MG4 Extended Range 2024 Review

Last updated on October 19th, 2023 at 10:36 pm

Intro, Price, Options and Verdict

Introduction

MG has been experiencing rapid growth, particularly with its EVs, and in August 2023 was the number two-selling electric car brand in the UK. Cars like the MG ZS EV, the MG5 and the MG4 have set benchmarks about how much EV you can get for the money. Now there’s a new version of the MG4, expanding the number of models. It’s called the Extended Range, and it sits above the Long Range and Standard Range, alongside the insanely fast XPOWER. This could be the best MG electric car yet.

Price and Options

The big change with the Extended Range is obvious from the name. It has a bigger battery – 77kWh gross (74.4kWh net), up from 64kWh gross (61.7kWh net) on the Long Range and the same sort of size as the battery used by a Tesla Model 3 Long Range. The MG4 Extended Range’s larger battery is allied with a more powerful 241hp motor, too, up from 201hp on the MG4 Long Range, which more than compensates for the extra weight. The even more powerful MG4 XPOWER, with dual motors, still uses the 64kWh battery.

The MG4 Long Range had two trim options – SE and Trophy – but the Extended Range only comes as the top Trophy trim. There are barely any options to choose from with the MG4 Extended Range, too. The wheels are 18in as standard. The paint used on the car we test drove is called Volcano Orange but there are also blue, white, red, grey, and black alternatives. That’s about it for customisation.

The range is the key upgrade with this new MG4 Extended Range. For that and the more powerful motor you pay £5,000 over the MG4 Long Range Trophy, making the total £36,495. MG has priced the unbelievably quick XPOWER and the Extended Range the same, so you can either have lots of range or lots of speed. That is nearly £10,000 more than the entry-level SE Standard Range, which is still the biggest EV bargain on the market. But if you want a range of 323 miles, you'd pay £6-8,000 more for a car from the Volkswagen Group, more from Hyundai and Kia for a little bit less range, and the base Tesla Model 3 delivers less range for over £6,000 more too. This car is clearly great value.

Design, Comfort and Storage

Exterior Design

The MG4 Extended Range doesn’t look any different from the outside to previous MG4s. As it’s a Trophy-only model, it has the extra spoiler that the Long Range Trophy includes. The MG4 is externally much more modern-looking than previous MGs, with a front that has a fierce and futuristic air, largely in part due to the complete absence of a grille. This is, after all, a vehicle platform that is not designed for internal combustion engines at all.

While the MG4 is a little bit taller than your average hatchback, it isn’t a crossover. It's a couple of centimetres longer and wider than a Volkswagen ID.3 but the latter is 6cm taller. The proportions make it feel more like a standard hatchback, although the back end is a little stubby. MG has also made the sensible move of including a rear wiper on the Extended Range. The company faced some criticism with the first MG4s released for not offering one.

Interior Comfort

Like the exterior, there is no difference between the Extended Range interior and other MG4s with the Trophy trim. The seat material combines cloth centres with leather-like edges. It’s a reasonably nice material to the touch, but not leather. There are no other interior trim options with the Extended Range. The front seats are comfortable enough, and there's electric adjustment on the driver’s side, although the passenger’s is mechanical. Both seats are heated, as is the steering wheel.

The MG4 has a much more modern-looking interior than previous MG EVs, with fewer buttons and no dowdy analog dials. The low central console adds to the sense of space in the front. There's a shallow cubby under a sliding door, plus cupholders to the front. A deeper cubby resides under the armrest. You can wirelessly charge your phone on the level above, and hidden below are USB Type and Type C, plus a classic 12V car power port.

You don’t get SUV-levels of space in the rear, but it’s certainly adequate for adults up to six feet tall, with sufficient knee and leg room. Surprisingly, there is no sunroof even as an option, which would have made it feel more spacious in the rear. This is an option in some regions, but not the UK. There’s also no central armrest in the middle seat back, but that means the middle seat feels a bit better padded, although it’s still quite narrow and will only be appropriate for kids or short journeys for an adult. There are also ISOfix points on the two rear seats for child car chairs, but not the front passenger seat.

While there is a single Type A USB port in the rear, there aren’t any air vents or controls for the air conditioning. This is one area where MG has clearly cut costs a little with the MG4 Extended Range.

Storage and Load Carrying

Boot space is decent for a hatchback. With the rear seats up, the capacity is 363 litres, which is 22 litres less than a VW ID.3, but that has one of the largest boots in its class. Drop the rear seats forward, with a 60/40 split, and this extends to 1,165 litres, 102 litres less than an ID.3.

These are respectable enough figures, and the boot floor is quite flat, making it convenient for larger items. The MG4 can also tow 500kg braked or unbraked – enough for a small trailer. Overall, this car has plenty of space for the weekly shop, the odd trip to Ikea for smaller items, or a family weekend away.

In-Car Entertainment and Controls

MG has modernized the cockpit experience of the MG4 but this is still a conventional set of controls. There are two joystick-like contraptions on the steering wheel, with the right-hand one for media controls, although you can also use it adjust the menu. The left-hand one is mostly for the adaptive cruise control. However, there are two favourite buttons that you can assign different functions to. By default, the left-hand button lets you use the right-hand joystick to adjust the air conditioning, and the right-hand favourite button turns the same joystick into a control over regeneration level. But other options are available through the menu, such as motor power. You get stalks for indicators on the left and windscreen wipers on the right.

You turn on the system by pushing the brake pedal, like a Tesla, although startup takes longer. Drive, reverse and neutral are selected with a rotating knob, and you press the centre to go back to park. There is a separate electric parking brake, although you don't need to use it most of the time. There's auto hold on by default, although you do need to give the brake pedal an extra press to engage it. But you can also turn on single-pedal driving and the car will come to a complete halt and engage auto hold without the need to press the brakes, if you get the timing right.

There is no semblance of analog dials on the 7in instrument panel – not even digital simulations. You get ADAS information on the left, speed and remining range in the middle, and a trip meter by default on the right, although you can change this to music controls, navigation, or tyre pressure.

The central area offers some buttons for important climate control functions like window demisting, but otherwise the air conditioning is operated through the LCD panel, as are the heated seats and steering wheel. With the joystick available for simple fan speed and temperature adjustment, it’s an acceptable compromise.

Infotainment was one area where MG has showed its budget nature in the past. But this has been steadily improving with each new car, and the MG4 feels quite contemporary in this respect, although the 10.25in touchscreen is a little sluggish. The satnav offers search by postcode and keyword, plus points of interest for chargers and parking.

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are supported, although not wirelessly. With the Trophy trim, you also get some connected services, including weather forecasts, live traffic in the satnav, and Amazon Music streaming built in, although you will need to supply your own account for the latter.

The general interface is much better laid out than earlier MG infotainment systems, making it easier to configure the settings, including the improved MG Pilot, which we will discuss in further detail in the safety section of this review.

Performance, Running Costs, Range, and Safety

Performance and Driving

We were very impressed when we tried the first MG4 at the launch in 2022. The rear-wheel drive powertrain provided an engaging driving experience, even if the straight-line acceleration wasn't that fast relative to other EVs. But the Extended Range is even better.

Although the MG4 Extended Range is 63kg heavier than the Long Range, the extra motor power means it hits 60mph in 6.1 seconds and 62mph in 6.5 seconds. That’s the kind of performance you’d expect from a petrol hot hatch, although if you want ultimate EV hatchback speed, the dual motor XPOWER is in a different league, getting to 60mph in an incredible 3.7 seconds. That’s probably too fast for most families, whereas the MG4 Extended Range is about right. It’s fast enough for A-road overtakes and beating petrol cars off the lights.

The MG4 Extended Range also handles just as well as the original MG4. The steering is light but precise. It feels planted and confident on the motorway, although the lane departure warnings are a bit intrusive. Overall, this is a fun car to drive, which you will grow to love very quickly. However, the ride quality could be smoother, which is the one black mark against it in this era of particularly bad British road quality.

Range and Charging

The big new feature with the MG4 Extended Range is the larger battery size. There is 74.4kWh net available from that 77kWh pack, delivering a combined WLTP range of 323 miles. During our testing, we managed about 3.8 miles per kWh around town and 3.2 miles per kWh when mostly motorway driving. That would equate to 282 miles of city driving or 238 on a motorway, which competes very well with what we've seen from a non-Highland Tesla Model 3 Long Range.

There's DC charging up to 144kW, giving a 10 to 80% bump in 39 minutes. Home AC charging at 7kW will take a little over 10 hours to hit 100%. The motorway range alongside the decent DC charging will mean the MG4 Extended Range is more than capable of long journeys. You would only need to stop every couple of hours at highway speeds, which you will probably want to anyway.

There is also Vehicle to Load capability, although we didn't have the adapter to test that. In theory it will let you send power to external devices using a standard 13A socket. So you can run a fridge when out for a picnic, or charge your ebike on location.

Running Costs

According to WLTP, the MG4 Extended Range can manage 4.3 miles per kWh, which is very reasonable. Our real-world results of 3.2 miles per kWh for motorway driving and 3.8 miles per kWh about town are also quite efficient. That was mostly in Normal mode, and in Eco mode you could get closer to WLTP.

This car is in insurance group 33, which is a bit high but not excessive. MG warranties are now on par with Korean car companies such as Kia and Hyundai, though. The basic guarantee is for 7 years or 80,000 miles, and unlimited miles in the first year. This includes the battery, for a 70% capacity.

Safety

MG has been steadily improving its safety tech. The original MG4 has a five-star Euro NCAP rating, which presumably carries over to the Extended Range. MG Pilot now includes Adaptive Cruise Control with traffic stop and go, alongside speed limit assistance with road sign recognition. You get active emergency braking, auto high beams, and blind spot detection. The latter appears as an orange symbol on the wing mirror.

There's Lane Keep Assist and Lane Change Assist. The latter is an extension of blind spot detection, to help prevent you changing lanes into traffic coming up from behind. Rear Cross Traffic Alert will help you avoid collisions if you’re backing out of a parking spot and haven't seen someone driving past behind you. Then there’s a 360-degree parking camera, although we found it less able to cope in the dark than some.

Key Specifications