MG4 EV review: range, battery & charging

Underneath the MG4’s eye-catching bodywork is a brand-new, EV-specific platform called MSP (Modular Scalable Platform) that, in time, will serve as the underpinnings for all sorts of electric MGs – including the upcoming MG Cyberster sports car.

From launch, the MG4 was available in Standard Range and Long Range forms, but an even longer-legged Extended Range model is now also available, alongside a high-performance XPower variant.

MG4 EV range

The Standard Range MG4 starts at just under £27,000, for which you get a 51kWh battery and 218 miles of range. That might not seem like loads, but it’s further than more expensive EVs like the Fiat 500 or an entry-level Nissan Leaf can manage on a full battery. 

Upgrade to the Long Range powertrain, which includes a larger 64kWh battery, and range increases to 281 miles for SE models, or 270 miles should you go for the range-topping Trophy model. Both figures are slightly longer than the range for a VW ID.3 or Cupra Born when fitted with a 58kWh battery, and for considerably less money.

The high-performance XPower model can’t go quite as far though. It uses the same 64kWh battery, but MG says it’ll need to be plugged-in after 239 miles of driving – and in our experience, that’s more like 200 miles if you make use of the power that’s on offer.

There’s now a range-topping Extended Range model, however, which uses a larger 77kWh battery. It’s priced in-line with small electric SUVs like the Jeep Avenger but offers a range of up to 323 miles.

We’ve seen superb efficiency from the MG4 range, with the Long Range model returning as much as 4.2 miles per kWh. Based on a usable battery capacity of 61.7kWh, that works out to a real-world range of 259 miles – within 4% of its claimed figure, without any real concession to hypermiling. 

If you’ve got a bit more of a lead foot or do lots of motorway miles, the MG4 will return closer to 3.8 miles per kWh, which works out to a real-world range of 235 miles. Cold weather, as you might expect affects battery performance; with an external temperature of around zero degrees, our car returned just 3.0mi/kWh. That equates to less than 200 miles on a charge.

Charge time

The Standard Range MG4 has a maximum charging speed of 117kW, while the Long Range models top out at 135kW – which is on par with the speeds you’ll get from the ID.3 or Cupra Born. That means if you plug the MG4 into a 150kW rapid charger, it'll take 39 minutes to top up the Standard Range model from 10-80% capacity, or 35 minutes for the Long Range version.

XPower and Extended Range models get even faster charging, with MG claiming these cars top out at 140kW and 144kW respectively. Find a fast enough public chargepoint and you can expect a 10-80% charge to take 35 minutes for the XPower and just under 40 minutes for the Extended Range due to its bigger battery.

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Fully replenishing the 51kWh MG4 at home will take around eight hours from a 7.4kW wallbox, or 10 hours if you go for the 64kWh battery. While official times are yet to be confirmed, you can expect the 74kWh model to take slightly longer to charge (1-2 hours) than the 64kWh car.