MG's core EV, the compact MG4 EV, has been usefully improved. Jonathan Crouch takes a look.

Ten Second Review

The MG4 EV redefined what an all-electric MG should be. As part of this significant update, the car's smarter inside and out; and prioritises longer-ranging batteries. And remains good to drive, affordable and well equipped. As a result, it should still be on your wish list if you're looking for a small value-based electric hatch of this kind.

Background

Today, MG is amongst the EV segment market leaders, but that's a relatively recent phenomenon. This Anglo-Chinese brand's rise to electric prominence only really got started back in 2022 with this car, the MG4 EV, here usefully improved. Prior to this model's original arrival, we'd had electric MGs (the ZS EV and the MG5 EV) but they'd been designs based on combustion underpinnings. The MG4 was the company's first purpose-built EV, an angular small electric hatch that was far better than anyone expected it to be and regularly occupied a place in Britain's top five best EV sellers thereafter. By late 2025 though, sales were slowing as the supermini-segment EV competition ramped up, not helped by the government's refusal to incentivise sales of this car in the way they were doing with some rivals. Hence the need for the upgraded MG4 we look at here. It's slightly more expensive than before and now only comes with longer-range batteries, in both cases because a separate model, the MG4 EV Urban (with its cheaper price tag and smaller battery) has been introduced to slot in beneath mainstream MG4 models in the company's line-up. Let's take a closer look.

Driving Experience

The mainstream MG4 EV line-up continues to be based on the brand's Modular Scalable Platform and now offers a choice of two batteries - a lithium-ion-phosphate 64kWh Long Range pack or a nickel-cobalt-manganese 77kWh Extended Range pack. The Long Range version has a little less power than it used to have (down from 201bhp to 187bhp), but 0-62mph is still dispatched quite eagerly, in 7.5s. If you want to go further than the 280 miles of range promised by the 64kWh battery, the Extended Range 77kWh variant promises up to 329 miles from a charge and offers a gutsier 241bhp motor which reduces the 0-62mph time to 6.2s. Both these derivatives use a single rear-mounted motor. As before, at the top of the line-up sits a twin motor XPower model which sticks with the 64kWh battery but pairs it with dual motors together producing 429bhp. With this, 0-62mph takes just 3.8s but range is limited to 251 miles. As before, all MG4s offer four regenerative braking levels - low, medium, high and an 'adaptive' mode which uses the car's sensors to determine the right level of deceleration for any given traffic scenario. There are five driving modes (Eco, Normal, Sport, Snow and Custom); and two braking settings too - Normal and Sport. One of the surprising things about this car in its original form was just how good it was to drive and not much has changed in that regard as part of this update. Along with near-perfect 50:50 weight distribution, the rear-driven format helps with that of course - and facilitates an impressively tight town turning circle of just 2.8 turns lock-to-lock.

Design and Build

Not too much has changed visually as part of the updates made to this improved MG4, but it still stands out with its angular slashes and strakes. Perhaps the main thing an owner of the original model would notice is that the early car's distinctive split rear spoiler is gone, replaced by a more conventional unified item. As before, this car is VW ID.3-sized but perhaps even more contemporary-looking than its Wolfsburg rival, with this MG's 'floating' roof, heavily sculpted black lower bodywork, short rear overhangs and intricate rear light clusters. The insectoid looks could still do with a larger set of wheels than the standard 17-inch rims to set them off, but aesthetically that's about it on the debit side. The design changes made as part of this update primarily feature inside, where there's a whole new era of screen tech. The previous 7-inch instrument display and 10.25-inch central touchscreen have been ditched. Now through the new three-spoke wheel, you view a bigger 10.25-inch driver's screen, while to your left is a 12.8-inch central touchscreen with the brand's now-improved infotainment software. The latter now has a welcome row of physical shortcut keys added beneath it. The centre console's been redesigned too, now looking much more conventional, with cup holders, the drive sector and a wireless charging pad, along with a decently-sized stowage space underneath. MG has also given this cabin much more of a quality feel, replacing a lot of the previous cheap-looking piano black finishing with soft-touch materials and carbon fibre-effect surfaces. The seats get nicer grey cloth upholstery and the XPower version gets more body-hugging front chairs. Back seat space is still a bit cramped - the cheaper smaller-battery MG4 EV Urban offers more. And that Urban model has a bigger boot too, 189-litres bigger than the compact 388-litre trunk that continues to be available in conventional MG4s. It's 1,164-litres with the rear bench folded.

Market and Model

Because the brand no longer offers a mainstream version of this MG form with a smaller or standard battery or with poverty trim, prices seem more expensive as part of this update. Which you might think would be a problem given that this car still doesn't qualify for any kind of government-funded Electric Car Grant. But prices aren't that much different from before when you take spec into account, starting from around £30,000 for the Long Range model and around £33,000 for the Extended Range version. With those two variants, there's now just a single 'Premium' level of trim. The lack of a government grant doesn't matter much in the light of the fact that MG has its own Grant to take £1,500 off the asking figures. The top XPower hot hatch dual motor model also qualifies for this and requires around £34,000 from you. Equipment-wise, the value proposition still looks good. All versions come with LED headlamps, LED tail lights, rear parking sensors, keyless entry, power-folding mirrors and a Vehicle-to-Load function allowing you to power external devices from the car's drive battery. Inside, all models get a 10.25-inch instrument screen, leather-style upholstery inserts, a heated and 6-way power-adjustable driver's seat, a wireless 'phone charger and a 360-degree parking camera. The 12.8-inch centre screen has 'Apple CarPlay' and 'Android Auto' of course, plus navigation and 'LIVE Services' (weather, traffic, Amazon Music etc). There are 18-inch alloy wheels (except on the XPower which has 19-inchers) and the Extended Range and XPower versions are distinguished by a contrast-coloured roof. Safety's taken care of by a portfolio of 'MG Pilot' features which are now easier to deactivate if you don't want them (Chinese rival brands take note). These features include Adaptive Cruise Control, Intelligent High Beam Assist, Active Emergency Braking, Lane Keep Assist, Lane Departure Warning, Traffic Jam Assist, Emergency Lane Keeping, Blind Spot Detection, Active Driver Monitoring, Forward and Rear Collision Warning, Door Opening Warning and Active Rear Cross Traffic Alert.

Cost of Ownership

MG claims a 3.5mpkWh efficiency figure for the 64kWh Long Range version; it's 3.8mpkWh for the 77kWh Extended Range variant. Strangely, it's the smaller battery that has the faster DC charging speed (154kW compared to 144kW). The top XPower DC-charges at 140kW. These figures mean that at a 150kW public DC charger, the Long range version will DC-charge from 10-80% in 25 minutes, the Extended Range in 40 minutes and the XPower in 30 minutes. AC charging at home via a 7.4kW single-phase supply (10-100%) requires 10.5 hours with the Long Range and the XPower - or 12 hours with the Extended Range model. Insurance groups range between 27D and 40D. And there's the usual low Benefit-in-Kind taxation that applies to EVs - rated at 4% until Spring 2027. Service intervals are every year or 15,000 miles. You might worry about depreciation from a budget brand like MG. Actually, the opposite is true. Industry experts CAP reckon that this MG4 in volume 'Premium Long Range' form will retain up to 64.6% of its value after three years - which is similar to the return you'd get from premium brands like Tesla, Porsche and Land Rover. And if that doesn't convince you, then the comprehensive 7 year warranty just might. Take a look at the fine print of this warranty though because it's limited to just 80,000 miles and there's no additional battery warranty. Other EV brands give you 8 years of battery cover and guarantee the pack will hold up to 80% of its original capacity in that time. MG only guarantees 70% of capacity for the length of the normal warranty.

Summary

The MG4 remains one of the small EV hatches you really need to factor into your deliberations if you're choosing a compact electric car of this kind. It doesn't do any one thing in a way you'd call class-leading, but its combination of range, value and driving enjoyment might be difficult to resist. It remains compactly packaged, so if you prioritise rear seat legroom or boot space, you might want to look elsewhere (or - if you don't need long driving range - at the company's cheaper MG4 EV Urban model). Otherwise, apart from some caveats with the lengthy warranty, there's not much to criticise, especially now that MG has considerably improved the cabin design. After trying an MG4, you may well still decide you want a better-known segment rival. But make no mistake: if you're choosing an EV in this class, try one you must.