All of the piano black plastic trim that used to adorn the MG4 is gone, replaced by more soft-touch materials and some carbon-fibre effect trim on the dashboard that we’re not sure will be to everyone’s taste, but is an improvement nonetheless. Finally, the seats also get new grey cloth upholstery, while XPower hot hatch benefits from bespoke, more body-hugging sports seats.
However, all those upgrades, and the loss of the smallest battery version, means the MG4 range now starts from £29,995, although right now MG is offering customers a £1,500 discount. So it still manages to undercut rivals like the VW ID.3, Renault Megane and Kia EV4, but not by as much as it used to.
There’s also the new MG4 Urban to consider. It gets the same £1,500 discount so is available right now for under £22,000 and offers almost the same interior, apart from in certain areas where you’ll find less soft-touch materials and more hard, scratchy plastics, which help cut costs.
But the Urban makes up for that by delivering significantly more space for people in the back, and a 577-litre luggage capacity, compared to the 388 litres available here. So if practicality is your top priority, the new sibling is the one to go for. But the ‘original’ MG4 has more range and is better to drive, especially on a twisty B-road thanks to its real-drive layout versus the front-wheel drive Urban.
Even the base MG4 feels suitably sprightly, the steering is nicely weighted and it doesn’t lean too much through the corners. That said, on the bumpy and undulating roads we encountered testing, the ride becomes choppy and refinement at motorway speeds still isn’t quite on the same level as some rivals.
