Driving the small MG4 electric five-door hatchback today – the third-tier rear drive Essence just reduced to $46,990 drive-away, a $3,000 saving. Nice styling, somewhat colour dependent, a smart and roomy five-door with a very nice profile and low centre of gravity. The MG4 Essence offering a sportier exterior, two tone roof, twin roof aero spoilers and gaining combination synthetic leather and fabric trim, heated seats, 18-inch alloys, wireless smart phone charging and an extensive suite of active safety elements. A 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster and a 10.2-inch infotainment touchscreen with sat/nav and voice control. With rear wheel drive and a five-link rear suspension the handling is sharp and very responsive and the MG4’s driving attributes don’t disappoint. Plus, a sprint time to 100km/hour in just 7.2 seconds means it has a very satisfying performance. But like a lot of the Chinese produced EV’s the MG4’s driver assist features like lane keep assist are far too intrusive while a lack of hard buttons and too many functions to the touchscreen reduce the driving enjoyment. The Essence whilst highly equipped also lacks a rear power hatch. Having said that the MG4 is an impressive small EV hatchback, well priced and very well supported.

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