MG 4 review (2026 facelift)

Make and model: MG 4 EV, 2026 facelift range
Description: Mid-sized hatchback, single electric motor
Price range: £29,995 to £33,995 (plus options)

Summary: The updated MG 4 keeps the sharp handling and strong value of the original, with meaningful improvements to the cabin and touchscreen.

Introduction

When the MG 4 (officially the MG4 EV, according to its makers) first arrived, it quietly did something quite important. It proved that an electric car didn’t have to cost a fortune to be good. It drove better than most of its similarly priced rivals, it was easy to live with, and it was priced sharply enough to make people take notice. In fact, we liked it so much that it won our Car of the Year 2024 award.

But it wasn’t perfect. The interior felt a bit plain, and the touchscreen system could be slow and occasionally irritating. Nothing disastrous, but enough to remind you that this was a budget-conscious car.

This update doesn’t change the fundamentals. The motor, the batteries and the way it drives are all basically the same. Instead, MG has concentrated on improving the parts you actually touch and use every day.

So the real question isn’t whether the MG 4 was good. It already was. The question is whether it now feels nicer to live with.

or a broader ownership picture, see our full MG 4 Expert Rating, which combines media reviews, safety data, reliability, running costs and warranty cover.

Price and equipment

The cheapest version of the old MG 4 has gone, which means the headline starting price is a bit higher than before. But in reality, the versions most people actually bought — the Long Range and Extended Range models — are now around £2,750 cheaper than their direct equivalents used to be.

So although it may look like prices have crept up, they haven’t really. You’re getting even better value than before.

Equipment levels remain strong. You don’t have to tick endless option boxes to get the features most people expect, and compared to many European electric hatchbacks, the MG 4 still undercuts them quite comfortably.

The trim levels, which were previously ‘SE’ and ‘Trophy’, have now been replaced by a single trim called ‘Premium’, which basically replaces Trophy. As before, there’s a higher-performance MG 4 XPower model, which we look at separately. You have a choice of Long Range (64kWh battery, delivering around 280 miles) and Extended Range (77 kWh battery, which delivers around 340 miles) versions.

Value was one of the main reasons we rated the original car so highly, and that hasn’t changed. It remains an exceptional car for the money, although the market has improved significantly since the MG 4 first appeared three years ago.

Inside the car

This is where you really notice the difference in the MG 4’s update. The previous interior wasn’t terrible, but it did feel a bit basic. The touchscreen lagged well behind your finger presses, and the whole operating system felt slightly unfinished.

The new interior has been borrowed almost entirely from the MG S5 compact SUV and immediately feels more sorted. The centre console has been redesigned so it looks cleaner and makes better use of the space between the seats. The seats themselves have been replaced and feel more supportive, although they’re not the best you’ll find (which remains Volvo).

Most importantly, the touchscreen now works properly. It responds more quickly, menus are clearer and you don’t have to wait for it to catch up, which is far more useful and, more importantly, easier to use without taking your eyes off the road for too long. It still isn’t flashy or particularly luxurious, but it no longer feels like the weak point of the car.

The materials are still simple rather than plush. You won’t mistake this for a premium German hatchback. It now feels more considered than before, even if it’s still clearly built to a price.

The main letdown remains MG’s octagonal steering wheel. It’s supposed to reflect the octagonal MG badge, but it isn’t comfortable and you end up fidgeting with where to put your hands. The same issue tends to blight every model in the MG family, and we wish they’d just realise that round steering wheels have worked well for more than 100 years for a reason.

Driving range and charging

Underneath, this is still the same MG 4 you already know. Official driving range figures are much the same as before for the Long Range, although the Extended Range claims an improvement of about 15 miles on the previous model with the same size battery. On this launch drive, there was nothing to suggest that the car behaves any differently in terms of efficiency.

Charging speeds and battery options also carry over. In other words, this update is about improving the experience inside the car, not about rewriting the spec sheet.

The charging point is on the left rear quarter panel. If you’re charging at a public charging point, you’ll probably need to reverse in to ensure that the cable reaches the car. At home, you’re probably fine to park either forward or backwards as home cables tend to be longer.

On the road

If you liked how the old MG 4 drove, you’ll like this one too. It still feels nicely balanced and more composed than many hatchbacks – either electric or petrol – at this price. It turns into corners confidently and doesn’t feel clumsy or heavy, which is not always a given with electric cars.

The ride is still on the firm side, but that’s not unusual in modern cars with large alloy wheels. You’ll notice potholes and sharper bumps more than you would in something like a Citroën ë-C4, but it doesn’t thump or feel unsettled. It generally keeps itself together, but it isn’t what you’d call cushioned or especially plush.

Because the mechanics haven’t changed, the difference you feel as a driver isn’t about handling or performance. It’s about the cabin being a more pleasant place to sit. With fewer software irritations and a tidier layout, the whole experience feels smoother, even though the car itself hasn’t fundamentally changed.

Verdict

The MG 4 didn’t need reinventing. It just needed polishing. The original version already had the important things sorted — it drove well, it was sensibly priced and it made electric motoring feel straightforward rather than intimidating. That’s why we rated it so highly in the first place.

What held it back was the slightly clunky interior experience. The new version fixes that in a meaningful way. The touchscreen works as it should, the seats are better, and the cabin feels more cohesive.

Mechanically, it’s much the same car. But by smoothing off the rough edges without pushing up the price, MG has made a good car feel easier to live with.

We’ll need a longer UK test to see how the improvements hold up over time, but based on this launch drive, the MG 4 feels like a more grown-up version of an already strong package.

For a broader ownership assessment, including safety, running costs and reliability data, see our full MG 4 Expert Rating.

Similar cars

If you’re looking at the MG 4, you might also be interested in these alternatives

Citroën ë-C4 | Cupra Born | DS 3 E-Tense | Ford Explorer | Honda E:Ny1 | Hyundai Kona Electric | Kia EV4 | Mini Aceman | Peugeot e-308 | Renault Mégane E-Tech | Smart #1 | Vauxhall Astra Electric | Volkswagen ID.3

Key specifications

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