This new model is an MG 4 EV but even more affordable – so what’s the catch?
The prodigious success of the MG 4 EV was built on value for money, which is why its new cut-price understudy – the MG 4 EV Urban tested here – ought to have competitors concerned. The Urban is essentially a budget alternative of the 4, similarly sized but engineered on a different platform to allow it to be cheaper, such that MG can compete in a new and growing class of impressive EVs that cost little more than £20,000. It starts at £23,495, meaning it undercuts the 4 proper by £6500. Dig into the spec sheets and you will see that, despite this, the Urban is actually the larger of the two cars, with a longer wheelbase and, on paper, quite a bit more boot capacity. Yes, this is an odd turn of events, but potentially a cunning one if you’re MG.How does MG offer what appears to be more for less? We will get to that in a moment, but it comes down to the fact that, despite the name, the Urban is largely unrelated to the 4 in both architecture and hardware and is a fair bit more basic under the skin.Chief among the new car’s competitors are the BYD Dolphin, Citroën ë-C3, Hyundai Inster and charismatic Renault 5 – cars that start at roughly the same price and whose existence is the reason why MG has extended the 4 model range downward in the first place.Whether the Urban can be considered a credible threat to the French car in particular is something we will now discover.
