► MG 4 review: one of today’s EV benchmarks
► Undercuts most electric cars on price
► Choice of three batteries, 218–323-mile range
First introduced in 2022, the MG 4 EV is still one of the stand-out electric cars of the moment, mixing all-round ability, temptingly low prices, plentiful availability and a reassuringly familiar badge to win plaudits all round. This full electric hatchback is one of the best electric cars you can currently buy, and won the overall 2024 Car of the Year award at our sister site, Parkers.co.uk.
We’ve driven every variant – the MG 4 SE, SE Long Range, Trophy Long Range and Trophy Extended Range – on UK roads, and cover the high-performance version in a separate MG 4 XPower review. Our experienced team of road testers can help guide you to the sweet spot in the range for your needs and price point. This other page covers how we test cars.
Should I buy an MG 4? This is the first time in the two decades since Chinese giant SAIC took control of MG that we can resoundingly recommend one of the brand’s products. The MG 4 does nearly everything right and remains difficult to beat in terms of value for money.
At a glance
Pros: Comfortable, quick, well put-together, spacious and great value. Phew
Cons: Not quite as polished inside as the pricier European competition
What’s new?
Don’t go thinking of MG as some budget bit-player any more – it now routinely sells sold more cars in the UK than Skoda, Land Rover or Tesla. A long warranty, small and friendly dealers and significantly less supply disruption in recent years than some of its rivals make this Chinese-owned brand an attractive proposition in the modern market place.
But that would all be for nought if the cars weren’t any good, and the MG 4 is the moment things got really serious for the firm’s established mainstream rivals. Clearly riffing on the Volkswagen ID.3 formula, it has an eye-catching but not unattractive boxy shape, lengthy wheelbase and plenty of interior space. But it also undercuts the VW while offering greater performance and driving range for your money. Cheap finance and lease deals are often available, too.
A new, longer, lighter and sleeker-looking MG4 was revealed at home in China in 2025, but at present the company has no plans to replace the model we’re testing here for UK and European buyers.
What are the specs?
Thinking of it as a Chinese rival to Volkswagen’s ID.3 isn’t too far off the mark. Size-wise, there’s very little in it (the ID.3 is a little taller) giving the MG 4 family hatchback dimensions. It rides on MG’s Modula Scalable Platform designed from the ground-up for electric power, and features a thin skateboard-style battery under the floor. Pick from the following models:
- MG 4 SE: 51kWh battery, 218-mile range, 3.6 miles per kilowatt hour, £26,995
- MG 4 SE Long Range: 64kWh battery, 281-mile range, 3.8 miles per kilowatt hour, £29,495
- MG 4 Trophy Long Range: 64kWh battery, 270-mile range, 3.7 miles per kilowatt hour, £32,495
- MG 4 Trophy Extended Range: 77kWh battery, 323-mile range, 3.7 miles per kilowatt hour, £36,495
Quoted ranges are the official ones, following the European WLTP cycle, so will likely be a tad optimistic. Although the MG has a more accurate range meter than most, we would cautiously recommend lopping around a quarter to a third off the claims in mixed real-world conditions.
The clever Chinese engineering is wrapped in an angular, insectoid body. It doesn’t look half bad in the flesh – somewhat under-wheeled with just 17-inch rims on SE models and 18-inchers on Trophy trim, compared to the ID.3’s 19- or 20in affairs, but modern and smart nonetheless.
There’s a distinctive rear light bar and smart twin roof spoiler (above a surprisingly tiny rear windscreen wiper!), plus vibrant paint choices – the orange you see in the photos here joined by an electric blue and a classier metallic red, among six hues.
Entry-level SE models have perfectly acceptable performance: the slowest MG 4 SE is pretty brisk, passing 0-60mph in 7.5 seconds – and step up to the Trophy Extended Range with its brawnier 242bhp motor if you want 6.1sec 0-60mph bragging rights. It feels as quick as a hot hatch.
How does it drive?
You might be expecting mediocrity here, but not at all. We first tried the Trophy model with a 150kW (201bhp) electric motor and 184lb ft of seamless torque. But being rear-drive it’s much less prone to lighting up the tyres at the merest hint of acceleration, as happened in the older MG 5 or ZS EV, allowing you to get a move on with minimal drama.
What’s more, those dinky wheels round off bumps admirably well, and the body control is excellent. MG’s dedicated EV platform offers balanced 50:50 weight distribution and a low centre of gravity and it pays off here – this isn’t just a good budget EV, it’s a great EV to drive, period. More comfortable than an ID.3 or a Cupra Born, and better-resolved than a Renault Zoe or Kia Niro EV.
It even offers a little entertainment if you treat it like a blunt instrument, though the traction control steps in before anything gets too messy.
Driving modes include the usual Normal/Sport/Eco, altering throttle response, braking effort and steering weight, while you can also select from four levels of regenerative braking, including an adaptive mode. Shame there’s no one-pedal drive, but the top level of regen will take you down 80% of the way.
What about the interior?
It’s not just in dimensions that the 4 apes the ID.3. The interiors are very similar too, though the brighter and more rounded aesthetic of the VW contrasts the rather sober and straitlaced MG.
There’s no starter button. Step in, sit down and press the brake and the car will come to life once it syncs with the keyless entry system, with two admirably high-definition screens staring at you over a sea of pleather.
Poke around a bit and you’ll find where MG’s saved some cash. You don’t get grab handles or lighting in the sunvisor mirrors, for instance, and the plastics atop the doors and lower down on the dash are decidedly hollow-sounding, while the floor mats are hilariously abrasive. But the steering wheel and both armrests are nicely cushioned, so does it really matter?
There’s something of the Goldilocks quality to the MG 4: it’s just smart enough, without going overboard. It feels like a canny sweet spot, in the same way that Skodas or Korean cars used to.
Physical controls are minimal and amount to a row of buttons below the infotainment screen, plus the drive selector and parking brake. This is where the first real annoyance creeps in: if MG was going to take inspiration from the ID.3, why did it have to be in routing most minor controls through the touchscreen?
It’s just about okay for media consumption, but changing the climate control with an array of diddy onscreen buttons is frustrating. Frustrating, too, that the drive modes, regen and even toggling cruise control on and off is done through a buried sub-menu. Oh, and don’t bother using the wireless charging pad – it’s so slick your phone will slide off at the first roundabout.
The steering wheel controls are unmarked and multifunctional, though we suspect owners would commit them to memory after a few days of ownership without great trouble. Just make sure you are prepared to learn your way around the MG 4’s digital ecosystem. If you prefer physical knobs and buttons, you might be disappointed. We also did not like the over-vigorous lane-keep assist function, which is surprisingly aggressive in its corrections if you dare stray out of lane.
Space for passengers is acceptable: four six-footers will fit with average legroom but good headroom, and unlike some EV rivals the floor in the rear isn’t ridiculously high. The boot is a good size and shape too; although it is not very deep, you do get space under the floor to store the charge cables. There is no ‘frunk’ or front boot.
Before you buy (trims and rivals)
The really exceptional part is that MG wants just £26,995 for an entry-level SE car with the Standard Range battery (UK prices have risen only slightly from £25,995 at launch in September 2022). Add £2500 for the Long Range car with a bigger 64kWh battery, and a further £3000 on top of that for the Trophy trim.
Trophy brings a lot of tempting kit including 360-degree parking cameras, wireless phone charging, sat-nav, heated front seats and steering wheel, plus the ability to install the car key in your mobile phone.
The competition has gotten sharper since the MG 4 was launched, but it still represents great value. For instance, an entry-level VW ID.3 will set you back £30,860 at the time of writing (July 2025), and you only get 168bhp for that (though a bigger battery means a slightly longer 240-mile driving range from the VW). A smaller Vauxhall Corsa Electric costs from £26,780.
Add the usually competitive finance deals that MG is able to offer – due in part to strong residual-value predictions – and once again this roundly talented EV seems to be right in the middle of a sweet spot.
Verdict: MG 4
MG’s managed to make a desirable car that not only undercuts the main rivals but also competes properly with them as well. It’s loaded with kit, genuinely competent on the road and backed by a strong concoction of seven-year warranty and friendly local dealers. It’s a car we wholeheartedly recommend if you’re looking to plug in and go electric, though as stated above, competition is getting fiercer all the time.