2024 Best Small Electric Car Under $40K: MG4 Excite 51

One of the persistent questions around electric cars – and fairly so – has asked when they might be properly affordable.

MG is one of only a few brands to answer the call, with its new MG4 hatchback that’s priced from $39,990 drive-away (after a recent move to national pricing). It’s among a trio of bargain-hunter battery vehicles from China priced below the $40,000 threshold, mixing it with the BYD Dolphin (from $38,890 before on-roads) and GWM Ora (from $39,990 RRP).

All are five-door hatchbacks, though only the MG4 looks as though it may have been imported from Europe. The cheekily styled Ora, complete with Mini-style round headlights, brings the most left-field exterior design.

Great Wall Motors’ EV in its most affordable Standard Range guise also comes with the shortest WLTP-rated maximum driving range of the group, with 310km compared with 340km for the Dolphin Dynamic and 350km for the base MG4 Excite 51. Each is a single-motor EV, with the MG 4 powering its rear wheels where the Dolphin and Ora are front-drivers.

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There’s similar power and torque for the MG and GWM, which share 250Nm and have just one kilowatt separating them (MG4’s 125kW versus the Ora’s 126kW).

The Dolphin not only features the smallest battery, at 45kWh, but also trails in electric-motor outputs at just 70kW and 180Nm. Value is evident elsewhere, though, as the BYD is impressively equipped for its price.

Heated front seats with electric adjustment, a 360-degree camera, wireless charging, heat pump (for improved driving range when cold), panoramic glass roof, and the largest infotainment display here (12.8 inches) are all standard.

GWM’s base Ora can’t match the front radar or pano-roof but otherwise is very similar for equipment, and even throws in bigger wheels (18-inches versus the Dolphin's 16s).

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The MG4 promises the quickest performance, fastest charging, the longest range, and the biggest boot

The MG4 Excite 51 features cupboard looks a little barer in comparison. Although it sits on inbetweener 17-inch alloys, it’s missing the likes of wireless phone charging, surround-view camera, blind-spot monitoring and the related rear cross-traffic alert which are only available by upgrading to the $44,990 drive-away Essence 64. The seats also adjust manually and only the driver’s window has one-touch control.

On paper, though, the MG4 promises the quickest performance, fastest charging, the longest range, and the biggest boot, while its chassis should also benefit theoretically from a more sophisticated multi-link rear suspension where its rivals have a cheaper torsion-beam arrangement.

And in practice the MG is the clear leader for driving manners. There’s a firmness to the ride, even on relatively small 17-inch wheels, but the MG is generally comfortable for daily duties, its light and accurate steering works particularly well in the suburbs, and the turning circle is turn-on-a-dime tight.

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In contrast, the Dolphin and Ora steering set-ups are both flawed – inconsistent weighting blighting the BYD’s tiller and a vague on-centre feeling spoiling the precision of the GWM’s steering.

Neither impress for body control, either. The Dolphin’s suspension behaviour is particularly clumsy over potholes, while both exhibit plenty of lean through corners.

The Dolphin is the only member of this trio that doesn't offer genuine one-pedal driving where the car can come to a complete stop purely by the driver lifting off the accelerator pedal.

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The MG4 offers four regen modes with varying response when you lift off the throttle, with the One Pedal mode selectable via the touchscreen. (The MG has the most natural brake-pedal feel here when you do need it, though.)

Although the Excite 51 is the slowest MG4 variant, it offers plentiful performance for most buyers – and its instantaneous, linear power delivery is highly satisfying.

The Dolphin is comparatively glacial with its 12.3 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprint. The Ora doesn’t feel that brisk for an EV, either, even if its 8.4sec time on paper is less than a second behind the MG 4’s 7.7sec claim.

As with BYD's bigger hatch, the Atto 3, the Dolphin has a creative interior design. The MG4's cabin is simpler and cleaner but it’s certainly not boring, and while the seats look basic they provide a good level of cushioning and bolstering support.

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Rear-seat space is surprisingly good in all three of these compact hatchbacks. The Dolphin’s headroom isn’t great, though, and the MG4 looks a bit sparse in the back.

The Ora’s boot is tiny at just 228 litres and compounded by a high loading lip. Nearly 20 litres separates the MG4 (363L) and Dolphin (345L) for luggage volume. There’s a wider margin of victory in this category, though.

While loading a car up with features and giving it an attractive price point is to be applauded for giving buyers value, creating a (relatively) cheap car that drives with the maturity of a more expensive one is a vastly harder exercise.

And the MG4 Excite 51 is currently the only EV priced below $40,000 that nails the formula.