six colours; there are no options. The kick-off MG 4 SE comes with a 51kWh battery which gives 350km of range on the WLTP testing protocol, and gives the rear motor a 125kW peak output.

Above this a long-range SE brings a brawnier 64kWh battery pack which increases the official range to 450km and output to 150kW, but which weighs 30kg more – tipping the scales at 1685kg. At the top of the tree in the UK a Trophy version combines the mechanical package of the long-range SE with a bodykit and extra equipment. It doesn’t have any extra performance, but range falls slightly to 435km because of less efficient aerodynamics.

Standard equipment is impressive. All UK spec versions get adaptive cruise control with lane keep assistance, auto main beam, twin digital display screens and both Android Auto and Apple Carplay integration. The Trophy adds a 360-degree camera system, leather trim, a wireless charging pad, heated seats and power adjustment for the driver’s seat.

The long-range battery supports DC fast charging rates at speeds of up to 135kW, which can take the pack from 10 to 80 percent in just 35 minutes. The regular battery is only slightly behind with a peak 117kW rate. AC charging for both is at up to 7kW, and all versions have the innovative feature of “vehicle to load” charging, being able to supply power to electrical accessories or even give an emergency boost to another EV.

While we have to wait to see how well UK pricing translates to Australia, the MG 4 undercuts every significant rival by a substantial margin in Britain. The basic SE’s £25,995 price – including the UK’s 20 percent sales tax – makes it £10,200 cheaper than the boggo Volkswagen ID.3, and £4000 less than the standard Renault Zoe.

Even with spec adjustment the difference is still stark, the MG 4 SE long-range can go 25km further than the ID.3 Life Pro Performance on official range, has an identical power output and costs £7700 less. Small wonder that industry analysts are already predicting the MG 4 is set to become one of Britain’s most popular EVs.

Without being too unkind, low pricing has been both the start and end of the appeal of most recent MG products. But the MG 4 is genuinely different. It feels like a quality product up close, and while the edgy design is lacking originality, and certainly owes nothing to any classic era MG, nor does it cause any offence beyond the back end’s slight resemblance to a Toyota Prius. Paint quality is good and the panel gaps are tight and consistent.

It’s the same story inside. It is possible to find some hard and scratchy plastics if you go looking for them, but for the most part the MG 4’s cabin feels respectably plush by segment standards with plenty of soft-feel materials and also lacking the pungent smell of inexpensive plastics that has usually been the first impression when you open the door of cheap Chinese cars.

The only quality issue I could find with my MG 4 Trophy test car was a spongey feeling to the lower seat bolster when climbing in and out. Space is good both front and rear, sufficient to allow one full-sized bloke to sit behind another, and although the seats-up luggage capacity of 363 litres isn’t great it’s only 20 litres behind the ID.3.

China seems to really hate switchgear, and in the MG 4 almost every function that legally can be controlled by the touchscreen interface is. While the 10.2-inch central display screen is crisply rendered and works without lag, the UI isn’t brilliant – although owners will doubtless quickly get used to its foibles. I found it was necessary to use one of the steering wheel’s two starred function buttons to bring up the temperature control display, which is otherwise at least two inputs away.

But the driving experience is bloody impressive. The MG 4 handles gentle use with the typical EV unflappability, but also seems to really enjoy being asked to make faster progress in a way that very few cars in this part of the market do. Without a physical start button, setting off is as simple as getting in with the smart key in your pocket and then pressing the brake pedal to select drive.

Urban progress is almost silent, throttle response entirely lag-free and with variable regeneration levels allowing something close to one-pedal operation when it is turned up to max, although the MG 4 won’t actually come to a full stop without brake input. Over bumps there was a very occasional low frequency noise in the cabin, this seeming to be reflected from the roof. But beyond that it seemed as refined as any obvious rival.

It stays calm when the pace increases. Like all cheapish EVs performance is definitely loaded for the lower speed range. From 0-50km/h most performance cars would be struggling to draw ahead of a hard-launched MG 4, but acceleration starts to tail off above about 100km/h. It felt happy cruising slightly above the UK’s 70mph (112km/h) highway speed limit, although at the cost of the range display falling more quickly than the distance being covered. And it would take a very long straight to confirm the presence of what MG claims is a 160km/h speed limiter.

Steering is precise and dialled in, and although there is little natural feedback I soon gained trust in what the front end was doing. Being England, it was raining when I drove the car, although after a long summer drought meaning the rubbered-up road surfaces became extra slippery.

The low-grip conditions quickly proved that the MG 4 has both a fine rear-driven chassis balance and a willingness to play. With lock applied it was easy to power through the initial mild understeer to neutralise the cornering attitude, and then pushing a little harder would even persuade the rear end into a dinky little mini-slide.

While most EVs have bouncer-like traction control that intervenes at the first sign of trouble, the MG 4’s system is permissive enough to allow slight slip angles to build before it gets involved – but which will still step in well before anything gets out of hand. So although the there isn’t a superabundance of grip, and the rear tyres frequently fight for traction on rough roads, it doesn’t feel scary or unruly. The age-old pleasure of playing with the balance of a rear wheel drive car is probably the one thing the MG 4 has in common with those early era MGs.

Ride quality is generally good, but the MG 4’s suspension is on the firm side of comfortable and rougher roads could sometimes create the sensation of the dampers struggling to keep up with primary motions. And although braking feels natural when being done by regeneration, pushing hard enough to bring friction into the equation created a slightly wooden sensation through the pedal.

MG has already said that other versions are coming. A longer-range battery pack will be offered in some markets, including the UK, with this set to take the WTLP range past 500km. More interesting is the forthcoming AWD version, being developed under the name Mulan, which will use a second motor on the front axle and have a 330kW peak output.

Some of the more overexcited UK media have already likened that one to the MG Metro 6R4 Group B rally car of the ‘eighties.

The MG 4 feels like the point at which the MG brand starts to move upmarket. This might be set to be one of the least expensive ways into an EV with usable range, but the driving experience definitely doesn’t feel cheap. Behind the once-British branding this really is a Chinese car you don’t need to make excuses for.

Our bloke in the UK has been writing about cars since the late ’nineties, and served time on the staff of CAR, Autocar and evo magazines. These days he combines his duties for Drive with being European Editor for Car and Driver in the ’States. He loves automotive adventures and old Mercs, sometimes experienced together.

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Copyright Drive.com.au 2022ABN: 84 116 608 158

Copyright Drive.com.au 2022ABN: 84 116 608 158

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