MG MG4 2024 review

MG made headlines when it announced the MG4 Excite 51 would start at just $38,990, only for fellow Chinese brand, BYD, to steal those headlines with its $38,890 Dolphin. But while you can order a Dolphin from BYD it’s yet to actually hit the road here. So the advantage has shifted back to MG, for now at least.

The new models in the range are the Excite 64, Essence 64 and Essence 77 (with the numbers all referring to the battery size). Pricing for these new models is $44,990 for the Excite 64, $47,990 for the Essence 64 and $55,990 for the Essence 77.

All models in the MG4 line-up are equipped with vehicle-to-lead technology, which means you can draw power from the car to power external appliances.

For comparison, the GWM Ora is priced from $44,490, the Nissan Leaf range starts at $50,990 and even the new Fiat 500e will begin at $52,500, so the MG4 has marked itself out as the most price competitive EV range in the local market.

The Excite 51 comes equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, tail-lights and daytime running lights as well as cloth-trimmed seats, a 7.0-inch digital instrument panel, 10.2-inch infotainment touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a four-speaker sound system. All models in the MG4 line-up are equipped with vehicle-to-lead technology, which means you can draw power from the car to power external appliances.

10.2-inch infotainment touchscreen with wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and a four-speaker sound system.

The Excite 64 gets an upgraded powertrain, which we’ll detail shortly, but otherwise the features are the same. The Essence 64 and 77 models do get extra equipment though, with a six-speaker sound system, wireless smartphone charging pad, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, leather and fabric trim and 18-inch alloy wheels with aero covers.

The minimalist design does make for a roomy cabin though, especially for a small hatch.

There’s good space up front for both passengers and storage. The relatively slim battery design - MG says the battery pack is only 110mm tall - means you can sit lower than other EVs. That also means there’s room for a storage area between the front seats with a pair of cup holders, a large, flat lidded tray (with one USB-C and one USB-A outlet just above) and the centre console box. The smartphone charging pad sits beneath the infotainment screen but it's too shallow, with my phone often sliding off the pad when accelerating or turning.

The smartphone charging pad sits beneath the infotainment screen but it's too shallow, with my phone often sliding off the pad when accelerating or turning.

In the back there’s respectable space, with this 180cm reviewer able to sit behind his driving position without feeling cramped. However, there isn’t much else to talk about, with no cup holders, no air conditioning vents and no fold down armrest. The Essence model we drove did have seat back pockets, as you’d typically find, but also two smaller pockets at the top of the seat which are seemingly designed to pop your smartphone, which is a nice touch. There’s also ISOFIX points on the outer rear seats.

The Excite 51 comes with cloth-trimmed seats.

The boot is measured at 363 litres in the Excite 51 and Excite 64 and 350 litres in the Essence models, with the seats up, and MG claims it expands to 1177-litres with the rear seats stowed flat. Oddly, there’s no under-bonnet storage, despite there being plenty of space for one, which does seem to miss a golden opportunity for an EV.

As alluded to earlier, there are three different powertrain options for the expanded MG4 range, depending on the price you pay, but all are rear-mounted motors and drive the rear wheels.

The entry-level Excite 51 gets a 51kWh battery with a 125kW electric motor. Stepping up to the Excite and Essence 64 brings a 64kWh battery and more powerful 150kW motor. Finally, the Essence 77 has a (you guessed it) 77kWh battery pack and gets the most potent motor, with 180kW.

As alluded to earlier, there are three different powertrain options for the expanded MG4 range, depending on the price you pay, but all are rear-mounted motors and drive the rear wheels.

Oddly, the Excite 51 can manage 0-100km/h in 7.7 seconds, but the more powerful Excite and Essence 64 takes 7.2 seconds. Neither can match the Essence 77, which takes just 6.5 seconds on the same test. We didn’t independently verify these claimed numbers but from the driver’s seat they seem realistic, with the MG4 not ludicrously quick but rather sprightly.

MG uses WLTP claims for all of its range data for the MG4 line-up. As you’d expect the range increases as you spend more.

The Excite 51 can reportedly manage 350km between charging, which may be the smallest but is still more than enough for most urban dwellers. Stepping up to the 64kWh models, the Excite manages a 450km range on its 17-inch wheels, while the Essence range is 435km as it’s on the bigger 18-inch wheels and weighs 24kgh more with its extra equipment.

Charging times also vary from model to model, although all three batteries are capable of taking a rapid 50kW charger.

The Essence 77 has the longest range, an impressive claim of 530km, which puts it near the head of the pack for current EV models.

Charging times also vary from model to model, although all three batteries are capable of taking a rapid 50kW charger. Using one of those you can get the MG4 batteries from 10 to 80 per cent in 40 minutes for the 51, 60 minutes for the 64 models and 75 minutes for the Essence 77.

MG4 comes with a comprehensive list of safety features, with the MG Pilot active safety suite available across the range. This includes autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, blind spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

The MG was awarded a five-star ANCAP crash test rating, when it was tested in 2022.

Because of this, as well as the six airbags and reversing cameras, the MG was awarded a five-star ANCAP crash test rating, when it was tested in 2022.

However, not all active safety features are calibrated to the same level and we found the lane keeping assist to be particularly intrusive when driving and found ourselves turning it off, which is possible via the menu.