MG4 EV

One of the brand’s sought-after models, MG’s latest offering, the new MG4 EV, upgraded and launched in Malaysia.

A Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), the C-segment (hatchback) runner underpins MG’s Modular Scalable Platform (MSP) architecture.

Fully imported (CBU – China), available via MG Motor Malaysia are three variants (Lux – RM101,536, Lux Extended Range – RM129,536, XPower – RM139,536).

Prices (OTR, w/o insurance) cover vehicle (seven years/150,000 km), EV battery (eight years/180,000 km) and drive motor-control unit (eight years/160,000 km) warranties.

Exterior (single-tone) colours (Lux, Lux Extended Range, XPower: Volcanic Orange, Holborn blue, Dynamic Red, Arctic White, Camden Grey, Black Pearl, Monument Silver – XPower: Matte Green). 

Interior (single-tone) colour (Lux, Lux Extended Range, XPower: Black).

The new MG4 has a symmetrically cascading dashboard, linked to a high-rising-floating centre console (rotary gear selector, wireless charger, armrest, storage).

Soft-/hard-touched (dash, steering wheel, centre console, doors), it sees one colour scheme (single-tone: Black) with contrast trims (Silver, Gloss Black) and stitching (XPower: Orange).

Equipped are driver/central displays (instrument cluster, infotainment) and air-conditioning vents (rectangular, dash-embedded) and sports pedals (XPower: Metal).

Inclusively, the layout is ergonomic (functional), with accessibilities purposefully arranged (driver-oriented, user-friendly).

Installed is a 7.0-inch HD TFT-LCD (Thin-Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display) fully digital (Multi-Information Display – MID) driver display (instrument cluster).

Features are Bluetooth, media, navigation, MG iSmart (‘Hello MG’ voice command, MG mobile app), customisable interface (drive mode dependent) and vehicle telematics.

Comfortable, the interior sees leather (Lux, Lux Extended Range) and leather-Alcantara (XPower) upholstery in one colour scheme (single-tone: Black) with contrast stitching (XPower: Orange).

The front gets electric-powered (driver-six-way-adjust) and manual-operated (passenger-four-way-adjust) bolstered seats. The rear gets a manual-operated (60:40 split-fold) bolstered bench.

Included are armrests (front – centre console, rear – centre seat fold-out), headrests (front, rear) and a headliner (fabric: Black).

A five-seater (e-hatchback), the cabin offers generous space with comfortable seatings, providing ample interior mobility for the occupants (front, rear). 

Sufficient head, shoulder and leg rooms.

Comfort and space are courtesy of the Modular Scalable Platform (MSP) architecture, donating a long wheelbase and a slim-designed battery (110 mm thin).

Mounted is a two-spoke-flat-top-bottom steering wheel. Single-tone leather (Lux, Lux Extended Range, XPower: Black) with contrast trims (Silver, Gloss Black).

Features are multi-switches (Bluetooth, media, voice command, vehicle telematics) and column adjustments (tilt, telescopic).

Aiding the drive is an Electric Power Steering (EPS) system.

Practical storage areas. E.g., pockets (side doors, seat backs), centre console spaces (partitioned, caverned, retractable, under-stowage), a glove box and a hidden boot space (under-boot floor).

Provided are four cup holders (two: front, rear) and four bottle holders (one: side doors).

Equipped are three USB ports (two: front, one: rear), one 12 V socket (one: front) and one wireless charger (centre console).

Included is a Vehicle-to-Load (V2L – 6.0 kW) function for powering of external devices. 

Accessing (Lux, Lux Extended Range, XPower) its electric-powered (remote/key fob, tailgate button) tailgate, opens to 350 litres (rear seats up) and 1,165 litres (rear seats down) of load capacities.

Weighing in at 1,685 kg (Lux), 1,784 kg (Lux Extended Range) and 1,800 kg (XPower), the new MG4 stands at 4,287 mm long, 1,836 mm wide, 1,516 mm tall and with a wheelbase spanning 2,705 mm.

Aerodynamically sporty, it parades an angularly sharp exterior, emphasised by seamlessly clean-cut contours.

The centre-focused front-end sees a mildly formed bonnet (raised sides), angular quarter panels (raised fenders) and a sculpted bumper (Active Grille System – AGS, side vents, lip kit, ‘MG’ emblem).

Accentuations, body clad (Black: side sills, lower side doors) and body trims (Black: AGS, vent inserts, lip kit, side mirrors, window surrounds – Chrome: ‘MG’ emblem).

Middle pointed (beltline flowing), it continues the angularly sharp profile, emphasised by sleekly protruding and horizontally aligned surfaces.

The multi-layered rear-end sees a mildly dipped roofline (roof-edge spoiler: twin aero spoiler), a highly tapered tailgate (‘MG’ emblem, crosshatch light patterns), muscular quarter panels (raised fenders) and a covered bumper (diffuser: exhaust-omitted).

Accentuations, body clad (Black: bumper, side sills, lower side doors) and body trims (Black: diffuser, window surrounds – spoiler: body-colour – Chrome: ‘MG’ emblem).

Angular rounded, the headlamps are framed sharply pointed and inward-tilted. Installed are full LED (projectors) units.

Features are automatic On/Off/high-/low-beam/cornering/levelling, Intelligent Headlamp Control (IHC), Daytime Running Lights (DRL – LED), welcome/leaving lights and sequential turn signals (LED).

Protruding and elongated, the X-shaped tail lamps are framed full width (lightbar) with angularly sharp wraparound edges. Installed are full LED units.

Features are automatic On/Off, welcome/leaving lights, sequential turn signals (LED) and crosshatch light patterns. Included is a high-mounted brake light (spoiler integrated – LED).

The side mirrors (single-tone: Black) are electric-powered (auto-fold, adjust), with turn signals (LED) and blind-spot indicators (Blind Spot Detection – BSD).

Mounted is a set of ventilated (front) and solid (rear) disc brakes, featuring coloured (Orange) callipers (XPower).

Aiding the drive are an Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold system, four Regenerative Braking Modes (KERS – Kinetic Energy Recovery System: Auto, 1, 2, 3) and One-Pedal-Drive (regenerative braking).

The new MG4 features the ‘MG Pilot’ suit of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

Grouped are Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Blind Spot Detection (BSD), Rear-Cross Traffic Alert (RCTA), Door Opening Warning (DOW), Driver Attention Alert (DAA), Intelligent Headlamp Control (IHC), Lane Change Assist (LCA), Lane Keep Assist (LKA), Lane Departure Warning (LDW), Speed Alert System (SAS), Traffic Jam Assist (TJA) and Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).

Others include Surround View Camera (SVC: 360-degree), Anti-Lock Braking System (ABS), Electronic Brake Force Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist (BA), Electronic Stability Program (ESP) and Hill-Start Assist (HSA).

Passive safety includes six (driver-passenger, front sides, front-rear curtains) airbags, seat belts (reminders, pre-tensioners, anchors), ISOFIX (two: outer-rear seats), parking sensors (four: rear), parking cameras (reverse, 360-degree), rear-view mirrors (exterior: BSD – interior: automatic-dimming), automatic-door locks (speed-sensing, central-locking, walk-away-lock), automatic wipers (rain-sensing, intermittent), automatic headlamps (On/Off/high-/low-beam/cornering/levelling), automatic windows (anti-pinch, one-touch up/down), impact beams, door ajar warning, Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold and anti-theft system (security alarm, immobiliser).

Selectable are three drive modes (STANDARD, SPORT, ECO, SNOW, CUSTOM). 

Included is a Launch Control mode (XPower), four Regenerative Braking Modes (KERS – Kinetic Energy Recovery System: Auto, 1, 2, 3) and a One-Pedal-Drive (regenerative braking) system.

The new MG4 (Lux, Lux Extended Range, XPower) underpins an all-electric e-powertrain (BEV) with variant-specific setups.

First e-powertrain (Lux, Lux Extended Range: rear-mounted) is a single-electric motor (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor – PMSM) setup (Lux: 150 kW/203 PS, 250 Nm – Lux Extended Range: 180 kW/245 PS, 350 Nm).

Second e-powertrain (XPower: front-rear-mounted) is a dual-electric motor (Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor – PMSM) setup (320 kW/435 PS, 600 Nm).

Churning the setups is a single-speed automatic transmission.

Power is rooted to the rear (Lux, Lux Extended Range) and all four (XPower) wheels, via Rear-Wheel Drive (RWD) and All-Wheel Drive (AWD) systems.

0 to 100 km/h acceleration is done in 7.7 secs (Lux), 6.1 secs (Lux Extended Range) and 3.8 secs (XPower). 

Top speed is electronically capped at 160 km/h (Lux), 180 km/h (Lux Extended Range) and 200 km/h (XPower).

Powering the e-motors is a Ternary Lithium (NMC – Nickel Manganese Cobalt) battery (Lux, XPower: 64 kWh – Lux Extended Range: 77 kWh), enabling a driving range (WLTP) of 435 km (Lux), 520 km (Lux Extended Range) and 385 km (XPower).

DC charging (Lux, Lux Extended Range, XPower: CCS2 – 135 kW), takes 26 minutes (Lux, XPower) and 38 minutes (Lux Extended Range) for a 10% to 80% State of Charge (SoC). AC charging (Lux, Lux Extended Range, XPower: Type 2 – 11 kW).

Included is a Vehicle-to-Load (V2L – 6.0 kW) function for powering of external devices.

The new MG4 features these conveniences.

E.g., Smart Entry system (keyless entry, engine Start/Stop button, remote engine start), electric-powered (remote/key fob, tailgate button) tailgate, single-zone automatic climate control system, electric-powered (driver-six-way-adjust) bolstered seats, armrests (front – centre console, rear – centre seat fold-out), headrests (front, rear), interior storage areas (side door/seat back/armrest pockets, partitioned/caverned/under-stowage centre console spaces, glovebox), steering wheel (multi-function, column adjustments, EPS), interior illumination (cabin/boot), charging ports (USB, power sockets, wireless charger, V2L), parking sensors (four: rear), infotainment (MG iSmart: voice command – MG mobile app: remote engine start, Bluetooth key, cabin preconditioning, vehicle status), parking cameras (reverse, 360-degree), rear-view mirrors (exterior: BSD – interior: automatic-dimming), automatic-door locks (speed-sensing, central-locking, walk-away-lock), automatic wipers (rain-sensing, intermittent), automatic headlamps (On/Off/high-/low-beam/cornering/levelling), automatic windows (anti-pinch, one-touch up/down), impact beams, door ajar warning, Electronic Parking Brake (EPB) with Auto Brake Hold and Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS).

Installed is a single-zone automatic air-conditioning system.

Underpinned is MG’s Modular Scalable Platform (MSP) architecture. Propping-up the e-chassis is a suspension setup of MacPherson strut (front) and multi-link (rear).

Ride comfortability feels flexible and firm at the same time. The e-subcompact SUV delivers a comfortable and light steering feel with smooth overall electric performance.

Good sound insulation with most of the NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) aspects accounted for. The ride is quiet, refined and the road noise is mostly muted.