MG4 EV review - Range, charging and running costs

The entry-level MG4 SE model has a 51kWh battery and can cover up to 218 miles (according to the official WLTP figures) on a single charge. Upgrading to the SE Long Range version adds a larger 64kWh battery and boosts the range to 281 miles, while the top-of-the-range Trophy Long Range is a little behind, offering a claimed 270 miles before you need to plug in.

The Extended Range with its larger 77kWh battery extends your driving radius by over 50 miles to an impressive 323 miles. With the additional weight of four-wheel drive and its larger tyres adding extra rolling resistance compared with the skinnier wheels of regular MG4s, the 64kWh MG4 XPower manages only 239 miles.

The regular MG4 has proven itself to be pretty efficient during our own testing, returning up to 4.2 miles per kilowatt-hour of energy when we first drove the top-spec Trophy Long Range model, which equates to a real-world range of 259 miles – just 11 miles shy of the car's official range. 

We’ve also pitted the same version head-to-head against a Kia Niro EV. While the Kia managed to return 3.8mi/kWh, the MG4 got 3.5mi/kWh, and we expect you'll get closer to this figure if you do a lot of motorway miles or spirited driving. Like all electric cars we've tested, the MG4 is not impervious to cold weather, managing 3.1mi/kWh during our twin test against the Ora Funky Cat in the winter. Although the Funky Cat only mustered 2.8mi/kWh in the same conditions.

Longer journeys shouldn’t prove to be too much of a chore, because the base MG4 has a maximum charging speed of 117kW, while the Long Range models top out at 135kW. That means if you plug any MG4 into an ultra-rapid charger capable of 150kW speeds or faster, which are common at UK motorway service stations these days, a 10 to 80 per cent top-up will take just over half an hour. Even the Extended Range isn’t much slower, despite the extra capacity to top up, with a 39-minute charge time from 10 to 80 per cent.

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If you’re transitioning to an all-electric car for the first time and have off-street parking, it would be sensible to invest in a wallbox home charger so that you can charge your car overnight. A standard 7.4kW home wallbox will take just over eight hours to fully recharge the 51kWh battery in the base MG4, 10 hours for the Long Range MG4's 64kWh unit or close to 11 hours for the MG4 Extended Range with its 77kWh unit.

Insurance groups

As a result of higher purchase prices and increased repair costs, all-electric cars can often attract more expensive insurance premiums than petrol and diesel models. The MG4 doesn’t fare too badly here because the 51kWh SE model is in group 27 (out of 50), while the 64kWh SE Long Range and Trophy Long Range versions are in group 28 and 29, respectively. The extra power of the MG4 Trophy Extended Range increases this to 33, but that’s nothing compared with the group 40 rating for the high-performance XPower.

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If you want a small EV that’s cheaper to insure, look at the Fiat 500, which starts in just group 16, or the Cupra Born in group 25.

You can get personalised car insurance quotes fast with our comparison tool powered by Quotezone...

Depreciation

As well as benefiting from the MG4’s competitive pricing, buyers will be pleased that early signs indicate the MG4 will be a strong performer on the used market. After a typical three-year ownership period and 36,000 miles, our expert data suggests it should hold on to around 66 per cent of its original value. In comparison, the Kia Niro EV retains 55-57 per cent.

To get an accurate valuation on a specific model check out our valuation tool...