Overview

MG Motor’s lower priced MG4 Excite 51 might make EV ownership more accessible, but due to various government incentives, the ‘on-road’ price would vary between various jurisdictions, which is presumably why MG does not offer it as a ‘drive-away’ bundle.

The MG4 Excite 51 variant with a smaller (less costly) 51kWh battery becomes Australia’s second cheapest EV at $38,990 plus on-road costs. It is a saving of $9000 on the next model up, the more powerful MG4 Excite 64, which has a bigger 64kWh battery, and is only $100 more than Australia’s cheapest BEV at the moment, BYD’s Dolphin Dynamic with its smaller 44.9kWh battery.

However, in addressing climate change, governments throughout Australia need to get their act together on incentivising the purchase of battery electric vehicles (BEVs).

As it stands, these incentives include outright cash rebates and stamp duty, rego, loan and other tax reductions that vary state to state from a maximum of $2500 in the NT to a maximum of $6700 in your pocket from Queensland… with predictable impact on prices.

MG Motor (and other brands) have taken matters into their own hands introducing lower priced BEVs with some going so far as to include a recharge appliance in the price which apart from peripheral concerns, is the main issue confronting broader adoption of BEVs.

For urban runabout driving the five-door 51’s smaller battery is irrelevant as it has a claimed WLTP range of 350km – plenty for use as a daily driver. Even venturing on the freeway for a longish trip is within the realms of the Excite 51, though you had want to make sure adequate recharge facilities were available at the destination.

In terms of performance, the 51 is well endowed as it is powered by a 125kW electric traction motor driving the rear wheels and is capable of pushing the small hatch from 0-100km/h in 7.7 seconds.

Rear-wheel drive is a welcome feature on the MG4 as it completely transforms the feel of the car away from mostly front wheel drive models that have populated this space for decades and are at best a compromised drive and are plagued with torque steer under acceleration and under steer (skidding the front) when cornering.

AC charging can be achieved at up to 6.6kW and DC charging at up to 88kW for a 40-minute recharge from zero to 80 per cent.

The 51 rides on MacPherson strut front and multi-link rear suspension and features four-wheel disc brakes with one pedal braking function.

And far from being a bare bone ‘entry level’ model, the 51 features plenty of goodies such as 17-inch alloy wheels, a leather wrapped steering wheel, LED lights all-round, 7.0-inch instrument screen, 10.25-inch infotainment screen, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay connectivity, climate control, keyless entry and start, V2L charging and 363 litres of cargo space in five-seat mode.

Also included in the car is MG Pilot, a safety and driver assistance technology package as standard that boasts autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist, traffic sign recognition, lane keep and lane departure systems, drive attention alert and high beam assist.

It looks good (slightly feline, in this scribe’s eyes) in the metal from the front and a lot like Kia’s EV6 at the rear while the interior has a minimalist Polestar look and feel dominated by the multi-function yoke trending wheel and two large control screens, one for driver info’ and the other larger one to look after most other car functions.

A scant few switches dot the dash, door, and centre console while the cloth upholstery is nondescript and comfortable. Funky ambient lighting lifts the interior and the four-speaker audio is OK but rifling through a bunch of menus to access in car functions can be annoying.

As with all MG models sold here, the MG4 is covered by a seven-year warranty and achieves a five-star ANCAP safety rating.

Driving Impressions

We got hold of the MG4 Excite 51 for a brief spin and found the vehicle ticks most of the boxes, looks the part and is feature rich only missing out on a couple of key safety features such as blind-spot monitoring and rear cross-traffic alert that are reserved for the next model up.

About the same size as a Toyota Corolla, the MG4 Excite 51 has strong performance right from the get-go with lineal acceleration accompanied by minimal EV whine and a touch of exterior mirror wind noise.

Instant throttle response is available that can be countered by four mode regenerative braking including strong and easily modulated one pedal driving capability.

BEV newbies will need to recalibrate their reflexes to allow for the instant punch and alternative braking of cars like the MG4 Excite 51. Let’s hope that happens uneventfully.

Ride quality is impressive displaying well damped and well sprung suspension, minimal bump or thump transmission and relatively flat cornering enhanced by rear wheel drive which provides a neutral cornering attitude.

Other dynamics are of the same order as the suspension with a slightly sporty feel to the steering, a rigid feel to the roller skate style chassis, evident on crossing a driveway, and effectively calibrated power transmission to the rear wheels.

We drove the car in the wet and had no problems with tyre grip or the delivery of torque to the rear wheels.

Acceleration on the move is strong and cruising is easy with adaptive cruise control.

The drive feel is innocuous as the 51 is intended as an all-purpose urban runabout with no other pretensions for sporty driving, people moving or driving on rough roads.

The range claim seems a bit optimistic but take 50km off and you’d be getting close to the mark meaning a 300km real world range which isn’t too shabby if you’re city-centric.

The flat floor car is built on a dedicated EV platform and is roomy inside offering cloth covered seating for five and a decent load space down the back.

Some annoying driver assist features are difficult to deactivate and rifling through menus on the big screen is hazardous when you’re on the move. But the minimal peripheral switches and dials are a logical step for such a car. Soon, everything will be run from the touchscreen...

Turning the 51 off could be problematic as it’s easy to forget and leave it switched on as no on/off switch or button is provided (that we could find). In that respect, it is a bit like the Polestar 2, and just as annoying.

Recharging the beast was not needed during the short 150km test drive but it looks to be a relatively easy operation still with the elephant in the room of appliance availability.

Treat the 51 like a mobile phone, charging it at every opportunity, and you (probably) won’t go wrong.