2024 MG MG4 XPower review: Australia’s first EV hot hatch offers unmatchable bang for buck. But is it any good?

2024 MG MG4 XPower review:  In all the hoo-hah about the Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, Tesla Model 3 Performance and Kia EV6 GT, the fourth member of the battery electric go-fast family has been a little bit forgotten.

So here’s a reminder for you folks. The MG MG4 XPower is the closest thing EVs currently offer to what’s traditionally referred to as a hot hatch.

The formula is pretty simple. Take Mum’s shopping trolley and add power, handling and some styling pizazz. And give it a sexier name.

The XPower ticks all the boxes. It’s got heaps of grunt, limpet grip and a price that’s almost affordable in these days of stroke-inducing new car sticker shock.

2024 MG4 XPower price and equipment

The MG4 is the best Chinese car on-sale in Australia and the XPower is the most sporting drive in the range if you’re into that sort of thing.

It will cost you $59,990 drive-away. For that you get a 300kW/600Nm powertrain claimed to reach 100km/h from rest in 3.8 seconds via dual e-motor all-wheel drive.

Nothing in the EV space matches up on power and price. Nothing.

The 64kWh lithium-ion battery pack is straight from the MG4 Essence and offers a 400km WLTP range. That’s down from the Essence’s 435km claim. Does anyone know why this car doesn’t get the bigger 77kWh battery?

The XPower has 140kW maximum DC charging and 6.6kW AC charging. The claimed consumption rate is 15.2kWh/100km.

Compared to a standard MG4 there’s not a lot that’s changed externally. That’s no bad thing because this thing already looks good and fast.

There are swirly 18-inch alloy wheels wrapped in Bridgestone Turanza tyres and brightly coloured calliper covers under which you’ll find less impressive looking brake callipers.

The substantial spoiler hanging over the rear window is straight from upper-spec rear-wheel drive MG4s.

Inside, apart from sports pedals, the XPower shares its interior equipment list with the MG4 64 Essence, including the squircle steering wheel (that looks very XPower).

Highlights include keyless entry and start (sit in the driver’s seat and the car is ready to go), single zone air-conditioning, a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen, a powered driver’s seat, front seat heating and wired Apple Carplay and Android Auto.

There’s the same comprehensive safety equipment list applied to the XPower as the Essence, although the hot hatch mises out on the ANCAP five star rating because that’s reserved for the single motors.

The warranty is seven years/unlimited km and the battery warranty seven years/160,000km.

2024 MG4 XPower: What we think

There is no doubting the MG4 XPower’s primary party trick. This thing boogies in a straight line.

That 3.8 second 0-100km/h claim is oh-so believable as you’re squished into the artificial leather and Alcantara driver’s seat and the artificial spaceship audio whirrs ever-more intensely louder. There is launch control but who needs it?

This is a car for dispensing white van man in a single broken line. It’s for turning mountains into molehills.

It delivers bang for your straight-line buck that makes it look downright cheap when you consider a Porsche 911 Carrera is 0.3 seconds slower to 100km/h and costs you an extra $240,000 or so.

‘Ok’ you say, ‘that’s all well and good. But what happens when you get to the twisty bits?’ We know what happens in a 911 – the feel and grip and cohesion make it the best part of the experience.

(In a well driven one that is – not one being reversed into the trees at high speed by an over-ambitious rich old white guy. Sorry, digression.)

The MG4 XPower can’t emulate that experience – the cohesive one that is. It’s a much more synthetic experience.

Yes, MG has given the XPower’s chassis a tune up. There is sharper steering, stiffer suspension, an electronic differential that can vector torque between all four wheels and bigger brake discs.

They are worthy changes that work together with the low centre of gravity substantial EV batteries deliver to make this a swift cross-country drive.

The cornering grip of the XPower is extremely high and the steering is accurate. But it’s more about daring yourself to see how fast you can go in a corner than being absorbed in the flow for its own sake. Sure, it’s enjoyable but it’s not immersive.

That is more achievable in an ICE performance vehicle because there are more inputs to deal with. More things to captivate you. In this car there is no clutch pedal and/or gears to manipulate because there’s only a single speed transmission. There’s no engine revs to control or listen to rising and falling.

There is highly effective multi-stage brake regeneration and there are drive modes to adjust in the XPower, but they are only accessible via the touchscreen. Paddles and dials would help create more connection more quickly.

It’s not all remote and digital, this is still a physical vehicle not a video game. The front tyres will scrabble for traction as power is transferred forward under hard acceleration. And there are some hints of steering tug as the front-mounted rack copes with same.

Apart from that, the XPower has the usual MG4 positives and minuses.

It’s a nice enough car to pootle around in, retains a decent ride, isn’t too noisy and has reasonable space inside and in the boot.

Negatives? There are too many controls that have to be accessed through the touch screen including the overly intrusive lane keeping and driver monitoring that have to be switched off every time you get in the car, rear-seat passengers get few features (no vents for instance), voice control is rubbish, adaptive cruise control will slow down autonomously in corners (I hate that!), there’s no spare tyre and your smartphone will go flying out of the shallow charging pad when accelerating and cornering at speed. And you do a fair bit of both in the XPower.

2024 MG MG4 XPower: Verdict

The MG4 XPower is a wow of a hot hatch to drive in a straight line, but imperfect and a bit distant when the corners are reached. The reality is a turbo-petrol Hyundai i30 N is still more involving. Heresy I know

Maybe the price we have to pay for all the benefits EVs deliver is a lessened degree of emotional involvement in the driving experience. Or perhaps we’re just at an early stage of the development of affordable electric performance cars and that connection is coming.

Hopefully the latter is true and the XPower is a startlingly fast and often enjoyable – if not immersive – starting point.

Score: 3.0/5

2024 MG MG4 XPower specifications

Price: $59,990 (drive-away)

Basics: EV , 5 seats, 5 doors, small passenger car

Range: 400km (WLTP)

Battery capacity: 64kWh lithium-ion (62.1kWh usable)

Battery warranty: 7 years/160,000km

Energy consumption: 15.2kWh/100km

Motors: dual permanent magnet synchronous, 300kW/600Nm (combined).

AC charging: 6.6kW, Type 2 plug

DC charging: 140kW, CCS combo plug

0-100km/h: 3.8 seconds