MG4 EV XPower

Just a week after its reveal, we get behind MG's wheel

- Richard Ingram

ONLY one week after it was officially announced to the world, here we are driving the fastest, most powerful MG ever: the 429bhp MG4 EV XPower.

It comes off the back of a hugely successful model launch late last year, with commercial director Guy Pigounakis telling us demand for the MG4 Standard and Long Range cars has been "quite simply overwhelming". The company has sold more than 14,000 MG4s in the UK, with overall brand sales up 58 per cent year on year.

Pigounakis puts much of this success down to MG's ability to dramatically undercut the competition on price - part of the reason we celebrated the MG4 as our Affordable Electric Car of the Year at the 2023 Auto Express New Car Awards earlier this month (Issue 1,787). With the recent introduction of a new 77kWh MG4 Extended Range, the maker claims its family hatchback is the "lowest-priced car in the UK available with a 300-mile range".

But enough about the brand. Our positive impressions of the revived MG are well documented both online and here in the magazine. We know it can build affordable, pragmatic family transport, but what about when it wants to emulate its heritage of fast, fun sports cars? The true test of that will be when we drive the forthcoming two-seat MG Cyberster, but for now it's the turn of the company's first EV hot hatch. Using the MG4 as a base is no bad thing; a sharp rear-drive chassis and compliant ride make even the conventional car one of the best in its class to drive.

The XPower turns things up to 11. Visually, it's distinguishable mostly by its orange brake calipers and 18-inch wheels, but there's some gloss-black trim and new colours as well - including the matt Racing Green paint you see here. There's no aggressive bodykit, gaping air intakes or big spoilers, though.