MG 4 EV to make its first India appearance at Auto Expo 2023

British manufacturer Morris Garages will be making its second appearance at this year’s Auto Expo. Taking full advantage of the opportunity, MG is expected to showcase at least two new electric vehicles. While one of these is going to be the MG Air, the second one, MG 4, will be the company’s showstopper. A mid-sized hatchback complete with an electric powertrain, the MG 4 was unveiled only last July and has been on sale in European markets, rivalling the likes of the Volkswagen ID.3 and Kia Niro EV. In India, there is other competition.

Design

Despite the MG 4 being a hatchback, what you should know is that it is almost as large as the ZS EV currently on sale here. Its dimensions measure 4,287 mm (length), 1,836 mm (width) and 1,506 (height). This means that the ZS EV is only 36 mm longer than the 4. Also, at 2,705 mm, the wheelbase is longer than the ZS EV’s 2,585 mm by 120 mm. This is mainly because the MG 4 is a born electric vehicle built on the modular scalable platform developed by the parent company SAIC Motor. What this means is that the battery forms an integral part of the platform and allows the front wheels to be pushed further ahead into the bonnet than in traditional ICE and ICE-turned-EV cars.

Turning our heads back to the design, however, we see that hatchback styling is prevalent across the car. Viewed from the side, the nose is fairly stubby and downward sloping; sharp lines adorn the front, but don’t quite make their way right to the back. And the roof ever so slightly slopes backwards, extending into a roof spoiler allowing for a sportier look. Sleek, angular headlamps dominate the front fascia of the MG 4 and the lack of a front grille further underlines its electric intention. The bonnet is characterised by sculpted lines, two of which form sort of eyebrows over the headlamp clusters. Lower down, the bumper features a large air dam flanked by LED lighting elements that also form part of the side air intake housing. At the rear, a full-width tail light assembly is the most prominent thanks to its angular design.

Interiors

On the inside, you get to see a fairly minimalist design. The dash is a single black colour with a chrome strip that runs along the width. The air-con vents, too, have been incorporated into this chrome strip, allowing for a seamless design. The centre houses a freestanding 10.25-inch touchscreen infotainment system, while a 7-inch digital display stands behind the dash. The centre console is probably the only thing that sticks out here and in quite the literal sense. It floats, protruding from the dash and features a rotary gear selector as well as a wireless charging pad. The upholstery is minimal again with an all-black theme but can be optioned for a two-tone leather with a cloth insert theme.

Features

Moving on to the features, we already spoke about the digital displays on the dashboard. It also has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto as standard along with a 6-speaker 3D audio system. The 4 also gets MG’s iSMART connected car-tech for a range of internet-based car controls. Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), at least in the international models, come standard as MG Pilot. This allows for a whole host of safety features, such as blind spot detection, lane-change assist, rear-cross traffic alert, adaptive cruise control, and autonomous emergency braking. Whether this will be standard in India, we will have to wait and see.

Powertrain

Internationally, the MG 4 EV gets two battery pack options. A 51 kWh pack provides the 250 Nm electric motor with 170 hp of maximum power and the larger 64 kWh battery pack provides the same motor with 203 hp. Both employ a rear-wheel-drive configuration but the difference between the two, aside from power, comes in the form of range. According to MG, on the WLTP cycle, the smaller battery pack is capable of a range of 350 km, while the 64 kWh pack returns about 452 km on a single charge. This brings us to charging. 150 kW DC fast-charging comes as standard, allowing for a 10-80 percent charge in 35 minutes and 39 minutes for the smaller and larger packs, respectively. A 7 kW AC charger, however, will take longer for 10-100 percent, at 7.5 hours and 9 hours, respectively.

India launch

Unfortunately, MG India is only showcasing the MG 4 at the 2023 Auto Expo. The company wants to gauge the public response to the car before committing to bringing it here. If it does make it to our shores, expect it to arrive via the completely built-up (CBU) or completely knocked down (CKD) route. Competition for the MG 4 in India is starting to rev up, with the BYD Atto 3 and Hyundai Kona EV already in contention. These may be electric SUVs, but the size and price (thanks to the import route) of the MG 4 will directly rival the Hyundai and BYD.