MG4 EV review | Auto Express

MG has also included five driving modes to suit different conditions – Eco, sport, snow, custom, and standard, with Eco dulling the accelerator response and sport sharpening things up. Regardless of your mode, the brake pedal feel is easy to modulate, meaning you can stop smoothly in busy town traffic and accurately judge how much speed to scrub off for roundabouts. 

You can bypass the mechanical brakes and utilise the car’s one-pedal regenerative braking feature. Just like in the Nissan Leaf, it’s strong enough to bring the car to a halt when you lift off the accelerator, and it has the benefit of generating electricity while slowing down to replenish the battery.

That said, rivals like the Kia Niro EV use paddles mounted on the steering wheel to adjust the regen strength, which is a much easier setup than having to dive into the MG4’s touchscreen in order to adjust the brake pedal settings, along with the various driving modes. You can programme it to be a favourite on one of the star buttons on the steering wheel, if you remember to do so.

0-62mph acceleration and top speed

The MG4 is available in four power outputs: 168bhp for the entry-level SE, 200bhp for the Long Range, 242bhp in the Extended Range, topping out at 429bhp with the dual-motor, four-wheel drive XPower. Even the least powerful of the quartet is brisk enough to suit most needs, managing 0-62mph in 7.5 seconds. The more powerful 200bhp cars have a heavier 64kWh pack and are fractionally slower at 7.7 seconds. You probably won’t notice this because both feel similarly accelerative due to having the same torque figure of 250Nm, and (where legally able) can reach a 100 mph top speed. The 242bhp, 77kWh Extended Range will trouble a few hot hatchbacks with a 6.5-second 0-62mph time, while the XPower would frighten a few supercars in a straight line, with a 3.8-second 0-62mph run, though top speed is more modest, at 124mph.