MG IM6

FIRST DRIVE Dramatic move upmarket for MG shows how the brand has hidden depths

- Alastair Crooks

LOOKING around the new MG IM6 for the first time, you might wonder what it is. Aside from the small ‘MG’ script on the bootlid, you'd have no clue that this electric SUV comes from the British brand - even though the new luxury model will be sold through all of its 155 dealers.

The IM6 will allow MG to enter the all-important midsize electric SUV segment for the first time, alongside the IM5 executive saloon.

When you consider that MG has been about lower-end, affordable cars since its rebirth under Chinese ownership, it makes sense that the IM6 and IM5 will keep their physical ‘IM’ logos. IM stands for ‘Intelligence in Motion’ and is used as a standalone brand in China and Australia.

A more practical reason is because changing the bootlid logo (which houses the boot release button) and steering wheel emblem (which would require crash testing again) would cost a lot - something emphasised by several MG representatives.

The IM6 enters the electric SUV sector in three trims. There's the Long Range at £47,995, followed by the £50,995 Performance and the £52,995 Launch Edition - which is what we're driving here.

Unlike the IM5, which also comes with a smaller 75kWh battery, the IM6 gets the larger 100kWh unit as standard across the range.

An NMC (nickel, magnesium cobalt chemistry) battery and a low drag coefficient of just 0.242 Cd give the IM6 Long Range a maximum of 388 miles in single-motor, rear-wheel drive layout. You get 313 miles from the dual-motor setup that the Performance and Launch Edition versions feature.