Final Report: The MG ‘family of’ 4
I was a little apprehensive when taking delivery of the MG4, given that my diary for the upcoming months included a few thousand miles of cross-country driving, with a lot of camera gear and luggage. But I’ve found the flexibility of this humble MG to be closer to that of a malleable – rather sporty – family estate, rather than a hatchback. Hear me out.
I’m a firm believer that you can squeeze practicality out of pretty much any car – as long as you’re willing to put a shift in. However, trying to fit two kids and a week’s worth of luggage into the MG4 has been a challenge at times. But, the MG4 can hold its head high, as it’s passed muster time and time again.
Even with our tendency to overpack – thanks kids – the MG4 always manages to have a little bit of space left for a pair of shoes, a soft bag or a Buzz Lightyear. Its rear footwells have a lot to do with this, and the spacious back seats in general.
We recently force-fed a colossal amount of luggage into the MG4 for a trip to Centre Parcs, and to the port of Southampton for a week-long Norwegian Cruise. As well as being able to handle the storage, the MG4 was also seemingly unaffected by the sheer amount of weight served up by two 20kg suitcases, and various other trinkets. While the draw of the luggage could be felt a little behind the wheel, the MG remained nippy, and the range impressive. In fact, compared to my long distance, unladen solo outings, the range figures were exactly the same over a distance of about 200 miles – which certainly shocked me.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the MG4 however is the versatility of its driving dynamics. At motorway speeds, it slips into cruiser mode effortlessly, feeling more saloon-like than hatchback. The adaptive cruise and on-board lane-keep safety gear – which can be finessed in the settings menu as to not be too jarring – removes much of the long-distance fatigue from each drive.
The Android Auto system works smoothly in the MG4 as well, which again removes fatigue, with most features easily navigable via simple Google-facilitated voice commands.
Noise insulation is one aspect of the MG4 I’m undecided on. At times, it quietly hums along like a bullet train – but I’ve also found myself having to raise my voice just to chat with a passenger up front. This doesn’t ruin the driving experience, but serves as a reminder that the MG4 is indeed a smaller, family hatchback.
Even with its impressive motorway prowess, the MG4 somehow manages to feel quite sporty in the twisty stuff, with communicative steering, good body control and plenty of oomph out of bends thanks to its electric set-up. Its slightly firm ride can lead to a bit of clattering on uneven surfaces, but the same can be said for most EVs.
I’ve sometimes wondered how families manage with just a hatchback. And while I would still probably opt for a larger estate or SUV, the MG4 is more than capable of accommodating a nuclear family – with zero emissions to boot.
With its welcome ability to offer both entertaining country road driving and effective long-distance motorway cruising, the MG4 really is the epitome of a classic win-win kind of car.
MG4 EV Trophy Long Range 64kWh
P11D: £32,440
Price as tested: £32,495
Official range: 365 miles
Test consumption: 3.7 mls/kwh
Mileage: 3,266
2nd Report: Taking charge
The past month has seen us hit the motorway hard in the MG4, going up and down the country, solely relying on public charger availability. I can honestly say that we’ve managed to bag 1,800 miles without a single hitch.
It can be difficult to review an EV without the efficacy of its EV charging network looming over it. We experienced this with the Skoda Enyaq two years ago – a great car, let down by a lacklustre EV ecosystem.
The main issues I encountered two years ago revolved around the reliance on charging apps and the need to seemingly have three (or even four) back-up charging stations planned in case your first was broken, occupied or otherwise inaccessible. It made any medium-to-long journey in any EV an administrative nightmare. Both of these issues, however, have now seemingly vanished.
We’ve found that public charging stations are now much more widely available, and I can now rely on a single plan of attack when it comes to long- distance EV journeys. And even though all of my public charger stops have gone to plan (so far) I’ve never been more than 5-10 miles from an alternative – meaning plan B takes care of itself.
Arguably the biggest convenience boost however is that most charging stations I’ve come across now accept some form of debit or credit card payment, without the need to get your phone out and use an app. That means you spend less time at the side of the road downloading a new app, learning how to use it, loading cash onto it, and then inevitably having to transfer leftover funds back into your bank account. This improvement alone has single-handedly made me consider buying an electric car myself.
Over the various different trips I’ve taken so far, I’ve found using chain restaurants or hotels is one of the best ways to plan your charging stops, given that these are scattered evenly throughout the country. McDonald’s has been a great companion here, with many of its restaurants fitted with rapid 160kW InstaVolt chargers. With a 160kW charger, our mid-journey pit stops have been no more than 30-45 minutes.
And that brings me to the MG4’s range. The max range has fluctuated quite a bit due to the weather, with a “summer’s day charge” resulting in 262 miles on the clock – compared to 240 miles on a balmy day. During long distance driving in particular, this range has been extremely accurate, usually within 5-10 miles of its predicted figure.
This has made journey planning easy, and when combined with the EV network’s new no-nonsense card payment set-up, range anxiety is ultimately a thing of the past.
Given that most of my long journeys start in Liverpool and head south, I can get pretty much anywhere by stopping and charging just once.
The MG4 has held its own from a motorway cruiser point of view too. The Android Auto set-up works flawlessly, the adaptive cruise control helps with fatigue and there’s always power on tap for a swift lane change or overtake. The cabin noise in the MG4 does vary a little depending on the condition of the road surface – but it’s only really noticeable when chatting with passengers.
For the first time ever, I can confidently say that I don’t dread long drives in an EV. I can finally start to enjoy its eco-smugness without the caveat of range anxiety.
1st Report: Back in the mind of an EV driver
Just as I was conquering the learning curve of days out with a family of four in a humble hatchback, life finds a way to keep me on my toes – in the form of all-electric power. We’ve recently traded in our petrol-powered Mazda3 for an MG4 EV, the current holder of our Business Car of the Year award.
Aside from having to get acquainted with the MG4’s interior wiggle room – which with our family must account for my wife and I, a toddler, a baby, and a dog – I knew that I’d have to slip back into the mind of an EV-minded driver. Doing this for the first time can be a bit daunting – but I’ve already been there and got the t-shirt, as they say.
My first long-term experience with an EV was about two years ago, and it saw me driving the Skoda Enyaq for six months. The main teething issues revolved around having to download a variety of charging apps and having to meticulously plan long-distance journeys, usually with a plan A, B and C when it came to choosing charging stops along the way. These niggles have inevitably returned with the MG4 – but at least this time, I already have my home wall box charger ready to go.
The transition has certainly been smoother this time around, as EV muscle memory has already kicked in, with daily battery checks and plug-ins already being part of my daily ritual.
So far, we haven’t travelled far enough in the MG4 to warrant a stop at any public charging station – although that will certainly change in the next month or so, with a few long-distance journeys already planned in the calendar.
Our previous two full charges have resulted in an estimated 240-mile range on the dashboard. In both instances, we travelled around 80 miles on a mixture of country roads and motorways with an average speed of 35mph. At the end of these journeys, we were left with about 25 miles less than what we should have had – mathematically speaking – in the battery.
This doesn’t concern me however, given that in my experience, EV range discrepancies tend to balance out the longer you travel on a single charge, especially if you include motorway driving on that journey.
Pottering about in the MG4 has been a pleasant experience. As with most electric cars, the MG4 has the usual EV quirks and foibles. Power is delivered instantaneously when squeezing the accelerator, and both the regenerative and regular braking is progressive and easy to judge. The suspension is a little firm however – a common EV trait – and you can find yourself bouncing from side to side when clattering over dodgy pot-holed tarmac.
Passenger space has been a particular highlight so far, with child seats being easy to fit in the rear, and tonnes of footwell room for bags. The boot on the other hand is just so-so, although the non-existent load lip and underfloor storage – albeit very small – has already come in handy several times, especially when it comes to storing the charging cables and kids’ toys.
Although we’ve only had a few short stints on the motorway, the MG4 is a surprisingly adept cruiser, with a remarkably hushed cabin and smooth, no-nonsense character. The Android Auto system works seamlessly enough too, eliminating the need for screen faffing when cruising.
Standard equipment: Adaptive cruise control, blind spot detection, rear privacy glass, 18in alloy wheels with low wind resistance aero cover, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, climate control, DAB radio, satellite navigation, wireless phone charging, 360-degree parking camera, Apple Carplay, Android Auto.
