2024 MG4 XPower Review | AWD EV Hot Hatch Supercar

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

𝗟𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗼 : leaselo.co/notaguru-mg4-xpower

[@renz2.060]

I have this XPower in the (exclusive, since you were wondering) green matte paint. The Bluetooth works perfectly as does Apple Car Play. The infotainment is fine generally as well. In fact since I bought the car last year I haven’t had a single issue with it. The acceleration as noted is wild. But not just in Sport mode. Even Normal mode gives you a genuinely hot hatch with acceleration that puts ICE cars in the shade. No, I don’t need 0-60 in 3.7s, but that isn’t the point because no one does or ever did. You don’t need 0-60 in 6.0s either but no one will blink if you take it. This car is a rare bargain - more fun per pound than anything else on the market - and MG deserve congratulations for launching it (no pun). The Smart #1 Brabus and Volvo EX30 have similar performance for much more money so it’s hard to make a case for either. Sincerely yours, One Satisfied Customer

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Good to hear 👍

[@topg1878]

Hi, what range are you getting on your xpower?

[@renz2.060]

Haven't bothered checking. It's so cheap to charge overnight that I don't care.

[@Diamus101]

Thinking I may take one of these out for a test drive, a day would be nice. Out of curiousity more than anything else. I had a Lexus UX Sport hybrid for a week earlier in the year as a courtesy. Interesting driving, given there are no gears and no revs to drive by. I loved the concept of driving electric at 70mph and going downhill I was driving on regen. This one obviously has that being an EV. Why would I want to take this one out for a spin? I used to have an MG Montego turbo so used to a steering wheel with those initials. I want to see what the performance is like. I drive a 330PS 515NM MK4 Ford Focus ST. I know the MG would crush me but probs only to 60/70 thereafter I do wonder if that acceleration is still there, say the 60-100 and the mid range. I am not looking to change mine, just to see how they compare overall.

[@thindo]

I like how MG has catered for all with this going for Performance on one version and Range on another for a similar price 👍👍👍

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Yes, seems like a decent approach, I just wish they’d put better seats in this one.

[@anthonyn3774]

Great vid. I tried one from my local mg garage and it was scary! Incredible performance for the money. The lane keeping assist tried to kill me four times though.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Funnily enough, it tried to kill me yesterday on the M3 (I filmed this on Friday).

[@EXSKIN]

Turn it off then👍

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

@@EXSKIN I have

[@anthonyn3774]

Every time you get in it.

[@robertregan2305]

Nice review ❤ I have a ev6 325bhp plenty power 🔋 Beautiful car Beautiful drive Might get this Xpower too 😅

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

EV6 is a great car

[@jcfallows]

Nice balanced review of the X power. Thanks.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Thanks John

[@bryanduncan6178]

This is how the VW Group should have dealt with Seat/Cupra mark.... Rather than having a Cupra Born which is basically the same price as an ID.3, they should have made a Seat Born for the same price as the MG4 range and given it a 'hot' Cupra halo model. The original ID.3 interior is probably good enough for a £25k car! 😀

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Fair shout 👍

[@johndoyle4723]

Thanks, yes rapid acceleration is great fun, my EV will get to 60 in under 5 secs but I rarely use it in sport mode, except to show passengers just what it can do. I would also choose the RWD.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

👍👍

[@isackville]

Another great video

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@olivermoore3806]

Great review. Bluetooth issues aren’t just your press car. I got my XPower lease in Dec 23 and while the drive/performance is great. Amazing value performance and the charging / range all seem pretty good. 200 miles on a full charge is about right. It’s just let down by the infotainment system - shocking. It won’t connect to Bluetooth, nor retain a connection when you return to your car and the iPhone CarPlay only works some of the time (genuine Apple cable by the way). The software takes forever to start up and regularly resets itself mid-drive, so heated seats and steering wheel just turn off just as they’re starting to warm up. Lastly, the lane keeping assist and emergency front collision need to be updated, they can nearly kill you as I’ve experienced to my horror. At a filter traffic lights turning right with nearside to nearside, it did an emergency stop. If anyone had been behind me, they’d have likely pilled into me.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

It’s such a shame when software issues let a car down.

[@jasonshaw1628]

Good honest review Jim - thanks👍

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Thanks 👍

[@martinwilkes]

I have the entry level MG4 and also the IPhone 14😊 On Saturday I was listening to football commentary on a local radio station on my phone and but needed to pop out. The radio station came through the car speakers as I got in wirelessly. It must have been that particular car that you was in 🤷🏼‍♂️ Great review of the Xpower by the way 😊

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Yeah, I'm sure it's got a fault.

[@shaunwalsh6354]

Great review, and I agree with your comments, I have had the MG4 Trophy for 12 months now and it’s a great car to drive, but sadly let down by the abysmal software.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

👍

[@mikadavies660]

Saw a 1/4 mile test with the X-power vs Audi e-tron GT. The MG won 2 out of 3. They are around 4x the price.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

The straight line speed is amazing but you do fight a bit to keep it straight as the torque is monstrous.

[@hydraflyer]

Not everything is about 0-60 time. This car handles awfully on the X Power

[@mikadavies660]

@hydraflyer Of course it's bound to be shite... it costs nothing and it's made in China. But 0-60 is fun for the cheap money

[@hydraflyer]

@@mikadavies660 Yeah everything has gone into the 0-60. Which after a few times gets boring. I personally wouldn't get an X Power, the long range is a better all round car.

[@mikadavies660]

@hydraflyer To be honest... I wouldn't get the MG4 at all... Just don't like the build quality, the interior or the design. Might look at a Cyberster but I have my doubts that it will be good in the flesh?

[@alanmachin3054]

A very interesting video. A Smart #3 Brabus will give similar performance for around £45 000 ,as will the Volvo EX 30 with 4 wheel drive. I prefer 4 wheel drive especially in poor weather but many think the rear drive cars handle better. I am thinking of buying the Smart and the problem with the Volvo is it just has a large central touch screen with nothing in front of the driver and no head up display.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

👌

[@mikadavies660]

Definitely looking forward to the Cyberster with all wheel drive.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Same here, looks mega

[@prjackson7802]

Great video

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Thanks for the visit

[@Number1HeadlightRestoration]

Nice review, Jim 👏🏼Insane performance for the money...but actually, it's just insane performance when you consider the type of car it is! Just a few years ago this sort of performance was only had with proper out and out sports cars and above. Crazy...but I love the idea of it haha! Totally agree with you on the brakes, those covers are a weeee bit tacky! Thanks for creating a really decent review to watch 👌🏼

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Thanks mate, yeah it’s incredible for the money really but just a tiny bit more spent in a couple of key areas would’ve taken it over the top.

[@chrism2964]

My last car was a mk3.5 Leon Cupra 300, pretty quick by most standards, the MK3 broke the FWD nurburgring record when launched. I test drove the MG4 for a day and it was wild how much faster it was. Acceleration was mental, brakes were stunning, even compared to the Cupra. Its honestly not even close. In other areas its actually not the easy win for the Cupra I was expecting. The Cupra is better to drive, its stiffer in Cupra mode, better weighted and totally secure on the road. The MG is woolier and not as secure feeling, but its not at all bad. It does feel its extra 400kg at times. The Cupra does have torque steer as well and quite some tramlining on bad Devon roads. The MG probably has more, but hard to say since the Cupra isnt accelerating as hard. In terms of quality, the Cupra is better over all, but it does show its cheapness compared to a VW cousin like the GTI or Golf R. The Cupra is better built outside, but the MG is not really any worse inside really. Both are quite monolithically dark grey/black. Both are a tad dull for a hot hatch, but you could argue they are 'smart'. The MG4 is now about 8 grand less than the new Leon 300 which has gone up nearly 50% since 2019 when I got mine, its hard to argue against it.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

👍

[@Pete.Ty1]

👍👍👍😁.Thanks Jim

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Thanks buddy

[@andrewjones5570]

That's a lot of bang for your buck 👍

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Yes

[@Diamus101]

Thanks for the vid, thanks for the review. I think as you say it at the end I owe it to myself to take this one for a drive. They have one of these right next door to where I took my daily yesterday. I think there could be a niche for this car. A family hatchback without the claim to be a full on hot-hatch drivers car, but a hatchback which in those rare five to six second windows when you can it goes from here to over there. I love my car, but it is despite its appearance so full on. I reckon the MG comparatively would be a lot less engaging as a drive, but it would get me from "here to over there" in those six seconds quicker than I can now. Those five or six seconds are so very sadly these days the extent of driving in the UK. Mine I know for a fact I will never drive at the speeds over the distances I did my MG Montego Turbo back in the early 90s, because every car is a plain clothes police car with a cam front and back, where can you find a road without a camera these days? So many glorious roads are now single lane traffic, gone are all those extra lanes filled with hatches, for over taking the three slow cars ahead on the next bend and the amount of vehicles on the roads these days...... Mine would be a dream but I would lose my licence and kill myself because of the volume of traffic within ten miles. Oh and I forgot, we don't have roads these days do we. We have crumbling, cracked, pot-holed cart tracks. Hardly conducive. My daily, she's good through the twisty stuff. Ford Focus ST Mk4 M330. As I said, would be interesting to compare the two.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

👍👍

[@johnskinner3108]

I've owned my XPower for a month now and very happy with the performance, but would like a bit better mileage. My USB C slot does not connect my iPhone 15 to the car, nor does it even power my phone. I'm still waiting on an answer from my dealer. I got what i paid for, a great performance car. Not a Mercedes, BMW, or Porsche...Well beyond my budget. My last two cars were an Audi A3 and a Q3. The Q4 is near double what i paid for this XPower

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

👍

[@dazzwilko]

Only the usb a connects to phones for android auto and apple car play

[@ronthomas380]

Hi Excellent review, one thing concerned me wear and tear on the door panel, should this be after such a short time, maybe it might be an early Monday assembly or going home time on a Friday, this has put me off this model, Have you reported to MG of your problems, and what is their reply. Sorry for my comments, Regards welshman 2081

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

I haven't reported anything as it's what I would expect at this price point. It's not an assembly issue, it's a material quality one. These cars are built to a price and the interior is the one area where you feel like they could've done a better job, possibly spend a little more (and out it onto the RRP). A car with this much performance is just not going to be a BMW inside unfortunately.

[@ronthomas380]

@@DefinitelyNotAGuru Hi Thank you for your comments, as said seems a shame, Regards

[@colingoode3702]

I agree with everything you mention here. I found inside the back of the MG4 I looked at a year ago very dark & claustrophobic, mainly because there was no rear overhead lighting & no sun roof option. A dark tint to the rear windows doesn't help either. Only two rear head rests as well. The boot is not huge & the original MG4 had no rear wiper which I think the newer models now have. Personally I would bother with the X Power model. Too much power for everyday use & who really needs 3.8sec 0-60 in a car like this? My wife's 64kWh Kona is plenty quick enough for us in std drive mode. I admit it does struggle with front end tyre scrabble in the wet but that's a common problem with many FWD cars. MG need to make a larger version of their MG5 Estate car. Then I might be tempted to replace my full size petrol estate.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

The MG5 is a great car; by the way, 3 rear headrests in this one!

[@colingoode3702]

@@DefinitelyNotAGuru 👍

[@neilfennell6833]

Nice review. I test drove a standard Trophy model today. Very nice car to drive, but my word, what c**p the tech is. The satnav was telling me the correct speed limits (mostly) but the driver’s display was mostly showing 30mph in 60 limits. Couldn’t use the screen. Trying to swipe left from the Home Screen to access the rest of the icons, wouldn’t work. The screen kept reverting to the Home Screen. Every time you open a door the bloody thing beeps at you constantly. It’s a real shame, but I can see why it’s cheaper than perhaps an ID3.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

ID3 tech isn't a HUGE step up to be honest, Kia/Hyundai/Honda/New Toyota are all a bit better on the tech front. 👍

[@neilfennell6833]

@@DefinitelyNotAGuru well, I have an ID3 and whilst they have taken a long time to get there, there is nothing wrong with the VW tech now. Plus, I can read the infotainment text on the ID3 which I couldn’t in the MG4. As I said, the MG4 is a good car to drive but badly let down by the tech.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

@@neilfennell6833 fair enough, those slidy haptic controls though - why!? 👍

[@neilfennell6833]

@@DefinitelyNotAGuru I understand why some don’t like them, but after having used them for some time now, they are not an issue.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

I've experienced those controls on several press cars now and I hate them to my very core

[@richarddixon6354]

Great review as always. Looks incredible for acceleration though not for me as I prefer my intestines in the place god intended. Shame about the Bluetooth playing up but as you say probably just an issue with your press car.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Yes, I'm sure it's just a gremlin in this one car but it's only right to report on what I find.

[@jameschm4848]

Can I program one of the buttons on the steering wheel to change the drive modes. I have a dedicated drive mode button on my Hyundai Ioniq 5 which i can change in an instant with out fiddling via the touch screen.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Yes

[@marcakko2010]

Thank you for the review, i enjoyed watching. Possibly mg could offer upgrade options for the seats that way it will still have the cheapest price if you want it .

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Great idea!

[@leewalerzak]

Currently on autotrader for 26k now brand new

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

👍

[@danielm8106]

Need some updates, rear arm rest, sunroof

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

👌

[@autodigitvlogs]

MG Cyberster will be 3.1 seconds to 60. The xpower can be improved in the meantime.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

👍

[@DBGE001]

it's getting a bit bonkers

[@Trevelyan1971]

The 'problem' though is two fold, firstly if you brought one of these Brand New, within 12 months it's likely to lose almost if not exactly 50% of it's value. Secondly although the MG cars in general are pretty good, the service network in my experience is awful.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Lease new / buy used is my standard tip for any EV. The build quality on these leaves a bit to be desries in fairness; IMHO the MG5 is the best built of the bunch right now.

[@richfixescars]

It's good value, a similar ID3 is way more, so you can excuse some deficiencies. I'd be worried this will become a bank robbers car, like the Golf R.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

100% mate

[@jesuspro6887]

👍👍👍👍

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

🙏🙏🙏

[@NigelRudyard]

I'd rather have more range than all that power.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

👍 the extended range version will do it

[@NigelRudyard]

@@DefinitelyNotAGuru Great little EV. And that power, the preserve of supercars a few years ago.

[@maxcc9161]

👍

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

👍

[@williamfence566]

Seems a bit one trick pony . Agree that a better drive would be RWD for the feel through bends as opposed to sling shot straight line .

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

👍

[@CRAZYCR1T1C]

Drive that in london and your licence will be gone in less than a day

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

It's actually fine driving at low speed

[@Betleyman_7]

It's a shame that they can't create better range instead of ludicrous acceleration.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

They did. I mention it in this video, there’s also a new extended range version for the same price as this.

[@Betleyman_7]

@@DefinitelyNotAGuru I didn't watch the whole video so obviously missed that.

[@djidroneadventures4059]

​@@Betleyman_7 dooooh

[@robertlloyd7493]

Seems rather odd concentrating efforts on it's performance....thought range would have taken presidents ?

[@Brian-om2hh]

MG do offer models with longer range, but they're not sporty variants....

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Don’t forget they released the extended range version at the same time

[@front2427]

I can see sleepy Joe driving this

[@EwanM11]

With EVs you need to reset your expectations on performance. Getting a lot of power from a petrol/diesel engine is quite hard and expensive but getting range is easy, just install a bigger tank. The opposite is true with EVs. Big power is easy but range is hard and expensive. The motors are so cheap why not install 2, but batteries are expensive so they keep it to a minimum.

[@jestronixhanderson9898]

No mention of the terrible vibration that ALL of the Xpowers get? 60mph on he highway its horrific. So much so MG stopped importing them into Australia

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

No such problems on this one or it would of course be in the review. I’ve done in excess of 100 motorway miles in this one and haven’t held back on the issues I found.

[@jestronixhanderson9898]

@@DefinitelyNotAGuru - if so then is a 1% er, they all do it, every single test drive, every owner has reported the issue. MG tried putting dampeners on the steering with no luck. There is no fix, its now being sold as a characteristic of the car and live with it.

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

@@jestronixhanderson9898 I did 300 miles in this one and it didn’t happen. Not once. I can only speak as I find. Bluetooth and CarPlay issues aplenty however.

[@jestronixhanderson9898]

@@DefinitelyNotAGuru press car :)

[@NB_NB_NB]

@@jestronixhanderson9898 exactly

[@AUXITOLED]

Good video, Jim. Can we invite you to do a review for our product? We have emailed you to inquire about an opportunity

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

I’ve replied 👍

[@beemerdek]

Just boring though isnt it? People want to hear some noise with the performance!

[@DefinitelyNotAGuru]

Not boring to me, far from it

[@Brian-om2hh]

Yearning for noise is learned behaviour. You'll adapt....

[@richardcorns8553]

Noise is tiresome and feels strained. Effortless, silent acceleration is far more fun and impressive.

[@front2427]

@@richardcorns8553 Stealth

[@pacman7959]

I think most grown-ups are past the bang pop thing.