New MG4 Urban is one of the cheapest cars on sale in the UK
The Chinese price wars have reached our shores, with the new MG4 Urban priced at thousands less than rivals
Pricing for the MG4 Urban has been revealed, and it’ll start at just £23,495. This cut-price version will join the existing MG4 EV in showrooms, and undercut key rivals from European and Korean manufacturers by around 20 per cent, making this a colossal amount of electric car for the money.
The new MG4 EV Urban will be available in three variants, starting with the ‘Comfort Standard Range’ at that headline price point, including a 43kWh battery pack with a combined WLTP range of 201 miles. Next up is the £25,495 Comfort Long Range, which ups the battery pack to 54kWh, giving the car a more useful 258-mile range. Above this is the £27,495 Premium Long Range with the same battery and range.
What is a MG4 EV Urban?
The MG4 Urban is a totally different car to the MG4 currently sold here in the UK. The new front-wheel-drive model (the existing car is rear-wheel drive) is already available in China, and joins MG’s UK line-up as a cheaper and more affordable option.
To retain some clear air between the two cars, the existing MG4 EV will be given a new interior, while ditching the entry-level models to sit above the Urban in the MG range. Extended Range and XPower models remain exclusive to this model.
In a statement, MG said the new car, called MG4 Urban, will act as “a new B-segment MG hatchback designed specifically as an electric vehicle for towns and cities. Built on a new platform to enhance efficiency and range, it expands the successful MG4 line-up and offers even more choice”.
Speaking to Auto Express late last year, MG’s head of product and planning, David Allison, said: “One of the benefits of the [Chinese MG4] platform being front-wheel drive is that it’s a little bit cheaper. Competition is becoming more intense, more aggressive. Trying to find a way of keeping a competitive-priced product is more and more challenging as the ZEV targets ramp up.”
The Urban looks quite different to the current MG4. It gets less aggressive styling, particularly at the front where there’s a softer, more rounded nose, less pronounced air intakes and a much smaller, body-coloured splitter on the bumper. The headlights are smaller too, but the traditional, chrome MG octagon badge remains. The Urban model is 108mm longer than the current MG4, and its wheelbase, height and width are also slightly larger.
Semi-solid-state battery technology
However, what’s particularly groundbreaking about this newer model is its compatibility with semi-solid-state batteries. These packs have the potential to be smaller, lighter, more energy-dense and even less volatile than the ‘liquid’ batteries we see in most current EVs. This has huge implications for MG’s future electric cars because with solid-state batteries they should be better packaged, weigh less, charge more quickly and offer even greater range.
While the MG4 tested by Euro NCAP used the regular LFP (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery already on sale in China, MG’s parent company SAIC says the new semi-solid-state battery has passed “three-direction needle penetration tests” and “demonstrates improved performance in low-temperature conditions”, which we presume is in comparison with the existing MG4’s battery performance.
The new MG4 also features ‘battery to body’ integration to improve not only rigidity, but also the battery’s crash protection. We’re yet to find out the capacity of the semi-solid-state battery and what range and charging figures the new technology will provide. But thanks to patent filings, we know the Chinese MG4 has front-wheel drive and is lighter than the car currently sold here, at 1,485kg compared with 1,635kg.
Like the existing MG4 we already get in the UK, the Chinese MG4 received a full five-star crash-test rating from Euro NCAP – which MG will be relieved to hear following the recent abysmal showing of the MG3 supermini during testing.
Competition in the electric hatchback market is hotting up in the UK market, with the excellent Kia EV3 and Skoda Elroq as well as the Cupra Born in line for a mid-life update. The Vauxhall Astra Electric is another rival and one that’s available on the Auto Express Buy A Car service with an average saving of more than £10,000.
As mentioned, the Urban model will line up alongside a facelifted MG4. While little is known about that car yet, in order for it to stay competitive, we expect it to gain influence from the newer MGS5 EV, including things like its 12.8-inch central touchscreen. The MGS5 EV also has a set of physical knobs and buttons for easier adjustment of controls such as the volume and climate settings, which we can expect will cross over into the MG4.
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