MG is a British car company established 102 years ago… and that’s the history lesson over with.

Like many legacy British car manufacturers, it went into administration in 2005, in MG’s case it was saddled with debts of £1.4 billion. The Chinese swooped in and bought the company. Many believed MG would become nothing more than a forgotten badge for a generation that had long since lost interest in the brand.

But more than 20 years later, MG is not looking back—it is stronger than at any point in its history—and offering what is widely considered state-of-the-art engineering at affordable prices. State of the art, in this case, means hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fully electric vehicles.

Ironically, going into administration in 2005 inadvertently saved the brand from extinction and positioned MG for one of the most unlikely automotive comebacks, thanks to Chinese investment, innovation and technology. A British-owned MG could simply never have competed on this scale.

The Exterior

Appearance-wise, the MG4 Urban EV looks generically good, with simple, clean lines. It’s the type of car that looks attractive from some angles, yet rather anonymous from others.

The MG4 Urban EV is a fully electric hatchback based on the MG4 EV platform. It’s positioned as an affordable commuter EV or a practical second car for buyers who don’t want to spend premium money on an overpriced and inferior Volkswagen Polo or Volkswagen ID.3.

It is available in three trim levels, with prices currently starting at £23,000 for the Comfort Standard Range, £25,000 for the Comfort Long Range, and £27,000 for the Premium Long Range.

Battery capacity ranges from 42.8 kWh in the first two variants to 53.9 kWh in the Premium model. Official WLTP range is quoted at 201 miles and 258 miles respectively.

The Premium Long Range rides on 17-inch alloy wheels, while the other two variants come with 16-inch alloys. The MG4 Urban is also available in seven colours at no extra cost.

The Interior

My test car was the Premium Long Range variant, so naturally I expected swathes of leather, soft-touch materials everywhere and a cabin so inviting you’d never want to leave—all at an affordable price point.

I got none of that.

Instead, the “premium” treatment is reserved for a handful of key touchpoints. The door armrests feel reasonably plush, and there’s a strip of soft-touch material across the dashboard—but that’s about it. The rest of the interior is… utilitarian materials

There is no leather upholstery; instead, the seats are trimmed in fabric. Thankfully, it feels considerably nicer than the paper-thin material Volkswagen uses in cars such as the Polo. More importantly, the seats look stylish while offering good comfort and support.

One thing I noticed immediately was the wireless phone charging pad in the centre console. It’s covered in a material intended to imitate Alcantara, but it feels more like very fine sandpaper.

I briefly wondered whether it was coarse enough to file my fingernails, but I guess I’ll never know.

Despite the marketing bait-and-switch, the cabin is at least solidly assembled. Build quality is impressive, and the switchgear feels reassuringly robust.

That’s particularly important in an electric vehicle because, without engine noise masking imperfections, every loose trim panel or interior rattle becomes far more noticeable.

Space is generous up front, and even six-foot adults will have ample headroom and legroom for comfortable journeys.

The boot offers 577 litres of luggage space with the rear seats in place, along with an additional 98 litres of underfloor storage. Fold the seats down and capacity increases to a respectable 1,364 litres.

The Infotainment System

The MG4 Urban features a 12.8-inch Full HD touchscreen infotainment display complemented by a 7-inch digital driver’s display. Both screens are sharp and easy to read.

The driver display can be configured to show a range of information, including battery level, efficiency and trip data.

The 12.8-inch touchscreen is reasonably responsive, and I found the menus straightforward to navigate. Climate controls can be adjusted either via the touchscreen or dedicated physical buttons, and frankly, I don’t mind either approach.

Voice control isn’t as sophisticated as Google’s built-in Assistant found in some rivals. MG’s system handles simple commands such as adjusting the temperature or checking the weather, but ask anything more complicated and it quickly runs out of talent.

MG4 Urban Premium Long Range comes generously equipped, offering heated front seats and a heated steering wheel. The infotainment system also integrates Spotify and Amazon Music, although most buyers will probably use wireless Android Auto or Apple CarPlay instead, both of which work seamlessly.

The only disappointment is the sound system. While perfectly acceptable, it lacks the richness and clarity you’d expect from a car wearing a Premium badge.

The Premium model also includes a 360-degree camera and MG Pilot, the company’s suite of advanced driver assistance systems. This includes Adaptive Cruise Control, Lane Keep Assist, Automatic Emergency Braking and Blind Spot Monitoring.

The Drive

The Long Range variant uses a single-speed transmission paired with a 160 bhp electric motor producing 250 Nm of torque.

Although the 0-60 mph sprint takes a respectable 9.5 seconds, the instant torque makes the car feel considerably quicker than the numbers suggest. The power delivery is never overwhelming; it sits comfortably in the sweet spot of feeling brisk without becoming intimidating.

The smooth, linear way the electric motor delivers its power is genuinely superior to many conventional 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo petrol engines from manufacturers such as Volkswagen or BMW. It offers effortless drivability, while the instant torque gives it something of the effortless shove you’d associate with a twin-turbo V6—only without the maintenance headaches.

Where the MG4 Urban truly earns its Premium badge is in its ride and handling. Whoever engineered the chassis and suspension knew exactly what they were doing.

The steering, ride comfort, body control, braking and overall handling all feel exceptionally well judged. It genuinely drives like a car costing nearly twice as much.

It’s not perfect, though. Wind and tyre noise become noticeable at motorway speeds, suggesting additional sound insulation would have been welcome. Even so, at this price point, refinement is better than say, by comparison, with cars such as the Volkswagen Polo and ID3.

Efficiency

The Premium Long Range is fitted with a 53.9 kWh battery pack—the equivalent energy capacity of roughly three Tesla Powerwalls.

On paper, that doesn’t sound particularly large, and I wasn’t expecting exceptional real-world range.

However, the MG4 Urban proved remarkably efficient.

During mixed town driving with occasional dual carriageway use, it returned around 5.0 miles per kWh. On motorway journeys, efficiency dropped slightly to between 4.2 and 4.5 miles per kWh depending on variable speeds.

That translates into a realistic real-world range of around 260 miles in predominantly urban driving and approximately 230 miles during motorway cruising at 60-70 mph.

I didn’t bother selecting a specific driving mode—I simply drove it in my mode, as I normally would.

Perhaps the warm July weather helped maximise efficiency, so it would be interesting to repeat the test during a cold January when British weather is at its bleakest.

I wasn’t expecting much from the MG4 Urban. It certainly doesn’t scream “exciting.”

Epilogue

I expected it to be competent, forgettable and rather dull.

Instead, I found a genuinely well-engineered car with excellent build quality, good levels of comfort and generous equipment.

The biggest surprise, however, was the chassis. The ride and handling are genuinely impressive. It’s an enjoyable car to drive and, dare I say it, even rewarding if you appreciate well-balanced handling. It feels like this is where MG invested most of its development budget because the car drives with a level of polish you’d normally associate with something costing almost twice as much.

The other standout quality is efficiency. It is genuinely exceptional, allowing the MG4 Urban Premium Long Range to deliver impressive real-world range from what is, by modern EV standards, a relatively modest battery pack.

In many ways, that’s the MG4 Urban’s greatest achievement. It doesn’t try to reinvent the electric car. Instead, it quietly excels at the fundamentals—and sometimes, that’s exactly what matters most.