MG MG3 Hybrid+ vs MG MG4

What's the difference?

There is no doubt that the new MG3 is better than the car it supersedes – that tends to happen when you replace something that's 13-years old. It drives smoothly enough, has a frugal hybrid powertrain and good levels of safety equipment. Interior space is adequate and there are some genuinely nice touches like the comfortable seats and cabin design.

But that doesn't mean the new MG3 is better than the Toyota Yaris, Mazda2, Suzuki Swift or Volkswagen Polo. Those established rivals are more consistent, have greater breadth of ability and now really aren't that much dearer than MG's entry-level city car.

That said, the MG3 is still more affordable than most and transformed in driving experience. It is, therefore, worth putting on your small car short list, if no longer buy-without-thinking cheap. We applaud MG improving its products based on feedback and hope the much-improved MG3 finds buyers. Expect a comparison test with key rivals soon for a definitive verdict.

The MG4 was a game changing electric car, resetting the price benchmark while also being a very good small car in its own right. But as we discovered when we tested the rest of the range, the MG4 is a car that gets more compelling the cheaper it is. The $38,990 MG4 Excite 51 is arguably the pick of the range given its value equation.

But that’s not to say the MG4 XPower isn’t a good car. It’s a very quick car that will play the role of daily driver and weekend fun machine well. Just not quite as well as its petrol-powered rivals.

For all the flack Chinese carmakers have taken for copying others homework, the new MG3 is refreshingly original from the outside.

Not to say it's a beautiful car: that front overhang is a little too long and we think the wheel design is a little chintzy but at least the new MG3 feels differentiated in the class.

It has a distinctive face and confident character lines down its flanks while the Brighton blue hero colour (pictured) is eye-catching – we'd skip the '90s inspired Pastel yellow hue, though.

Inside, a hexagonal steering wheel borrowed from the MG4 is complemented by confident horizontal volumes. The MG3's interior is largely uncluttered by buttons and, in a nod to the previous MG3, there's an off-axis Tartan flourish ahead of driver and passenger.

MG has placed a piece of soft vinyl prominently, situated just in front of the high resolution 10.25-inch touchscreen to give the cabin a tactility lift. The rest of the materials are typically plasticky yet there is a pleasant grain that takes some of the shine away and restore a more quality feel.

What really stands out about the design is… that not much stands out about the design. At least in differentiating the XPower from the rest of the MG4 line-up.

There are no pumped out wheel arches or a bigger, sportier spoiler that makes it look different in the same way a GR Corolla won’t be mistaken for a regular Corolla hatch.

Instead, the XPower has the same 'Energetic Agile' silhouette and includes the same ‘Active Intake spoiler’ at the front and the ‘Twin-Aero’ rear spoiler that’s the same as the Essence models.

There are some differences though, including more pronounced styling on the sides of the doors. It doesn’t add any performance benefit but creates a slight visual difference between the models in the range.

Surprisingly, there is very little to signify that this is the sportiest XPower model, with a distinct lack of badging - inside and out. In fact, the only visual clue that this is the XPower is on the bright orange brake calipers. Or, to be more accurate, brake caliper covers.

These are just lightweight metal covers that make the MG4 braking hardware look bigger than it really is, so it’s a bit of visual trickery from the MG designers.

The brand has clearly worked on the functionality of its multimedia system since debuting in the MG4. It looks familiar but the touchscreen is more responsive and there are intuitive shortcut buttons for the screen-based HVAC controls.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto remains wired via a regular USB port, unfortunately, and there is no wireless charging on either grade. A USB-C port and 12-volt socket are present for extra cabled charging.

The digital driver's display has adequate functionality and includes an instant tyre pressure monitoring display – a key safety feature.

The steering wheel controls have been updated with clearer labelling. The right side controls the media volume and driver's display and left panel manages cruise control and driver assistance features.

MG's Excite doesn't feel like a de-contented base model with quite agreeable cloth upholstery, The driver's seat offers six-way manual adjustment and is comfortable with good back support.

The driving position was good for me, however, without telescopic steering wheel adjust you may find it more difficult to find an ideal spot.

There are two cup holders in the centre console ahead of the rotary gear selector (base petrols get a normal shifter). A further tray for phone and wallet storage sits ahead and the door bins are generous for a small car.

Not to be taken for granted in the class is a padded centre armrest with covered storage for valuables.

Measuring just over 4.1 metres long, don't expect palatial back seat space but the MG3 is certainly passable for a city car. At 188cm I could just squeeze in behind my driving position and soft-backed chairs aid comfort.

There are even adjustable vents and a USB port for rear passengers. Unfortunately, the window switches are not all auto up and down.

The standard trio of top tether anchors and pair of ISOFIX anchors for outboard seats are present for child capsules and chairs.

It's in the boot where the MG3's cost cutting becomes most obvious. The floor material is flimsy, there's only one shopping back hook and the back rest is a rare case of non split-folding. It is an awkward task flicking the seat down as you need two hands to unlatch the rest.

At 293 litres the boot is generous in size, though, and petrol models feature a space-saver spare. The hybrid places its 12-volt battery in the cavity under the floor.

As with the exterior, there’s not a lot to differentiate the XPower from the rest of the line-up. No bright red Civic Type R style interior treatment here. MG has opted to carry over the minimalist design that no doubt contributes to the sharp pricing.

Probably the only notable difference is the seat trim, with the XPower model getting a combination of synthetic leather and suede for a sportier look and feel. But the rest is largely the same, which detracts slightly from its hot hatch credentials.

On the plus side, the MG4 cabin is generally a well-designed interior space, which is a positive for the XPower’s hot hatch argument, as the idea behind the ‘hot hatch’ is that it can be a practical car during the week and fun on the weekends. 

There’s good room for passengers and luggage, in large part thanks to the relatively slim battery design that frees up more cabin space. Front seat occupants will enjoy the space and good visibility on offer.

Small item storage is very good in the MG4, with a pair of cupholders, a large, flat lidded tray (with one USB-C and one USB-A outlet just above) and the centre console box all fitting between the front seats.

There’s also a wireless smartphone charging pad that sits halfway up the centre fascia, next to the rotary gear selector, but it’s a shallow space so your phone will almost certainly fly out as soon as you begin cornering vigorously.

However, once again highlighting the ways MG has saved money to keep costs down, the back seat accommodation isn’t anywhere near as well appointed.

While the space is adequate for a small hatch, there are no cupholders, no air-conditioning vents and no fold down armrest for those in the back. All they have access to are some pockets on the back of the front seats, including a pair of small ones high on the seat, seemingly designed to accommodate your smartphone.

In another positive for its hot hatch practicality, there are ISOFIX points on the outer rear seats, neatly covered by leather pieces for a cleaner look when you don’t have kids.

As for the boot, the XPower measures the same 363 litres with the seats up which is unchanged from the rest of the MG4 line-up.

Disappointingly, there’s no obvious place to stow the charging cable, even though it comes in a small, neat bag. This is a worryingly common trend with these early generation EVs that shows a lack of practical thinking from the designers.

The MG4 has no under-bonnet storage either, so it feels like a few wasted opportunities for what is a bespoke EV design.

While we’ll dive into performance and the headline figures of the XPower soon, there’s another number that’s arguably more impressive - the price.

The MG4 XPower is priced from $59,990 (plus on-road costs), making it only $4000 more expensive than the range-topping MG4 Essence 77.

More importantly, when compared to the likes of the $72,600 Honda Civic Type R, $68,990 Volkswagen Golf R, $64,190 Toyota GR Corolla and $57,990 Subaru WRX tS Sport the XPower is arguably one of the first EVs to achieve true price parity with its internal combustion engine rivals (although the Cupra Born starts at $59,990 so it can argue the same).

Beyond the performance upgrades we’ll detail below, that price brings a well-equipped car.

The XPower comes with 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights and tail-lights as well as vehicle-to-load (V2L) functionality.

It also comes with a six-speaker sound system, Bluetooth, navigation, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a wireless smartphone charging pad and synthetic leather and Alcantara trim. 

There’s the 'MG Pilot' safety package included as standard as well, but we’ll detail that below.

The 'Hunter Green' hero paint colour is exclusive to the XPower in the MG4 range, and is reportedly inspired by an MG land speed record car the legendary Sir Stirling Moss drove in the 1950s.

The 1.5-litre petrol four-cylinder is a new direct-injected item that produces less power (81kW at 6000 rpm – down a kilowatt) and torque (142Nm at 4500 rpm lower by 8Nm) than the item it replaces.

It now drives the front wheels via a CVT automatic instead of a four-speed slushbox.

The 'Hybrid+' option is much more interesting. It uses a different 1.5-litre petrol engine running in Atkinson cycle and, unlike the Suzuki Swift, is a proper system.

MG's hybrid is different to Toyota's 'e-CVT' transaxle set up, the brand calls its transmission a three-speed automatic. We have not seen diagrams but in operation it feels similar to GWM Haval's 'Dedicated Hybrid Transmission' solution in the Jolion.

That means impressive peak outputs of 155kW and around 420Nm but those figures only occur at very specific times – peak torque, for example, is only delivered at 50km/h in second gear when the 1.83kWh battery is suitably charged.

The resulting 0-100km/h sprint claim is 8.0 seconds for the MG3 hybrid.

This is arguably the biggest single difference between the XPower and the rest of the MG4 line-up. Unlike the others that have a single, rear-mounted electric motor, the XPower adds a second motor on the front axle.

This has an obvious impact on the performance, boosting it from the previous best of 180kW to an impressive 320kW/600Nm.

Having motors on each axle also means the XPower is all-wheel drive, so it has little trouble transferring all that grunt to the road.

So much so that the MG4 XPower is the equal quickest hot hatch on the market (at the time of publication), taking just 3.8 seconds to run 0-100km/h; matching the Audi RS3, with its turbocharged five-cylinder engine.

The petrol-only model's rated fuel consumption falls from 6.7L/100km to 6.0L/100km. It requires 91 RON unleaded and is rated to Euro 5 standards.

The hybrid scores 4.3L/100km in the ADR combined consumption. That's not as good as a Toyota Yaris hybrid (3.3L/100km) but the trade-off is way more grunt.

From the 36L fuel tank – that requires 95 RON unleaded – you can expect over 1000km total driving range.

In reality, we managed to come close to the figure on a 200km country and suburban loop with the trip computer reading 4.8L/100km. A 50km suburban commute was better returning 3.4L/100km.

The MG3's hybrid system can be a little fickle, though.

For the first 10 minutes of driving the petrol engine has to rev at 1500-2000rpm to charge the battery. We saw consumption climb to 10L/100km when the car was cold.

It also proved more sensitive to driving style than Toyota's hybrids which seem to be extremely efficient no matter how heavy your right foot is.

Interestingly, the XPower is not fitted with the biggest battery in the MG4 range, forgoing the 77kWh version in favour of the 64kWh option.

In the ‘standard’ rear-wheel drive MG4 Excite 64 model this battery can provide up to 450km of range (on the WLTP cycle) but in the XPower that figure is reduced to 400km.

While that’s well short of the 530km offered by the long-range Essence 77 model, it’s still a respectable amount of driving range and should suit your typical hot hatch buyer, who knows performance typically comes at the expense of efficiency.

Our test drive was limited to just two days, so we didn't have the chance to live with the XPower for an extended period, but it managed to make it this reviewer’s preferred hot hatch playground on the edge of the city and back again to home with more than 50 per cent of the battery charge remaining.

This was a trip that included a lot of urban driving, some highway and then some ‘spirited’ running on the twisty road, so there’s enough range from the XPower to meet most buyers' needs.

Across almost seven hours of driving, the MG’s trip computer was claiming an average energy use of 18.6kWh/100km. To replenish the batteries, a 140kW DC charger will take just 30 minutes to take them from 10 to 80 per cent.

The V2L is another nice addition, which allows you to draw power from the battery, if needed, to run small electrical appliances.

The XPower is hardly a car for camping but, for example, if you decided to take it to a track day and want to plug in a kettle to make a hot drink, you can literally plug it into the car. Handy!

The MG3 continues the theme on the road. An impressive effort at first glance – certainly enough to impress on a test drive – yet spend an extended period behind the wheel and some cracks begin to show.

The steering is light and easy in town with two and a half turns lock-to-lock and a tight turning circle. There is good visibility out and driver aids are mostly unobtrusive.

Borrowing from its EV stablemates, the MG3 has three levels of regenerative braking. It defaults to '2', the mid setting, which we found a bit too bitey – '3' is way too much. The lowest level is relatively natural, though no setting is a one-pedal mode.

Its ride is really good for the class being more compliant than a Kia Picanto. The front end is especially absorbent though the rear can be a little abrupt on sharp bumps – this is common on small cars with front struts and rear torsion beams.

The MG3's hybrid powertrain is smooth and slick around in the city with a reassuring brake pedal.

And while the torque figure doesn't always ring true when the battery is discharged, with it juiced up the MG3 is rapid between 35-60km/h. The fairly light 1298kg kerb weight keeps it feeling quite peppy.

Not all is perfect, though, and the MG3 isn't so talented on the open road.

This little car is very noisy on coarse chip road surfaces at above 70km/h and there are pronounced steps in the power delivery at higher speeds, making it hard to trust the MG3 when merging into gaps.

Be wary of the speedometer as well – it is more accurate than most cars with almost no error. Our GPS lined up exactly at 100km/h.

The MG3's steering has poor on-centre feel at pace. There is a lot of body lean to the chassis and it reacts nervously to small corrective inputs in crosswinds and cambers.

Wrapped around its 16-inch alloys are 195/55 R16 sized Kumho Solus HS63 tyres which are reasonable but nothing special.

A brief test drive could convince you the MG3 has moved ahead of the Suzuki Swift, Mazda2 and even Volkswagen Polo. A longer drive confirms that, though the MG3 has come a long way, the more expensive nameplates in the class are more polished all-rounders.

The real question about the XPower is not if it’s quick, because all EVs and especially those with dual motors tend to be very rapid in a straight line, but how it handles itself on a twisty road.

That’s what separates a good hot hatch from a great one, but it’s also an area EVs have struggled in, because the combination of silence, weight and just the fact they’re new and different tends to mean they lack the driving engagement of more established competition.

Hot hatches also need to play a dual role, as daily transport and weekend fun machine, so that’s another factor to consider.

So, how does the MG4 XPower stack up? Well, the unsurprising news is it’s very, very quick. The acceleration is ferocious and really shoves you back in your seat, leaving you in no doubt that it will leave most of its hot hatch rivals (with the exception of the Audi RS3) in its dust.

When the going gets twisty though the XPower feels like it lets its rivals catch back up. There are different driving modes and switching to ‘Sport’ and reducing the regenerative braking makes a notable difference to the way the XPower handles.

The steering gets heavier and it will roll and coast into corners more like a petrol-powered hatch. It makes for a very competent car, with direct steering and good road holding… but not a great hot hatch.

It lacks the engagement and excitement that the best hot hatches offer. For example, the steering gets heavier in Sport mode, but doesn’t provide any more feedback to the driver. The Bridgestone Turanza tyres do a fine job but they lack the grip of a Michelin Pilot Sport. 

The lasting impression on the driver is a car that feels quick but doesn’t leave you wanting more. The best hot hatches make you want to keep on driving and driving, that’s not the case in the XPower.

As a daily driver it’s arguably better than its rivals, though, with quiet, effortless commuting potential thanks to its electric powertrain.

There’s the usual passive safety features, including six airbags as well as the required stability controls, anti-lock brakes and the like, however the XPower also comes equipped with the MG Pilot suite of active safety features as standard.

MG Pilot includes autonomous emergency braking, lane keeping assist, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert.

Thanks to all of this safety gear, the MG4 range was awarded a maximum five-star ANCAP assessment, when it was tested in 2022.

MG's seven-year/unlimited kilometre warranty is equal best-in-class with the Kia Picanto.

The brand has yet to detail service pricing and scheduling for the new light car.

Like every MG sold in Australia, the MG4 XPower is covered by the brand’s seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty, which is industry standard for high-volume brands these days.

As for servicing, the intervals are also the same as the rest of the MG4 range, which means a lengthy two years or 40,000km, whichever comes first, between visits to the dealership.

That’s much longer than your typical petrol-powered hot hatch, which has more moving parts that need servicing. 

In terms of costs, the XPower is ever-so-slightly more expensive compared to the rest of the MG4 line-up.

A minor service is the same $296 but a major service (which comes every second service) will cost you $962.

But even so, for the first six years you’ll only be up for $1554 in servicing costs, which is comparatively cheap amongst its hot hatch rivals, and only $76 more than you’ll pay for any other MG4.