MG 4 XPOWER

Dualmotor MG 4 could be the electric hot hatch we've all been waiting for. So is it?

- ILLYA VERPRAET

Like the sound of last week's Tesla Model S Plaid but don't have £113,000 lying around? Well, the new MG 4 XPower has quite a similar vibe to it, offering staggering performance for the money in an otherwise very practical and sensible package.

SAIC, MG's owner, has revived an old MG-Rover name for the dual motor version of the MG 4 electric hatchback. The XPower is propelled by a 201bhp motor on the front axle and a 228bhp one on the rear axle, for a total of 429bhp. The result is 0-62mph in 3.8sec. That's faster than a Volkswagen Golf R, but while the hot Golf has long since smashed through the £40,000 barrier, the MG can be had from £36,495.

To deal with its new-found potency, the MG 4 gets ventilated 345mm disc brakes front and rear, springs that are 15% stiffer at the front and 10% at the rear, retuned steering, wider tyres (Bridgestone Turanzas) and brake-based torque vectoring. Notable by their absence are a proper limited-slip diff and a set of sports seats to hold you in place during hard cornering. You have to make do with slightly grippier microsuede upholstery.

The visual changes for the XPower are quite limited too: unique 18in wheels, gloss black lower accents, a black roof, some aluminium pedals and those microsuede seats. The Racing Green paint you see in the photos is also unique to the XPower.