Naturally, the prospect of an all-new lineup from one of the Philippines’ best-performing brands has got everyone in the industry curious: What will these new models bring to our shores?
By chance, I found myself in Europe around the time the announcement was made and I was able to make plans to visit an MG dealership in the area I was staying in.
I took a good look around the MG4 EV while I was at it.
Not so little
PHOTO BY MARK POLICARPIO (AUTOFUN PHILIPPINES).
In the metal, the MG4 is actually quite large, larger than I expected.
Though photos and videos showing the dimensions are already available, it’s quite a different experience actually standing beside it and taking in its proportions.
PHOTO BY MARK POLICARPIO (AUTOFUN PHILIPPINES).
At 4,287 mm long and 1,836 mm wide, the MG4 is actually bigger than many hatchbacks on sale today, but it doesn’t look like it thanks to the proportions of the headlights and taillights, along with other accents and features.
Available in Standard, Comfort and Luxury trim levels, the car can come in standard white or in a range of colors like black, red, silver and grey, with orange available for the more adventurous buyer.
Premium, eco-friendly cabin
PHOTO FROM MG MOTOR EUROPE.
The display unit in the dealership was a white Luxury model with the optional grey leather interior, which was quite a good-looking combination.
All the materials used in the trim and dash were soft-touch vegan leather or upscale plastic, lending itself to a very premium feeling. The D-shaped steering wheel felt comfortable in hand, and the seats were very comfortable with bolsters really holding you in the seat.
PHOTO FROM MG MOTOR EUROPE.
The trunk, despite sitting on top of the electric motor, was quite capacious, easily able to swallow most check-in luggage without folding the rear seats.
The MG4 brochure mentions that trunk space sits at 363 liters with the rear seats up and 1165 liters with them down, which is quite a strong figure in the EV hatchback segment.
Packed with tech
PHOTO FROM MG MOTOR EUROPE.
While a test drive was out of the question for foreigners, the agent was kind enough to let me sit in the car with the power on, so I was able to discover the features available to markets outside of ours.
While it’s likely that what we will get locally won’t have the same equipment, it’s something we can aspire to have once the local MG4s are launched.
The first thing the agent told me – and arguably the only thing she worked very hard to say in English – was that under no circumstances should I move the shifter.
I was confused at first as to why, but then she explained that the car is turned on as soon as the key fob is within the vehicle. As interesting as that was, I asked if that feature could be turned off.
PHOTO BY MARK POLICARPIO (AUTOFUN PHILIPPINES).
It could and she showed me how to do it from the infotainment screen. Once I was sure the car wasn’t going to roll away, we started going over all of the features of the MG4 Luxury.
To start, the feature she was most proud of was the MG4’s 360-degree and bird’s-eye-view cameras, which were very responsive to input and alerts. The images were clear, crisp and had no perceivable delay.
Huge screen
PHOTO FROM MG MOTOR EUROPE.
Next up was the infotainment system – a 10.25-inch touchscreen that controls the entire vehicle from the stereo to the air conditioning.
The size of the screen was somewhat daunting, but given that the name of the game now is who has the biggest screen, it was unsurprising.
On top of this, the agent said that the MG4 came with Android Auto and Apple Carplay as standard, but only the Luxury trim level gets a wireless charging pad.
And on the safety side of things, the MG4 comes with Autonomous Emergency Braking, Lane Keep Assist with Lane Departure Warning, Traffic Jam Assist, Intelligent Speed Limit Assist and Traffic Sign Recognition and even Adaptive Cruise Control.
Higher models also get Lane Change Assist, Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Traffic Alert – all of which make the MG4 as safe as possible.
Electric power to the rear wheels
PHOTO FROM MG MOTOR EUROPE.
Under the trunk, the rear-wheel drive MG4 has anywhere from 170 to 245 PS and 184 to 258 Nm of Torque.
This is paired with a battery pack with 51, 64 or 77-kWh capacity. In this Luxury Extended Range trim, the MG4 has a total combined range of 520 km or 706 km in city limits, which is a huge number.
PHOTO FROM MG MOTOR EUROPE.
Charging for the MG4 comes in the form of a standard charger or a CCS Type 2 Fast charger, which gives the MG4 the ability to fully charge in just 40 to 60 minutes.
While a test drive would have revealed more details about the car, from the driver’s seat, the French Market MG4 felt well-built and refined.
If the price is right
PHOTO BY MARK POLICARPIO (AUTOFUN PHILIPPINES).
Overall, the MG4 looks to be a valuable contender in our EV market – it’s powerful, practical, refined and well-equipped.
It certainly has the other Chinese EV hatchbacks in our market on the ropes. The only real problem is the price, however.
The base model MG4 EV starts at €29,900 without government incentives or roughly ₱1.8 million. The range tops out at €34,490 or around ₱2.1 million
That’s a lot to pay for a small hatchback, especially one that isn’t exactly the sportiest or most luxurious in the market.
Still, we’re hopeful that those figures are inflated due to European costs of living and that when SAIC brings the MG4 to our shores, it will be significantly cheaper.
Do you think the MG4 has a chance in the Philippines' budding EV market?
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Mark has been into cars since he was in kindergarten, and he carried that into his college life studying as an Engineer. His outlook on life is the same as his outlook on cars - "When in doubt, power out!"
