We've been more critical than most of MG in the recent past. This car seems like a major turnaround for the brand, which we're happy to see. Any questions on the MG4?

For someone who likes to get the specifics right, you missed the fact that it's only the base model that has the LFP battery. This is a major advantage (although less dense) it prefers being fully charged, at least twice the cycle life, virtually non flammable and contains no cobalt. Compared to the other nmc chemistry in the other MG4 models.

I love that you review the base models instead of just the top models. I'd only be buying base models

Love this car. By far the best sub 40k EV in Australia.

This is a game changer. With the lower priced BYD Dolphin, we’ll hopefully get proper competition in the market. And Tom, I can’t wait till you get to review the X-Power version!

Very impressive at this price point. Rear wheel drive and fantastic performance to boot. A budget price but far from a budget vehicle with well chosen standard features. It seems like they spent the money in the right places and got the price balance nearly spot on. Better than the dolphin from what I have seen so far. The top speed could be 10 kmh higher with net type elastic map pockets on the rear of the front seats and the 64 kWh optional battery fitted then it would be an absolute bargain. But I am just nit picking. It would be worth upgrading to the Excite 64 with the better battery pack for under forty five thousand Australian dollars. I honestly didn't think I would see an EV this good at this price point for a few more years it's going to be hard to beat going forward well done MG a winner. Electric vehicles are here to stay I have six Tesla EV chargers in a five kilometre radius of where I live with some public ones spread around. I doubt Elon could build an EV this good this cheap at this moment in time. 😎👍

Thanks Tom, very entertaining as always. I will continue to use Budget Direct as my car insurance simply because of you 😂

It’s interesting how the dolphin, the Ora and the MG4 chose different options to get down to the price point Where it become interesting is when the 3 are at about the $47/48,000 mark they start to become very similar in range, output and technology. I think this will be the interesting match-up

The United States needs a competent EV in this MGs price range 🇺🇲🇺🇲

Great comprehensive review ..

Another informative and professional review. I think that MG will move considerable numbers of the MG 4 provided that the electrical gremlins ( reverse camera etc) are sorted and pricing is consistent. I’m sure there will be plenty on rental car fleets in the near future.

Thanks for the review. We're seriously considering one at the moment and this has hugely helpful information. Now to decide which model and colour!

When we road trip we stop every 2-3 hours, which is approximately 200-300km. So I feel like the highway range is good enough. When you consider we road trip maybe 3-4 times per year, the base model seems good enough!

The blue one is gorgeous

A good review but I heard you saying that this is the cheapest MG4 and always compared to cooper born not one but many times. Taking MG4 for what it's worth what's your conclusion?

I have an MG4 and I can't fault the physical qualities of the vehicle or its drive experience. Everything is put together well, it drives well, is spacious inside and it has lots of features. It's such an easy car to drive and its no slouch either. I'm getting 15kwm/100km sometimes less so it's efficient too. I haven't had any reason to fast charge yet but it's worked fine from slow charging. My version has 360 degree camera which is really awesome. I think however that the software is a mess and there are a lot of little nuisances and bugs that they need to stop, sort out and deploy to new and existing cars. Stupid little things add up - race conditions with bluetooth & android auto where audio doesn't work, daylight/night sensor going on and off in the middle of the daylight, not remembering name of radio stations in the favourites (it takes a minute or so to discover them), not saving preferred settings like drive mode (I want Eco all the time), unresponsive touch behaviour (touch is responsive in android auto so clearly something up in their own SW), badly designed home screen, fiddly buttons, lack of customisation. They just need to take a deep breath, go through the issues and roll them out.

Great review, nice to see the new updated 2023 version with the rear windscreen wiper.

The first thing I noticed is that the Oh! shit handles in the back seats that was missing form the UK speced vechical. I do wonder if the inefficiency has to do with the LFP batteries this bottom version and I know the charging isn't the best at the bottom level, but the NCM batteries in the next level up charge extremely well. I am leaning towards the bigger battery just so I could do hwy driving if i need to. Although LFP has longevity and less ethical concerns.

That drive selector.... what a waste of space, just stick it on column. Why is a park brake button STILL required! Get rid of the piano black shelf.

I'll be a sucker to save few hundred dollars and get a BYD Dolphin. The MG 4 Excite 51 has the same rear multi-link rear suspension as the... Essence Long Range 77. Otherwise the Essence 64 should be a sweet spot in spending and having lots of goodies. I do agree with you on adaptive cruise control which really annoys me.

Your reviews are great. Thank you

Hello Tom We are ready to purchase an EV and have driven most of them ,we have a 75 kilometre rural run into town each day on less than perfect surfaces d a little bit of dirt road also we think BYD is probably the most suitable because we want comfort over performance and we have had upright driving position for many years now with 4x4 and SUV etc . In your opinion do you think the BYD is suitable for rural road return drive each day s so you think it is the most comfortable in this price bracket ,the reason I ask is the MG4 has grea reviews all Over the world but I think it may not be suitable for our situation ,we think the tesla model 3 is fabulous but we are very much country located ,no freeways near where we live . Thanks Tom Regards Matt

Living in the country, how is it's overtaking ability? Seems some EVs can be sluggish. Also, noise levels at 100 km/hr? Thanks for the review.

You should checkout Bjorn Nyland video "MG4 51 kWh Sunday driving" at 9:57 driving from Chang Mai to Bangkok at 80kmh instead of 100kmh he got over 400km at 11.6kwh/100km. Weather ICE or EV a light foot will get you further. That's a 42% increase on your 285km range for driving 20km slower.

Is there no headlamp over the rear seats? That’s gonna be tough if you’ve got kids in the back. But besides that, seems a phenomenal effort from MG

I looked at one on display in the shopping centre and the interior reminded me of older VW stuff, which is no bad thing. I thought, 'yeah, I'd be fine with this'. Certainly seems to be better screwed together than a Tesla.

Can this car be used to power your household?

5:21 you have a rear central Headrest !! And a rear wiper!!

Is that blue one actually the Brixton Blue or is it an English Holborn or Thai Ocean Blue? The colour on Au and NZ MG websites show Brixton as being more like the darker Brighton that is on MG ZS EV. I ask as the overseas blues are really attractive but what MG is showing here is much less so.

Great review Tom. Have you given the drive modes a try? If so, how was your experience with them?

Drove the Atto 3 and it torque steers like an 80's 205GTI on cheap tyres..... not for me. Looking forward to test driving the MG4 rear wheel drive.

Tested one yesterday in the Northern Rivers. First drive of an EV. Really surprised at how good it was. I’d be an instant buyer if it had rear passenger seat pockets, fold down arm rest with drink holders for the kids, and roof rails. Roof rails required for surfboard, bikes. You need to go to the ZS for that. The BYD Atto offers all that but at a 6k premium, slightly less range and poor tyres (I guess the better comparison for the Atto is the ZS EV). I guess someone like Thule or Rhino will come up with an aftermarket roof rack soon, which solves that. What a conundrum!

Awaiting for BYD Dolphin ~ do a vs comparison amongst Dolphin vs MG4 vs Good Cat??? It would be informative.!

Thanks Tom...only thing you listed the charging speeds in kWh rather than in kW, minor first world problem but Bjorn would go off his rocker if he saw that. :)

I can't understand why it lacks rear seat pockets, no rear armrest and no on/off button. Maybe the next version up has these things. It's decent but still not cheap enough and some of the spec omissions seem crazy for the price. I'm still not motivated to buy one.

Nobody seems to mention if the external mirrors are electrically folding type on the Excite 51 model?

This is the equivalent of Hyundai's first i30 fifteen years ago: it's a statement that China's ready to start making not just cheap cars, but good cars. The MG3 was the nasty 90s Hyundai Excel in this analogy, for the record.

Quick test to tell the difference between leather and plastic is to grab the steering wheel. If the palm of your hand starts to sweat fairly quickly, it's plastic.

Any word when there’ll be reviews for the essence out?

I'd be keen to hear your thoughts on the announced MG5 that is turning up in showrooms by the end of the month!

Looks very impressive. I would be keen to see what extras you get (other than battery capacity) as you step up in the line. BUT I am still a skeptic for reliability. MG ZS-EV owners experience random issues quite frequently. From not charging, to not starting resulting in a tow job. I also believe with still quite a limited dealer network the ability to perform diagnoses and rectify issues specific to EV platforms will take time to filter through to dealer workshops.

MG is becoming a well established brand now. This model should sell as fast as they can ship them. Even without incentives or novated leasing benefits the price is attainable.

RWD, reasonably light, good enough power, decent looking.. see, it isn't that hard car makers, B's and C's all around is better than a single F BTW, please record yourself getting in so we can see how easy it is, some of us have to consider lugging an old person around :) don't have to make it a talking point, just need to see it.

Hi Mr, concerned about the cruise control, loosing speed on sweeping bends, that is a complete NO-NO.

MG4 SE SR 51kwh has no name in the Uk 🤷‍♀️ it’s just called the SE SR I’m calling mine here in UK Maggie the MG😂❤

200th (late) like ... the little MG looks to be popular in Au! I can say I'm more looking forward to the new MG 6 (looks stunning) and new Cyberster Sportscar. This base MG 4, seem to only have the performance of a 90's warm hatch. And its quite inefficient. And c'mon MG steel wheels in 23/24?? False Economy then I'm afraid.

did you say its rear wheel drive @8:05 ? and it has a front motor @8:20?

This will be a big hit. 1635kg is super impressive. Love it!

Kia Picanto petrol is still $21,990 drive away - I'm hoping we have some new EV options around the $25K-30K soon.

So this or the cupra leon V which you reviewed last week Tom??

When will the reviews of the 64kWh and 77kWh models be made available?

ok but why is it illegally parked on bunmarra st, was there not enough room in the dealers lot on the other side on epsom rd

EV's have some advantages, they have some disadvantages though. If you run out of charge in a place where there's no charging stations around you're stuck and require a tow truck. At least in an ICE or Hybrid a can of petrol or diesel from the nearest filling station of which there's going to be one, will get you on your way again

what incentive do we have in NSW? and how much :)

Appreciate it if you can compare it to the BYD Dolphin

The MG4 xpower owned some $500k cars

Keen to see the X Power hit Australian shores!

Can you do a review on the MG5 why has the sedan been forgotten all of a sudden

So does it drive like a F20 125i?

yeah theyre selling them for barely above cost to saturate the market, they'll be 20k higher in a year

Makes you think if the first-mover advantage these Chinese EV brands have in Oz will be sustained once the Giants like Toyota etc. come to town with their EV offerings.

They need to sort out the roof design so you can put roof racks on it.

No EV subsidy in Victoria from Chairman Dan

Bring on the petrol 6 cylinder mazda cx60 test.

You might want to consider having a "Chasing Cars" name and logo on a T-Shirt that is more concentrated in the middle, so your jacket doesn't just expose "Chasing".

It uz a nice steering wheel the one on the haval range are terrible to use and plajn and hard , feeling ,

why must we continue to use per 100km, seems we're the only ones and I've always got to convert it to per litre or per kWh

I wouldn't say the mg ZST the latest one has below average ride and handling. It's more than acceptable, certainly better than some other small SUVs like the ASX. Others i agree. I think MG turned a corner when they released that one.

I wonder what the EV novating lease would be on one of these.

I was surprised that it only had a four speaker sound system and even more so that the premium option is 6 speakers. I would expect a 6 speaker system (4 woofers, 2 tweeters) as a minimum. Then the premium option should be 9 speakers (4 woofers, 4 tweeters, 1 centre channel) plus a sub if they're feeling generous. I'm glad to see that MG have greatly improved their infotainment interface even if the touchscreen isn't as responsive as it should be. However, If I were in MG's position (with infotainment being a consistent weak point) the I would invest in developing an Android Automotive based system.

I think there's a large market for parents wanting to buy EVs for their kids that are safer and more efficient than ICE cars. At the moment my understanding is that Tesla leads in these areas, so the price differential here is not compelling. If they started offering city EVs around the $30k mark (wishful thinking I know), then I think the younger generation would adopt EVs more readily.

A pity it isn't higher for older people who don't want to bend down to getting in and out of the car. I suspect in a few years time this will look quite expensive compared to newer EVs that will come in in this market space.

Victoria drops ev incentive just when there's viable affordable ev car 🤦‍♂

A pretty similar 0-100 time as a tesla model y rwd 👍

Good looking car

Please review HondaZrv

This or the Atto 3 then…?

Very nice car, but I'm waiting for a Korean/Japanese electric car under $30k. Will only be a matter of time, and we can't go on with these petrol prices.

Supposed to be a cheaper version of the MG4 coming out soon .

Let's hope the Long range has better efficiency and more speakers! 😊

Enjoy all your reviews Tom and this time I checked out your sunnies.Very swish.Brand? Phil.

your purchasing a plain car with a ev engine i think ill go petrol mg5 with all the features including sunroof.and 10 thousand dollars less.

At least the mg4 doesnt have the atto 3 dashboard and door cards that make me want to vomit.

It’s not cheap, it’s just less expensive compared to other electric cars. A brand new petrol equivalent can be had for £10000 less. Please don’t tell me it’s cheap, it’s unaffordable.

Thankyou! I can not fathom why everyone is obsessed with having leather seats, especially in Australia... /facepalm

Has to be under $30,000 otherwise I would just buy a petrol Corolla.

rust treatment? UK MG EV's seem to be rusting well.

Still to expensive need something around $25K

Is MG owned by Chinese company?

Height is too high. They need to lower it to no higher than 1400mm. Let’s hope 2024 model will be lowered then I will buy it.

🇯🇵 🇰🇷 compact ICE and HEV cars are finished.

your rationale behind opting for the base model don't reflect the customer's actual choice . . . very few will buy the base model, even you know that . . . care to elaborate for a better understanding . . .

Pity it looks so boring on the outside. Just another Corolla or an older Mazda 3 🥱🥱 Come on MG, this is future technology, so make it LOOK like future technology! (Like if the first smart phones looked like a Nokia 3010) P.S. And quite right about the cloth seats - my Tesla M3 seats are terrible in summer! Almost tempted to get some cloth seat covers from Supercheap....

Too small battery capacity!!EV are still garbage and will be until they start to produce batteries with 500wat per kg or above that just like faster recharging and of course better/longer longevity of them and with acceptable price

I am a young person on a Centrelink pension. Will I be able to get a $AU 40,000 loan to buy this small car? I need the car so that I can go job hunting in Melbourne.

Do you really want to give the COmmunist Chinese more money?

Another Chinese manufacturer dumping low end BEVs in Australia

There’s the iPad and then there’s everything else. Same thing in the car world, there’s Tesla then there’s every other EV.

Chinese EV

Pity it's so ugly