August 18, 2024

Review: 2024 MG 4 Luxury And XPower


When a car’s been declared as “Car of the Year,” it comes with a certain level of weight and expectation. In the case of the MG 4, there’s extra scrutiny involved since it’s the overly critical UK market that awarded it as such. Thankfully, it’s a reputation that, all things considered, this all-electric hatchback lives up to.

The most surprising thing about the MG 4 is the price. At P 1,738,888 for the mid-trim Luxury variant—the one in Fizzy Orange—it not only undercuts its ZS EV stablemate (P 1,838,888), but achieves price parity with combustion and hybrid-powered compact cars. On the other hand, the XPower variant—the one in matte Hunter Green—is a monster with 435 horsepower and 600 Nm; priced at P 2,000,888, it’s basically a supercar masquerading as a family hatchback.



MG has achieved the seemingly impossible thanks to the cutting-edge Modular Scalable Platform or MSP. As a ground-up EV platform, SAIC (MG’s parent company), could fit a variety of motors, battery sizes, and even top hats onto the same basic skateboard. Aside from helping them achieve economies of scale, it’s also managed to give, at least in the case of the MG 4, a perfect 50-50 front-to-back weight distribution and a low center of gravity.

These attributes have been put to full use in the MG 4. There’s an element of inherent dynamism and together with the quick steering, makes for one perky, corner loving hatchback. Prod the throttle and the Luxury variant returns useful levels of acceleration. The century sprint takes about eight seconds which is plenty fast, but is gentle enough as not to rearrange your insides each time you floor the accelerator. Progress though starts to taper off quickly past 130 km/h. But, by that time, you would have passed just about every traffic imaginable and your license would have been confiscated. Even better, its athleticism hasn’t affected its comfort at all as it smoothens out the worst of Manila’s pockmarked roads.



Issues? Two mainly. The first is the way the suspension eeks out this booming noise whenever its driven over the wrong sort of surface or road (normally when a corner bottoms out). It can be quite upsetting to the point that it feels like you hit a curb or something. Second is the brake pedal feel whenever the MG 4 switches between its regen and friction brakes. The pedal will feel wooden for a moment and if you’re caught off guard, it’ll cause the car to blare out its forward collision warning.

If you really must go quicker, there’s the XPower variant. Equipped with dual motors and all-wheel drive, it decimates the 100 km/h mark in just 3.8 seconds—faster than a Porsche Taycan 4S and just 0.4 seconds slower than the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N. To handle the extra grunt, MG’s firmed up the suspension and upgraded the brakes. Naturally, there are tradeoffs, but they’re not significant. For one, it won’t sail through potholes as well as the Luxury variant. Also, because the front wheels are now driven, the steering’s slightly heavier and the turning circle bigger. Oh, and more driveline noise tends to permeate the cabin.



With both variants sharing the same sort of battery: a 64-kWh lithium-ion unit with the more advanced and energy-dense Nickel-Manganese Cobalt chemistry, the Luxury variant goes further between charges with a 435-kilometer as claimed and 387 kilometers as tested mileage (6.28 km/kWh) versus the XPower’s 349 kilometers (400 kilometers claimed) figures (5.65 km/kWh).

The dedicated EV platform and 2,705 mm wheelbase equates to impressive interior room front or back. Head, shoulder, and legroom are all generous although ingress and egress is a bit hampered because of the aggressive side sill (watch out for soiled pant legs). MG’s also managed to maximize the amount of storage spaces with a cubby hold between the front seats large enough for wallets, keys, and a smartphone—a must since the USB ports are located down below and neither of these variants have wireless smartphone connectivity. There is, however, a standard provision for a wireless charger in front of the shifter. There’s also a lidded armrest console too. If anything, the MG 4 falters in cargo carrying capacity. There’s no frunk to begin with and the rear hold’s just good for 363 liters. Despite the square shape, it lacks depth requiring you to drop a part of the rear seats just to accommodate a full-sized luggage.



Ergonomically, the MG 4’s mixed. It nails the basics right—the positioning of the seats, steering wheel, and rotary knob shifter, for example. Visibility is generally good in all angles save for the rear. The small windshield and comically tiny wiper can make maneuvering through tight spaces difficult. There’s a 360-degree camera as standard, but the image is so distorted, that it’s close to useless. Sadly, designers also had to throw in needless curve balls like the lack of a starter button (the car automatically switches on when it detects a weight over the driver’s seat and switches off when the car’s locked or turned off using the 10.25-inch infotainment screen). Speaking of the screen, the menu structure and its responsiveness leaves a lot to be desired. Not only are the tabs and icons fiddly, there’s no option to increase the font size. This makes it almost impossible to read out even the basic info like range and battery remaining. Oh, and just when you think you can customize things like the regen level and MG Pilot (ADAS) system to your liking, switch the MG 4 off brings things back to its default setting. There’s light at the end of the tunnel, however, at least based on the menu. These software issues can be, theoretically at least, corrected via remote updates so here’s hoping MG Philippines does just that.

When it comes to equipment, almost nothing separates the Luxury and XPower variants. This is where you could say the MG 4 loses out versus a traditional compact car. For one, it doesn’t have features which are pretty standard on Chinese cars like a sunroof. But then, it doesn’t have things like rear AC vents or even a rear arm rest. Materials are generally alright, but upon closer inspection, they don’t all hold up to scrutiny. The seating material, especially on the Luxury variant, are scratchy and cheap-feeling. Ditto the door cards (the XPower, thankfully has plusher-feeling suede). Even the carpeting in the cargo compartment already shows massive signs of pilling and that’s in a car that’s barely done 4,000 kilometers. On the flip side, it does have a solid sound system in the form of its 6-speaker Arkamys system and there’s also a full ADAS suite too.



For all its shortcomings, the MG 4 has played its cards right. By engineering a bespoke EV hatchback (as opposed to electrifying an existing one), this MG plays up nicely on a lot of fronts—performance, space, comfort, value. With its eye-watering acceleration for not a lot of extra peso, you’d probably think we’d take the MG 4 XPower over the Luxury variant. Perhaps, if we were younger or wanted something a bit Fast and Furious. As it stands, because it doesn’t handle as well as a true hot hatch, we feel like the MG 4 Luxury is a better-balanced vehicle. 

Regardless, whether its in the Luxury or XPower guise, the MG serves up a warning shot to other manufacturers: you can design and make a great EV without making it cost too much. All in all, it puts the MG 4 in the running to be one of the best cars we’ve driven this year.



2024 MG4 Luxury and XPower

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Bottom Line
Pros Zippy performer and fast (for XPower), excellent value for money, solidly engineered.
Cons Fiddly infotainment system, materials feel so-so, cargo space.
TL;DR A great starter but well-engineered EV that doesn't break the bank.
Ownership
Year Introduced 2023
Warranty 5 years / 100,000 kilometers,
8 years / 160,000 kilometers (for high-voltage battery)
The Basics
Body Type Compact Hatchback
Seating 5
Engine / Drive R/R (Lux),
Dual Motor / AWD (XPower)
Under the Hood
Motor Type Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor
Maximum Output (BHP) 204 (Lux),
435 (XPower)
Maximum Torque (Nm) 250 (Lux),
600 (XPower)
Battery Size (kWh) 64 kWh (61.7 kWh usable)
Architecture (V) 400
Range, WLTP (km) 435 (Lux),
400 (XPower)
Range, As Tested (km) 387 km (Lux),
349 km (XPower)
Energy Consumption (km/kWh) 6.28 @ 15 km/h (Lux),
7.52 @ 20 km/h (Lux),
5.65 @ 14 km/h (XPower),
6.89 @ 20 km/h (XPower)
Estimated Charging Time, 1-Phase AC (0-100%) 11 hours
Estimated Charging Time, DC (10-80%) 0.4 hours
Charge Port Type 2 / CCS
Transmission Single Speed AT
Cruise Control Yes, Adaptive
Dimensions and Weights
Length (mm) 4,287
Width (mm) 1,836
Height (mm) 1,504
Wheelbase (mm) 2,705
Curb Weight (kg) 1,675 (Lux),
1,803 (XPower)
Suspension and Tires
Front Suspension Independent, MacPherson Strut
Rear Suspension Independent, Multi-link
Front Brakes Vented Disc (Lux),
Vented Disc, Continental (XPower)
Rear Brakes Disc (Lux),
Disc, Continental (XPower)
Parking Brake Electronic, w/ Auto Hold
Tires Bridgestone Turanza T005 EV Enlighten
235/45 R 18 W (f & r)
Recommend Tire Pressure (PSI) 37 all (partial)
37 front, 41 rear (full)
Wheels Alloy
Safety Features
Airbags 6
Anti-Lock Brakes (ABS) Yes, with EBD
Traction / Stability Control Yes
Parking Sensors Yes, Rear
Parking Camera Yes, 360-degree
Front Seatbelts 3-pt ELR w/ pre-tensioners x 2
Rear Seatbelts 3-pt ELR w/ pre-tensioners x 3
ISOFIX Child Seat Anchor Yes
Advanced Driver Assist System Autonomous Emergency Braking
Intelligent Speed Alert System
Lane Keeping Assist
Other Safety Features Hill Hold Control
Blind Spot Indicator System
Tire Pressure Monitoring System
Exterior Features
Headlights LED, w/ Auto High Beam
Fog Lamps Yes, Rear
Light Operation Auto
Wiper Operation Variable Intermittent
Tailgate Manual
Interior Features
Steering Wheel Adjust Tilt/Telescopic
Steering Wheel Material Leather
Seating Adjustment (driver) Electric, 6-way, Heated
Seating Adjustment (front passenger) Manual, 6-way, Heated
Seating Surface Leather/Fabric (Lux),
Leather/Suede (XPower)
2nd Row 60/40 Split-Fold
3rd Row None
Sunroof None
Multi-Information Display / Size Yes, 7-inch
Convenience Features
Power Steering Yes
Power Door Locks Yes
Power Windows Yes
Power Mirrors Yes, w/ Fold, Heated
Rear View Mirror Auto-dimming
Proximity Key Yes
Climate Control Automatic
Audio System Stereo
USB Type A
USB Type C
Bluetooth
Wireless Charger Yes
Infotainment Display / Size 10-inch
Smartphone Connectivity Apple CarPlay
Android Auto
# of Speakers 6, Arkamys
Steering Controls Yes

10 comments:

  1. This car should be a game changer with its price points and horsepower!

    ReplyDelete
  2. its already dead, courtesy of comrade BYD

    ReplyDelete
  3. and the top speed?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Replies
    1. Beat me to it, but this is correct. 200 kph for the XPower, 180 kph for the Luxury variant.

      Delete
    2. That's fast. Might be good for "tambay nights" a.k.a. illegal drag/road racing 🤣

      Delete
  5. Really good EV from MG
    No wonder the MG4 is very popular and won awards in UK,Australia and other European countries
    MG4 XPower looks good

    ReplyDelete
  6. Treat this as a cheap thrilling, fast, overpowered, disposable car that's extremely well priced for the power you get and you'll be happy. For those expecting something that will last for years and years, don't bother, skip this.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Running for the best? Maybe you haven’t tried the Dongfeng Nammi and Dongfeng Forthing Friday

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Forthing Friday is more expensive as its a SUV
      Nammi is meant to compete with Dolphin,Ytterby,Bingo and ORA 3

      Delete

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