2023 MG4 XPower review: First overseas drive

October: MG4 XPower priced for Australia!

Well, that's a shock, MG has launched the MG4 XPower in Australia with an incredibly sharp $59,990 (before on-road costs) price.

Story continues: MG4 XPower review

What is the MG4 XPower and what are its key rivals?

The MG 4 XPower is a dual-motor battery electric performance car touted as the world’s first dedicated, all-electric hot hatch – and it’s coming to Australia in late 2023.

Fed by a 64kWh battery offering 385km of claimed range (WLTP), the MG4 XPower's dual motors serve up 320kW/600Nm and a claimed 0-100km/h figure of 3.8 seconds. Top speed is 200km/h.

Although the MG 4 is a smaller car at just 4.3 metres long, its 2.7-metre wheelbase maximises interior space, especially in the back. The XPower is eye-catching, especially in the retina-burning Volcano Orange of our test car.

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The materials are a bit economy, giving it an almost Skoda-like ambience.

Inside, it feels well-built and there’s even something satisfying about the way the doors close. The materials are a bit economy, giving it an almost Skoda-like ambience. A 7.0-inch digital instrument panel and a 10.25-inch infotainment touchscreen with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay give it a modern, high-tech feel.

The XPower jazzes things up further with a leather steering wheel and Alcantara-trimmed sports seats. The MG4 XPower we drove was on 18-inch wheels shod with Bridgestone 235/45 T005 rubber.

In a sense, the MG4 XPower’s only rival – for now – is the Tesla Model 3 Performance which costs $83,400 before on-road costs. You might be able to count the 430kW Kia EV6 GT, but it’s $99,950 which could be considerably more than the XPower.

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When is the MG4 XPower due in Australia?

Late 2023.

What's it like to drive?

It’s very good. The MG4 XPower makes us think about acceleration in the same way the Subaru Impreza WRX did when it first arrived in 1994.

Back then, the WRX introduced Porsche-frightening, turbocharged all-wheel-drive acceleration for a bit of a bargain price. It certainly scared the chest hairs off many of the local V8 sedans.

With its claimed 3.8-second 0-100km/h time, the MG 4 XPower is similar in a sense – especially if it costs something like $65K. Only the Tesla Model 3 Performance can beat it, with its 3.5-second as-tested 0-100km/h time – albeit for more than $80K.

It means the MG4 XPower could be the best bang-for-buck performance car for acceleration once it arrives in Australia. You simply pull up somewhere and plant the accelerator, and it races away like it’s been bitten on the rear bumper.

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There’s a little bit of front wheelspin – there are no mechanically locking diffs – but otherwise, traction is clean.

Some polite electric motor whine increases with speed, but there’s no fake engine noise in the interior, at all. Humorously, expect your iPhone to go flying off the little flat dashboard charging tray and into the back seat the first time you give it full beans.

Where the WRX comparison falls down is in that the MG4 XPower is somewhat less involving to drive fast. While you sit low and ‘in’ the car, there is no redline to stay aware of, no gears to shift, and no clutch to perfectly match with the accelerator. There are no revs to listen to, no turbocharger to keep on boost.

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Instead, the MG4 XPower is all about the handling. It’s surprisingly soft, giving it a supple ride quality, but also causing the body to move around a lot.

Pitch, squat and dive are noticeable – and give you something to manage, almost like an electric, five-door MX-5. MG says the XPower’s weight distribution is 50:50, and we’d believe it.

Driving the XPower, therefore, becomes a bit of a game of blasting silently between corners where you then have to carefully wash off the speed, as it feels like it’ll rotate into oversteer on corner entry – if you want.

The 235-section tyres are hardly supercar-wide, making it easy to approach the XPower’s limits of grip, especially given it weighs around 1850kg. The handling certainly gets you thinking, in a good way.

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The MG4 XPower has Snow, Eco, Standard, Sport and Custom driving modes (allowing you to mix power, steering and pedal sensitivity as you wish). You can’t switch between all-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive.

We drove a pre-production model, but MG said the XPower will come with a Track Mode when it gets to Australia – and a lap timer. MG says the XPower is rated to “low level track day use”.

Our drive was agonisingly brief and on an MG test track, so we’ll reserve final judgement for a proper test back on Aussie soil.

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Is it worth waiting for the MG4 XPower?

That depends on how much will it cost. Nobody knows, and there is no Chinese pricing to help us make a guess. If we had to take a punt, we’d say around $65K, but it could be closer to $70K. Or even more. Honestly, we have no idea.

If you love driving and don’t care about the EV thing, it will be hard to look past ICE hot hatches for around the same price. For sheer involvement, there’s no comparison between an electric MG4 XPower and, say, a $62K six-speed manual Toyota GR Corolla.

A comparison against the Tesla Model 3 Performance will be more interesting. Until then, the XPower might pick up spiritually where the WRX left off in being the new cut-price traffic light king.